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NOTES for Mat 12:9-13

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9 And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:
10 And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
11 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 on it, and lift it out?
12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.
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Jesus' answer to the people who looked at Him reproachfully does not appear entirely logical at first glance. From the point of view of those around Him, what He was about to do, and did in fact do, was a violation of the Sabbath. And He reminds them that even a domestic animal whose life is in danger is rescued on the Sabbath, and such actions are not a violation of Sabbath rest.

Reasoning in human terms, from the point of view of our untransformed world, healing a man whose main problem was a withered hand is something fundamentally different. If this man's life had been in danger, if medical intervention, in modern terms, had been required for vital indications, no one would have said a word to Jesus. And even if the issue had been a threat to the life of a domestic animal that needed help, no one would have reproached Him. The whole point was precisely that there was no threat to life: the man with the withered hand, with which he had already lived for more than one year, clearly would have lived calmly in the same way for one more day. And then, after the Sabbath ended, he would have received the expected help without violating Sabbath rest. So why hurry?

But Jesus, as we can see, looks at the matter quite differently and does not want to wait. And not because He is a principled opponent of the rules of Sabbath rest accepted in those days. He simply wants to convey to those around Him the true meaning of the Sabbath: this day is given so that it may be spent with God.

If this were simply a matter of medical help, those around Him would perhaps have been right. But this was not about medicine, but about the Kingdom; not about treatment, but about healing, and that changed everything completely. For if the Sabbath is, in fact, the time to be spent with God, then every manifestation of the Kingdom, together with the healings that accompany it, should only be welcomed. In essence, Jesus offers those who are nearby the chance to spend the Sabbath with Him in His Kingdom, and they do not understand Him and do not notice the Kingdom, seeing only a violation of the prohibitions connected with Sabbath rest.

He offers them the fullness of life; hence the mention that even an animal whose life is in danger has a right to help, even on the Sabbath. For without this fullness everyone is doomed to death, and only He, Jesus, can save them from death. But when He does this, joining to the Kingdom at least one person whom He heals, they accuse Him of violating the Sabbath. The spiritual meaning of the Sabbath has moved into the background, while religious formalities, on the contrary, have come to the foreground and obscured the Kingdom, which the people surrounding Jesus do not even notice.

Other notes

 
For Mat 12:9-13
9 And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:
10 And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
11 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 on it, and lift it out?
12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.
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The essence of the conflict between law and grace, between Christ and the legalists, is reflected as in a drop of water in this healing...  Read more

The essence of the conflict between law and grace, between Christ and the legalists, is reflected as in a drop of water in this healing. The legalists question Christ in order to accuse Him. Strictly speaking, the question is what matters more: observance of the prescriptions of the law, whose absolute and literal God-givenness none of the legalists doubts, or mercy and pity for a suffering person. It is a conflict of ideas: on one side, to use a Slavonic word, the "God-written" law, which the Jews perceive as the only expression of the Creator's will; on the other side: "I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings" (Hos. 6:6). The problem is not whether the law may be reinterpreted and supplemented: the Jews allow themselves to do this all the time. The question is whether we allow God to have a will bound by nothing. Do we give Him the right to show mercy? Christ often repeats to us that with the judgment with which we judge, we too will be judged. The legalists, however, want God to limit His mercy within the framework of the law known to them.

In response, Christ does exactly what He once did with the prophet Jonah. He invites the legalists to see the situation from His point of view. To Jonah, who was offended at God because He took pity on the repentant Ninevites, God gave a plant, and Jonah was ready to lose his life out of grief for it. By this He foretold that He Himself would give His life out of pity for us (Jon. 4:6-11). To the legalists of the Capernaum synagogue, He offers a question about a sheep, because the superiority of a human being over cattle is in part like the superiority of the Almighty over the human being himself. So if you pity a creature that is perishing without your help, then, to paraphrase Jon. 4:11, "Should I not pity the suffering person?" As throughout the Bible, we see here a great revelation that the motive for God's actions in the world is compassion for us. Incidentally, by His answer Jesus also justified the lawfulness of His action: it is lawful to do good on the Sabbaths. The commandment said: on all days do your works. But good is God's work, and it may be done always.

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For Mat 12:1-21
1 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.
2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.
9 And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:
10 And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
11 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 on it, and lift it out?
12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.
14 Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.
15 But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;
16 And charged them that they should not make him known:
17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.
19 He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.
21 And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.
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On the holy day of the Sabbath, the law permits no work. This day belongs to God. On the Sabbath a devout Jew...  Read more

On the holy day of the Sabbath, the law permits no work. This day belongs to God. On the Sabbath a devout Jew must attend the synagogue and listen there to the Torah, the Law, God's revelation given to Israel, or read it himself. The only ones who must practice their professional work on that day are the priests and Levites in the Temple, because they do not work for themselves but perform service to God: they circumcise and offer sacrifices. This is precisely the argument Christ gives the Pharisees in the Gospel of Matthew. For He is the One greater than the Temple. His whole life is continuous worship, the fulfillment of the Father's will. He does His will always, including on the Sabbath, just as the daily sacrifice in the Temple must not be interrupted for the Sabbath.

The same applies to us: through faith in Christ we become a "royal priesthood." Our whole life is transformed into service to God, carried out on Saturday and Sunday and at every moment of time. All our deeds must be dedicated to the Lord, and every thought or word of ours must be a pleasing sacrifice to God, one that does not cease for even an instant.

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For Mat 12:1-21
1 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.
2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.
9 And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:
10 And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
11 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 on it, and lift it out?
12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.
14 Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.
15 But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;
16 And charged them that they should not make him known:
17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.
19 He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.
21 And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.
Hide
The scribes' accusations against Jesus are very serious: He is profaning the Sabbath, He is doing what must not be done, and "must not" in the highest, sacred sense - this is a violation of a divine commandment. Christ does not justify Himself; instead...  Read more

The scribes' accusations against Jesus are very serious: He is profaning the Sabbath, He is doing what must not be done, and "must not" in the highest, sacred sense - this is a violation of a divine commandment. Christ does not justify Himself; instead, He reminds them that King David once also did what was not permitted, and that even now the priests profane the Sabbath, and this profanation took place and still takes place in the Temple itself! Jesus deliberately uses such words, though He could have spoken more mildly. And if those violations seem forgivable to the scribes, what will they say if the One who is here is greater than David, greater than the priests, and greater than the Temple?

Christ shows them His divine-human freedom to do good on the Sabbath, the sacred day of God's perfection. The prohibition exists only so that human freedom will not be turned toward evil, toward destruction and death. This means that Jesus' actions announce that standing before them is the One who is incapable of evil: the Lord of the Sabbath.

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