The works of the reverend and faithful servant of Jesus Christ M. Richard Greenham,…The workes of the reuerend and faithfull seruant af Iesus Christ M. Richard Greenham,…

Now it remaineth in like manner to consider of their arguments, which they take out¹ of the new Testament, and that either out of the history of Christ, or from the writings of his holy Apostles. And because the four Evangelists agree in one harmony, we will briefly reduce all their reasons into one or two principal places, namely, Matth. 12. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Mark 2. 27. In Matth. 12. it is said: At that time Jesus went on a Sabbath day through the corn, and his Disciples were hungry, and began to pluck the ear of corn and to eat. 2. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold thy disciples do that which ²is not lawful to do upon the Sabbath. 3. But he said unto them; Have ye not heard what David did when he was an hungered, and they that were with him? 4. How he entered into the house of God and eat the show bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the Priests? 5. Or have ye not read in the Law, how that on the Sabbath days, the Priests in the Temple brake the Sabbath and are blameless? 6. But I say unto you, that here is one greater than the Temple. 7. Wherefore if ye knew what this is, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the innocents. 8. For the son of man is Lord, even of the Sabbath. The occasion of this doctrine of Christ is, that he going abroad to preach with his Disciples, they for hunger pulled the ears of corn. Hereof arose by the Pharisees this Controversy, who accused the Disciples for travelling on the Sabbath day, as though they had done a work on the Sabbath, which was not lawful to de done, because the Law said, that no man should travail on that day. Our Saviour Christ hearing this accusation, ⟨p. 143⟩defendeth his Disciples: whereof some conclude, that our Saviour here abrogated the Sabbath.³ But what could they have forged more untrue? For if, as they say, he now had abrogated the Sabbath, then our Saviour Christ did not obey every part of the ceremonies unto death: which to affirm, let them tell the danger of it. Nay rather according to the judgement of the better learned we affirm, that Christ is so far off from speaking against the Sabbath in this place, that he setteth down the pure observation of the same against them, who perversely and untruly did judge of it.