1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.” 3 But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions, 4 how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? 5 Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent? 6 But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here. 7 But if you had known what this means, ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath”

To no end were the Pharisees infuriated by Jesus’ reinterpretation of the Sabbath law. This law was one of the unique practices that gave Jews a sense of pride in being set apart as God’s people—to keep the Sabbath holy by not working on that day. In their quest to prove fidelity to God, they fiercely debated how the fourth commandment was to be kept. In particular, the Pharisees disallowed the casual picking of grain on Saturdays. The minutia that concerned them worked against the very purpose for which the Sabbath was given. God meant it as a blessing, not a law for its own sake.

The Pharisees objected to the practice of Jesus’ disciple in this regard. The Lord responded by directing them to King David’s example. Recognized by the Jews as the archetype of godliness, especially as the one whose name was given to the Messiah (i.e. “Son of David”)—David side-stepped the Sabbath law because of the exigency of his situation. No one would dare question his love for God’s Law (see Psalm 119), yet he deemed it permissible to supersede the Law in one area for a higher concern in another area. He was famished, running for his life, so he ate food otherwise disallowed to him.

Jesus poignantly asserts, at this juncture, that He Himself, as the Son of Man, is the Lord of the Sabbath. His interpretation of the Sabbath law, therefore, trumps that of the Pharisees. The general application is that at times the ethical code in the word of God may result in conflicting situations, where obeying one command may supersede obeying another command. Compassion should be a determining factor in our resolution of these tensions. The Pharisees had it all wrong. It was permissible for the disciples to pick grain and eat it as they walked through the fields on the Sabbath.

Lord, help me to know the difference between true fidelity versus legalistic practices. Help me to know, understand and extend Your compassion to others

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