But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto Him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day. Matthew 12:2
Jesus and His disciples were walking past a field of barley, and it was a common practice in those days for hungry travellers to pull grains from the growing stalks and munch on them as they journeyed. In our day, we might consider this to be stealing, and would have fenced the field to keep intruders out. But the Law of Moses made provision for the hungry, and the Pharisees raised no objection to the taking of the grain. They knew the law. What they determined to be illegal was the taking of the grain on the sabbath. This they considered to be reaping, and was therefore a violation of the day of rest. Their argument was an example of their skill at twisting the law to suit their own purposes.
Because they were hungry, the disciples ate the food that was at hand. Eating was not a forbidden act on the sabbath; the Pharisees would enjoy good meals on that day. But around the principle of the sabbath that was to be a day of rest for the Israelite, the Pharisees had added their own interpretations and regulations. They have their counterparts today among the religions around us. For example, Rome has an elaborate set of ordinances and ceremonies that are mostly unscriptural but must be heeded. One of the most ridiculous of their doctrines involves babies who die before they can receive the Catholic rite of baptism. Because they were not baptized, those babies cannot go to Heaven; because they are innocent, they cannot go to hell, so a place called Limbo was invented for them. Such a silly notion is no different from the Pharisees drumming up a ‘reaping on the sabbath’ violation for pulling grain from the stalks on the sabbath day. Although we shake our heads at such nonsense, we need to be careful that we don’t allow unscriptural regulations to come in among us.
A brother once reprimanded me one hot day because I had removed my suit jacket as we stood and visited outdoors between meetings of the Assembly. While I believe the saints should be reverently dressed when we gather in His presence, I don’t believe that reverence should be crafted into a rule to apply to peripheral situations. In another example, some of our sisters believe it is a good testimony for them to put their hats on at home before going to a meeting, and not take the hats off until they return home. While I respect their conviction, I believe it would be wrong to impose that behaviour as a regulation for all the sisters. Some sisters consider it an act of worship to cover their heads just as they prepare to enter the gathered company.
The Pharisees made a mockery of the law with their unscriptural regulations. We need to be careful that we don’t do the same in our gatherings. There is a balance between reverence and regulation. -Jim MacIntosh