Matthew 12:9-14

Introduction

2 Sociologists at Northeastern University had College Students Read Fake News Articles On 4 Crimes Committed in Boston

The Brutal Beating of a Puppy

The Brutal Beating of an Adult Dog

The Brutal Beating of a Human Baby

The Brutal Beating of a Human Adult

After Reading the Stories, the Students Were Asked to Rank the Emotional Distress and Empathy They Felt for Each Victim

The Human Baby Case Invoked the Most Empathy

But Not Far Behind the Baby was the Puppy and Adult Dog

In Dead Last, was the Case of the Human Adult

These College Students Cared Less About a Human Adult Being Brutally Beaten…

Than the Brutal Beatings of Dogs

There was Another Experiment Performed By Psychologists at Georgia Regents University

573 People Were Asked How They Would Respond to Various Hypothetical Scenarios…

In Which a Person and a Dog Were in the Path of an Out-of-Control Bus

There Were Many Different Factors that Came into Play in the Different Scenarios

But What They Found was:

14% of the 573 People (80 People) Said They Would Save a Random Dog Before Saving a Foreign Tourist

40% (229 People) Said They Would Save Their Own Dog Before Saving a Foreign Tourist

There’s No Denying it, There are People Out There Who Care More About Animals Than People

If Their Neighbor and Their Dog Were Drowning in a Pool…

They Would Save Their Dog

If a Building Caught On Fire and There was a Human and a Dog Inside

There are People Who Would Save the Dog

But Before We Start Saying, “Oh, This Younger Generation is Just So Backward and Immoral”…

We Need to Realize that Similar Types of Twisted Immorality Have Been Around for All of History

This Morning We are Going to See How the Pharisees Had a Tendency Show More Mercy to Animals Than People as Well

Matthew 12:9-14

Last Week, Jesus Had a Run-In with the Pharisees in a Grain-Field

They Accused His Disciples of Breaking the Law of the Sabbath

Jesus Set Them Straight with Several Arguments

Jesus’ Main Points Were:

Human Need is More Important Than Sabbath Ritual

Jesus is the True Temple and Therefore His Ministry is Greater Than the Sabbath

The Pharisees Should Show Compassion Instead of Condemning the Innocent

Jesus is Lord/Master of the Sabbath, Not Them

This Week, Jesus is Going to Have Another Run-In with the Pharisees

This Time in One of Their Synagogues

Matthew 12:9–10 (NASB95)

Departing from there, He went into their synagogue. And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned Jesus, asking, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse Him.

Let’s Recap the Information Matthew Gives Us

Jesus is in a Synagogue (Reconstruction of a 1st Century Synagogue)

There was a Man with a Withered Hand There

Withered = Dried Up and Likely Paralyzed

And the Pharisees Ask Jesus a Question About Healing On the Sabbath…

In Order to Accuse Him of Breaking the Sabbath

We Learn Some Extra Details When We Read Mark and Luke’s Accounts

Luke Tells Us that Jesus Wasn’t Just in the Synagogue…

He was Teaching in the Synagogue

As for the Man with the Withered Hand, Luke Also Tells Us that it was His Right Hand

Typically, the Right Hand is the Dominant Hand

This Might Have Made Employment and Other Daily Activities Much More Difficult for Him

Mark and Luke Both Tell Us that the Pharisees Were Watching Jesus Closely

Why Were They Watching Jesus Closely?

To See if He Would Heal the Man On the Sabbath

They Wanted Jesus to Heal the Man So They Could Accuse Jesus of Breaking the Sabbath

Luke Tells Us that Jesus Knew They Were Thinking This

So Getting Back to Our Text:

Matthew 12:9–10 (NASB95)

Departing from there, He went into their synagogue. And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned Jesus, asking, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse Him.

In Order to Push Jesus to Heal this Man…

The Pharisees Ask Him this Question:

“Is it Lawful to Heal on the Sabbath?”

You Can Already See the Heart of the Pharisees

They are Using this Poor Man’s Condition for Their Own Selfish Agenda

They Don’t Care About His Health, His Dignity, or His Value as a Person…

They Only Cared About How They Could Use His Condition to Their Own Gain

But What Could They Condemn Jesus of if He Healed this Man on the Sabbath?

Did They Consider Helping Someone Who is Sick or Injured as Breaking the Sabbath Too?

They Absolutely Did

The Mishnah States:

Further did R. Mattiah b. Harash say, “He who has a pain in his throat—they drop medicine into his mouth on the Sabbath, because it is a matter of doubt as to danger to life. And any matter of doubt as to danger to life overrides the prohibitions of the Sabbath.”

In Other Words, “Unless You’re Dying, Don’t Come Crying”

At Least, Not On the Sabbath Day

Unfortunately, According to the Traditions of the Religious Leaders of Jesus’ Day…

Unless You Were in Danger of Dying, They Weren’t Going to Help You On the Sabbath Day

So, According to Their Traditions…

For Jesus to Heal this Man Would Mean He Has Broken the Sabbath

A Withered Hand is Not Life-Threatening

If He Wanted Compassion From His Religious Leaders…

He Would Have to Come Back Tomorrow

But Thank God Jesus Doesn’t Hold the Same Views as the Pharisees

Matthew 12:11 (NASB95)

And He said to them, “What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out?

After the Pharisees Question Jesus…

He Responds with a Question of His Own

Jesus was a Master at Guiding People to Answer Their Own Questions

Jesus is Pointing Out the Inconsistency and Hypocrisy of the Pharisees’ Practices

When Your Neighbor is Suffering On the Sabbath…

You Ignore Him and Allow Him to Continue in His Suffering

But When Your Animal is Suffering On the Sabbath…

You Don’t Hesitate to Take Action

Matthew 12:12 (NASB95)

“How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

Jesus’ Argument is One of Common Sense

“You Pharisees are Well Aware that a Person is More Valuable Than a Sheep”

“Yet, You Will Show Mercy to a Sheep Before You Will a Person”

“If You’re Interpretation of the Law Allows You to Help Your Sheep…”

“Then it Definitely Ought to Allow You to Help Your Neighbor”

Jesus Then Says, “So Then, it is Lawful to Do Good On the Sabbath”

Another Way to Say this Would Be:

“It is Right to Do What is Right On Sabbath Days”

After All, the Sabbath Day was to Be Kept Holy and to Honor God

To Ban Good Deeds is Unholy and Dishonorable to God

In Mark and Luke’s Accounts, Jesus Says Something Quite Different to the Pharisees

I Think it Will Help Make Jesus’ Point Here Even Clearer for Us

Mark 3:4 (NASB95)

And He said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent.

When a Person is in Need, We Have 2 Options:

We Can Do Good or We Can Do Harm - We Can Save a Life or Kill

“But What About the 3rd Option: To Do Nothing?”

There is No 3rd Option

To See Someone in Need and Do Nothing is to Do Harm/Kill

To Refuse to Help Someone Who is Suffering is to Do Them More Harm

To Refuse to Save Someone Whom You Have the Ability to Save is to Kill Them

Jesus Asks a Very Simple and Straightforward Question:

“Which is Right?”:

“To Help or to Harm on the Sabbath?”

“To Save or to Kill on the Sabbath?”

Jesus Has the Ability to Do Good/Help This Man

If He Were to Refuse to Do So, He Would Be Causing More Harm On the Sabbath

The Pharisees Refuse to Answer His Question…

And Mark Tells Us that Jesus was Angry and Grieved at Their Hard Hearts

Matthew 12:13 (NASB95)

Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” He stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other.

Mark and Luke Tell Us that Jesus Told the Man to Stand Up in the Middle of the Congregation

Then He Tells the Man Stretch Out His Hand

(Something He Previously Wouldn’t Have Been Able to Do)

And When He Did, it was Completely Healed

Jesus Chose to Do What was Right On the Sabbath

Matthew 12:14 (NASB95)

But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

The Pharisees Chose to Do What was Wrong…

Not Only On the Sabbath, But Everyday:

Plot the Downfall and Murder of Another Person

While Jesus was Busy Saving Lives on the Sabbath…

The Pharisees Were Busy Killing

Mark Tells Us They Went Out and Began Conspiring with the Herodians

Herodians Were a Political Group Who Supported the Herodian Dynasty and Rome

The Pharisees Would Have Hated These People…

But They Hated Jesus Even More

Instead of Entertaining the Idea that Jesus Might Actually Be Right…

And They Might Actually Be Wrong…

As it Pertains to Interpreting the Sabbath Laws…

They Decide They Want to Kill Him

We’re Not Too Dissimilar When Someone Disagrees with Us Theologically and:

We Become Angry and Argumentative

We Resort to Name-Calling, Slander, Mockery, and Hatred

We Should Always Strive to Be Gentle, Kind, and Attentive to Those Who Disagree with Us

We Will Never Win Someone to the Truth By Acting Like Spoiled Children

And We Will Never Grow in Our Understanding of the Bible…

If We Never Listen to Anything Different Than What We’ve Always Heard

Application

This Will Likely Be the Last Time We Talk Much About the Sabbath in Our Series in Matthew

We Don’t See it Talked About Very Much After this Chapter

So I Want to Briefly Make a Comment About the Sabbath Day

Some May Wonder if We are Still Expected to Keep the Sabbath Day Today

Understanding the Answer to this Question…

Requires Us to Understand Something Jesus Said in the Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 5:17 (NASB95)

“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.

Jesus Didn’t Come to Destroy the Old Law, But to Bring it to its Desired End

We Don’t Make Animal Sacrifices Through the Levitical Priesthood Anymore

Not Because Jesus Destroyed the Sacrificial System and Priesthood…

But Because He Became the Perfect Sacrifice and the Perfect High Priest

He was the Desired End of All Sacrifices and the Priesthood

We Don’t Celebrate the Yearly Feasts and Festivals Such as Passover Anymore

Not Because Jesus Destroyed the Feasts…

But Because He Became Our Passover that We Gather Together to Feast On Every Week

He was the Desired End of All the Feasts and Festivals

We Aren’t Required to Keep the Sabbath Anymore

Not Because Jesus Destroyed the Sabbath…

But Because He Has Become Our Sabbath Rest

He was the Desired End of the Sabbath

Colossians 2:16–17 (NASB95)

Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day—things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

We are Not Required to Keep the Sabbath Laws

Our Rest is Found in Relationship with Jesus

With the Hope of Receiving Perfect, Everlasting Rest When He Returns

If Jesus Teaches Us Anything in These Sabbath Interactions with the Pharisees, it’s This:

Compassion Means Everything to God

Let’s Go Out and Show Compassion to Everyone We Come in Contact With

God Created Us to Represent Him in the World

He is a God of Grace, Mercy, and Compassion

To Be True to Our Purpose in Being His Image-Bearers…

We Must Be People of Grace, Mercy, and Compassion

Humanity On the Grand Scale Have Lost Our Purpose

And Only Jesus Reminds Us of What that Purpose is

To Be What Our God Created Us to Be: Like Him