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Notes for home education group 17/04/2026

Who can tell me what the sabbath is?

The Pharisees accuse Jesus' disciples of breaking the law, working on the sabbath.

It is good to rebuke people to help them turn from evil. Rebuking people well is hard, we should pray for God's help. We need to ask ourselves;
is what they're doing wrong?
are we looking to do them good?

The answer to both these questions in this case was no. The disciples weren't doing wrong, they weren't breaking God's law, merely the Pharisee's traditions. It can seem like a good thing to add even more rules and strictness to God's law, but it isn't a good thing at all. It makes out that we know better than God. God has told us not to do some things, but he has given us the freedom to do other things. It's not good to make up extra rules. The Pharisees used their rules and traditions both to build themselves up and put other people down. There is nothing wrong in doing things for God that aren't commanded because we find it makes it easier for us to be obedient, but we shouldn't try and make those kinds of things rules for other people or judge others for not doing them.

And the Pharisees weren't looking to do Jesus or his disciples good. They didn't care the disciples were hungry, they just wanted to make themselves look good and Jesus look bad. Does anyone know who in the Bible is called "the accuser"?

Jesus justified his disciples by pointing out that the Pharisees are ok with similar things done by king David and the priests on the sabbath.

What do you think Jesus meant when he said "I desire mercy, not sacrifice"?

God is not impressed by how we deny ourselves, but he is concerned with whether we're merciful to others. We should remember how merciful God is to us and show others mercy.

Jesus also claimed to be "Lord of the sabbath". What do you think this means?

It's one of many things Jesus says where he is claiming to be God.

When Jesus gets to the temple there's a man there with a withered hand. His hand was so bad he couldn't use it.

The Pharisees ask Jesus if it's lawful to heal on the sabbath. They are again looking to accuse him of breaking the law and they're not concerned about the man at all.

Jesus points out their lack of care. He asks them if any of them wouldn't pull one of their sheep out of a pit on the sabbath if it fell in. He also points out that a person is far more valuable than a sheep and that it is lawful to do good on the sabbath.

So Jesus healed the man showing his love for him and proving he was who he said. Sadly the Pharisees didn't see they were wrong. Even after seeing the miracle they didn't believe. They went away and talked about how they could kill Jesus.

The gospel accounts are very brief. At the end of John we're told that if all the things Jesus did were written the world wouldn't have room for the books talking about him. So what we have in the Bible is carefully selected. In the gospels the Pharisees are talked about a lot. I think the reason for this is because they show us how religious people get things wrong. How close people from believing communities can be to God's truth, but fail to believe. It's a warning to people like us.

Next time we see someone doing something we think might be wrong we should ask ourselves:

is this actually wrong?
do I know the difference between God's commands and people's traditions and expectations?
how can I do this person good?

It's important to avoid thinking too much about ourselves and how other people think of us like the Pharisees did. They were more concerned with being seen doing or not doing things than with seeking God. They couldn't see God when he was right in front of them. Besides correcting their attitude Jesus also tells them and shows them who he is. We should not fall into the trap of being so absorbed with ourselves that we lose sight of Jesus. We can't save ourselves, other people can't save us, only Jesus