Doing Well on the Sabbath Days - Matthew 12:12

Matthew the apostle wrote when Jesus, “was departed from there, he went into their synagogue: 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. 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?”, and in chapter twelve and verse twelve of his book, Matthew shared how Jesus said, “it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days” where we read:

How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.

The verse reads, “How much then is a man better than a sheep?” Matthew began with the words, “how much then” which means “to what greater degree” “is a man” which means “is a male human being” “better than” which means “excelled, surpassed and distinguished far above” “a sheep” or “a single small grazing animal”? Matthew shared how Jesus asked the “leaders in the synagogue” how much greater is a person than a small “grazing animal” such as a “sheep”.

The verse goes on to say, “Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.” Matthew continued with the word, “wherefore” which means “insomuch, then, and therefore” “it is lawful” or “it is completely right according to God's law” “to do well” which means “to make ready, perform and produce good things” “on the sabbath days” or “on the seventh day of each week which was a sacred festival on which the Israelites were required to abstain from all work”. Matthew shared how Jesus concluded that it is right and “lawful” to produce “good things” on the “sacred sabbath days”.

When we meditate upon Matthew's words in this verse, we see how Jesus prioritized people over the man made rules which were formed by the leadership in this synagogue. God loves people, and His desire for the “sabbath day” was to give people “rest” from their weary works. The idea was to help them, sustain them and recreate them from their toils. Though the leaders of the synagogue knew the rule, they did not know the spirit of the rule which was to give aid to people. Therefore, Jesus, who would not be outmatched concerning the “law of God”, concluded that it is good to perform “good works that help people” on the “sabbath day”.

Next time Matthew shares how Jesus instructs the man with the withered hand to, “stretch forth your hand”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.