I'm not sure what is being asked about AUTOU, which could not mean "themselves"
because of the case. Probably making the distinction suggested is reading too
much between the lines, but it seems clear from the context that Jesus was not
plucking the grain himself (the Pharisees here and in the parallel passages--
the plural POIEITE in Luke doesn't seem contradictory--surely would have
referred to Jesus' actions if he were also plucking the grain). BTW, I should
have said both case and number for AUTOU; Doug is probably not referring to
the intensive use of AUTOS anyway.
Don Wilkins
UC Riverside