1. Matthew 12:5–6 (ESV)
  2. Unknown

How can Jesus compare walking through a grainfield on the Sabbath with service in the temple?

Matthew 12:5–6 (ESV)

5 Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless?

In short

Two views of how Jesus compares walking through a grainfield on the Sabbath with service in the temple:

  1. The grainfield is holy ground when he, the Holy One, leads his disciples through it. In this case, the plucking of grain serves the work of the Lord. In that work the apostles—as it were, priests of Jesus—are greater than the priests of old, so the disciples are not guilty, like priests who on the Sabbath offered sacrifices both against the law and allowed by the law (Numbers 28:9).

  2. Priests may work on the Sabbath because God desires sacrifices. How much more, then, may Jesus’ disciples of Jesus act on the Sabbath at that time (Matthew 12:1; Matthew 11:28–30), in the service of channeling God’s mercy through him. Jesus is not traveling for his own good, but to heal the sick and to preach the gospel to the poor. God’s purpose, to extend his merciful compassion to Israel, is worth more than temple sacrifices, so the Pharisees should have seen that the disciples were free to act as they did without guilt, even though their actions crossed Sabbath regulations.

Interpretation 1:
The grainfield becomes holy ground when he, the Holy One, leads his disciples through it. In this case, the plucking of grain is no longer servile labour; it serves the preservation of the work of the Lord. In that work the apostles—who are, as it were, priests of Jesus—are greater than the priests of old. The disciples are therefore not guilty, as were the priests who on the Sabbath offered sacrifices both against the law and yet at the same time according to the law (Numbers 28:9).1
Interpretation 2:
Priests are allowed to work on the Sabbath because the Lord desires sacrifices. How much more, then, may the disciples of Jesus act on the Sabbath in the service of channeling God’s mercy through him. Jesus is not traveling for his own benefit, but to heal the sick and to proclaim the gospel to the poor. God’s purpose at that time (Matthew 12:1; see Matthew 11:28–30) was to extend this merciful compassion to Israel. Such mercy is worth more than sacrifices in the temple. For that reason, the Pharisees should have recognized that the disciples were free to act as they did without guilt, even though their actions crossed Sabbath regulations.2