ISB ~ Matthew 12 v3

have you not read:An insult to the intellectual pride of the Pharisees. Jesus uses the question to humble learned leaders who lack childlike faith (12:5; 19:4; 21:16, 42; 22:31).

• Jesus draws on the parallels between 1 Sam 21:1-6 and his own situation. As David’s companions were hungry (12:1), so were the disciples; as David was heir to the united kingdom of Israel, so Jesus is the son of David. He thus implies that if his disciples are in sin, then David himself would stand guilty—a conclusion nowhere suggested in the OT. This is the first premise of Jesus’ response to the Pharisees. See note on Mt 12:7.