Matthew 12:5, commentary and pictures

When the Pharisees charged the hungry disciples with doing what is not lawful by plucking grain and rubbing it in their hands as they passed through the field, Christ answered first from David eating the shewbread and then from the law of the priests, and followed it by declaring one greater than the temple present, mercy required rather than sacrifice, and the Son of man Lord even of the Sabbath day. To profane the Sabbath and yet be blameless means the priests do the temple's required work and added sacrifices on the Sabbath, labor that would otherwise profane it, but are guiltless because it serves God's worship and pointed to Christ's redeeming work. In the same way the disciples in gathering grain to satisfy hunger and sustain themselves for God's service were blameless, acting also under the law's permission for a hungry man to eat from his neighbor's field and for the poor to share in the soil's produce. He who spoke is greater than the temple, the Maker and Lord of the Sabbath, who by His own authority defends His followers and declares them guiltless. He upheld the Sabbath of God's law as still binding while rejecting distorted human requirements and oppressive restrictions, and His Sabbath actions with His disciples were in perfect harmony with the commandment so that no charge of Sabbath-breaking could be proved. Work needed for God's service or for human need does not violate the Sabbath though the same labor for ordinary business would, for the Sabbath was set apart to be a delight and not to forbid happiness, walking outdoors, or teaching by the lakeside outside enclosed walls.

Verse Setting and Sense

The saying belongs to the dispute over going through the grainfields on the Sabbath, when the Pharisees charged the hungry disciples with doing what is not lawful by plucking ears of wheat, rubbing the kernels in their hands, and eating as they went through the field, the same controversy that includes healing a man with a withered hand. It was spoken from the law as Christ's answer to that accusation, coming right after the example of David entering the house of God and eating the shewbread with those who were with him. Its purpose was to show that the priests in the temple do work on the Sabbath days and are blameless, and thereby that the disciples were guiltless. Immediately after it came the declaration that in that place was one greater than the temple, that mercy is required rather than sacrifice, and that the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath day.

To profane the Sabbath yet be blameless means the priests carry on the temple's required work and offer additional sacrifices on the Sabbath days. That labor involves work otherwise described as profaning the Sabbath, yet they are blameless because it serves God's worship. Their service pointed to Christ's redeeming work, and work needed for God's work of redeeming people accords with the Sabbath law. By that temple example the gathering and eating of grain to satisfy hunger was likewise in harmony with the Sabbath commandment, so Christ and His disciples were guiltless. Their act sustained themselves for service to God, and work needed for God's service or for human needs is not forbidden by Sabbath regulation, while comparable labor for ordinary business would violate the Sabbath.

The disciples' plucking and eating of the standing grain as they passed through a field upon the Sabbath day was also in accordance with the permission of God's law. That law gave the poor a right to a certain portion of the produce of the soil and allowed a hungry man to go into his neighbor's field or orchard or vineyard and eat of the grain or fruit to satisfy his hunger. The verse thus presents in that place one greater than the temple, even the Lord who made the Sabbath. By His own authority He defends the disciples' act, shields them, and declares them guiltless. The charge of the Jewish rulers, scribes, and Pharisees that Jesus broke or transgressed the Sabbath, though He is its Maker and Lord, was foolish, unjust, and blind, showing how blindly people can misjudge Sabbath observance and its Maker, and Sabbath observance was not meant to be a yoke of oppressive human restrictions.

Sabbath Teaching and Practice

Christ upheld the Sabbath according to God's law, which remains binding, and not according to distorted rules imposed by religious leaders. His example rejects human requirements that misrepresent God's character and that would make Sabbath observance a yoke of oppressive restrictions. When the disciples plucked and ate grain on the Sabbath He defended their act as innocent and shielded them with His own authority. The example of the priests in the temple shows that service to God could involve work on the Sabbath without making them guilty.

The defense declares the disciples guiltless, for their actions in plucking grain and eating it were in harmony with the Sabbath commandment. No charge of Sabbath-breaking could be proved against Christ, for His works were in perfect harmony with God's law. His obedience in human nature shows that God's law can be kept.

The Jewish rulers accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath, even though He made the Sabbath and is its Lord. That accusation was foolish and unjust. The scribes and Pharisees accused the Lord who made the Sabbath of transgressing it, and their charge shows how blindly people can misjudge Sabbath observance and its Maker.

Sabbath regulations do not forbid work needed for God's service or for human needs. The priests' work in the temple on the Sabbath, including additional sacrifices, was lawful because it served God's worship, though comparable labor for ordinary business would violate the Sabbath. The disciples' act of gathering grain to sustain themselves for service to God was therefore blameless, and this temple example supports Jesus' defense of the disciples and His authority as Lord of the Sabbath. Necessary religious service is therefore not a sin or violation of the Sabbath, as applied to writing on the Sabbath.

The Sabbath is a day set apart by God to be a delight, not a day when happiness or walking outdoors is forbidden. Christ taught His disciples by the lakeside on the Sabbath, proving that Sabbath teaching need not take place within enclosed walls.