The verb used for “go through” (παραπορεύεσθαι) is striking. It is not mentioned what Jesus “was going through.” Derrett¹ offers an interesting explanation. He assumes that Jesus was en route to another place. On the Sabbath, however, you often had to make a detour around towns that were passed along the way. If you were to enter a city or a town, you could not leave the area of rest surrounding that place on the Sabbath. Thus, you had to travel around the Sabbath area of such places and only enter a Sabbath area when you have arrived at the place you planned to remain that day, your “place of rest.” This explanation also shines a light on “going through the grainfields.” The normal way takes one past and through towns. But now they had to take paths through the open country and past the fields. In accordance with Palestine custom, grain was also scattered over these paths beside the fields and that meant that, as you walked along there was the danger that you could trample over heads of grain. But the disciples don’t let any ears go to waste. They rub the kernels out of the ears before they trample over the heads. During such a journey that is made to a more distant place, it makes sense that the disciples became hungry (Matthew 12:1) and that they ate the grain they rubbed out of the ears (Luke 6:1). This is not about a leisurely walk in the country, but about a trip on official business to a more distant work area on this Sabbath of preaching in Galilee. Jesus passes by because he is in transit in his Father’s service!²