Lord of the Sabbath
One by one, the disciples followed Jesus through the fields of grain as the winds gently breezed. As their hunger grew, the disciples could not wait any longer and they began to harvest grain to eat.
When the Pharisees saw that the disciples were going to eat grain in the fields, they immediately accused them of breaking the Sabbath.
“Look! Your disciples are not keeping the Sabbath day holy because they are harvesting and eating the grain in the field!” They yelled to Jesus.
The Savior quickly defended the disciples and corrected the Pharisees of their narrow-minded thinking.
“Did you not read about David when he was hungry with his people?” Jesus asked.
The Pharisees seemed perplexed but continued to listen.
“David went into the temple and ate the bread that was meant for the priests, and the priests only,” He continued. “Or, haven’t you read in the Law that the priests working in the temple on the Sabbath are held blameless?”
With nothing to say, the Pharisees stood in front of Christ and His disciples and heard His words.
“This place, where I stand, is greater than the temple,” Jesus said. “I am above your laws, and if you understand what I just said to you all, I expect you to have mercy, not sacrifice, towards the innocent people.”
“I am the Lord of the Sabbath,” He declared.