Jesus deliberately notes that David had to enter the tabernacle before eating the bread of penance to stress how the matter of the bread of the Presence was, at the same time, a matter of the entire tabernacle, as if the tabernacle was less important than David himself at that moment, and as if the house of God stood in the service of the Lord’s anointed. By phrasing it this way, Jesus transitions smoothly to a second example, found only in Matthew’s Gospel.
It is striking that Jesus in Matthew 12:4 specifically emphasizes that David had to enter the house of God before eating the bread of penance. He does so purposefully in order to highlight that the matter of the bread of the Presence became, at the same time, a matter of the entire tabernacle. When desecrating the tabernacle, David behaved as if the temple was less important than he himself was at that moment, and as if the house of God stood in the service of the anointed of the Lord. By phrasing it this way he ensures a smooth transition to a second example, which is only found in the Gospel of Matthew.1
3 Mais Jésus leur répondit: N'avez-vous pas lu ce que fit David, lorsqu'il eut faim, lui et ceux qui étaient avec lui;