“How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?”
The full verse · Mark 2:26 · KJV
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Asked by
Jesus: the Son of God and promised Messiah, answering the Pharisees' charge against His disciples from the story of David (Mark 2:24-25)
Asked to
Pharisees: the Jewish religious party known for strict keeping of the law, who had accused His disciples of doing what was not lawful on the sabbath (Mark 2:24)
The Scene
Answering the Pharisees' complaint about His disciples plucking corn on the sabbath, Jesus has begun to remind them of what David did when he was hungry (Mark 2:24-25).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionThis verse completes the question Jesus began in Mark 2:25. Each detail makes David's act bolder: he went into the house of God, he ate bread that was lawful only for the priests, and he gave it to his men too. Yet Scripture did not condemn him. Barnes sums up the point: "David, among the Jews, had high authority. This act had passed uncondemned" (on Matthew 12:3). Barnes draws the conclusion: "so the necessity of the disciples justified them" (on Matthew 12:3).
The Response
What Scripture recordsThe Pharisees give no answer. Jesus draws the conclusion Himself: "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath" (Mark 2:27-28). In Matthew's account He also points to the priests who "profane the sabbath, and are blameless," and says, "in this place is one greater than the temple" (Matthew 12:5-6).
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsThe shewbread was twelve loaves set "in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD." They were set out "Every sabbath," and they belonged to "Aaron's and his sons'," to be eaten "in the holy place" (Leviticus 24:5-9). The Greek phrase is artoi tēs protheseōs, "loaves of the setting forth," which is why the ESV calls it "the bread of the Presence."
1 Samuel 21:1 names the priest who gave David the bread as Ahimelech, so readers often ask why Mark says "in the days of Abiathar." Abiathar was Ahimelech's son and escaped to David after Saul killed the priests of Nob (1 Samuel 22:20). Barnes writes that "Ahimelech was high priest at the time," and that "The probable reason as to why Mark says it was in the days of 'Abiathar' is that Abiathar was better known than Ahimelech." Gill offers several possible readings: the event happened in the days of Abiathar, "though it was before he was an high priest," or Abiathar may have been acting as his father's deputy.
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyJesus used a story about holy bread to show that God's holy things serve His mercy. The bread set apart for the priests fed a hungry man and his companions, and God's Word recorded it without rebuke. The sabbath, also holy, was "made for man" (Mark 2:27).
The story leads to a claim about Jesus Himself. Having shown that David's need was met, He declared, "the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath" (Mark 2:28). Barnes says Christ "had a right to direct the manner of its observance" and calls this an "undoubted proof that he is divine" (in his notes on Matthew 12).
Look Closer
Under the Law, who was allowed to eat the shewbread?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Lord, Your Word did not condemn David for eating holy bread in his need; whose needs are You asking me to see more clearly?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- The Pharisees quickly saw a rule broken but did not see hungry men. What keeps us from noticing the needs of people we are tempted to criticize?
- Share a time someone set aside their own convenience to meet a need of yours.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
God's holy things are meant to serve His mercy. When you think about worship, church life, and spiritual habits, remember that God gave them for people's good.
When you see someone break a standard you care about, look for the need behind the act before you speak.
This does not mean holiness no longer matters. The shewbread was still holy, and Jesus called Himself "Lord also of the sabbath" (Mark 2:28), not its abolisher. He is the One who decides how holy things are used.
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources
Keep questioning
“Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?”
“How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone?”
“Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him”
“Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?”