When the Pharisees complain about the disciples picking and eating grain on the sabbath, they betray both their ignorance of Torah, and their desire to control the consecrated bread of God’s instruction to consolidate their power. But God, Matthew teaches, does not need our bread. After all, whatever we offer him already belongs to him. What he desires is knowledge of and obedience to his Law: that we are to love our neighbor, showing mercy and compassion on one another. This is the sacrifice that God demands in Hosea, one precluded by the Pharisees’ ignorance of his Torah.
Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Matthew 12:1-8.
Episode 291 Matthew 12:1-8; Music from https://filmmusic.io: “Investigations” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
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