.

2. The Unnamed Feast.--There has been no little discussion as to the
particular festival referred to in John 5:1, at the time of which Jesus
healed the cripple at the pool of Bethesda. Many writers hold that it
was the Passover, others that it was the feast of Purim, or some other
Jewish celebration. The only semblance of importance attaching to the
question is the possibility of learning from the fact, if it could be
proved, something of the chronological order of events at this period of
our Lord's life. We are not told which feast this was, neither the year
nor the time of the year when it occurred. The miracle wrought on the
occasion, and the doctrinal discourse delivered as a result thereof,
depend for their value in no degree on the determination of date.

3. Shewbread.--The name means "bread of the presence," signifying that
it was placed in the presence of Jehovah. The bread so sanctified
consisted of twelve loaves, made without leaven. They were to be
deposited in the Holy Place in two columns of six loaves each. Zenos, in
_Stand. Bible Dict._ writes: "They were allowed to remain there for a
whole week, at the end of which period they were removed, and eaten by
the priest upon holy ground, i.e. within the precincts of the sanctuary.
For other persons than priests to eat of the loaves of the shewbread was
regarded as sacrilegious, for they were 'holy.'" See Exo. 25:30; Lev.
24:5-9; 1 Sam. 21:1-6.

4. The Sabbath Was Made for Man and Not Man for the Sabbath.--Edersheim
(vol. i, pp. 57, 58) says: "When on his flight from Saul, David had,
'when an hungered,' eaten of the shewbread and given it to his
followers, although, by the letter of the Levitical law, it was only to
be eaten by the priests. Jewish tradition vindicated his conduct on the
plea that 'danger to life superseded the Sabbath law,' and hence, all
laws connected with it.... In truth, the reason why David was blameless
in eating the shewbread was the same as that which made the Sabbath
labor of the priests lawful. The Sabbath law was not one merely of rest,
but of rest for worship. The service of the Lord was the object in view.
The priests worked on the Sabbath, because this service was the object
of the Sabbath; and David was allowed to eat of the shewbread, not
[solely] because there was danger to life from starvation, but because
he pleaded that he was on the service of the Lord, and needed this
provision. The disciples, when following the Lord