Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Matthew 12:8

"For the Son of man is lord of the sabbath." — Matthew 12:8 (ASV)

Again (cf. v.3) Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for their failure to understand the Scriptures (cf. Jn 5:39), particularly Hos 6:6 (cf. 9:13). Jesus claims, in effect, that the Pharisees had not really grasped the significance of the law. The accusers stand accused; the disciples are explicitly declared “innocent,” because the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. This claim is implicitly messianic; it places the Son of Man in a position to handle the Sabbath law any way he wills, or to supersede it in the same way that the temple requirements superseded the normal Sabbath restrictions (see comment on vv.5–6).