Mark 2:24-28
24 And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the Sabbath day that which is not lawful?
25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?
26 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shew bread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?
27 And he said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath:
28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.
The Lord of the Sabbath
Jesus is going far beyond a "plain reading" of Scripture in deducing that the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath from the historical record of Abiathar giving the shewbread to King David! Moreover his "Have ye never read. . . ?" accuses the Pharisees of not seeing its hidden meaning.
See Matthew 21:42, in which Jesus accuses devout Bible scholars in a similar way — "Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner. . . ".
Non-literal Meanings
Both of these passages are evidence that the Lord Jesus himself expected high level literacy to be applied to Scripture, beyond dogmatic "plain reading". The passages are of a different genres:
- The story of David and Abiathar is part of a historical narrative
- The rejected corner stone is metaphorical
Cf. the discussion at Questions if Genesis is not Literal: this verse is cited here.
Compare also the accusation of "lying" for example at John 12:32.
