Matthew 12:1-7

Sabbath Questions

1 ¹At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to ²pick the heads of grain and eat.

2 But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples do what ³is not lawful to do on a Sabbath."

3 But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions *,

4 how he entered the house of God, and ⁴they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone?

5 "Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent?

6 "But I say to you that something ⁵greater than the temple is here.

7 "But if you had known what this means, '⁶I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,' you would not have condemned the innocent.

Cross References

• 1. Matthew 12:1-8: {Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5}
• 2. Deuteronomy 23:25
• 3. Matthew 12:10; Luke 13:14; Luke 14:3; John 5:10; John 7:23; John 9:16
• 4. 1 Samuel 21:6
• 5. 2 Chronicles 6:18; Isaiah 66:1, 2; Matthew 12:41, 42
• 6. Hosea 6:6; Matthew 9:13

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "occasion"
• [b]. Or "showbread;" lit "loaves of presentation"
• [c]. Or "profane"
• [d]. Lit "is"
• [e]. Or "mercy"