Read Luke 6:1-5
THE DISCIPLES PICK WHEAT ON THE SABBATH
The Pharisees thought their religious system had all the answers. They could not accept Jesus because He did not fit into their system. You can miss Christ for the same reason. Beware of thinking that you or your church has all the answers. No religious system is big enough to contain Christ completely or to fulfill perfectly all His desires for the world.
In Jewish legal tradition, there were 39 categories of activities forbidden on the Sabbath, and harvesting was one of them. The teachers of religious law even went so far as to describe different methods of harvesting. One method was to rub the heads of grain between the hands, as the disciples were doing. God’s law said farmers were to leave the edges of their fields unplowed so travelers and the poor could eat from this bounty. So the disciples were not guilty of stealing grain. Neither were they breaking the Sabbath by doing what they were doing. In fact, though they may have bee violating the Pharisee’s rules, they were not breaking any divine law.
When Jesus said that He was “Lord of the Sabbath,” he meant He had the authority to over rule the Pharisee’s traditions and regulations because He, Himself, had created the Sabbath. The Creator is always greater than the creation.
Jesus reminded the Pharisees of an event that took place during David’s time. Each week 12 consecrated loaves of bread, representing the 12 tribes of Israel, were placed on a table in the Temple. This bread was called the Bread of the Presence or Show Bread. After it’s use in the Temple, it was to be eaten only by the priests. Jesus accused of Sabbath breaking, refered to this story about David (1 Samuel 21:1-6). On one occasion, fleeing from Saul, David and his men ate the bread. Their need was more important than ceremonial regulations. Jesus was appealing to the same principle: Human need is more important than human regulations and rules. By comparing Himself and His disciples to David and his men, Jesus was saying if you condemn me, you must condemn David also.