Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 12:1

"At that season Jesus went on the sabbath day through the grainfields; and his disciples were hungry and began to pluck ears and to eat." — Matthew 12:1 (ASV)

At that time — St. Luke (Luke 6:1) defines the time more specifically as “the second first sabbath.” The question of what this term means will be discussed in the notes on that passage. The facts of the case place the event clearly between the Passover and the Feast of Pentecost, during the period between the beginning of the barley harvest and the end of the wheat harvest.

The position this narrative occupies in Mark 2:23 and Luke 6:1—immediately after the feast in Matthew’s house—differs so widely from St. Matthew’s arrangement that it is difficult to construct a harmony. We can only conclude that the words “at that time” refer to this event in a different context than the one in which Matthew has placed it.

Began to pluck the ears of corn — Note St. Mark’s stronger phrase, “to make a path, plucking the ears,” and St. Luke’s description that they ate them, “rubbing them in their hands.” The act was permitted by the Law regarding property rights (Deuteronomy 23:25), but it violated the Pharisees’ interpretation of the Sabbath law. To pluck the ears was considered reaping, and to rub the husks from the grain was considered threshing. Consequently, they thought the new Teacher was tacitly sanctioning a clear violation of the holiness of the day of rest.