12:5
Jesus then points to the Law, where the priests actually do work on the Sabbath when they are offering the sacrifices (Num 28:9). And the religious leaders agreed that if the eighth day fell on the Sabbath, a child must still be circumcised on that day (John 7:22). Jesus is pointing out the inconsistencies in the Pharisees application of their own rules. They were not concerned with righteousness, but only in using their rules to fulfil their own ends. Often it is good to look behind the argument.
12:6-8
Jesus now moves the argument on from the minutiae of the Law, to focus on Himself. There are two general points to glean from this. The first is that Jesus draws attention to Himself, He is always doing this. If He was “just a man” this would be an ungodly thing to do, but in reality is entirely consistent with His being the Son of God. The second is that in arguments we should always seek to draw the focus back to Jesus Himself.
Jesus claims to be greater than the temple. The temple represented the presence of God. Jesus is the presence of God to an infinitely greater degree. He then corrects the Pharisees thinking, God desires mercy rather than sacrifice. Finally He declares Himself to be the Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus, not the Pharisees, had the right, the qualifications, to interpret the Sabbath!
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