Verse 2 says, “But the Pharisees seeing it said to Him, Behold, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” The Pharisees, the “Sabbath Patrol,” caught the Lord Jesus and His disciples. They must have been watching the Lord. Otherwise, why would they have been in the grain fields on the Sabbath day? The Pharisees must have been deliberately following Him and spying on Him.
The Pharisees condemned what the Lord’s disciples were doing, saying it was not lawful on the Sabbath. The Sabbath was for the Jews to remember the completion of God’s creation (Gen. 2:2), to keep the sign of God’s covenant with them (Ezek. 20:12), and to remember God’s redemption for them (Deut. 5:15). Hence, to profane the Sabbath was a serious matter in the eyes of the religious Pharisees. To them it was not lawful, not scriptural. But they did not have adequate knowledge of the Scripture. According to their meager knowledge, they cared for the ritual of keeping the Sabbath, not for the hunger of the people. What folly to observe a vain ritual!
This environment afforded the Lord Jesus the opportunity to reveal more of Himself. To the Pharisees, Jesus had been caught. But to the Lord Jesus this was an opportunity to reveal both to them and to His disciples who He was. Thus far, He had been revealed as the Physician, the Bridegroom, the Shepherd, and the Lord of the harvest. After being caught by the Pharisees, the Lord revealed Himself in at least five other major aspects.
According to verses 3 and 4, the Lord asked the Pharisees, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry and those who were with him; how he entered into the house of God, and they ate the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but for the priests only?” The Pharisees said that it was not lawful for the Lord’s disciples to pick the ears in the grain fields and to eat, condemning them for acting contrary to the Scriptures. But the Lord answered, “Have you not read,” pointing out to them another aspect in the Scriptures that justified Him and His disciples. This condemned the Pharisees for lacking adequate knowledge of the Scriptures. The Lord Jesus seemed to be saying, “You come here to catch Me according to the Scriptures. Do not think that you know the Bible so well. You only know it in part, in a very superficial way. You have never touched the depths of the Scriptures. You might have read it, but you do not understand it. Read about what David did when he and those with him were hungry. They ate something, the showbread in the temple, which according to the Levitical regulations they should not have eaten. You Pharisees think that I have done something illegal. But have you not read that David and his followers did the same thing?” We must admire the Lord’s knowledge of the Bible.
The Lord’s word here implies that He was the real David. In ancient times, David and his followers, when rejected, entered into the house of God and ate the showbread, seemingly breaking the Levitical law. Now the real David and His followers were also rejected and took action to eat, seemingly against the sabbatical regulation. Just as David and his followers were not held guilty, neither should Christ and His disciples be condemned. Both cases were related to eating. King David was a prefigure of Christ, the real David. David had followers, and Christ, the real David, also had disciples as His followers. King David and his followers were rejected by the people, and the real David and His followers were rejected also. Just as David and his followers were hungry, so Christ and His disciples were also hungry. Furthermore, neither David and his followers nor Christ and His followers had anything to eat, but there was the place where there was something to eat. For David it was the house of God, and for Christ it was the grain fields. All this implies that David and his followers were a type, a shadow, of Christ and His disciples.
Furthermore, the Lord’s word here also implies the dispensational change from the priesthood to the kingship. In ancient times, the coming of David changed the dispensation from the age of the priests to the age of the kings, in which the kings were above the priests. In the age of the priests, the leader of the people should listen to the priest (Num. 27:21-22). But in the age of the kings, the priest should submit to the king (1 Sam. 2:35-36). Hence, what King David did with his followers was not illegal. Now by the coming of Christ, the dispensation was also changed, this time from the age of the law to the age of grace, in which Christ was above all. Whatever He did was right. The matter of keeping the Sabbath belonged to the old dispensation of the law. But in the age of grace Christ has the final word. It is not a matter of the law, but of Christ. Therefore, the Lord seemed to be saying to the Pharisees, “You shouldn’t condemn Me or My disciples. It is no longer the law that gives the final word, but I, the Christ, I give you the final word. I am the real King, the real David. I am also the Christ who has brought in the dispensation of grace. Thus, whatever I say or do is the final decision.” Supposedly the Pharisees knew the Bible, but here they clearly lost the case. How strong was the Lord’s defense!