Picking Wheat on the Sabbath

Matthew 12:1-8, Mark 2:23-28, and Luke 6:1-5

Jesus and his disciples were going through a grain field on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry so they picked some the heads of grain and ate them.

Luke notes that the disciples took the heads of grain, rubbed them in their hands and ate the kernels.

The Pharisees were close by and said to Jesus, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”

Jesus responded to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent?”

Mark adds these words from Jesus, “In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”

Jesus continued, “I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Mark adds these words from Jesus, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

In my opinion, Jesus is saying that the Sabbath is for the man to enjoy, not for man to worry about all the rules and regulations he may be breaking.