2:23 {4} And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the {h} sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.
(4) Secondly, because they do not distinguish between the laws which God made concerning things, and the laws that they made concerning the same things, which are not at all based on the law.
(h) Literally, on the Sabbaths, that is, on the holy days.
2:23 He went through the corn fields on the sabbath. See notes on Mt 12:1-8. Compare Lu 6:1-11.
2:23 Mt 12:1; Lu 6:1.
2:23-28 The sabbath is a sacred and Divine institution; a privilege and benefit, not a task and drudgery. God never designed it to be a burden to us, therefore we must not make it so to ourselves. The sabbath was instituted for the good of mankind, as living in society, having many wants and troubles, preparing for a state of happiness or misery. Man was not made for the sabbath, as if his keeping it could be of service to God, nor was he commanded to keep it outward observances to his real hurt. Every observance respecting it, is to be interpreted by the rule of mercy.
