Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Matthew 12:5

"Or have ye not read in the law, that on the sabbath day the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are guiltless?" — Matthew 12:5 (ASV)

Jesus’ second appeal is from Nu 28:9–10. Formally speaking the Levitical priests “desecrate” the Sabbath every week, since the right worship of God in the temple required them to do some work (changing the consecrated bread [Leviticus 24:8] and offering the doubled burnt offering [Numbers 28:9–10]). In reality, of course, the priests were guiltless; the law that established the Sabbath also established the right of the priests to “desecrate” it.

But how does this apply to Jesus and his disciples? The form of the argument is valid only if the “one greater than the temple” is truly greater. So the question is: Who (or what) is greater than the temple? The most likely answer is that the “something greater” is either Jesus himself (the more likely interpretation; cf. 26:61) or the kingdom. In fact, the two merge. If the kingdom, it is the kingdom Jesus is inaugurating; if Jesus, it is not only Jesus as a man but as Messiah, Son of David (vv.3–4), Son of Man (v.8), the one who ushers in the Messianic Age.

Jesus’ argument, then, provides an instance from the law itself in which the Sabbath restrictions were superseded by the priests because their cultic responsibilities took precedence: the temple, as it were, was greater than the Sabbath. But now, Jesus claims, “something [NIV note] greater than the temple is here.” And that, too, takes precedence over the Sabbath. This solution is entirely consistent with what we have seen as Jesus’ attitude to the law in this gospel. The law points to him and finds its fulfillment in him . Not only, then, have the Pharisees mishandled the law by their traditions (vv.3–4), but they have failed to perceive who Jesus is. The authority of the temple laws shielded the priests from guilt; the authority of Jesus shields his disciples from guilt.