Matthew 12:10
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, 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.
A man with a withered hand was in the synagogue on the Sabbath hoping to be healed, while hostile leaders watched closely because they expected Jesus to heal him. Their question about healing on the Sabbath was asked not to learn but to trap Him, since they counted such mercy as breaking their restrictions. Doing good and saving life on the Sabbath is lawful, and to neglect an opportunity to relieve suffering is evil. His healing was in perfect harmony with God's law and the fourth commandment, sweeping away human traditions and false restrictions while leaving the Sabbath standing as God gave it. The day sanctified by God permits urgent works of relief and care, yet common work that can wait is to be postponed and the day kept holy as a sign between God and His followers.
Synagogue Setting and Accusation
On the Sabbath a man with a withered hand was present in the synagogue, having come hoping to receive the great blessing of healing. The Pharisees watched Jesus there, and the scribes and teachers were also watching closely for grounds to accuse Him. They knew why the man had come and felt sure Jesus meant to heal him, and they were determined to confront Him with their view.
Their question whether it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath days was not asked to learn but so they might accuse Him. Jesus knew that healing would be treated as breaking their traditional restrictions, yet He did not let those rules prevent Him from helping the man. When He healed the withered hand on the Sabbath, His opponents watched with hatred and were enraged that He did this good work on the Lord's day. That rage was intense malice and hatred despite their claim to enjoy God's favor.
The Sabbath miracle became widely known and news of it spread through the region. After the healing Jesus withdrew to the seaside of Galilee, where crowds followed and He continued teaching and healing with compassion. The accusation that He broke the Sabbath by this healing of the withered hand could not be supported. His enemies feared that examining His healing work would expose its just and merciful character, reveal the injustice of the accusation, and defeat their purpose to condemn Him, so if they had been able to prove Sabbath-breaking they would not have needed false witnesses.
Lawful Mercy on Sabbath
To heal on the Sabbath is lawful, for doing good and saving life belong to the day, and to neglect an opportunity to do good is evil; relieving human suffering honors the Sabbath rather than breaking it. The healing of the withered hand was in perfect harmony with God's law and the fourth commandment, and in healing and doing good on the Sabbath there was no breaking of the law. The act swept away restrictive human traditions and false teachings about the day instead of breaking or abolishing the Sabbath, leaving the fourth commandment standing as God gave it, upholding its binding claims, and keeping the Sabbath according to God's law despite hostility.
By keeping the Sabbath in this way, the Healer revealed God's character in contrast to the selfishness and arbitrariness of those who had distorted and misrepresented the institution, and He affirmed His authority as Lord and Maker of the Sabbath, so that the leaders' charge of Sabbath-breaking shows how blindly they treated the day. Human need must not be left unaided when even an animal in danger would be rescued, for the critics' useless rites dishonored the day while their hostile pursuit of His life stood in stark contrast to His work of healing and mercy. The healing reveals a great and essential work to be done on the Sabbath for the relief of suffering humanity whose needs are not to be neglected, and such Sabbath miracles were never performed merely to display power but always to meet Satan in his afflicting and torturing of sufferers.
The Sabbath sanctified by God permits this work of relief and care that cannot wait, yet it is to be kept holy as a sign between God and His followers. Common work is not to be done on that day, and ordinary treatments and operations that can wait should be postponed until another time. Pleasure-seeking such as ball playing and swimming is not necessity but sinful neglect of the sacred day.