And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”
Parallel translations
- WEB But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said to him, “Behold, your disciples do what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.”
- KJV But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
- BSB When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”
- NASB Now when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath!”
- NLT But some Pharisees saw them do it and protested, “Look, your disciples are breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The Pharisees accuse the disciples of breaking the Sabbath by harvesting. Their charge rests on man-made traditions rather than God's actual law.
Overview
The Pharisees regarded plucking grain as unlawful 'reaping,' a violation of their detailed Sabbath regulations. Their accusation exposes a legalism that multiplied burdens beyond Scripture. Jesus' coming reply will distinguish God's merciful intent for the Sabbath from the Pharisees' rigid traditions.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Matt 12:10And behold there was a man with a withered hand. They asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?” that they might accuse him.
- John 7:21–24Jesus answered them, “I did one work, and you all marvel because of it.
- Luke 14:3Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
- Exod 20:9–11You shall labor six days, and do all your work,
- Mark 3:2–5They watched him, whether he would heal him on the Sabbath day, that they might accuse him.
- Exod 31:15–17Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to Yahweh. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall surely be put to death.
- Luke 13:10–17He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath day.
- John 5:16–17For this cause the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill him, because he did these things on the Sabbath.
- John 9:14–16It was a Sabbath when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.
- Isa 58:13“If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, and the holy of Yahweh honorable; and shall honor it, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words:
- Exod 35:2‘Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of solemn rest to Yahweh: whoever does any work in it shall be put to death.
- John 5:9–11Immediately, the man was made well, and took up his mat and walked. Now it was the Sabbath on that day.
- Luke 6:6–11It also happened on another Sabbath that he entered into the synagogue and taught. There was a man there, and his right hand was withered.
- Num 15:32–36While the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day.
- Exod 23:12“Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant, and the alien may be refreshed.
- Luke 23:56They returned, and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 12:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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