John 7:23
If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day? If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day?
Circumcision is performed on the Sabbath when the eighth day falls on that day, an observance received from the fathers and kept so the law of Moses will not be broken, and Jesus appeals to that accepted practice to defend making a man completely well on the Sabbath, as at Bethesda, leaving no just cause for anger against Him. If that rite is lawful on the Sabbath, relieving suffering and making a person wholly well is also right and even more in keeping with the Sabbath's purpose, for the spirit of the Sabbath law allows works of healing and mercy. The question exposes the inconsistency of condemning His healing while permitting Sabbath circumcision, calling for righteous judgment rather than judgment by appearances, and it confronts judges who condemned His Sabbath healing while themselves failing to keep God's law. Such complete healing is a work that reveals God as a physician who takes the sick person's case and heals fully, and it belongs to Christ's broader defense that His teaching is from God and seeks God's glory rather than His own.
Christ's Sabbath Argument
Circumcision was performed on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses would not be broken. When the eighth day after birth fell on the Sabbath, the child was still circumcised on that day. That rite had been received from the fathers and did not originate with Moses, yet it was kept on the Sabbath to uphold the law.
Jesus appealed to that accepted practice to defend making a man completely well on the Sabbath. His healing at Bethesda was such a whole-making work, restoring the person entirely. Those who accepted Sabbath circumcision had no just reason to be angry at Him for healing a whole person on that day.
That appeal belonged to His broader defense of His authority and work. His teaching came from God, and He sought God's glory rather than His own. His teaching in that defense was full of grace and truth.
Spirit, Judgment, and Healing
If circumcision performed on the Sabbath so that the law is not broken is lawful, then relieving suffering and making a person wholly well on the Sabbath is also right. Such healing is not only permitted but even more in harmony with the spirit and purpose of the Sabbath law, which allows acts of healing and mercy. The reasoning therefore upholds the true purpose of the Sabbath against restrictions that miss the spirit of the law and misguide its application.
Condemning the healing at Bethesda while accepting Sabbath circumcision is inconsistent, since the one act is judged a violation while the other is approved by the same judges. The call is therefore to judge with righteous judgment rather than by mere appearances. Those who condemned the Sabbath healing claimed authority to judge while themselves failing to keep God's law, so their judgment stood against their own practice and exposed their failure to keep the law they claimed to defend.
To make a man every whit whole is to make him completely well, a complete healing. This work pictures God as a physician who undertakes the sick person's case. As physician He takes the case in hand and heals completely.