Jesus, David, Roadtrip Food and the Kingdom of God
[1] On a Sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. [2] But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” [3] And Jesus answered them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: [4] how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?” [5] And he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
Luke 6:1–5 ESV
When Jesus compares His activities to something in the Old Testament, there is usually a huge extra backstory that you can find if you go back and read the details of that event. In this case, the Pharisees are mad that Jesus and His disciples are harvesting grain, preparing it, and eating it on the Sabbath. The Sabbath regulations the Pharisees made up after the Babylonian captivity didn’t allow harvesting (work) or preparing (work) or eating without washing your hands (uncleanliness). These guys have become triple play sinners in just one walk through a field!
When accused, Jesus asks if they have read about King David. (This would have been really offensive to those guys. They prided themselves on memorizing all of the scriptures, so this would be condescending to say “didn’t you read…?”) Before King David was crowned king, he was on the run for his life. He had a following of men that went into exile with him before he actually became king.
While on the run, they stopped to see the High Priest Ahimelech and asked him for some food. The only food that he had was the leftover show-bread used in the sacrifices and rituals of the Levites before God. This bread was only to be eaten by Levites and their families, because it was holy.
In 1 Samuel 21 it says that Ahimelech consulted with God, and that God said it was OK to feed that bread to David and his men. They ate it, and then hurried on their way. Just like David was already annointed as king but had not yet claimed his crown, Jesus is here, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, and has yet to claim His crown. He is on a mission (just like David was) and is not concerned with the approval of men or the made-up extras of the law. Jesus said elsewhere that He did only what He saw the Father doing and He healed and preached on the Sabbath. Jesus was the boss of the Sabbath day, and He repeatedly tried to make that clear to the Pharisees.
Jesus didn’t want to come out and tell them He was their King. That would rile the Romans and over-excite His followers. In one conversation Jesus disarmed the extra sabbath laws, emphasized the relationship with God that God desires over the Law, and proclaimed Himself the now and not-yet king over Israel and the world.
(Extra-Credit: What else did David take from Ahimelech? How does that fit in with what Jesus did next?)
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