Chapter 12 of Matthew is thick with conflict, and it continues to get thicker. The scandalous challenge to the King’s Authority was first seen in the rejection of His Prophet (John the Baptist, Matt. 11) and now in the rejection of His Principles (Matt 12). The main principle that Jesus’s enemies attach here was His violation of their traditions surrounding the Sabbath. Jesus gives three illustrations and a demonstration to declare without uncertainty that He alone is “Lord of the Sabbath” (Matt. 12:8).