Why did Jesus heal on the Sabbath?

Response

The Gospels document several occasions when Jesus performed healings on the Sabbath day. In most of those cases, the healing was followed by a confrontation with the religious leaders (Mark 3:1-6; Luke 6:6-10; 13:10-17; 14:1-6; John 5:1-18). In another instance, Luke 4:38–41, Jesus healed after teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath, but no confrontation is recorded, as the miracle took place in a private home. Despite knowing the Pharisees’ Sabbath rules, why did Jesus choose to heal on that day?

It is crucial to understand that Jesus was not breaking God’s law by healing on the Sabbath. He was indeed going against the Pharisaical interpretation of the law and their specific regulations. However, the Holy One of God, who came to fulfill the law “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.”, (Matthew 5:17), did not violate the law. The primary reason Jesus healed on the Sabbath was that people required His assistance. Necessity does not adhere to a calendar.

Jesus performed healings on the Sabbath to expose the Pharisees’ religious hypocrisy. In three instances where Jesus’ healings led to confrontations, He highlighted how the Jews “worked” on the Sabbath by tending to their animals, a practice sanctioned by the Pharisees. In an agricultural society, caring for animals was a significant part of daily life. Jesus pointed out their willingness to work on the Sabbath to aid an animal: “Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?” “The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from thIn the Bible, Jesus healed a woman on the Sabbath, which upset the religious leaders. In Luke 13:15, He questions their hypocrisy for refusing to help “a daughter of Abraham.” If religious laws permit aiding animals on the Sabbath, they should also allow helping people.

When Jesus performed healings on the Sabbath, He challenged the religious leaders about doing good or evil on that day. In Mark 3:4, He asked them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill?” The leaders chose not to respond, but Jesus’ actions made it clear that doing good and saving lives is lawful, even on the Sabbath. Misusing the Sabbath to do evil or harm is against God’s law.

The Torah is the divine law, but the Pharisees added their traditions to it. They elevated their traditions to the same level as God’s Word. Jesus opposed these additions, rebuking the teachers for prioritizing human commandments over God’s teachings. (Mark 7:7, ESV).

The Pharisees had strict Sabbath rules that prohibited various activities such as writing, erasing, conducting business, shopping, cooking, gardening, doing laundry, and carrying items for more than six feet in public. They even restricted moving objects indirectly, like using a broom to move a broken bowl, flowers, or candles.Aw food, a rock, a button that has fallen off (you could move things with your elbow or your breath, but not with your hand). And this is just a partial list.

Compare the complexity and micromanaging of the Pharisees’ rules with the original rule in God’s Word: “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy” (Exodus 20:8-11). It was simply man-made traditions that defined Jesus’ healing as “work.” So when Jesus healed on the Sabbath, He was challenging the Pharisees’ beliefs as being from man and not from God.

Another reason Jesus healed on the Sabbath was to remind people of why God instituted the Sabbath day of rest. The Sabbath was meant to benefit people as much as to glorify God: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” «And he said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath: », (Mark 2:27). The Sabbath helped people recuperate (mentally and physically) after a week of work and redirect their focus from the daily routine to God. Jesus’ healing on the Sabbath was therefore very much compatible with God’s purpose for the Sabbath.

Confronted with Jesus’ undeniable power to heal and restore, the religious leaders passed up their chance to reflect on the possibility that they were wrong. Instead, they dug in their heels and doubled down on their untenable position. Their stubbornness is a good reminder for us of our need to examine our beliefs and

Ensure that they are biblical and in accordance with the Word of God.