Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath examines how Jesus confronts Sabbath legalism and reveals its true purpose. The passage shows that the Sabbath was always about rest, mercy, and life, not rigid rules. Jesus declares Himself greater than the temple and Lord over the Sabbath. Through His actions and teaching, He exposes Pharisaical thinking and reveals that true rest is found in Him, not in a calendar day.
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
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Scriptures used in this lesson:
Matthew 12:1-2, Exodus 20:8-11, Hebrews 4:8-10, Deuteronomy 5:15, Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:2, Luke 24:1, 1 Corinthians 15:20-23, Acts 2:1-4, Matthew 12:3-4, 1 Samuel 21:1-6, Matthew 12:5, Matthew 12:6-8, John 2:14-22, Colossians 2:9, Colossians 2:3, Ephesians 2:19-22, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:19, 2 Corinthians 6:16, Matthew 12:9-10, Matthew 12:11-12, Mark 3:5, Matthew 12:14, Luke 6:9-11, Matthew 12:22-24, Matthew 12:25-27, Matthew 12:28-29, Colossians 1:13,
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
Introduction to Matthew 12
We’re looking at Matthew chapter 12. I’m not trying to go deep in every direction. I want to focus on a few basic theological principles and take our time walking through them. This isn’t an emotional message, but it addresses important truths we need to understand and develop as we study together.
The focus of the chapter is the Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8). That raises key questions about the Sabbath. What was the Old Testament Sabbath? Who is the New Testament Sabbath, and why Israel worshiped on Saturday while Christians worship on Sunday?Those questions shape the entire discussion and help frame how Jesus confronts the religious thinking of His day.
Pharisaical Thinking and the Priority of Mercy
The Pharisees were known for splitting hairs in Scripture to find fault. However, Jesus made it clear that God desires mercy, not sacrifice (Hosea 6:6; Matthew 12:7). They were tied to a natural temple system. Yet Jesus declared that something greater than the temple was present (Matthew 12:6). Their hostility grew from their thinking. However, Jesus knew their thoughts before they spoke them (Luke 6:8). This forces us to ask whether we truly believe He knows what goes on in our minds.
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
That realization leads to personal reflection. If Jesus knows our thoughts, then we must ask why we allow certain thoughts to persist at all. That awareness alone should sober us and cause us to examine the inner life more carefully.
As the chapter unfolds, Jesus heals a blind and mute man and casts out a demon. The Pharisees respond by attributing the work to Beelzebub (Matthew 12:24).
Jesus warns that many things can be spoken against Him. Blasphemy against the Spirit carries consequences in this age and the age to come (Matthew 12:31–32). He explains that Spirit-changed lives prove the kingdom of God has come (Matthew 12:28).
Purpose and Direction of the Study
That sets the direction for us. There is much in this chapter, and I do not expect to cover everything. I want to highlight major theological points, especially the Sabbath. The Sabbath has always been a major point of debate.
Some people still feel bound to worship on the Sabbath. I believe every day belongs to the Lord. We cannot become slaves to a day. There are solid reasons Christians gather on the first day of the week. Those reasons will become clearer as we move through the text.
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
Matthew 12 breaks down naturally. First is the Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8), covering verses 1–14. Next is the one upon whom the Spirit rests (Isaiah 42:1; Matthew 12:18), in verses 15–21. Then comes the section showing the kingdom of God has come (Matthew 12:28), covering verses 22–37. This includes the accusation involving Beelzebub (Matthew 12:24). It also includes the teaching on the unpardonable sin (Matthew 12:31–32). The chapter concludes with the rebuke of sign-seeking (Matthew 12:39). Jesus also redefines His true family (Matthew 12:48–50).
The Sabbath Controversy Begins
The opening scene illustrates the issue clearly. Jesus and His disciples walk through the grainfields on the Sabbath. The disciples pluck grain because they are hungry (Matthew 12:1).
Matthew 12:1-2
1 At 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.
2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
The Pharisees immediately accuse them of violating the law by doing what they claim is unlawful on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:2). This incident serves as the foundation for Jesus’ teaching on authority, mercy, and the Sabbath’s true purpose.
The disciples were not stealing corn. They were accused because their actions occurred on the Sabbath, and the Pharisees argued that they were unlawful under Moses’ law. The issue was hair-splitting over Sabbath rules, even though the disciples were simply walking through a field, pulling grain, rubbing it in their hands to remove the husks, and eating it. The Pharisees reacted strongly and claimed that this constituted labor (Matthew 12:2).
The Meaning of the Sabbath
The word Sabbath itself explains the problem. In Greek it is Sabaton, meaning a weekly rest from ordinary work, and in Hebrew it is Shabbat, meaning to stop, cease, or rest. It did not originally refer to a specific calendar day but to the act of resting. That is why the Sabbath is fundamentally about rest, not regulation, and why Scripture speaks of rest for God’s people rather than a legal day (Hebrews 4:9-10).
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
Over time, the Sabbath came to be identified as the seventh day of the week, but that does not make it Sunday. Sunday is not the Sabbath, and that distinction matters. When people forbid activity on Sunday in the name of Sabbath law, they are neither being scriptural nor accurate, because Sunday was never the Sabbath to begin with.
I remember after we were saved worrying about being seen working on Sunday, even though that fear had nothing to do with Scripture. Sunday is simply the first day of the week. That is why the correct reference for the Sabbath command is Exodus 20:8-11; understanding that passage clarifies what the Sabbath was meant to be and what it was never intended to regulate.
The Fourth Commandment and the Meaning of Rest
Exodus 20:8-11
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
To understand this, we must return to Scripture, as the Sabbath is part of the Ten Commandments. In Exodus 20, the key point is that Sabbath means rest, that the Sabbath is Saturday rather than Sunday, and that this clarity helps frame everything else we are examining. When we grasp that foundation, the confusion around the Sabbath begins to clear.
Exodus 20:8-11 outlines the fourth commandment and shows that God set apart the Sabbath as a day of rest based on His work in creation. Yet if we take this in a strictly legal sense, all of us would be guilty, because we have done far more work on Saturdays than the disciples did by simply eating grain. That kind of thinking leads to hair-splitting legalism, which is exactly what the Pharisees were guilty of (Matthew 12:2).
What matters is which day God actually hallowed. He did not hallow the first day when light was created (Genesis 1:3–5), the second day of the firmament (Genesis 1:6–8), the third day of vegetation (Genesis 1:9–13), the fourth day of the lights in the heavens (Genesis 1:14–19), the fifth day of birds and fish (Genesis 1:20–23), or the sixth day when animals and man were created (Genesis 1:24–31). God hallowed the seventh day, the day of rest, and He sanctified rest itself (Genesis 2:2–3).
That means rest, not man, was the climax of creation. We are often taught that man was the climax, and I have probably taught that myself, but Scripture shows that the climax was rest. The Sabbath was about resting in what God had already provided, and God gave Israel a specific day to enter into that rest.
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
The Sabbath Reinterpreted in the New Testament
When we move into the New Testament, Hebrews 4 brings this into sharper focus. Hebrews 4:1–11 explains that there remains a rest for the people of God, and Hebrews 4:8–10 shows that entering God’s rest means ceasing from our own works just as God did from His. That understanding helped me see that the Sabbath was always about rest, not merely a day, and it reframes our understanding of the Sabbath in light of Christ.
Hebrews 4:8-10
8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
Jesus entered into His rest, which means He entered into His Sabbath. When we enter into Jesus, we also enter into that same rest. That is the core principle of the Sabbath. In the New Testament, the Sabbath is no longer about a day but about a person. We are not governed by new moons, Sabbath days, or religious calendars. We live by one governing reality, and that is Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:16-17).
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
He is our Sabbath, and He is our rest. That is what this section is teaching. If someone wants to study it further, they can, but the central truth remains clear. The rest God promised is found in Christ, not in observing a particular day.
Colossians 2 explains how this happened. Jesus blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that stood against us and removed them by nailing them to His cross (Colossians 2:14). This includes ordinances associated with the Sabbath. When He died, those ordinances died with Him. He fulfilled them completely.
In doing so, He also disarmed principalities and powers and openly triumphed over them (Colossians 2:15). These regulations were only shadows pointing forward. The reality they pointed to is Christ Himself. Because of that, our Sabbath is not a shadow anymore but a living reality found in Him (Colossians 2:17).
Entering Rest Beyond a Calendar Day
As we enter into Christ, we enter into rest, and that rest is no longer tied to a specific day, not even Sunday. There are reasons we worship on Sunday, and I have addressed those, but the remainder is not bound to the calendar.
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
If we return to the Old Testament and look at Deuteronomy 5, the question arises again: why do we worship on Sunday? The answer is largely tradition, and I do not believe that tradition violates the Word of God in this case. Some traditions are good, and I believe this is one of them.
There is no question that Scripture teaches us to come together, but that gathering is not meant to be a legalistic observance. We do not come together to stop all activity. We come together for praise and gratitude, recognizing what God has done.
Redemption Remembered in the Sabbath Command
Deuteronomy 5, which means “the second giving of the law” and serves as a covenant book, restates the command to keep the Sabbath, beginning in verse 12. As the passage continues, verse 15 points back to Israel’s condition before deliverance, reminding them that they were servants in the land of Egypt, just as God declared when He brought them out of bondage (Exodus 20:2). That reminder connects the Sabbath to redemption, something many of us can relate to from our own experience before salvation.
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
Deuteronomy 5:15
15 And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.
The Lord brought His people out through a mighty hand and a stretched-out arm, and that deliverance is the reason He commanded them to keep the Sabbath (Exodus 6:6). He saved them, redeemed them, and broke the power of Pharaoh, who represents Satan. As a result of that deliverance, the Sabbath became a reminder of what God had done for them.
There is a principle in this. We are not imposing Sabbath law again, but we recognize that there should be a specific time when we come together to thank God and express gratitude for our deliverance. That is what we do on Sundays as we gather for praise and worship (Psalm 100:4).
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
Praise as a Response to Deliverance
When we come together, we know we will give thanks. We sing praises, clap our hands, and rejoice before the Lord because He delivered us with a mighty hand and a stretched-out arm (Psalm 47:1). That is the emphasis I want us to see.
God is a delivering and liberating God (Luke 4:18), and that deliverance is shown in two clear ways in the New Testament. All four Gospels—Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:2, Luke 24:1, and John 21—record the resurrection. That was the day the blood was applied to the doorposts (Exodus 12:7). It happened on the morrow after the Sabbath, the first day of the week, when God again stretched out His arm in redemption.
Matthew 28:1
1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
Mark 16:2
2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
Luke 24:1
1 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
Firstfruits and the Day of Resurrection
Do you remember when we studied the Feast of the Firstfruits? The firstfruits were waved on the morrow after the Sabbath (Leviticus 23:11). That means it happened on Sunday, and Jesus was resurrected on Sunday. Paul ties this directly to Christ in 1 Corinthians 15:20-23, where he explains that Jesus is the firstfruits, raised on the morrow after the Sabbath, establishing the pattern of resurrection life that follows.
1 Corinthians 15:20-23
20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
Another major event in the New Testament church was Pentecost. That also occurred on the morrow after the Sabbath (Leviticus 23:15–16). Pentecost followed firstfruits, not Passover directly, and it came fifty days after the feast of firstfruits, which equals seven Sabbaths plus the morrow after the Sabbath.
That pattern was fulfilled in the New Testament when Pentecost came in Acts 2:1-4. Just like firstfruits, Pentecost occurred on the morrow after the Sabbath, which means it happened on Sunday, the first day of the week.
Acts 2:1-4
1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
Two Foundations of New Testament Deliverance
The two foundational New Testament principles are the blood of the Lamb (John 1:29) and the giving of the Holy Spirit to the church (Acts 2:38). Both occurred on Sunday, the morrow after the Sabbath, the first day of the week, not on the Sabbath day. Because of that shift, the New Testament church began gathering on that day, as recorded in the book of Acts, and worship on Sunday continued thereafter.
What I want you to see is that God delivered us in two ways: first, by the blood, and then by the Spirit; and both acts of deliverance occurred on Sunday. That means the two foundational deliverance truths of the New Testament church happened on the first day of the week, not on the Sabbath. Resurrection and Pentecost both occurred on Sunday, which is why the New Testament church worships on the first day of the week.
Jesus is the one who gives true freedom, and whom the Son sets free is free indeed (John 8:36). That is where His work was accomplished. The problem was that people became ruled by the Sabbath day itself. In the New Testament, every day becomes a Sabbath because we rest in Christ every day, not just one day a week.
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
That is the real principle of the Sabbath. There is no longer a single Sabbath day. When you read the book of Acts, you repeatedly see believers gathering on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7). The issue Jesus confronted was the hostile, hair-splitting legalism of the Pharisees, which is what led them into error (Matthew 12:2). The same thing can happen today when fellowships begin splitting hairs instead of walking in grace.
Principles Over Rules
I prefer teaching principles rather than rules. Rules are rigid and difficult to apply, but principles allow people to understand the heart of what God is saying. That becomes clear in the next passage, where the Pharisees argue that it is illegal even to eat on the Sabbath.
Jesus answers them with two truths. First, He points to David.
Matthew 12:3-4
3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
David and the Priority of Human Need
Jesus points first to David, who ate the showbread when he was hungry (1 Samuel 21:1–6). He then reminds them that the priests work in the temple on the Sabbath and are still considered blameless (Numbers 28:9–10). On that basis, He makes the clear declaration that something greater than the temple is present (Matthew 12:6).
David’s situation illustrates the principle. When he came to the high priest Ahimelech in need, the only bread available was the showbread, which the law reserved for the priests (Leviticus 24:5-9). Even so, David was permitted to eat, demonstrating that human need and God’s purpose take precedence over rigid legalism.
1 Samuel 21:1-6
1 Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee?
2 And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place.
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
3 Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present.
4 And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from women.
5 And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel.
6 So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.
David said he was hungry, and the high priest gave him the showbread. That action was technically unlawful, but the high priest declared it acceptable, and because God honored that decision, it became acceptable. Jesus uses this to show that God Himself permitted David to eat what he wasn’t supposed to eat under the Law when he was hungry. The issue then becomes whether human doctrine or God’s action carries authority. In that light, it is not Jesus and His disciples who contradict Scripture, but the hair-splitting Pharisees who accuse them (Matthew 12:2).
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
Although eating the showbread was normally forbidden, the high priest, acting as God’s representative, permitted it, and that permission was significant. What Jesus is showing is that Scripture operates on principles, not rigid legalism. God’s purpose and human need must be weighed against one another.
The Second Example: Priests at Work on the Sabbath
Jesus then moves to a second example.
Matthew 12:5
5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
Jesus asks whether they have read that the priests work in the temple on the Sabbath and yet remain blameless (Matthew 12:5). The priests had required duties every Sabbath, including offering sacrifices (Numbers 28:9–10) and preparing the showbread (Leviticus 24:8). Their service continued through the Sabbath without interruption, and no one condemned them for it.
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
That exposes the inconsistency. No one criticizes a pastor for studying, praying, serving communion, or ministering on Sunday, yet others are condemned for necessary work on the same day. Jesus identifies that mindset as Pharisaical. Some responsibilities must be carried out; necessity does not imply guilt. The system excused the priest while condemning the ordinary person, and Jesus demonstrates how erroneous that reasoning is.
Something Greater Than the Temple
This leads to a third principle.
Matthew 12:6-8
6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.
Old Testament priests served a natural temple that represented God’s presence, but Jesus declares that something greater than the temple is now present (Matthew 12:6). To understand that, we must understand the temple itself. In Moses’ day, the temple was a physical structure representing God’s dwelling place (Exodus 25:8).
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
In John 2:14-22, Jesus cleanses the temple and repeatedly refers to it as the hieron, the physical structure. Then He shifts language and speaks of the naos, saying it would be raised in three days. Both words, hieron and naos, are translated as “temple.” Scripture clarifies that He was speaking of His own body (John 2:19-21), revealing that the true dwelling place of God’s presence was no longer the building but Christ Himself.
John 2:14-22
14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:
15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables;
16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.
18 Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?
19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
21 But he spake of the temple of his body.
22 When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.
Christ as the True Dwelling Place of God
So the question becomes, who does He say is the temple? At first, it may not be clear, but as we move through the progression of Scripture, the answer comes into focus. When Jesus came, the natural hieron temple still stood and represented the presence of God. Yet Jesus declared that something greater than that physical temple was now present. He Himself became the new temple, the true dwelling place of God’s presence (Colossians 2:9).
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
Colossians makes this clear by stating that the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him bodily. That means everything God is resides in Christ. Because He is the temple, all of God’s presence is found in Him, and all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are also found in Him (Colossians 2:3).
Colossians 2:9
9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
Colossians 2:3
3 In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
But then you’ll read again in Ephesians chapter 2, 19 through 22, and we find that we, the church, become the household or the temple of God or the habitation of God (Ephesians 2:19-22).
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
Ephesians 2:19-22
19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
The Temple Is No Longer a Building
We are moving through the dispensations, and now the picture becomes clear. The temple is no longer a building, but us. Scripture says plainly that we are the temple of God and that the Spirit dwells in us (1 Corinthians 3:16).
1 Corinthians 3:16
16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
Scripture goes even further by saying that each individual believer is God’s dwelling place. It teaches that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost, who lives within us (1 Corinthians 6:19).
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
1 Corinthians 6:19
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
Corporate and Individual Identity
So who is the temple, and who is the church? The answer is both corporately and individually. That matters, and it is a basic principle in the Word of God that we need to grasp clearly. I do not want to leave that untouched, because understanding the temple is foundational.
To see it clearly, we must observe how the temple moves through Scripture. In Exodus 25, God instructed Moses to build the tabernacle, which became the dwelling place of God’s presence. For years, that is where God was known to dwell.
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
During David’s kingdom, the Ark of the Covenant, which represented God’s presence, was brought into the Tabernacle of David. The presence of God moved from the Tabernacle of Moses to the Tabernacle of David. When Solomon came along, he built the temple, and that structure then became the recognized place of God’s presence. From that point forward, if someone sought the presence of God, they went to the temple.
Jesus and the Temple in John Chapter 2
When Jesus appears in John chapter 2, that temple structure is still standing. He enters it, drives out those who were selling and exchanging money, and declares that His Father’s house is not to be a house of merchandise (John 2:16). The disciples remember that Scripture had spoken of zeal for God’s house (Psalm 69:9).
At that point, Jesus shifts the discussion. He moves from speaking of the physical hieron to the naos and says that if this temple is destroyed, He will raise it up in three days (John 2:19). He was not speaking of the building but of His own body (John 2:21). In doing this, He identifies Himself as the true temple, the dwelling place of God’s presence. From then on, if someone wanted to find God, they had to come to Him.
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
After His resurrection, the disciples understood what He meant and believed what He had said. The temple was no longer a building. It was now Jesus Christ, the living presence of God.
The Progression of God’s Presence
Tracing it through, the presence of God was in the tabernacle of Moses, then the tabernacle of David, then the temple of Solomon, then the temple of Herod, and then in Jesus Christ. The next question concerns the fate of that presence after Him, and we turn to the New Testament and the apostolic teaching to address it.
If I want to find the presence of God, I no longer go to a building. I ask where the Spirit of God is dwelling now, and the answer is in us. We are the temple, and if we seek God, we go to one another. You do not have to come to a specific place. You can go to a believer, someone who is Christlike and has the Spirit of God within them. That is where the temple is now, because Scripture says that we are the temple of the living God (2 Corinthians 6:16).
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
2 Corinthians 6:16
16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
God says that He will dwell in His people and walk in them, that He will be their God and they will be His people (2 Corinthians 6:16). That answers the question of where God is now. He is not distant in heaven somewhere. This is the basic New Testament, Pauline principle. God is present on earth, but His presence is found in His people and in His church. We are the temple of God.
That truth is worth taking time to understand. We often wait on God to do something, but He tells us that He has already given us His power and authority and now sends us to act (Matthew 28:18-19). God wants us to be the temple and to carry His presence into the earth. If I seek God or the presence of the Godhead, I do not look outward. He is in us (Colossians 1:27).
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
Jesus Confronts Sabbath Legalism
At this point in the account, Jesus has left the fields and has already declared that He is the Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8). He is not ruled by the Sabbath; He rules over it. From there, He goes into the synagogue, which we would call the church, where a man with a withered hand is present.
Matthew 12:9-10
9 And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:
10 And, 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.
The question put before Him is whether it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath.
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
Matthew 12:11-12
11 And 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?
12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
Jesus responds by appealing to common sense and compassion. He asks whether a man would rescue his sheep if it fell into a pit on the Sabbath and then points out that a man is far more valuable than a sheep. On that basis, He concludes that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:11-12).
To tie this together, Mark 3 parallels this account, and Luke 6 records it as well. By using the example of an animal in danger, Jesus exposes the Pharisees’ true nature and the emptiness of a legalistic law that forbids action on a particular day. If a lamb falls into a pit, everyone agrees it should be rescued, and that logic becomes even stronger when the issue is a human being.
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
The point becomes personal. If it were your own hand that was withered, you would want it healed, even on the Sabbath. According to Mark and Luke, the man with the withered hand was standing in the middle of the people. Jesus looked around at them with anger and was grieved by the hardness of their hearts (Mark 3:5).
Mark 3:5
5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.
That scene speaks directly to the church world today. A sick person stands in need, yet prayer is withheld because it disrupts the ceremony or tradition. Jesus is grieved by that kind of religion. He is angered not by compassion, but by systems that train people to prioritize ritual over mercy. Mark 3:5 shows just how deeply this hardness of heart affected Him.
Jesus was angry because healing was being restricted in the church. Many churches still question this today and refuse to pray for healing on what they consider their Sabbath because it interferes with the ceremony. That raises a serious question about how the Lord views that attitude. Jesus’ response shows that He desires mercy and compassion, not ritual, and that people matter more than rules (Hosea 6:6; Matthew 9:13; Matthew 12:12).
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
God’s Will to Heal
I believe God still wants us to heal today. I believe He still wants us to anoint with oil (James 5:14), and I believe He still wants us to speak healing, just as Jesus told the man to stretch forth his hand (Matthew 12:13). These are not outdated practices but part of New Testament life. When churches refuse to pray for the sick because it disrupts their order of service, that reveals a heart problem.
Jesus healed the man in the synagogue without laying hands on him or speaking to the condition. He simply willed it to be done (Matthew 12:13). This shows that healing can be sovereign. I believe it is God’s will that we be healed (3 John 2), and sometimes healing occurs without prayer, touch, or spoken command because God chooses to act (Psalm 103:3). Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath and of every day (Matthew 12:8).
Matthew 12:14
4 Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.
After this miracle, Jesus left the synagogue, and the religious leaders began plotting to destroy Him (Matthew 12:14). Luke records that they were filled with madness because Jesus had violated what they considered sacred (Luke 6:11). When someone challenges deeply held theology, people often react the same way.
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
Luke 6:9-11
9 Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?
10 And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other.
11 And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.
We all have theological positions we protect. Jesus overturned their holy-day theology by demonstrating God’s power on the Sabbath. That reveals something important. God is sovereign and operates according to His own wisdom, not ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). When our theology is challenged, we either resist in anger or allow transformation to take place (Romans 12:2).
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
That miracle exposed the weakness of Sabbath-centered theology, and the Pharisees responded with madness because their system had been overturned (Luke 6:11).
Other translations describe their reaction as rage. They were furious. That raises a personal question about how we respond when someone challenges our sacred days or our theology. When Jesus disrupted their thinking, they were filled with madness and began plotting what to do with Him. We are often the same way. When someone interferes with our theology, we either harden like the Pharisees or allow the truth to work change in us.
Matthew 12:22-24
22 Then 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.
23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
Amazement Versus Denial
Jesus performs a powerful miracle. The blind can see, the mute can speak, and the people are completely astonished. The reaction spreads quickly, and many begin to say that He must be the Son of David (Matthew 12:23). That conclusion necessitates a decision. The Pharisees refuse to accept it. They argue that Jesus is not acting by God’s power but by the authority of Beelzebub, the ruler of demons (Matthew 12:24). That same kind of reasoning still happens today, so we need to place ourselves in their position to understand it.
Imagine having your own church, your own pastor, and a group where everyone feels comfortable. Then someone new arrives, claims to be sent by God, heals people, casts out demons, and begins drawing people away. At that point, you have only two options. Either he is who he says he is, or his power must come from another kingdom.
The Pharisees’ Dilemma
That is exactly where the Pharisees stood. They would not accept that Jesus was God, so they concluded He must be operating by Satan’s authority. Seeing it that way helps us understand their mindset and exposes how easily religious leadership can become defensive.
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
Jesus responds by turning their argument back on them.
Matthew 12:25-27
25 And 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:
26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?
27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.
He asks by whose power their own followers cast out demons and says that a divided kingdom cannot stand (Matthew 12:25-26). If Satan were casting out Satan, his kingdom would collapse. Their logic simply does not hold.
What speaks to me most is where Jesus takes this next. He says that if demons are cast out by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon them (Matthew 12:27). This statement reveals how the kingdom of God becomes visible and active in human life.
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
Matthew 12:28-29
28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
29 Or 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.
Jesus explains that no one can enter a strong man’s house and take his goods unless the strong man is first bound. That statement opened my understanding. I have taught on demonology for years, and Scripture says our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with spiritual forces and powers (Ephesians 6:12).
We are not wrestling with visible things. We are wrestling with spiritual forces, which I understand as demon spirits. I see those spirits as thoughts. A demon is not some strange creature but a spirit, and a spirit works through thought.
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
The Battle of the Mind
That is what we wrestle with daily. You can be lying in bed with a clear mind, and suddenly a thought enters that you did not invite. That thought is what you must wrestle with. I am not fighting something physical. I am fighting a thought that is trying to take hold of my mind, and that is what must be cast down (2 Corinthians 10:5).
Jesus is saying that if He can cast out demons, if He can change the way people think and enter into their lives, then the kingdom of God has come. When Satan’s kingdom is attacked and his influence is driven out of hearts and lives, that is proof that God’s kingdom is present.
That is what I began to see personally. If I, by the Spirit of God, can enter someone’s life, bind the strong man that keeps them from serving God, and break that hold, then that life can be taken from the kingdom of darkness and brought into the kingdom of light (Matthew 12:29).
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
Before we came into the kingdom of light, we were in the kingdom of darkness. Scripture says we were delivered from that power and translated into the kingdom of God’s dear Son (Colossians 1:13).
Colossians 1:13
13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
How the Kingdom Advances
We were all in the kingdom of darkness at one time, but by the Spirit of God, someone entered our lives, bound the strong man, spoiled the house for the kingdom of darkness, and saved our lives for the kingdom of God. That is how we know the kingdom of God has come. It is not limited to one person. It applies to anyone who, by the Spirit of God, can enter a life, bind that strong thought, and transfer that life from darkness to light.
Matthew 12 Part 1 How to Discover Jesus as Lord of Sabbath
Jesus says that when you see that happening, you can know the kingdom of God has come upon you (Matthew 12:28). Before we entered God’s kingdom, we were in darkness and were used or manipulated by Satan through thoughts and influences. We were his houses until someone, by the Spirit of God, bound the strong man and spoiled his goods.
That shows what happens in the spiritual realm. When someone, by the Spirit of God, can enter a life and bind that strong influence, that life can be taken from the kingdom of darkness and brought into the kingdom of God. That is the reality of spiritual authority at work.
I see that lived out in real life. Steve is a strong man, and I could not bind him in the natural. But by the Spirit of God, the strong man was bound, and you can see what is happening in his life now. The kingdom of darkness is being spoiled, the kingdom of God is advancing, and because of that, the kingdom of God has come upon us. That is a good word. Amen.
Matthew 12 Part 1
Matthew 12 Part 1
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