“When the Pharisees saw it,
They said to Jesus.
‘Look!
Your disciples are doing
What is not lawful to do
On the sabbath!’”
οἱ δὲ Φαρισαῖοι ἰδόντες εἶπαν αὐτῷ Ἰδοὺ οἱ μαθηταί σου ποιοῦσιν ὃ οὐκ ἔξεστιν ποιεῖν ἐν σαββάτῳ.
Matthew has the Pharisees react to the disciples of Jesus plucking and eating grain on the Sabbath. This is similar to Mark, chapter 2:24, at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. It is also the same as Luke, chapter 6:2. Deuteronomy, chapter 25:24-25 stated that it was okay to pluck the ears with your hand, but you could not put a sickle to your neighbor’s standing grain or carry it away in a container. However, Exodus, chapter 34:21, explicitly said that you could not harvest grain on the Sabbath but did not mention hand picking. Thus, the Pharisees saw what had happened (οἱ δὲ Φαρισαῖοι ἰδόντες). They said to Jesus (εἶπαν αὐτῷ) that his disciples were doing unlawful things on the Sabbath by plucking and eating the grain (Ἰδοὺ οἱ μαθηταί σου ποιοῦσιν ὃ οὐκ ἔξεστιν ποιεῖν ἐν σαββάτῳ).
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 