The Question I Couldn’t Answer
Q: Regarding Luke 6:3-4, why did Jesus say David “and those who were with him” entered the house of God and ate the showbread, when Jesus knew that David was alone? This always baffled me.
Luke 6:3-4 (very parallel accounts in Matthew 12:3-4 and Mark 2:25-26)
But Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?”
A: So, here’s the situation. Jesus is defending His disciples against the accusation that they broke the Sabbath as they walked through or near a field and took some grain from stalks of wheat, rubbed it in their hands and popped them into their mouths.
When the disciples did what they did, in the eyes of the religious leaders they were guilty of reaping, threshing, winnowing, and preparing food. To those religious leaders, there were therefore four violations of the Sabbath in every mouthful.
Jesus defended His disciples with an appeal to 1 Samuel 21, where David received the holy bread – the showbread, the bread of God’s tabernacle – because he was on the run from King Saul who wanted to murder him, and he was hungry.
Here’s the issue: in the 1 Samuel 21 account, David told the high priest that he had companions with him, and that the bread was for both David and his companions. But this was almost certainly a lie. The context of this 1 Samuel 21 account – what comes before and after – argues strongly that David lied to the high priest, telling the priest that he had companions nearby when he really didn’t.
So, the question is: why did Jesus say, [3] what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him? Why did Jesus say, [4] and also gave some to those with him?
The way Jesus refers to the story, it makes it sound like David did have companions with him, but when I read the 1 Samuel text, it sounds like David did not have companions with him.
What do we do in these situations? I look to Bible commentaries to see if I can find some help. First, I look to my own commentary – so I looked it up.
- Yes, the 1 Samuel 21 text makes it seem like David was alone and that he lied to the high priest.
- No, I don’t mention the issue of what Jesus said about those who were with him in Luke 6, Matthew 12, or Mark 2. Not at all!
OK, so I don’t say anything about it. What about other guys? So, I looked it up in a bunch of commentaries.
Luke 6:3-4 commentaries consulted:
RCH Lenski
Leon Morris
Robert Stein
Howard Marshall
John Trapp
Bob Utley
Adam Clarke
Matthew 12:3-4 commentaries consulted:
Craig Blomberg
RT France
Leon Morris
RCH Lenski
Matthew Poole
John Trapp
Bob Utley
Adam Clarke
Mark 2:25-26 commentaries consulted:
James Brooks
- Alan Cole
RT France
James Edwards
RCH Lenski
John Trapp
Bob Utley
Adam Clarke
The only guy I found who said anything about it was Bob Utley on Luke. Dr. Utley didn’t really answer the question, but at least he mentioned the issue:
‘“And gave it to his companions” This phrase is repeated in all three Synoptic Gospels (cf. Matt. 12:3; Mark 2:25). This is the implication of 1 Samuel 21, but in reality, David was lying about having companions. He apparently did this to protect the priests at Nob whom he knew Saul would retaliate against. David’s companions, as well as other disgruntled Israelites, did not join him until 1 Sam. 22:1.’
At the end of it all, the commentaries really gave me no help. Let’s remember Christine’s question:
Regarding Luke 6:3-4, why did Jesus say David “and those who were with him” entered the house of God and ate the showbread, when Jesus knew that David was alone? This always baffled me.
Some Interpretive Possibilities
- Jesus didn’t know the 1 Samuel passage as well as we do.
- Jesus made a momentary mistake.
- Jesus knew the 1 Samuel passage better than we do, and there really were companions with David even though the 1 Samuel text makes it seem like there were not companions with him.
- Jesus phrased it this way for a deliberate purpose.
I would pick the fourth possibility, that Jesus phrased it this way for a deliberate purpose. I would say that Jesus said this emphasize that He was in the place of David in this account. While David only claimed to have companions, Jesus really did.
Jesus knew that David didn’t have any companions with him, but Jesus did have companions with Him, His disciples. That’s why Jesus phrased it along the lines of what David claimed to the priest, instead of the truth of the situation.
Conclusion
I’m only moderately satisfied with this explanation! To me, there is still something of a mysterious “Why did Jesus say that?” aspect to this passage. I think the explanation I gave is “ok,” but not “great.”
Does this diminish my confidence in the Bible at all? Not in any way.
- This is a relatively small matter, so it’s not a big deal to me.
- The greatness and the majesty of the Bible is not – for me – diminished in any way by such difficulties.
- I’m not amazed that people can find “problems” here and there in the Bible. What does amaze me is that they miss the glory, the greatness, and the majesty of it.