Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?

Jesus heals a man with a withered hand, Ilyas Basim Khuri Bazzi Rahib (Egyptian Coptic, active ca. 1684), from ms. W.592, Walters Art Museum, Baltimore MD

 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath.  And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"  But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:  how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?  Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?  Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.  But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.  For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue.  And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand.  And they asked Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" -- that they might accuse Him.  Then He said to them, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?  Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?  Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."  Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.

- Matthew 12:1-14

Yesterday we read after His rebuke to the cities where He had done great works, and yet not found faith,  Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.  Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath.  And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"   My study bible points out the rigidity of the Pharisees in what is called legalism.   Their constant and zealous resort to the rules built up around the Law gave second place to mercy.  In this particular case, my study bible says that the Law allowed plucking a few heads of grain in a neighbor's field (Deuteronomy 23:25), but the Pharisees here call that "reaping" and therefore declare it to be unlawful on the Sabbath.  We're already aware that they are being harsh and overly-critical of both Jesus and John the Baptist (see Monday's reading).  In today's reading, their particular kind of judgment, and Jesus' response to it, is on display.

But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:  how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?  Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?"  Jesus boldly argues, providing Old Testament examples of blameless "violations" of the Sabbath, and so demonstrates that the law is not absolute over human need nor over service to God.  David and his men ate the showbread (1 Samuel 21:4-6), which my study bible tells us prefigures the Eucharist.  In the Old Testament, this is forbidden to anyone except the priests, but in Christ it is given to all the faithful.

"Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.  But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.  For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."  As divine Son, Christ is the Lord of the Old Testament, and therefore the Author of the Law and Lord over all of it.  As Lord, my study bible comments, He gives the teaching that mercy takes precedence over regulations, ordinances, and ritualistic observances.

Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue.  And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand.  And they asked Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" -- that they might accuse Him.  Then He said to them, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?  Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?  Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."  Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.  Here, Jesus takes His teachings yet another step forward, and boldly in dialogue with the Pharisees.  He strikes up an even more stark question than that of the few heads of grain plucked and eaten on the Sabbath.  This time, in the synagogue, there is a man with a withered hand, and the confrontation comes over healing.  Note that the Pharisees deliberately ask Jesus about the man with the withered hand, that they might accuse Him, asking, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"  Which will it be?  Mercy for the healing of the man, or the rigidity of the way they interpret the Sabbath rule?  Even the lives of animals, valued property to their owners, might be saved in exception provided to the rule.  But "of how much more value is a man than a sheep?" Jesus asks them.

Jesus advocates for an understanding of God's law as mercy, and sets out an example in which it is human healing that forms an example for all.  That is, the healing of the man's withered hand becomes the image of what the Law is really for, and what its aim is all about.  If God does not intervene in human affairs, including via the mission in the life of Moses, in order to heal humanity, then how are we to understand God and God's purposes for us?  The alternative is a severe legalism, that misses both the nature of God and God's purposes at work in the world.  Jesus' confrontation over the issue of healing on the Sabbath dives right into the divide between Himself and the leadership, and they respond with rage at how decisively He responds to their challenge.  They decide to plot to destroy Him.  In the past couple of readings, Jesus has made it clear that He has much to offer through His ministry.  He brings with Him the kingdom of heaven; through faith we may enter in and participate in this Kingdom.  Even great mysteries open themselves to those who accept and participate in this faith, to know the love and grace of God.  But even in the cities where His great works of healing have happened, there is rejection of His ministry.  The leadership posit themselves against Him, as they did with John the Baptist -- calling the Baptist too ascetic, and Christ too liberal, too joyful, too indulgent to sinners such as tax collectors.  But above all, Jesus returns to the one image which repeats itself:  He is a physician, the healer of humanity.  In chapter 9, Jesus replied to the criticisms:  "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick" (9:12).   He has come into the world not to condemn the world, but to save it (John 3:17).  Moreover, His saving mission is to give His life for the life of the world (John 6:51).  It is in this context that Jesus pronounces that the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath, and moreover, that therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.  Within that teaching is an important perspective that is consistently taught by Christ, that it is up to us to take the initiative -- even while others fail to do so -- of helping to heal the world, to do good, to practice love and mercy, to be a neighbor, a healer.  Let us remember that the smallest act of kindness may indicate participation in such a mission of healing, and that even in the context of His ministry, healing takes on many forms and many dimensions of life.  How do we know what healing really looks like, and what it really needs?  How do we get past our self-centered perspective?  How we learn what love and healing are is a matter of constant growth in our faith, and then sharing that love with others.  It is a participation in God's love and efforts to heal within ourselves first.  Let us open to His truth, His healing, and learn God's love and mercy so that we, too, may participate in this healing ministry.