Sabbath Observance. This incident occurs in the summer: the only clear reference to a season of the year in the gospel. The disciples offend by reaping on the Sabbath. The evangelist brings together two answers. The first admits the validity of the Law and pleads historic exceptions. The second lays down a general principle by which the Law is to be interpreted. The aim of the Law must be considered. On Mark 2:27 Sabatier comments: A saying, wonderful alike in its depth and its simplicity, which denies not only the Pharisaic idea of the Sabbath but also the scholastic idea of the Church and the absolutist notion of the State.
Mark 2:26. The reference to Abiathar is a mistake, probably due to the evangelist, possibly to a glossator. But the act of David is described with some traditional embellishments. David's entry into the sanctuary and the presence of his companions are suppositions not necessarily involved in 1 Samuel 21:1-7 (Loisy, p. 101).
Mark 2:27. And he said unto them: a simple formula frequently prefixed to detailed sayings of Jesus, and often used by Mk. to link together utterances which came to him isolated in tradition; cf. Mark 4:11; Mark 4:13, Mark 7:9; Mark 9:1.
Mark 2:28. If Son of Man (Mark 8:31 *, p. 691) be Messianic, the verse is best taken as representing the evangelist's conclusion. The alternative is that it means man.