What example from the law does Jesus refer to when he claims the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and remain guiltless?
Jesus notes that priests work in the temple on the Sabbath, yet are guiltless. The law allowed work for the sacrifices to be carried out on the Sabbath (Numbers 28:9–10). While David and his companions received the bread of the Presence as a special exception, priests actually regularly perform tasks in the temple that the Sabbath law would otherwise forbid, showing that the Sabbath command was never an end in itself but served a higher purpose: the salvation of God’s people and their anointed king, and the honour of the Lord, who dwells in his temple. True obedience to the Sabbath arises from this reverence for God and his king, not from rigid legalism.
In Matthew 12:5 Jesus points out that the priests themselves perform work in the temple on the Sabbath, yet that does not mean that they are guilty of breaking the law. The law expressly permitted work connected to the sacrifices to be carried out on the Sabbath (Numbers 28:9–10). While David and his companions received the bread of the Presence as a special exception, the priests actually regularly carried out tasks in the temple that the Sabbath law would otherwise have forbidden. This shows that the Sabbath command was never an end in itself but served a higher purpose: the salvation of God’s people and their anointed king, and the honour of the Lord, who dwells in his temple. True obedience to the Sabbath arises from this reverence for God and his king, not from a rigid legalism.1
5 Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless?