Matthew 12:1-14
You're Not Tired of God — You're Tired of Religion
God gave the Sabbath as a gift of rest, and religion turned it into a burden. In Matthew 12:1-14, the Pharisees condemn Jesus’ hungry disciples for picking grain on the Sabbath, and Jesus answers that God desires mercy, not sacrifice, and that he is Lord of the Sabbath. The way out of a weary, rule-keeping faith is to come to Jesus, take his yoke and receive his mercy.
Message notes
Ross Yamamoto opens with a picture. Imagine the church put in brand-new carpet and banned food and drinks. A single mom visits for the first time, and her fussy child is eating a snack. An usher asks her to put it away, the child gets fussier, and she leaves. Did the Lord care more about the carpet or the mom? And what was the carpet for in the first place?
He reminds the church that “gospel” means good news, and that Jesus often said, “Whoever has ears, let them hear.” Then he turns to Matthew 12, where the disciples pick grain on the Sabbath and the Pharisees object. Ross asks why the Pharisees were out in the grain fields watching in the first place.
He explains the Sabbath. It comes from the fourth commandment and goes back to creation, when God rested on the seventh day, not because he was tired, but to set a pattern. Adam’s first full day was a day of rest with God, beholding what he had made. The French Revolution tried a ten-day week and the Soviets tried to abolish the seven-day week, and both produced chaos. Chick-fil-A closes on Sundays and is still one of the highest-earning chains per location. The Sabbath is for rest, for trusting God’s provision and for remembering how he delivered his people from slavery.
Over 1,500 years, the Pharisees fenced the law with 39 categories of forbidden work: no picking up a mirror, no swatting a fly, no brushing off dirt more than three times. Ross names modern versions, like King James-only churches and teaching that baptism saves, and defines legalism as trying to earn right standing with God by keeping rules. When we turn preferences into doctrine, that is how cults get started.
He notices that 12:1 begins “at that time,” right after Jesus’ invitation in Matthew 11:28-30. The religious spirit produces pride, shame, comparison and judgment, and it is the same spirit that plotted to kill Jesus in verse 14. The way out: come to Jesus, take his yoke and learn from him like Mary at his feet.
Jesus answers the Pharisees with David eating the consecrated bread, says something greater than the temple is here and quotes Hosea: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” The test of a religious spirit, Ross says, is a lack of mercy for others and ourselves. The Pharisees thought they had earned it, so they had none to give. The law is a mirror that shows our need, and the gospel is God’s work from start to finish. Ross closes with an invitation to receive Christ and to lay down heavy yokes.
From the message
There is no Jesus plus gospel.
Do you want to know how you can tell if you’re operating in the religious spirit? You lack mercy.
If you’re a person that doesn’t believe that you need or have received mercy, it’ll be very hard for you to be a person that gives mercy.
It’s never been about performance.
Life Group discussion guide
You're Not Tired of God — You're Tired of Religion, Matthew 12:1-14. March 15, 2026.
Start here
What is one house rule you grew up with that made no sense to you until later, or still doesn’t?
Read Matthew 12:1-14
Open your Bibles and read it out loud together before you start.
What does it say?
In Matthew 12:1-2, what are the disciples doing, and what do the Pharisees accuse them of?
What two examples does Jesus give in verses 3-6, and what does he say about himself in verses 6 and 8?
How does the passage end in verse 14, after Jesus heals the man with the shriveled hand?
What does it mean?
Ross pointed out that Matthew 12 opens “at that time,” right after Jesus says “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened” (Matthew 11:28). How do the two passages explain each other?
Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” (Matthew 12:7). Why do people who think they have earned their standing struggle to show mercy?
What do we do with it?
Where have you turned a preference (a Bible translation, a style, a habit) into a rule you judge others by?
When do you actually rest? What would a weekly day set apart to rest, depend on God and remember what he has done look like for you?
Who do you need to show mercy to this week, and where do you need to receive mercy for yourself?
Pray
Thank God for his mercy, the payment that covered what we owed in full. Ask him to lift any heavy yoke of trying to earn his love or other people’s approval, and to make you quick to give mercy.
New Hope Hawaii Kai. Watch the message and read the notes at newhopehk.org/sermons/sabbath-be-set-free-from-whats-troubling-you/