I. All positive laws must yield to man's necessities. The law as a formal common element may be broken, yet its spirit may be honoured.
II. There is a relation of life to positive laws; there is a relation to moral law, which is higher and more exacting.
III. Christ shows that in all ages circumstances have arisen which have necessitated a violation of literal sabbatism. David ate the shew-bread, and the priests profaned the temple, and yet were guiltless.
Parker, Contemporary Pulpit,vol. viii., p. 120.
References: Mark 2:23. G. S. Coster, Christian World Pulpit,vol. xxiv., p. 134.Mark 2:21; Mark 2:22. D. Fraser, Metaphors in the Gospels,p. 106.