Matthew 12:9-14 9And passing on from there he entered their synagogue. 10And behold there was a man with a withered hand. And they asked him saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” so that they might accuse him. 11He said to them, “Which person among you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12Therefore, how much more worth is a person than a sheep! So it is permitted to do good on the Sabbath.” 13Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored as healthy as the other. 14But after going out, the Pharisees conspired together against him how they might destroy him.
The story takes two paths at this point: Jesus continues his ministry of teaching and healing, and the controversy with the Pharisees continues. The Pharisees are the assumed “they” in this passage. They were looking for was to corner Jesus and blame him for breaking the law. If they could show this, then they could raise the level of their threats and discredit him in the eyes of the people. The word accuse in verse 10 can have the sense of bringing up legal charges. They wanted to get rid of Jesus and were using their interpretation of the Jewish law to do that. They focused again on the Sabbath and what they considered “work.” They believed that healing someone on the Sabbath was breaking the fourth commandment.
Jesus knows their motive and so answers with a rhetorical question that expands his quotation of Hosea 6:6 in verse 7. Mercy is more important than a narrow and legalistic view of the law. The law about keeping the Sabbath is for our good so that we can rest and reflect on God, not so that we can somehow prove how religious and pious we are. Sheep were a valuable commodity at that time. The answer to Jesus’ questions would be obvious: of course, no one would let a sheep stay in a pit where it might get injured or even die. People are much more valuable than a sheep. The logic is simple and clear, yet the Pharisees refuse to see past their own spiritual blindness.
“Religious” people still have spiritual blinders on today. The challenge is not to blur clear ethical teaching with expansive and inclusive grace. Jesus never broke any commandments and was sinless, but he also put people first. He did this by getting to the heart and motive of the law, which is love of God and love of neighbor. The purpose of the Sabbath is to express our love for God. Our love for God should be shown by how we care for those in need. We should not treat the Sabbath frivolously but neither should be use it as an excuse not to help someone.
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