On another Sabbath, Jesus entered a synagogue to teach. A man was there whose right hand was withered. The legal experts and the Pharisees were watching him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. They were looking for a reason to bring charges against him. Jesus knew their thoughts, so he said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” He got up and stood there. Jesus said to the legal experts and Pharisees, “Here’s a question for you: Is it legal on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” Looking around at them all, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he did and his hand was made healthy. They were furious and began talking with each other about what to do to Jesus. (Luke 6:6-11, CEB)
It is illegal to go more than a mile on the Sabbath, or cook, or use an animal, to do any kind of work. So healing is work and not supposed to be done on the Sabbath. So couldn’t Jesus just wait until tomorrow so that way he just keeps the peace?
Yes, Jesus could have waited, but the regulations for the Sabbath were put in place because man was not resting like God did. The Sabbath was put in place because God rested, so we need to rest. And the rules were put in place to help people, not har, them, so while Jesus could have waited, why should the man have to wait to be healed?
The greatest commandments are love God and love neighbor. If that means we heal on the sabbath, we heal on the sabbath.
Loving People. Loving God.
aSacredRebel 