Matius 12:1-8

Lord of the Sabbath

12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on a Sabbath. His ¹  disciples were hungry, and they began to pick heads of wheat ²  and eat them. 12:2 But when the Pharisees ³  saw this they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is against the law to do on the Sabbath.” 12:3 He ⁴  said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry – 12:4 how he entered the house of God and they ate ⁵  the sacred bread, ⁶  which was against the law ⁷  for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests? ⁸  12:5 Or have you not read in the law that the priests in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are not guilty? 12:6 I ⁹  tell you that something greater than the temple is here. 12:7 If ¹⁰  you had known what this means: ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice,’ ¹¹  you would not have condemned the innocent. 12:8 For the Son of Man is lord ¹²  of the Sabbath.”

Matius 21:23-27

The Authority of Jesus

21:23 Now after Jesus ¹³  entered the temple courts, ¹⁴  the chief priests and elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority ¹⁵  are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 21:24 Jesus ¹⁶  answered them, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 21:25 Where did John’s baptism come from? From heaven or from people?” ¹⁷  They discussed this among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 21:26 But if we say, ‘From people,’ we fear the crowd, for they all consider John to be a prophet.” 21:27 So ¹⁸  they answered Jesus, ¹⁹  “We don’t know.” ²⁰  Then he said to them, “Neither will I tell you ²¹  by what authority ²²  I am doing these things.

[12:1]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[12:1]  ² tn Or “heads of grain.” While the generic term στάχυς (stacus) can refer to the cluster of seeds at the top of grain such as barley or wheat, in the NT the term is restricted to wheat (L&N 3.40; BDAG 941 s.v. 1).

[12:2]  ³ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[12:3]  ⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[12:4]  ⁵ tc The Greek verb ἔφαγεν (efagen, “he ate”) is found in a majority of witnesses (Ì⁷⁰ C D L W Θ Ë^1,13 33 Ï latt sy co) in place of ἔφαγον (efagon, “they ate”), the wording found in א B pc. ἔφαγεν is most likely motivated by the parallels in Mark and Luke (both of which have the singular).

[12:4]  ⁶ tn Grk “the bread of presentation.”

[12:4]  sn The sacred bread refers to the “bread of presentation,” “showbread,” or “bread of the Presence,” twelve loaves prepared weekly for the tabernacle and later, the temple. See Exod 25:30; 35:13; 39:36; Lev 24:5-9. Each loaf was made from 3 quarts (3.5 liters; Heb “two tenths of an ephah”) of fine flour. The loaves were placed on a table in the holy place of the tabernacle, on the north side opposite the lampstand (Exod 26:35). It was the duty of the priest each Sabbath to place fresh bread on the table; the loaves from the previous week were then given to Aaron and his descendants, who ate them in the holy place, because they were considered sacred (Lev 24:9). See also Mark 2:23-28, Luke 6:1-5.

[12:4]  ⁷ sn Jesus’ response to the charge that what his disciples were doing was against the law is one of analogy: “If David did it for his troops in a time of need, then so can I with my disciples.” Jesus is clear that on the surface there was a violation here. What is not as clear is whether he is arguing a “greater need” makes this permissible or that this was within the intention of the law all along.

[12:4]  ⁸ sn See 1 Sam 21:1-6.

[12:6]  ⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[12:7]  ¹⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[12:7]  ¹¹ sn A quotation from Hos 6:6 (see also Matt 9:13).

[12:8]  ¹² tn The term “lord” is in emphatic position in the Greek text.

[12:8]  sn A second point in Jesus’ defense of his disciples’ actions was that his authority as Son of Man also allowed it, since as Son of Man he was lord of the Sabbath.

[21:23]  ¹³ tn Grk “he.”

[21:23]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “the temple.”

[21:23]  ¹⁵ tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ.1

[21:24]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “answering, Jesus said to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:25]  ¹⁷ tn The plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is used here (and in v. 26) in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NAB, NRSV, “of human origin”; TEV, “from human beings”; NLT, “merely human”).

[21:25]  sn The question is whether John’s ministry was of divine or human origin.

[21:27]  ¹⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “So” to indicate that the clause is a result of the deliberations of the leaders.

[21:27]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “answering Jesus, they said.” This construction is somewhat awkward in English and has been simplified in the translation.

[21:27]  ²⁰ sn Very few questions could have so completely revealed the wicked intentions of the religious leaders. Jesus’ question revealed the motivation of the religious leaders and exposed them for what they really were – hypocrites. They indicted themselves when they cited only two options and chose neither of them (“We do not know”). The point of Matt 21:23-27 is that no matter what Jesus said in response to their question, they were not going to believe it and would in the end use it against him.

[21:27]  ²¹ sn Neither will I tell you. Though Jesus gave no answer, the analogy he used to their own question makes his view clear. His authority came from heaven.

[21:27]  ²² tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ. This is exactly the same phrase as in v. 23.