While he was going through a field of grain on a sabbath, his disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. 2 Some Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?” 3 Jesus said to them in reply, “Have you not read what David did when he and those [who were] with him were hungry? 4 [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.” 5 Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”
The disciples are walking through a field on the Sabbath, picking heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. The Law permitted a traveler to pluck grain by hand from another person’s field, but some Pharisees regarded the disciples’ rubbing of the grain as a form of harvesting and therefore as work forbidden on the Sabbath. Their concern was not trivial. The Sabbath was established by God as a day of worship and rest and had become an important sign of Israel’s covenant relationship with Him (Gen. 2:2–3; Exod. 20:8–11). Deliberately profaning the Sabbath was regarded so seriously in the Law that it could carry the penalty of death (Exod. 31:14–15; Num. 15:32–36).
Jesus answers their accusation by recalling what David did when he and his companions were hungry. David entered the house of God and received the bread of offering, even though that sacred bread was ordinarily reserved for the priests (1 Sam. 21:1–6; Lev. 24:5–9). The immediate lesson is that God’s law is not opposed to genuine human need. But Jesus’ reference to David also points beyond the question of hunger. David was Israel’s anointed king, but Jesus is the promised Son of David and the Messiah. As the Messiah, Jesus possesses an authority greater than David’s—an authority that He now reveals by declaring Himself Lord of the Sabbath.
Jesus then brings the controversy to its decisive point: “The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath” (v. 5). Earlier in Luke, Jesus called Himself the Son of Man when He declared His authority to forgive sins (Luke 5:24). The title also recalls Daniel’s vision of “one like a son of man” who receives from God dominion, glory, and kingship (Dan. 7:13–14). Here the same title is connected with authority over the Sabbath. Jesus is therefore doing more than settling a disagreement about how Sabbath regulations should be applied. He is revealing something about who He is.
The Sabbath belongs to God, who established it at creation and commanded Israel to keep it holy. Yet Jesus declares Himself its Lord. His authority does not abolish the Sabbath or make God’s law unimportant. Rather, because He possesses divine and messianic authority, He can reveal the Sabbath’s true meaning and place it within the saving mission of the Kingdom of God. The Sabbath is not above Jesus; it is subject to Him.
The dispute begins with a handful of grain, but it ends with a revelation of Christ’s identity. The Pharisees ask whether the disciples have acted unlawfully. Jesus leads them to a deeper question: Who is the Son of Man who can claim lordship over the Sabbath? Luke’s answer continues to unfold throughout the Gospel. Jesus is the promised Messiah whose authority surpasses that of David and whose words and actions reveal the authority of God Himself.
Lord Jesus, help us to recognize your authority and to receive your commands as the loving will of God. Teach us to understand your law according to its true purpose and to place our trust in you, the Lord who leads us into the freedom and rest of your Kingdom. Amen.
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Sources and References
- The New American Bible, Revised Edition. Washington, DC: Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 2011. Notes on Luke 6:1–5.
- Hahn, Scott, and Curtis Mitch. The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010. 117.
- Casciaro, Jose Maria, gen. ed. The Navarre Bible: New Testament, Expanded Edition. Dublin: Four Courts Press; New York: Scepter Publishers, 2008. 269.
- Brown, Raymond E., Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy, eds. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990. 693–694, para. 81.
- Gadenz, Pablo T. The Gospel of Luke. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2018. 122–123.
- Aguilar Chiu, Jose Enrique, et al., eds. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. New York: Paulist Press, 2018. 1052.
- Collins, John J., Gina Hens-Piazza, Barbara Reid, OP, and Donald Senior, CP, eds. The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century. 3rd fully rev. ed. London: T&T Clark, 2022. 1313.
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