At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.
Ver. 1. Jesus went on the Sabbath day] St Luke calleth it "the second Sabbath after the first," Matthew 6:1, that is, the second anniversary or solemn feast from the first (δευτεροπρωτον), to wit, from the passover Sabbath, and this was Pentecost.
And his disciples were an hungred] Hereby he hardened and inured them to further and future trials: teaching them also to depend upon God's good providence for their necessary maintenance. The martyrs had their bread made of meal half mixed with sawdust.
To pluck the ears of corn and to eat] This was their best Sabbath day's dinner: may not we be glad of mean fare on any day, when our betters fared no better on so high a day? See my Common Place of Abstinence.