5. Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath-days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?

The Pharisees accused the disciples of profaning the sabbath. Our Lord defends them by showing that the law itself did not forbid things needful, any more than it prohibited works of piety; did not intend that a man should perish rather than the letter of the law should be exceeded.

2

For example, the law commanded that the bread called the shew-bread, placed on the altar, should be given, after a certain time, to the priests, and be eaten by them alone: for having been offered to God, it was holy. Notwithstanding, their history told them of a time when David, being persecuted by Saul and flying from him with his band of men, was an hungred, and they that were with him: and in that case of necessity did eat the shew-bread, without blame from his own conscience or from God. 3

The sacrifice regularly made by the priests was an example to the same purpose. It was ordered in the law, that the priests should sacrifice two lambs on the sabbath-day. This was working; working was profaning the sabbath; yet being agreeable to the will of God, this work did not profane it.

Our Lord, however, is not content with merely defending what his apostles had done. He takes the opportunity of declaring his own majesty. Here is one greater than the temple: who, if he thought fit,

2 Levit. xxiv. 5-9.

4 Numb. xxviii. 9.

31 Sam. xxi. 6, 7.

might relax the laws which relate to the sabbath. Here is one who has authority to expound to you that law in which ye make your boast, but which ye so grievously misinterpret.

6. But I say unto you, that in this place is one greater than the temple.

5

7. But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.

8. For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath-day.

This sentence of their prophets, I will have mercy and not sacrifice, might have taught them, that if sacrifice or any other act of worship does not serve to produce a right state of mind, it does not effect the purposes for which it is ordained: and that it were vain for them to fulfil the rites and services of the law, unless they had the spirit which is acceptable to God.

same.

Very early in their history, they had been told the Their king Saul was commissioned to destroy the Amalekites with all that belonged to them. But instead of fulfilling this command, he "spared the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and of the lambs." And he pleaded to Samuel in his excuse, that "the people took of the spoil sheep and oxen, the chief of the things that should have been destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord God." "And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord! Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams."

5 Hos. vi. 6.

61 Sam. xv. 1-22.

Isaiah, in his day, impressed the same truth upon the people.' "To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me, saith the Lord? I delight not in the blood of bullocks or of lambs.

Wash ye, make ye clean, put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes, cease to do evil, learn to do well, seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow."

And so Hosea, in the passage to which our Lord refers: "O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? For your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away. For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God, more than burnt offerings." 8

Their fault, then, was not that they sacrificed; this was a part of their worship, was prescribed by their law, and to neglect it would have been a transgression of the law. The fault was, to make sacrifice serve instead of righteousness: to practise the outward ordinances, without cultivating the religion of the heart: to be satisfied with a formal service, and to omit the weightier matters, justice, truth, mercy, charity. Whereas had they rightly known the will of God, and understood the prophet's words, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice; they would not have condemned the guiltless: they would have seen that the spirit of sabbath observance is not violated, because hunger is appeased; but that the spirit of charity was neglected, when they made an innocent action a ground of condemnation.

Different transgressions belong to different ages

7 Is. i. 11-17.

8 IIos. vi. 4-6.

and countries.

A formal observance of the sabbath and of outward ceremonies was the prevailing error of the Jews. Christ, therefore, often points out the worthlessness of such forms without the substance of religion. In the present day, offence would be more probably taken on the opposite side. The accusation would be rather directed against one who required the Lord's day to be kept more holy than agreed with common custom. And a "teacher sent from God," we may believe, instead of pointing to instances like those which Christ had occasion to cite, would remind his hearers of passages which promise the favour of God to all who have kept his sabbaths from polluting them, and made them a delight, holy of the Lord and honourable." 9

"

Still an important lesson is to be learnt. God only values outward services, or religious duties, when the heart and practice is in accordance with them. He does not accept the one for the other. Sacrifice is to be a part of obedience to the law; not instead of it. Prayer is to produce a spirit of charity and kindness, not to supersede it. To what purpose the multitude of your prayers, without a life of holiness and virtue? As St. Paul says of faith, "Though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing:"1 so we may truly say, Though we gave our nights to the repetition of prayers, and our days to acts of devotion, and had not the fruits of righteousness, love, peace, justice, temperance, we should be nothing.

9 Isa. lxiii. 13.

LECTURE LIII.

THE MEEKNESS OF JESUS.

MATT. xii. 9-21.

9. And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:

10. And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath-days? that they might accuse him.

11. And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it and lift it out?

12. How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.

13. Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.

14. Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.

1

The unbelief of the Pharisees is explained by this short history. "They watched Jesus," to find a ground of condemnation: they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath-days? that they might accuse him. They did not inquire, Is this "a prophet sent of God?" If so, he will manifest it by his power, as Elijah, as Elisha did. But they watched his miracles, not to judge of his authority,

So St. Mark iii. 2.