Reasonable Experience
What Jesus says about the Sabbath is a sensible and reasonable conclusion.
I’m reading the whole of Matthew today in a quick 4-day journey through the gospels. Thanks to those who are checking in with thoughts (or eye exhaustion).
In the end, several things drive the religious leaders to oppose Jesus. But his relationship to the Sabbath sits near the top of the list. In a culture where Sabbath law was both a sacred gift and a cultural boundary marker, Jesus' approach was seen as disruptive. He didn’t just bend the rules, he claimed authority over them.
It’s hard for most modern Christians to understand this tension. Today, Sabbath-keeping is often ignored or minimized. That’s unfortunate, because it’s both a command and a gift. In a world addicted to productivity, Sabbath might be one of the most radical practices we have. Why, then, is it so neglected? Is it because we’re too busy, or because we’re afraid of what rest and silence might expose in us?
Even if we no longer obsess over grain-plucking or healing on the Sabbath, we have our own legalisms. We’ve built fences around things like who belongs in leadership, what worship should look like, or how morality is measured. We create rules to protect the system, thus sometimes forgetting to protect the people.
And here’s where Jesus’ challenge cuts deep. He appeals not only to Scripture (remember David and the bread?) but also to something like common sense. The disciples were hungry. God does not desire hungry people to stay hungry. Jesus essentially says: eat the grain. Heal the person. Do good. Don’t miss the heart of the law for the sake of the letter.
This echoes what theologian Thomas Noble (channeling John Wesley) calls “reasonable experience.” In Wesley’s approach to Christian discernment—what’s often called the Wesleyan Quadrilateral—we weigh Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. And Jesus models that kind of discernment here: grounding in Scripture, informed by lived reality, full of mercy.
Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. Not to abolish it, but to fulfill its deepest meaning: rest, healing, and mercy. If we miss that, we might be keeping the law—but missing the Lord.
Matthew 12:1-21
At that time Jesus went through the wheat fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry so they were picking heads of wheat and eating them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are breaking the Sabbath law.”
But he said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and those with him were hungry? He went into God’s house and broke the law by eating the bread of the presence, which only the priests were allowed to eat. Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple treat the Sabbath as any other day and are still innocent? But I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. If you had known what this means, I want mercy and not sacrifice, you wouldn’t have condemned the innocent. The Human One is Lord of the Sabbath.”
Jesus left that place and went into their synagogue. A man with a withered hand was there. Wanting to bring charges against Jesus, they asked, “Does the Law allow a person to heal on the Sabbath?”
Jesus replied, “Who among you has a sheep that falls into a pit on the Sabbath and will not take hold of it and pull it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! So the Law allows a person to do what is good on the Sabbath.” Then Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he did and it was made healthy, just like the other one. The Pharisees went out and met in order to find a way to destroy Jesus.
Jesus knew what they intended to do, so he went away from there. Large crowds followed him, and he healed them all. But he ordered them not to spread the word about him, so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled:
Look, my Servant whom I chose, the one I love, in whom I find great pleasure. I’ll put my Spirit upon him, and he’ll announce judgment to the Gentiles. He won’t argue or shout, and nobody will hear his voice in the streets. He won’t break a bent stalk, and he won’t snuff out a smoldering wick, until he makes justice win. And the Gentiles will put their hope in his name.
Psalm 40:1-3
I put all my hope in the Lord. He leaned down to me; he listened to my cry for help.
He lifted me out of the pit of death, out of the mud and filth, and set my feet on solid rock. He steadied my legs. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise for our God. Many people will learn of this and be amazed; they will trust the Lord.
Prayer
God,
You gave us brains for a reason, right? Just like other parts of the body, the brain has its redeeming usefulness. But we also can get stuck using it in ways that are destructive or paralyzing.
Lord, help me to use my brain well. Give me clarity of mind. And make a path between my head and my heart that is so well-traveled such that compassion, grace, & mercy are always at the heart of my conclusions.
By your Spirit & in Christ,
Amen.