The second case is found in Matthew 12:1-8. “At that time Jesus went on the Sabbath through the grainfields; and His disciples were hungry and began to pick the ears and to eat. But the Pharisees seeing it said to Him, Behold, your disciples are doing what it is not lawful to do on the Sabbath. And He said to them, 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? Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbaths the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? Now I say to you that a greater than the temple is here. But if you had known what this is: I will have mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
This is a case that offends religion and is against religion. It is again a case of eating. It seems that eating is a troublesome matter. Jesus and His disciples went into the wheat field, and the disciples plucked the ears of wheat and ate to satisfy their hunger. This kind of eating was against the Pharisees’ religious regulation of the Sabbath. The Lord, however, did not care for that regulation.
We should not think that it was merely a coincidence that the Lord Jesus allowed His disciples to do such a thing on the Sabbath. No, He did it purposely against the Pharisees’ religion. It was quite offensive to them, and they came to Him and said, “It is not lawful.” The disciples were breaking the rules of the Pharisees’ religion; therefore, they told Him that the disciples were acting contrary to their religious regulation. They cared for their religious regulation, but they did not care for people’s hunger.
The Lord Jesus is the wisest one. We have seen how wonderful His answer was to the disciples of John concerning their question. Now let us see His answer to these religious people. Three main things are mentioned by Him: David, the temple, and the Sabbath. He clearly told the Pharisees that He is the greater temple, and also that He is the Lord of the Sabbath. There is no clear word telling them His relationship to David, but if we read the context we will realize that the Lord was truly saying that He is the real David. Because the Pharisees asked regarding eating on the Sabbath, the Lord Jesus referred to David and his followers. This indicates that He is the real David today and all His disciples are the followers of the real David.
According to the regulation of the Pharisees, people must keep the Sabbath, and they must keep it without eating this way. Jesus’ disciples, however, broke the sabbatical regulation by eating the wheat in the field. When the Pharisees said that this was unlawful, Jesus answered them by asking, “Have you not read what David did?” David and his followers went into the temple and ate the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat. The showbread was the food for the priests. Only priests were entitled to enjoy the showbread in the temple. David was an anointed king, but he was not a priest. Yet he went into the temple with his followers and ate the showbread and was not condemned.
This incident indicates that the dispensation had been changed. In the Old Testament, the dispensation of the priests was from Genesis to the time of Samuel. Even the great leaders, such as Joshua, were under the priests. However, due to their failure, the Lord turned the dispensation from that of the priests to the kings. David was the king who brought in the dispensation of the kingship. In this dispensation, the priests came under the kings. Thus, in the answer of the Lord Jesus to the religious people, there is the implication that the dispensation has been changed. When David came, the dispensation of the priests was over. Now the real David is here. To keep the Sabbath was a rule of the dispensation of the priests, but the dispensation of the priests is over. It is now the dispensation of the king; therefore, there is no need for anyone to keep the regulation of the old dispensation.
How was David able to eat the showbread in the temple and yet not break the law? The age had been changed. The Sabbath-keeping law was something of the dispensation of the priests, but now the dispensation of the king has come. This answer of the Lord Jesus reveals that He as the King has come; hence, there is no need to keep the religious regulations of the priests any longer.
In other words, where Christ is, there is no longer the need to keep the law. When we do not have Christ, we need to keep the laws. When Christ is absent, we need the regulations. When Christ Himself is here, however, all the regulations are gone. Without David, everyone needs to keep the regulations of the old dispensation. In that case, if we do not keep them, we are wrong. Since David is here, however, there is no need to keep the regulations. Nevertheless, this does not mean there should be lawlessness. It means neither to be lawful nor to be lawless, but rather to be “Christful.” If Christ tells us to keep the Sabbath, then we keep it. If He tells us to forget it, then we forget it. We are not lawful people; neither are we lawless people. We are “Christful” people. Again, it is not a matter of regulations or no regulations, but a matter of Christ.