When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”
The Jews had twisted the fourth commandment into a harsh strictness that Christ here corrects by His example. Works of necessity and mercy are lawful on the Sabbath; Christ's careful exposition proves the commandment stands firm for all ages, but His Church is freed from the rigid rules the Jewish elders had piled upon it.
AI summary
Commenting on Matthew 12:1-13
The Pharisees fastened on the Sabbath violation, not the plucking itself, that much was lawful by Moses' own law. What enraged them was doing it on the Sabbath; they classed plucking ears as reaping, a servile work worthy of stoning if done willfully. But their own law distinguished the two acts entirely.
AI summary
The Pharisees seized on this to condemn Christ, claiming the disciples had broken the commandment to rest. Moses forbade servile work on the Sabbath, yet on any other day plucking grain was plainly permitted. They worked backward from their desire to find fault.
AI summary