“Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?”
The full verse · Matthew 12:5 · KJV
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Asked by
Jesus: the Son of God and promised Messiah, who went through the corn on the sabbath day with His disciples (Matthew 12:1)
Asked to
Pharisees: members of the strict Jewish religious party who told Jesus His disciples were doing "that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day" (Matthew 12:2)
The Scene
Still answering the Pharisees' charge that His disciples broke the sabbath, Jesus turns from David's story to the Law's commands for the priests (Matthew 12:2-5).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionJesus' second example came from the Law itself, which the Pharisees prized most. Every sabbath the priests had to offer extra lambs (Numbers 28:9-10), which meant work, yet no one called them guilty. Barnes explains that they were blameless because their work was necessary and commanded. Gill shows that the Jewish teachers themselves agreed, quoting their sayings that "that which is forbidden to be done on the sabbath, is lawful to be done in the sanctuary," and "slaying drives away the sabbath." The question prepares for Jesus' next words: if temple service outweighs sabbath rest, what about service to One greater than the temple?
The Response
What Scripture recordsThe Pharisees do not reply. Jesus states where His question was leading: "But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple" (Matthew 12:6). He tells them, "if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless" (Matthew 12:7). He closes, "For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day" (Matthew 12:8).
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsThe Law required that "on the sabbath day two lambs of the first year without spot" be offered, "beside the continual burnt offering" (Numbers 28:9-10). That meant slaughter, fire, and labor in the temple every sabbath.
"Profane" translates bebeloo, which Thayer defines as "to profane, desecrate." "Blameless" is anaitios, "guiltless, innocent." Jesus uses the same word two sentences later for His disciples: "ye would not have condemned the guiltless" (Matthew 12:7). Gill cites the Jewish rules quoted above to show that sabbath work for the sanctuary was accepted by the rabbis themselves.
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyThis question reveals who Jesus is. The temple was the holiest place in Israel, and its service took priority even over sabbath rest. Then Jesus says, "in this place is one greater than the temple" (Matthew 12:6). Barnes explains Jesus' meaning as, "I have power over the laws: I can grant to my disciples a dispensation from the Jewish laws."
Jesus also reaches back to the prophets for God's heart: "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice" (Matthew 12:7; Hosea 6:6). The disciples, serving the One greater than the temple, were as guiltless as the priests. The sabbath was not abolished; it has a Lord, and He is "the Son of man" (Matthew 12:8).
Look Closer
Why were the priests "blameless" though they worked on the sabbath?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Lord Jesus, You are greater than the temple and Lord of the sabbath; what would it look like for my rest and my work to center on You?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- The priests' sabbath work was service to God. How do you tell the difference between busyness and serving God?
- Jesus said God desires mercy more than sacrifice. Share a time an act of mercy showed you more of God than a religious routine did.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
Jesus, not the rules around worship, is the center of worship. When you serve Him and show mercy, you are doing what the temple and the sabbath were always pointing toward (Matthew 12:6-7).
This doesn't make rest unimportant. Jesus did not deny the sabbath; He named Himself its Lord (Matthew 12:8), and Mark records Him saying, "The sabbath was made for man" (Mark 2:27). Rest is a gift from Him, received in His way.
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources
Keep questioning
“Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him”
“How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?”
“Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?”
“Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days?”