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In the previous chapter we saw that Christ is five new items in the Gospel of Matthew. He is everything new. He is the Bridegroom, the new cloth, the new garment, the new wine, and the new wineskin. With Him nothing is old; everything is new. The book of Matthew also shows that Christ is versus religion.
In chapter 12 the Lord Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath (v. 1). Why did the Lord go through the grainfields? Was He lost, or was He walking aimlessly? Everything that the Lord did was full of meaning. Grainfields are certainly not the place to hold a meeting. Grainfields contain food to eat, but eating in a grainfield can be done only in a crude way. Furthermore, the Lord went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. The Lord did not go through the grainfields during the first six days of the week. He waited until the seventh day. I believe that the Lord chose to do this on the seventh day, the Sabbath day, with the intention of showing the Pharisees that He wants to overthrow religion.
The Lord went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, but why did the Pharisees also go to the grainfields? Perhaps the Pharisees were looking to see if there were people in the grainfields breaking the Sabbath. When the Lord Jesus and His disciples went through the grainfields, they picked ears of grain and ate, and the Pharisees saw them. This event shows that the Lord did not come to keep religious regulations or to care about cultural tradition. He did things on the Sabbath that broke the Sabbath. On the Sabbath the Lord went through the grainfields with His disciples, and His disciples ate ears of grain. The disciples ate in a way that was against the regulations; they ate the grains raw and in a crude way. The Lord did not care for religion or culture. He cared only for the reality of Himself.
Is the church a holy temple, a chapel, or a grainfield? The church should be a grainfield. Our meeting is a grainfield, and the local church is also a grainfield. If the saints come to the meetings in order to keep regulations, they will remain hungry, and our meetings will have the nature of a chapel. What is the significance of a grainfield? There are no regulations in a grainfield. There is only food to satisfy people. The Lord’s disciples picked ears of grain and ate in a crude way, without plates and bowls. Outwardly they were crude, but they had enjoyment and real satisfaction. They did not have the outward Sabbath, but they had rest within.
The Jews were keeping religious regulations, but the Lord did not keep the regulations; instead, He went to the grainfields. This indicates that the Lord did things contrary to religion and culture so that His disciples would be satisfied. When the Pharisees saw the Lord’s disciples picking ears of grain and eating them, they said to the Lord, “Behold, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath” (v. 2). This means that the disciples had profaned the Sabbath. The Lord Jesus said, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, and those who were with him; how he entered into the house of God, and they ate the bread of the Presence, which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, except for the priests only?” (vv. 3-4). The Lord’s words are very meaningful. They imply that He is today’s David and that the disciples who follow Him are following the real David. David the king was only a shadow. The Lord is the substance, the real David.
The bread of the Presence in the temple was for the priests to eat. The Lord’s words indicate that the age of the priesthood was over. Just as the age was changed when David became the king, the Lord’s coming changed the age. Christ is not only the greater David and the real David; He is also the One who has changed the age. The coming of David changed the age from the age of the priests to the age of the kings. Now that the Lord is here, the age has changed from the age of the Old Testament to the age of the New Testament. In the Old Testament age people kept the Sabbath, but in the New Testament age the Lord is our Sabbath. Thank the Lord that the age has changed. Since the Lord is the real David, those who follow Him should not be hungry. When we meet together to worship the Lord, we are satisfied within. The more we worship, the more we are satisfied. The Lord Jesus does not care for regulation; He cares for our being fed and satisfied.
The Lord spoke a further word to the Pharisees in verse 5: “Have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless?” These words indicate that even if the age had not changed from the age of the priesthood to that of the kingship, the priests who labor in the temple on the Sabbath are guiltless. Hence, the regulation of the Sabbath is effective only outside the temple; there is no such regulation inside the temple. Once a person is inside the temple, he is free. The Lord also said, “I say to you that something greater than the temple is here” (v. 6). The Lord Jesus is greater than the temple. Since His disciples were doing things in Him, the One who is greater than the temple, they were guiltless. Outside of Christ we are in bondage, but in Christ we are set free.
Are we in Christ or outside of Christ? We are in Christ! There is freedom in the temple, but here is One who is greater than the temple. Christ is not only the greater David but also the greater temple. He is David who gives us satisfaction, and He is the temple that sets us free.
The Lord Jesus also said, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” (v. 8). The Lord Jesus is the Lord. If He wants to establish the Sabbath, He will establish it, and if He wants to do away with the Sabbath, He will do away with it. He is not only the real David and the greater temple, but He is also the Lord of the Sabbath. These items show that He is Christ, the Head. Jesus is Lord! In Him we have satisfaction, freedom, and rest.
The record in the Bible is very particular. After breaking the Sabbath in verses 1 and 2, the Lord broke the Sabbath again in verses 10 and 11. The Lord’s repeated breaking of the Sabbath indicates that He was against the regulation of keeping the Sabbath. The second time, the Lord did not break the Sabbath in the grainfields but in a synagogue. Among the people worshipping in the synagogue, there was a man who had a withered hand. The Lord Jesus confronted the Pharisees. The Pharisees asked the Lord whether it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath (v. 10). The Lord Jesus answered with an analogy, “What man will there be among you who will have one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out?” (v. 11). The Lord’s answer shows that the man was one of the Lord’s members and one of His sheep. Those who understand the Bible know that members are for the Body and that sheep are for the flock. Both the Body and the flock refer to the church. The church is the Lord’s Body and the Lord’s flock. In this situation a sheep had fallen into a pit; that is, a member had become withered. Would the Lord heal him? Would the Lord care for the Sabbath or care for His sheep, His member? Would He care for keeping religious regulations or for healing His members? It is very clear that our Lord does not care for religious regulations. He cares for His members, His sheep. He is satisfied when a sheep is rescued and a withered member is healed and made alive.
According to the Lord’s leading, for a period of time we had some experience of burying our oldness. This practice was condemned as a violation of religious regulations. Some in Christianity called it a heresy and said that believers should be baptized only once. But where in the Bible does it say that we can be baptized only once? The Bible says that a believer should be baptized, but it does not say that a believer can be baptized only once. The regulation of being baptized only once comes from religion and tradition. The result of this tradition is that baptism has become a rite for joining an organization. According to the Bible, baptism is not a ritual but the testimony of a fact. The fact is that by believing into the Lord, we are joined to the Lord and have died with Him. He was buried, so we are also buried in water. He resurrected, and we are resurrected with Him (Rom. 6:3-5). Not only so, we are baptized into the Triune God (Matt. 28:19). Hence, baptism is not a ritual or a regulation; it is a spiritual reality.
Many Christians have turned baptism into an empty ritual, a dead ordinance. Even among us baptism has somewhat become an ordinance. Among the local churches, there is the practice of first preaching the gospel and then visiting our gospel friends in order to prepare them for baptism. In the past there was even an interview for baptism. We would ask a person who desired to be baptized whether he believed in God, whether he believed that Jesus died for his sins, and whether he had confessed his sins. If he said yes, we would schedule a baptism for him. Then on the assigned day the new believer would come and listen to a message concerning baptism. Although on the surface this new believer understood the meaning of baptism, he subconsciously thought that baptism is a ceremony for him to join the church. In his consideration he is baptized in order to join a church.
Christianity has turned spiritual realities into religious regulations, ordinances, and rituals. For this reason, throughout the centuries the Lord has raised up believers who reacted to the regulations in Christianity. For example, He raised up the Quakers who said that when the Holy Spirit was poured upon them, they quaked. The Quakers, the Society of Friends, said that they do not need to be baptized in water or sprinkled with water. They need only to quake. Today there are not many Quakers. The Quakers were a reaction stirred up by the Lord against the rituals in Christianity.
Later the Lord raised up others, such as Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis. She was knowledgeable concerning spiritual things, but she repudiated both baptism by immersion and baptism by sprinkling. She said in effect, “Both baptism by immersion and baptism by sprinkling are useless; they are mere forms and regulations. A believer needs Spirit baptism. He needs to be in the Holy Spirit.” The Lord has also stirred up the matter of burial among us. I believe this is also a reaction. We would never have imagined such a thing. Under the operation of the Holy Spirit a group of brothers and sisters felt that they were old, and they desired to be buried. Thus, burials began. The saints went into the water to be buried one by one. Their feeling was, “Let me be buried! Let my corrupt self be buried! Let my world-loving self be buried! Let my old self be buried!”
After their burial, many saints became living; they were enlivened. Nevertheless, the burials aroused opposition among Christians, who asked what we were doing and said that we had violated the rule, because a believer should be baptized only once. Before the saints were buried, some might have gone dancing or watched movies, but they were not accused of violating any regulations. However, after they were buried and enlivened, they were criticized and condemned for breaking the regulation.
Does the Lord Jesus care for regulations? Suppose everyone in a meeting is half-dead, having a withered member. Your left hand is withered, my right hand is withered, his left leg is withered, and my right leg is withered. You keep the Sabbath with your withered hand, and I keep the Sabbath with my withered leg. What is the value of our keeping the Sabbath? Does the Lord want this kind of Sabbath-keeping? Absolutely not! The Lord wants to break this kind of keeping of the Sabbath. He purposely chose to work on the Sabbath by restoring the man with a withered hand. Likewise, the Lord Jesus does not care about our keeping a regulation of being baptized only once. He would rather that we be buried and living.
The Lord is not concerned about our keeping religious regulations. His focus is whether His sheep have been lifted out of the pit and whether His members are living. If we are not living, we are wrong, whether we are baptized once, multiple times, or not at all. If we are not living, we are wrong no matter what we do. However, if we are living, everything is right. The Lord does not care for being baptized once or being baptized twice. His concern is whether we are living.
Matthew 12 not only presents two instances of the Lord breaking the Sabbath; it also shows that the Lord is the sign that is contrary to religion. In verse 38 several religious representatives, the scribes and the Pharisees, came to speak to the Lord, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” The Lord answered, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. For just as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights” (vv. 39-40). The Lord’s answer indicates that He is the real Jonah who would be buried and resurrected from the dead. The Lord being the real Jonah is the sign given to this generation. The Christ who died and resurrected to give us life and to enliven the dead is the greatest sign.
Not only so, the Lord also said that He is more than Solomon (v. 42). When we receive Him as Jonah, who died and resurrected to give us life, He becomes Solomon, the King within us to give us wisdom. This is the sign given to religion. This sign is nothing other than the resurrected Christ, the reigning Christ, and the Christ who gives us wisdom.
The words spoken by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 12 indicate that He is the reality of every positive person and thing. He is David, the temple, the Sabbath, Jonah, and Solomon. He is everything. He is the greater David, the greater temple, and the Lord of the Sabbath; He is more than Jonah and more than Solomon. He satisfies us, sets us free, gives us rest, and restores us. Furthermore, He makes us living sheep and living members for the accomplishing of His purpose, the building of His Body. He gives us the crucified and resurrected life, and He also gives us wisdom. He breaks the Sabbath in order to show that He is the Head and in order to restore His Body. This is the great mystery, Christ and the church (Eph. 5:32). Christ the Head and His Body are related to His being versus religion and to His breaking the Sabbath. Where there is religion, there is no Christ, and where there is religion, there is no church. Only when we are versus religion will we have the reality of Christ and the church.
