Hidden Grains in Matthew 12:1-8

Thanks to a confirmation talk I'm working on, I picked up the Bible last night before going to bed.  One of the Scripture passages I looked up for this talk was Matthew 12:1-8.  Why not read it, I thought, and just reflect on it; maybe that would benefit me more than simply taking notes on the passage.  You'd think the Holy Spirit knows what He's doing or something... the Holy Spirit pointed something out in the reflections that I wanted to share.    

One of the things that stood out was the boldness of Jesus--and it made me curious about the reactions of the Pharisees.  Yes, they voice their displeasure upon seeing Jesus' disciples pick grain on the sabbath, but Matthew doesn't let them get a word in when Jesus compares Himself to David (v. 3-4).  King David!!!  One of the most revered figures in Jewish history!  Even further, Jesus says for the first of three times in the surrounding chapters, "something greater than the Temple is here." (v. 6)  The temple, the most sacred place on earth and the dwelling place of God among His chosen people.  What's greater than that?  As if those weren't audacious enough, Jesus finishes off by saying, "the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath." (v. 8)  The sabbath, instituted by God?  The sabbath, observed by Jews for millennia?  

Matthew grants the Pharisees an aside in v. 14, saying that "the Pharisees went out and took counsel against Him, how to destroy Him."

That shock that the Pharisees must've felt isn't just a historical commentary or a hermeneutical device, or other large words that make me sound smart.  They knew exactly what Jesus was saying.  One of the more concise treatments of this belongs to C.S. Lewis: Jesus was either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord.  A liar could make all the claims that Jesus did, and was killed for stupidly sticking to his lies.  A lunatic would be granted some leeway; if this were true, then we should pity a poor, delusional man who preached his way to torture and death.  The Pharisees of the time fell into a variation of one of these camps.  

Or, He Is the Lord; Who He said He Is.  Jesus spells out Who He Is in this short passage: 

King: Jesus makes a direct parallel between Himself and David, the latter being the epitome of kingship for the Jews at the time.  

Priest: that is, one who offers sacrifice to God.  By bringing up the Temple, Jesus alludes to the very place where sacrifices were offered.  

Prophet: The scripture that Jesus quotes to the Pharisees comes the prophet Hosea: "I desire mercy, not sacrifice."  (6:6)

With these three references, Jesus is proclaiming that He Is the Messiah: priest, prophet, and king.  This is from Hosea 6:6, and the preceding verses are strikingly messianic:  

"Come, let us return to the LORD, for He has torn, that He may heal us; He has stricken, and He will bind us up.  After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live before Him.  Let us know, let us press on to know the LORD, His going forth is sure as the dawn; He will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth." (v. 1-4)

 In quoting Hosea, Jesus joins His mission to the prophet from of old: to bring the hearts of His wayward people back to the Lord.  

Jesus' final line in this passage provides a whisp of a hint that the Messiah's mission includes the sabbath, although He doesn't go into detail.  With the benefit of hindsight, we can draw a clearer picture: Jesus, the great high priest (Heb 4:14) and victim; the Lamb who offered Himself for our sins (Gen 22:8, John 1:29); whose flesh, like the paschal lamb (Ex 12:8), is true food and drink (John 6:55); which serves as a new foundation for the sabbath of the New Covenant (Matt 26:26-28).