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Jesus Rescues the Sabbath
169
Jesus declared that in their blindness His enemies had mistaken
the object of the Sabbath. He said, “If ye had known what this
meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have
condemned the guiltless.”
Matthew 12:7
. Their heartless rites could
not supply the lack of that integrity and tender love which character-
ize the true worshiper of God.
Jesus Deliberately Heals on the Sabbath
Sacrifices were in themselves of no value. They were a means,
not an end. Their object was to direct men to the Saviour, to bring
them into harmony with God. It is the service of love that God
values. When this is lacking, mere ceremony is an offence to Him.
So with the Sabbath. When the mind was absorbed with wearisome
rites, the object of the Sabbath was thwarted. Its mere outward
observance was a mockery.
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On another Sabbath, Jesus saw in the synagogue a man who
had a withered hand. The Pharisees watched, eager to see what He
would do. The Saviour did not hesitate to break down the wall of
traditional requirements that barricaded the Sabbath.
Jesus told the afflicted man to stand forth, and asked, “Is it lawful
to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil? to save life, or to kill?”
Mark 3:4
. It was a maxim among the Jews that failure to do good
when one had opportunity, was to do evil; to neglect to save life
was to kill. Thus Jesus met the rabbis on their own ground. “But
they were silent. And He looked at them with anger, grieved at the
hardness of heart, and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He
stretched it out, and his hand was restored.” Verse 5, RSV.
When questioned, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” Jesus
answered, “What man of you, if he has one sheep and it falls into
a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how
much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good
on the Sabbath.”
Matthew 12:10-12
, RSV.
Greater Care Shown Animals
The spies dared not answer Christ. They knew He had spoken
the truth. Rather than violate traditions, they would leave a man to