At this the Pharisees said to him,
“Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?”
The Pharisees may have seemed in their own eyes to be upholding a strict interpretation of the law. They equated the hand-plucking of the grains (explicitly allowed in Deuteronomy 23:24) with the reaping of fields, which was among the kinds of work prohibited on the Sabbath (see Exodus 34:21). Jesus himself did not directly challenge their interpretation. His response wasn't a matter of simply saying, 'You're being too strict.' Rather, he choose a different strategy to exonerate the actions of the disciples.
“Have you never read what David did
when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry?
How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest
and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat,
and shared it with his companions?”
David was anointed for the mission God had entrusted him, destined to rule over the Kingdom of Israel. First he had to survive persecution at the hands of Saul. Jesus was also anointed to rule over the Kingdom of David, not just for a lifetime, but forever (see Luke 1:32-33). Jesus too first faced the persecution of those who rejected his royal claim. It was this royal mission that entitled both David and Jesus a share in priestly exemption from work in the Sabbath. For it was not just any work they were about. It was the Lord's own work. We begin to see a hint of the convergence of the identity of priest and king and one person, first in David in a lesser way, then, perfectly in Jesus, high priest in the order of Melchizedek (see Psalm 110:4, Hebrews 7:17)
It is interesting the strategy Jesus chose to respond to the Pharisees. Most of us would probably have simply argued they were being too strict and rigid, that they were interpreting the law in a way that suited them so they could condemn as they decided in advance to do. But Jesus wasn't interested in whether something was too strict as much as whether first things were first, whether it was ultimately the Kingdom that was being pursued.
Then he said to them,
“The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.
That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”
The sabbath was not meant to be used as a bludgeon to condemn those who violated it. It was rather meant to be an occasion of rest, communion, and fellowship. It was ordered toward deepening of relationship, first with God, then with one's neighbor. But notice, Jesus didn't simply say it was OK to pursue one's own ends on the sabbath. He didn't risk the loss of the sanctity of the day by reducing it to something merely common or secular. He argued instead that the sabbath could no longer be understood without reference to him. The sabbath was made for man and only the Son of Man knew perfectly what made for human flourishing. Left to ourselves we would to err on the side of being too strict or not strict enough because we would be referencing something other than Jesus as the archetype of the fulfilled human being. Only Jesus can show us how great a blessing the sabbath can be. This we will discover only when we, like he and his disciples, finally begin to seek first the Kingdom.
“The LORD has not chosen any one of these.”
There are many options presented to us that seem good according to human modes of thinking. But sometimes, choosing one, we settle for less than the Lord intends. We should strive instead to be open enough to wait on the Lord for indication own decision. He may point us toward something which we ignored, neglected, or ruled out a priori. Proceeding with our best judgment is something we should only do in matters of import after we give the Lord a chance to speak.
There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said to Jesse,
“Send for him;
we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here.
The Lord judges the heart. David was one after God's own heart, and in that way foreshadowed Jesus himself whose bread was to do the will of the Father (see John 4:34). We tend, like Pharisees, to fixate on the externals and on appearance. This can make us miss opportunities to receive anointing and can disorient us as we try to seek his Kingdom. There is no science, system, rules, or philosophy that can substitute for placing Jesus himself at the center of our lives. To do so means to be willing to detach from the substitutes the world offers us. It often means waiting on the Lord to show us what his will is for us. The waiting proves to us that it isn't something we could produce for ourselves. But the result fits the lock as only the key designed to open it could fit.
Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand,
anointed him in the midst of his brothers;
and from that day on, the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.
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