Have you not read what David did
David was the rightful heir to the throne of Israel but Saul was pursuing him with the goal of putting him to death. So too was Jesus the rightful heir to the throne, the Davidic Messiah who had at last appeared, who was now being pursued by the Pharisees. By comparing himself to David, Jesus indicated that the normal demands of the law ought to yield to the needs of the persecuted king. But there was more.
How he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering,
which only the priests could lawfully eat,
ate of it, and shared it with his companions?
It was legitimate to do the work of a priest on the sabbath, as did those who served in the house of God and ate the bread of offering. The true Davidic king was also a priestly figure in the mold of the mysterious Melchizedek who was both priest and king. The mission of Jesus as the Messiah thus had precedent in the life of David. Since David's kingship had a priestly character it was fitting for he and his companions to share in the show bread that was otherwise reserved for temple priests. And it was altogether fitting for such priests to do their work on the sabbath. Thus it was entirely appropriate for Jesus himself and his disciples to pursue the mission of the Kingdom as they did.
Jesus was perhaps also hinting at a deeper level at which his own mission was to be a priestly mission. The words "took", "bread", and "shared" occur in combination later at the feeding of the five thousand and at the Last Supper (see Luke 9:16, 22:19).¹
Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”
In claiming that Jesus himself was something greater than the temple and the lord of the sabbath, Jesus went beyond appropriating for himself the mere precedent of David. For David was not greater than the temple. Nor was he the lord of the sabbath. Indeed, no character in all of scripture, no mere mortal could make such claims. Such statements could only be properly understood as claims of the divinity of Jesus. The one greater than the temple was the one to whom worship in the temple was dedicated. The lord of the sabbath was the one who established the sabbath and made it holy. The way in which David was a priest, prophet, and king merely foreshadowed and hinted at the way in which his Messianic heir would be both fully human and fully divine. The importance of the kingship of David was just a dim shadow of the way in which God intended to bless the world through the kingship of Jesus. Not only was the sabbath not opposed to that mission but it could never achieve its full purpose of communion between God and man without that mission. If the sabbath was meant for rest, it was a rest that could ultimately only be attained by coming to Jesus himself to find it.
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (see Matthew 11:28).
1) Gadenz, Pablo T.. The Gospel of Luke (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture): (A Catholic Bible Commentary on the New Testament by Trusted Catholic Biblical Scholars - CCSS) (p. 123). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
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