Jesus And Sabbath Law: A Complex Relationship

The Gospels record several instances of Jesus healing people on the Sabbath, including Simon Peter's mother-in-law, a man with a withered hand, a man born blind, a crippled woman, a man with dropsy, a demon-possessed man, and a lame man. Each time, the Pharisees accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath law. However, Jesus did not break the Sabbath as outlined by God under the Old Covenant. Instead, he broke the Pharisees' Sabbath law, which was based on their own strict interpretation of God's instructions.

Jesus defended his actions by arguing that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath, and that it was lawful to do good on the Sabbath. He also equated himself with God, stating that he was the Lord of the Sabbath and had the authority to overrule the Pharisees' traditions and regulations.

Jesus' disciples plucked grain and ate on the Sabbath

Jesus and his disciples were travelling through grain fields on the Sabbath. The disciples were hungry, so they began to pluck the heads of grain and eat them. This was permitted by the law, as long as it was to meet an immediate need and not for future consumption. However, the Pharisees criticised the disciples for violating the Sabbath. This was the first of many conflicts between Jesus and the Pharisees about the Sabbath.

Jesus did not break God's Sabbath law. He did, however, resist and oppose the Pharisees' traditions, which were not taught in God's law. Jesus defended his disciples' actions and showed that they were guiltless. He pointed out that acts of spiritual service and worship were not a violation of the Sabbath law. The disciples were travelling with Jesus to help him spread the gospel and save souls. This was a work of mercy and took precedence over the Sabbath restrictions.

Jesus healed a man with a withered hand in the synagogue on the Sabbath

> Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?

Jesus was angry and distressed at the stubbornness of the Pharisees' hearts, and healed the man by telling him to stretch out his hand, which was then restored.

The Pharisees were so enraged by this act that they began to plot with the Herodians to kill Jesus.

Jesus did not break the Sabbath law as outlined by God under the Old Covenant. He publicly stated:

> Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Jesus' actions were in accordance with God's principle of desiring mercy, not sacrifice.

Jesus' actions on the Sabbath were motivated by compassion

Jesus' actions were motivated by compassion for those who were suffering. For example, in the case of the man with the withered hand, Jesus asked the Pharisees:

> "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:11)

Jesus also referred to the principle of God desiring mercy, not sacrifice (Hosea 6:6). By healing on the Sabbath, Jesus showed God’s goodness, revealed the Pharisees’ hardness of heart, and gave a glimpse of the full healing from sin that would soon be made possible by His sacrifice on the cross.

Jesus did not break the Sabbath law, although He did act against the Pharisaical interpretation of the law. He broke the Pharisees’ laws, and they couldn’t stand it. Jesus healed on the Sabbath to help people, to glorify God, and to remind people that “the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27).

Jesus' actions were not a violation of the Sabbath law, but of the Pharisees' interpretation of it

Jesus did not break the Sabbath law, but he did break the Pharisees' interpretation of it.

The Pharisees had added a whole complex system of traditions about Sabbath observance, based on their own ideas, not on what God's law said. They had made Sabbath-keeping a burden rather than a benefit. They had created thirty-nine separate categories of what was involved in "correct" Sabbath observance, with many sub-categories. For example, the first eleven dealt with the producing and preparing of bread: sowing, plowing, reaping, binding sheaves, threshing, winnowing, selecting, grinding, sifting, kneading, and baking.

Jesus' disciples were once hungry and plucked grain to eat as they travelled through a grain field on the Sabbath. The Pharisees criticised this as a violation of the Sabbath. However, this was expressly permitted by the law, as long as it was to meet an immediate need. Jesus defended his disciples' actions, saying they were guiltless.

Jesus also healed people on the Sabbath. The Pharisees accused him of breaking the Sabbath law, but Jesus argued that it was lawful to do good on the Sabbath. He gave the example of a sheep falling into a pit on the Sabbath—anyone would pull it out, even if it was the Sabbath. This would be work, but it was permitted by the law. Jesus' actions were permitted by the Sabbath law and were not a violation of it.

Jesus did not disobey God's Sabbath law. He did, however, resist and oppose the Pharisees' traditions, which were not taught in God's law.

Jesus' disciples were innocent of the Pharisees' accusations

Jesus' disciples were travelling through grain fields and, being hungry, they plucked grain and ate. This was not stealing but was expressly permitted by the law, as long as one did so only to meet an immediate need, not to carry it home and keep it for future consumption. The Pharisees criticised the act, not as stealing, but as a violation of the Sabbath. However, Jesus defended the action and showed why the disciples were guiltless.

Jesus pointed out that acts of spiritual service in worship and service to God were not a violation of the Sabbath law. The priests offered sacrifices and did other acts on the Sabbath in order to carry out their temple duties. These acts constituted physical labour, which might normally constitute a violation of the Sabbath. But in doing this work for the temple service, they were blameless.

Jesus also said that the disciples had done what they did because they were travelling with Him in His work of preaching the gospel and preparing men for salvation. This was service to Jesus, who was greater in spiritual service than even the temple service. Surely if the priests' service allowed things that would otherwise be a violation of the Sabbath, then the disciples' service to Jesus would likewise allow them to do things that otherwise should not be done on the Sabbath.

Jesus further explained: "For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath". The point is that, as Lord of the Sabbath, He knew what the Sabbath law meant. He had the right, not to break it, but to authoritatively explain what it meant.

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