Matthew 12:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" — so that they might accuse him.

NIV: and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"

NASB: 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 bring charges against Him.

CSB: There he saw a man who had a shriveled hand, and in order to accuse him they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"

NLT: where he noticed a man with a deformed hand. The Pharisees asked Jesus, 'Does the law permit a person to work by healing on the Sabbath?' (They were hoping he would say yes, so they could bring charges against him.)

KJV: 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.

NKJV: And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—that they might accuse Him.

Jesus and His disciples have arrived at the synagogue on the Sabbath. The Pharisees seems to have been waiting for them. They are hoping to entice Jesus into breaking the Law of Moses, specifically the command not to work on the Sabbath, so that they can discredit Him.

Another man was at the synagogue. He had one withered or shriveled hand. In Mark's telling of this same story, Jesus initiated the conversation with the man by asking him to stand up in front of everyone (Mark 3:3). Jesus was not going to avoid the trap the Pharisees had apparently laid for him.

Matthew records the Pharisees asking if it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath. Their presumed answer was "no." Their group of Pharisees had come up with a list of 39 things that qualified as forbidden work on the Sabbath in order to keep the fourth commandment found in Exodus, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep 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" (Exodus 20:8–10).

In creating such a list, the Pharisees were going "too far" in doing a legitimate thing. They were tasked, in part, with helping the people of Israel to know how to apply God's commands to their everyday lives. The problem Jesus has pointed out is that they lost sight of their responsibility to care for people and to show them mercy. Instead, over time, the Pharisees added unreasonable rules and regulations to the Law of Moses. They turned Judaism into a great burden instead of providing great good to the people.

Their requirements forbid "healing" in the sense of non-life-saving medical care. The man whose hand was shriveled was not in a life-or-death situation. They hoped Jesus would heal the man, anyway, so they could accuse Him of breaking the command. In truth, Jesus would be breaking only their interpretation of the command. And His response will show how cynical and cold their attitudes really were.

Matthew 12:9–14 finds Jesus and His disciples in the synagogue, encountering a man with a withered hand. The Pharisees once again attempt to trick Jesus. They ask if it's lawful to heal on the Sabbath, since healing is "work," and the law supposedly forbids it. Jesus asks if they would leave one of their sheep in a pit if it fell in on the Sabbath, emphasizing that people are more valuable than sheep. Jesus insists that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath and fully heals the man's hand in an instant. The Pharisees walk out and deepen their conspiracy to destroy Jesus.

Matthew 12 features confrontations between the Pharisees and Jesus over several issues. Among these are working on the Sabbath, healing on the Sabbath, and the source of His power to cast out demons. Jesus counters each argument and rebukes the Pharisees sharply for their obstinate unbelief. He even notes that those who maliciously ascribe His miracles to demons are unforgivable. He warns them, and the rest of their current generation, about the judgment to come. Jesus calls the Pharisees a brood of vipers and rejects their demand for another miracle. All they'll be promised is the sign of Jonah. The Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days. Jesus also states that all who do His Father's will are His family.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.