4. Authority over the Sabbath (2:23-28)

Jesus has previously shown his concern for outcasts; this story demonstrates fully his solidarity with them, for it casts him as a man religiously and socially unacceptable. He and his disciples are poor and must therefore take advantage of that portion of the harvest reserved for them (Dt 24:19-22). But in doing so, they break the Sabbath, the litmus test for taking holiness seriously according to many first-century Jews. Interestingly, however, Jesus places his reading of the OT over against that of the learned and “holy.” They are concerned with a literalistic interpretation of the Sabbath law (Ex 20:8); he is concerned with the character of the God of which the law is an expression. This is the God who heard Israel crying out in need and responded with deliverance. Jesus reminds them that human need is basic to God’s concerns.