“Or haue yee not read in the law, how that on the Sabbath dayes the Priests in the Temple profane the Sabbath, and are blamelesse?”
1611 King James Version (KJV)
12:5 The priests in the temple profane the Sabbath - That is, do their ordinary work on this, as on a common day, cleansing all things, and preparing the sacrifices. A greater than the temple - If therefore the Sabbath must give way to the temple, much more must it give way to me.
Mt 12:5 The priests . . . profane the sabbath. The Sabbath was the busiest day of the week for the priests in the temple service. In this they rightly broke the ordinary Sabbath law, because the temple service set aside the law. Compare Joh 7:22,23.