Matthew 12

“How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath” (12). Jesus, “greater than the temple,” corrected the faulty theology of the religious leaders. He told them that God’s concern and the point of the Sabbath was for people, and therefore, healing on the Sabbath made sense. Jesus came to bring real deliverance and healing for Israel and “the nations” (18-21), and those who saw his works of mercy and opposed him were, in fact, rejecting the Holy Spirit (30-32).

“Something greater than the temple is here” (6). Jesus did not come to prop up a religious system, but to bring divine forgiveness, healing, and new life to our weary souls.