Matthew 12:1-8 1At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not permitted to do on the Sabbath.” 3But he said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry and those with him: 4how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not permitted for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. 7And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
The passage suggests that Jesus went through the grain fields on purpose. This may have been to provide food for his disciples and also a teaching moment for the Pharisees. Jesus’ disciples were hungry on the Sabbath and so picked some of the grains for food. The Pharisees interpreted this to be reaping as a form of work on the Sabbath. The Pharisees were a group of Jews who stressed obedience to God’s laws. They did this to a fault and became legalistic in their religious practices. They had all kinds of regulations about what people could and could not do on the Sabbath. The motive of these regulations was to make sure no one violated the commandment to keep the Sabbath holy. Their excessive interpretation put a heavy yoke upon people that no one could bear. Their statement recorded in verse 2 reveals their narrow interpretation of this commandment. This so-called “law” was their own interpretation
Jesus criticizes the Pharisees for having the wrong interpretation of what the Sabbath is about. He turns the situation around and gives three examples in answer to their criticism using the form of argumentation called qal wahomer, if something is true in a lesser situation, how much more is it true in a bigger situation. The first example is of David getting the holy bread from the tabernacle in 1 Samual 21:1-6. Leviticus 24:5-9 states that the bread belonged to Aaron and his sons. David and his men were in need and there was nothing else to eat. Human need overtakes a narrow interpretation of the law.
The second example refers to how the priests entered the temple to do sacrifices on the Sabbath yet were not considered guilty. They were doing “work” on the Sabbath. The Pharisees chose which laws to appeal to in their argument with Jesus. They put the Sabbath above the law of sacrifice given in Numbers 28:9-10. They misunderstood what God meant the Sabbath for–to help people rest and reflect on his blessings. The priests were doing much more “work” on the Sabbath than the disciples, who picked a few grains to eat because they were hungry.
With the third example, Jesus quotes again (9:13) from Hosea 6:6. The Pharisees misunderstood what mercy is. They thought their rigorous following of the law would qualify them to be considered righteous. God offers grace and mercy to those in need. The disciples were in need by being hungry. God’s grace provided them food in the field. They were innocent of breaking any of God’s commands because God is love and shows mercy to those in need. This was an opportunity for the Pharisees to see that Jesus was greater than the temple and its sacrifices. He was Lord and master of the Sabbath.
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