Anchor My Faith

Plucking Heads of Grain

Scripture: Matthew 12:1-2; Luke 6:1

As we walk along the gospel path together, we find Jesus and his disciples are being observed by the Pharisees. ^{“Mt 12:1} At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain ^{Lk 6:1} rubbing them in their hands ^{Mt 12:1} and to eat.” Going through the grain fields would indicate that the grain had been harvested. Leaving only a small amount around the edges and some missed here and there. If the grain had been standing, one would be allowed to pluck some, but no instrument could be used. It seems that Jesus and his disciples were looking for some grain that was left behind and when found they plucked off the heads and rubbed them in their hands to shell out the grain, which they then ate. In this way they could help satisfy their hunger.

^{“Mt 12:2} But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.”’ As we walk with Jesus, we need to remember that we are in an eastern culture, viewing what is taking place through eyes of our western culture. There are cultural differences and one of those explains why the Pharisees are so upset with Jesus. In our western culture we have the standard of right and wrong, but in this eastern culture the standard is honor and shame. Jesus has done nothing wrong to provoke the negative response he has been receiving from the Pharisees. Jesus has caused them shame by pointing out their failures. Jesus holds a position of honor and always will since he is also God and from now on you will see the Pharisees trying to shame Jesus. Near the end of our journey they will have their revenge by hanging him on a cross, a symbol of ultimate shame, but by dying and then rising again, Jesus was able to rise through shame to glory and provide a way for believers who experience shame to experience the glory of eternal life.

Here at the grain fields, they are continuing to try to shame him, thus helping to restore the balance of shame and honor between them. They are pointing out that his disciples are doing that which is unlawful to do on the Sabbath; they were implying that the act of plucking and then rubbing the heads in their hands to release the grain was work and thus forbidden.

Jesus responds by pointing out three things to these critical Pharisees: a situation involving David, a situation involving priests in the temple, and a comment about the Sabbath. We will begin the next lesson with the first example.

Prayer

Father, culture is a bigger hindrance to our understanding the Bible here in the west than we might realize. Our western culture sees behavior in terms of right and wrong, but the eastern cultures sees behavior in terms of honor and shame. Depending on the standard used yields different results. In our cultural view Jesus has done no wrong so why was he punished? In the eastern culture, he shamed the Pharisees by pointing out their hardness of heart and as a result they respond by trying to find ways to shame Jesus. Father, we need to think about this as we walk with Jesus in these lessons and think of how this might be operating in our lives and in our interpretation of the Scriptures.