Plucking the Grain

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Matthew 12:1-371At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. 2But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day. 3But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; 4How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? 5Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? 6But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. 7But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. 8For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. 9And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue: 10And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him. 11And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? 12How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. 13Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other. 14Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. 15But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all; 16And charged them that they should not make him known: 17That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, 18Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall show judgment to the Gentiles. 19He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. 20A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. 21And in his name shall the Gentiles trust. 22Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. 23And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? 24But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. 25And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: 26And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? 27And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. 28But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. 29Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. 30He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. 31Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. 32And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. 33Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. 34O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 36But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. (Matthew 12:1‑37)
One day Jesus and His disciples were walking by a field of grain: the disciples were hungry and they picked off some heads of the grain, rubbed off the chaff, and ate the grain. It was not wrong for them to take the handfuls of grain, for their law allowed them to do that; it said,
“When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbor, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thy hand: but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbor’s corn.” Deuteronomy 23:2525When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbor, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbor's standing corn. (Deuteronomy 23:25). (Grain is often spoken of as “corn” in the Bible).
It was on the Sabbath Day that the men with Jesus picked the grain, and some men who saw them do it, said that they were wrong to do so on the Sabbath.
But there were certain men, called Pharisees, who had made laws of their own for the Sabbath, and they thought more of their laws than of God and His words. It was some of those men who said it was wrong to pluck the grain on the Sabbath day.
Jesus asked these men if they had not read that once when David, whom they honored, was very hungry that he was given bread from the House of God, although the bread was meant only for the men there to eat. (1 Sam. 21:66So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the showbread, that was taken from before the Lord, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away. (1 Samuel 21:6)). David had been chosen and anointed by God to be the king of Israel, but he was refused by many, and in need of food, which was given to him and his men at the House of God.
Jesus had been anointed by God to be a far greater King than David, but He also was refused, and there was no food for Him and His disciples, so they should have the grain. Jesus told those men that He was greater than the Temple, and that He was Lord (Ruler) of the Sabbath Day.
Afterward Jesus was in the synagogue of the town, and there was a man who had one hand withered. The Pharisees thought that Jesus would cure the man as He had so many others, but they were more angry with Him because He had shown them their hard ways, and they wanted to find more fault with Him, so they asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath Day?”
Jesus then asked them a question, He said if one of them had a sheep which fell into a ditch, would not he lift out the sheep? Jesus told them that a man was better than a sheep! The wise answer of Jesus should have again shown the men how hard and wrong they were. Jesus then said to the man with the withered hand, “Stretch forth thy hand.” The man held out his hand, and it was well as his other hand.
The Pharisees were so angered at Jesus because of His words that they went away to plan together, how they could bring harm to Him. But Jesus knew their wicked thoughts, and kept out of their way. He went on curing the sick ones who followed Him. Jesus did all His great works in a quiet way, as had been told of Him in the scriptures. (Isa. 42:1-31Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. 2He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. 3A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. (Isaiah 42:1‑3)). What did Jesus say about “idle”, or light careless words? Matthew 12:3636But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. (Matthew 12:36).
ML 04/11/1943