Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-04-29
SCHOOL LESSON
For Sunday, May |, Matt, 12:114
Golden Text-'T will have mercy and not sacrifice
BY DR.. Marion MCH. Hull

This portion OF the gospel of Matthew
is characteristic of Matthew i'm that it
Is logical IL Their than chronological.
Matthew is trying to say just here how
Jesus is the fulhllment of the law. and
yet breaks away from the Pharasaic in
depreciation of it. 1t is the beginning
Of the rupture which eliminated I'm His
being put to death at the instigation of
the ruling religious class.
The record is of two Sabbath Incl
dents. The logical order is probably- as
follows: al tho second passover of His
public ministry; that is. at the end of
the first year and the beginning of the
second, He healed the man at the Pool
of Bethesda on the Sabbath day. and
had the discussion with the pharisees
which is recorded In the 9Th of John.
As He was going back to Galilee the
following Sabbath, His disciples pIucked
off ears of corn as they passed through
a corn field, and, rubbing the ears to-
rether so as to make them available
for use, brought on this discussion. The
next Sabbath a man was brought into
the synagogue having a withered hand,
probably for the purpose of ensnaring
Him. when He healed him.
LORD OF THE SABBATH.
In order to properly understand these
incidents, and the attitude which the
phsrisees had. We must know something
of What they believed. They mad thrown
so many restrictions about the keep
ing of the Sabbath that IL was almost
impossible for any man to remember
them. much less keep them. Their re-
strictions were very real TO them, al
though they seem very ridiculous TO us.
For instance. a man might not lift q
shesf Of wheat and carry II from the
field on a Sabbath day. That was har-
vesting. But inasmuch as a spoon was
one OF the utensils necessary for daily
use, Il could be carried. If a spoon
was laid upon the shesf of wheat. the
wheat could be carried in because I'm
this way the spoon was being carried
in-not the wheat.
Again, a man might go a certain dis
lance on the Sabbath day. but if he
went a foot further than this distance.
he was breaking the Sabbath. Hence
arose the expression, a sabbath days
Journey" II was not breaking the law
for these disciples to pluck the corn as
they passed drought the field; that was
something which the Mosaic law allow
ed them to do; but TO rub the ears to-
gether was grinding corn, and this was
an infringement Of their Sabbath laws.
These examples will give us some idea
of the petty ceremonials that had been
added to the fourth commandment by
the tradition Of the elders. and with
which Christ had to deal as He came in
contact with the ruling classes.
We must also remember that the Sab
bath was a sign of Gods covenant with
tie people. and anything which would
appear 20 be the ignoring of this sign
appeared TO them heinous in the extreme.
Consequently when Christ healed the
man at the pool Of Bethesda on the Sab
bath da. and commanded him to take
up Ills bed and walk, thus doing servile
work as they thought, when He saw His
disciples piucking the ears of corn and
rubbing them together in their hands
without rebuking them, these Pharisees
considered Him a dangerous element in
the community; a man who not only
claimed to be equal with God, but one
VINO was ignoring the laws OF the Sab
bath-their most sacred institution.
They came to Him, therefore, asking.
why do thy disciples break the Sab
bath By doing this?" They did not
seem to recognize now much in need
these men were. We have here just n
glimpse Of the poverty or Christ and His
disciples for the word hunger" here
does not mean that they were merely
huTE.y as a man would he just before
has meal time came, but that they had
had insufficient food possibly for days.
Jesus might have supplied their foo !
tremendously. and ii at times, but the
were glad to suffer these sacrifices fof
His sake that they might be with Him.
In reply To the question OF tho Pilari-
sees Jesus answered Them out Of their