Mark 2:25

25 "Have you never read," Jesus replied, "what David did when the necessity arose and he and his men were hungry:

Mark 2:25 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 2:25

And he said unto them
By way of answer to their question, and which was a full one, and enough to silence them:

have ye never read what David did;
referring to the history in ( 1 Samuel 21:1-15 ) .

when he had need:
of bread, was in great necessity, and in the utmost distress:

and was an hungered, he, and they that were with him?
which was a justifiable reason for what he and his company did; as it was for the action of the disciples; being in a like case, and therefore very appropriate to the purpose; (See Gill on Matthew 12:3).

Mark 2:25 In-Context

23 One Sabbath He was walking through the wheatfields when His disciples began to pluck the ears of wheat as they went.

24 So the Pharisees said to Him, "Look! why are they doing what on the Sabbath is unlawful?"

25 "Have you never read," Jesus replied, "what David did when the necessity arose and he and his men were hungry:

26 how he entered the house of God in the High-priesthood of Abiathar, and ate the Presented Loaves--which none but the priests are allowed to eat--and gave some to his men also?"

27 And Jesus said to them: "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath;