Matthew 12

• Matthew 12:3-8 (NIV) ³ He answered, "Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? ⁴ He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread--which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. ⁵ Or haven't you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? ⁶ I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. ⁷ If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent. ⁸ For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." 

Jesus, Lord of the Sabbath.

Jesus deliberately violated the Sabbath laws on a few occasions.  He was making a point.  He wanted them to break out of this mode they had gotten into were they believed that external laws could save them and make them holy.  True righteousness comes from God and following God's laws must be motivated by our heart’s desire to love and please Him.  Playing off of the last chapter Matthew wants us to understand that Jesus offers rest from the jumping through hoops and external laws that we think lead to holiness.  There is no rest to be gotten from just religious hoop jumping.  It is not that observance of the Law is not needed but it is a matter of which comes first - relationship before rule keeping.  I follow His Law out of my love for Him as I am in relationship with Him.

Today we are just as guilty as the Pharisees and other religious leaders who believed that the observance of the Law made them holy.  Too many people are basing their holiness on what they do rather than what He has done.  We check off a list and none of it ever touches our heart.  Jesus desires a heart of desire for Him first.  And on the opposite side there are many who say that they love God and are in relationship with Him and yet it never impacts the way that they live - their passion and priorities all seem to point to things other than pursuing a deep and abiding relationship with God through His Son.  

The order matters.