Continuing from Jesus Authority III
Jesus and his disciples then left the field and went into the synagogue (Matthew 12:9, Mark 3:1-6, Luke 6:6-11). We know from several independent sources that it was Jesus’ custom to worship, teach, and preach in the Jewish synagogues in Galilee, which were primary religious sites away from the temple in Jerusalem (Luke 4:16). On this particular Sabbath day, Jesus encountered in the synagogue “a man which had his hand withered” (Matthew 12:10).
Some Pharisees, presumably visiting from Jerusalem to obtain first hand information about the teacher from Nazareth, were present, “And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days?” (12:10). Matthew reveals, however, that they were not interested in learning from him as Jesus had earlier invited” He Will Give You Rest” p.29-30 invited (11:28-30). Instead, they asked the question so “that they might accuse him” (12:10).
As with plucking grain in the Sabbath, healing on the Sabbath was one of the points debated in first century Judaism. Some believed that emergency needs, such as delivering a baby or the imminent danger of someone losing his life, called for the suspension of Sabbath day service to assist the individuals. Others believed that treatment for a sickness or injury should be delayed until the Sabbath ended.
In this context of debate and interpretation, Jesus, as was often his practice, responds to his question by asking a counter question: “And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold of it and lift it out?” (12:11). Apparently, most Jews would have agreed with Jesus’ interpretation. Jesus asks further, “How much then is a man better than a sheep?” (12:12) Clearly, Jesus prioritizes his concerns—men, women, children hold a special place in Jesus’ plan to save the cosmos.
Jesus then states the fundamental truth about the Sabbath day: it was a day to do good (12:12). To demonstrate his authority to both interpret the law and to heal those with heavy burdens, Jesus says to the man, “Stretch forth thy hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole like unto the other” (12:13).
Neither story (the plucking of grain nor the healing in the synagogue) suggest that Jesus wanted to abandon or abolish appropriate Sabbath observance. Jesus defines, the special day as one set apart, a special day, a restorative gift to humans from a loving Creator. The question was not whether one should observe the Sabbath day but how one should observe it. Jesus came as Isaiah prophesied, to free people from human yokes and man-made commandments. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath appointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” (Isaiah 61:1-2).
Those who first heard Matthew’s Gospel read or who read this story told, even by an eye witness, would have immediately recalled Jesus’ invitation to come unto him and to learn from him. By learning the will of God, in this instance his intent for Sabbath observance, one throws off the heavy yokes carved by human hands and replaces them with those lovingly made by God—an easy yoke. Doing so will immediately lighten our burdens and give us rest here and now. Finally, since the Father has given the Son all authority (Matthew 11;27; cf. 9:6; 28;18), Jesus is not only willing but able to reveal the Father, as promised in Matthew 11; 25-27, and thereby reveal God’s will concerning the Sabbath Day. `~Richard Neitzel Holzapfel and Gaye Strathearn, “He Will Give You Rest” p.31-33 (continued)
