Mark 2:25-26. "Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who are with him: how he entered the house of God ... and ate the bread of the Presence which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who are with him?"

This is Jesus' response to the Pharisees who question the lawfulness of the disciples picking and eating grain on the Sabbath. Jesus concludes his statement by saying "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath, so the Son of man is lord even of the Sabbath." (Mark 2:27).

It always helps to remember what the point is. We can fall into such routine with following God's laws that we either don't think about them too much, and so don't get the benefit they are meant to give us, or we think about them too much, and they become the entire point, so we still don't get the benefit they are meant to give us.

The Pharisees are guilty of the latter problem. The law has become almost an idol to them - they enforce it with great particularity as if it is the point itself. It is not. The point is bringing man closer to and into right relationship with God. It is unlawful to work on the Sabbath because God knows us well enough to know we will eventually slide back into working every day of the week and not enjoy the one day of the week that is set aside to be with Him. We will not get the benefit of a relationship with God if we see our worship of Him as just one more duty in another day of work. The disciples, though, are enjoying their time with God, they are with Jesus Himself, He is the focus of their day. But even if the Pharisees did not see Jesus as God, Jesus reminds them of the story of David eating the bread of Presence, showing them that the law is meant to help man, not punish him.

When a conflict between the law and man's good arises, God prefers man's good to the law. Man's good includes enjoying being in the presence of God and coming to know Him. When we are in His presence, God wants us to be enjoying His gifts, He loves to see us benefit from them, just as we love to see someone we love enjoying a gift we gave them.

The law is not an end in and of itself. It is a pathway to God, He is the end we are seeking. Picking and eating grain on the Sabbath, or eating the bread of Presence, is not unlawful when done in communion with God and His love for man. The Pharisees, and many of us, need to remember the reason for the law just as much as we remember the law itself.