Breaking the Word

But the Pharisees went out and took counsel against him to put him to death. When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from that place. Many (people) followed him, and he cured them all, but he warned them not to make him known. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through Isaiah the prophet: "Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom I delight; I shall place my spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not contend or cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope." (Mt 12:14-21)

Pharisees took council against Jesus. They wanted to put him to death. The reason for this action was that Jesus went about preaching the kingdom and he was curing and doing miracles. Pharisees found this to be strange. Pharisees wanted to maintain the status quo. They wanted the people to remain ignorant and they wanted the people to be in their sicknesses and diseases. Society should go on as it was.

People followed Jesus in great number. Jesus was where the people were. He also did not want the people to make him known to others. Strange though it may look that Jesus wanted the people to know where he was and he wanted the people to come to him and be healed etc. But he did not want his opponents to know where he was. He withdrew from the places of opposition.

All these happened to fulfil the Scriptures. Scriptures foretold about Jesus or the people found in Jesus the Scriptures being fulfilled. He was not a man to disturb others. He would not even disturb by a loud voice (A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not quench). His aim was to bring justice to victory and be hope of the Gentiles.

 At that time Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath." He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry, how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering, which neither he nor his companions but only the priests could lawfully eat?  Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests serving in the temple violate the sabbath and are innocent? I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. If you knew what this meant, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned these innocent men. For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath." (Mt 12:1-8)

The disciples were hungry. The natural and human need for food makes them forget the rules. Hunger makes them forget even holy things like sabbath. Basic human needs and wants make one to forget everything. When one faces the question of survival then all the reasoning disappears.

The Pharisees were worried about the rules only. For them everything was linked to following the rules. Nothing existed without the rules. Not only that, but also that the rules prevailed above everything else. Rules were for them the primary thing. Primacy of rules ruled their lives. Following of the rules will make them neglect even a dying neighbour (Story of the Good Samaritan)

Jesus, in stead, is different from the above two types of people. Basic human needs were not his primary concern. Rules of the society or religion were not his primary concern. For Jesus, humanity was his main, primary concern. For Jesus, the person (image and likeness of God) is more important than anything and everything.