Luke 6:1-5 1And it happened on a Sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples both were plucking and eating some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. 2But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” 3And answering Jesus said to them, “Have you not read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4how he entered the house of God and taking the the bread of the Presence, he ate it and gave to those with him, which is not lawful to eat except only for the priests?” 5And he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
The controversies and tension with the Pharisees continued to mount as Jesus and his group of disciples journeyed through Galilee. The specific location of the next episode is not stated but it took place while traveling through the fields of grain. Luke or the tradition he received was not concerned in his account about the distance or location in this account. The disciples were hungry and picked grain from the field. There was no problem with this since it was allowed in Deuteronomy 23:24-25.
The story is written from the vantage point of the Pharisees and their concern of when the disciples picked the grain. After the episode of Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners, the Pharisees must have been watching for any opportunity to catch Jesus and his disciples doing something wrong. Luke uses some to imply that not all the Pharisees were “bad” or against Jesus. This group of critics asked a loaded question that assumes what the disciples did was against the law about keeping the Sabbath holy.
Jesus played their game and asked a question back referring to the story found in 1 Samuel 21:1-6. Of course, these scholars of Scripture would know this famous story. In the story of when David went into the tabernacle and each the sacred bread, there is no mention of this taking place on the Sabbath. Luke gives a condensed version of this scene compared to Mark and leaves out the high priest’s name Abiathar. The point that Jesus was making focused no so much on eating the sacred bread but that there are times when a greater law supersedes the small laws; in this case, the law of survival and the need for food.
Jesus’ final statement emphasizes his authority. If David could go beyond an Old Testament regulation, how much more so can the Son of Man. There is no indication that the Pharisees see the connection between Jesus’ self-designation and any Old Testament use of the term, such as in Daniel. They may have begun to make the connection with the term and messianic claims. John’s Gospel indicates a more explicit connection with Jesus’ claims of divinity. As the Son of Man, Jesus had authority over regulations and laws. In this case, the law of human need supersedes the law of the Sabbath. The Sabbath was to be a time of rest and restoration, which is difficult to do if one is hungry.
The point of the story is not so much on Sabbath regulation. Jesus is not saying that a person can do whatever he or she wishes on the Sabbath. The Sabbath is still important, but basic human need is even more important. The law of love should lead us to care for those who are hungry, no matter what day it might be.
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