A Walk Through the Grain Field With Jesus

Matthew 12:1:  At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath.  And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.

There is nothing coincidental in the Bible.  The stories have an application in the physical world as well as a spiritual lesson for us.  Let us look at this text from the perspective of the symbolic or spiritual. 

Jesus and the disciples were together.  They were walking through a grain field.  This is you and me.  We spend time with Jesus walking through a grain field (the Bible).  Do you see them walking together?  It is a lovely day.   The sun is shining.  The breeze is blowing.  They spend time leisurely talking about the lessons of nature.  They are enjoying the company of their Lord.  There are spiritual lessons that Jesus brings out of the lessons of nature.  Deep truths come as Jesus tells them, “You have heard it said…but I tell you.”  His entire ministry…word and action…He is “cleansing” the temple of heart/mind and tearing down lies and restoring truth. 

In the grain field (Bible) they became hungry.  This is beautiful.  The more you partake of Jesus, the more you want.  Man and man’s words cannot create this kind of hunger; nor can they fill this type of desire.  It is a heavenly manna with which man and man’s words cannot compete.  The desire is to be with Jesus…to become one with Jesus…to find the Sabbath rest of “It is finished.” 

In Matthew 12:2 we read: And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”

Man is intent on taking what we are meant to BE and turning it into something to DO.  So often we turn devotional time into another check mark on the “to do” list.  We miss the leisurely stroll through the grain field.  We miss that the grain we can receive is the kernel (unprocessed) truth.  It has not been filtered through the lens of man’s agenda.  The Pharisee’s lens was all about “processing” pure truth and turning it in to a work of man.  They were so overcome with man’s ideas that they could not see in this example the Bread of heaven come down and walking among them.  They could not recognize the Lord of Sabbath walking with His people in the freedom of “It is finished” because they made the thing (a day) greater than it’s Creator.  That is idolatry. 

Matthew 12:7-8:  “But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.  For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.

Their man-made lens was self-righteousness.  It saw the freedom of others and condemned them.  Those who are in bondage do not enjoy seeing others in freedom, and the spirit of the Accuser is quick to condemn.  Jesus said that He desires mercy not sacrifice.  You see, He is again reminding us of what to BE instead of the DOING for which man has a preference.

Let us endeavor to have our devotional and worship time be a leisurely walk in the field with Jesus. He will share the grains of truth with us if we do not rush through the field.  As we partake, we will be hungry.  As He speaks to us, “ye have heard it said…but I tell you” we will experience the BEING of the words of rest…It is finished.