Gospel of Matthew 12:9-21
Christ heals on the sabbath
Jesus left [the place where he and his disciples had gathered grain], and went into their synagogue, where he saw a man with a withered hand. They asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day?" that they might accuse him of wrongdoing.
And he replied, "Which of you, if you have one sheep, and it falls into a pit on the sabbath day, will not lay hold of it, and lift it out? How much more value does a man have, than a sheep! Wherefore, it is lawful to do good on the sabbath day."
Then he said to the man, "Stretch forth your hand." And he stretched it forth; and it was wholly restored, like his other hand.
The Pharisees went out, and discussed how they might destroy him. And Jesus, perceiving it, withdrew from the place. Many followed him, and he healed them all, charging them that they should not make him known, so the prophecy of Isaiah would be fulfilled:
Behold, my servant whom I have chosen; My beloved in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my Spirit upon him, And he shall declare judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry aloud; Neither shall any one hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, And smoking flax shall he not quench, Till he send forth judgment unto victory. And in his name shall the Gentiles hope.
Isaiah 42:1-4 (King James Version)
The Servant of the LORD
1 "Behold! My Servant whom I uphold,My Elect One in whom My soul delights!
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.
2 He will not cry out, nor raise His voice,
Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.
3 A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench;
He will bring forth justice for truth.
4 He will not fail nor be discouraged,
Till He has established justice in the earth;
And the coastlands shall wait for His law."
Comment on the Scripture
Christ heals a man, although Mosaic Law generally forbade healing on the sabbath. Today's lessons is a continuation of yesterday's passage, in which Christ and his disciples openly gathered grain to eat on the sabbath, to the displeasure of the Pharisees.
Following this second confrontation with the Pharisee leaders in the synagogue, Christ withdraws from the scene of the controversy, instructing those who he continues to heal to keep quiet about it. He fulfils the promise made in the prophecy of Isaiah, that the Messiah would come to include non-Jews in the kingdom of salvation, and that he would comport himself quietly and without doing harm, until the day of judgment would come.
After Christ's death and resurrection, there was tremendous difficulty among the first Christians, who were primarily a Jewish sect, in accepting that non-Jews were to share fully in the gift of redemption brought by Christ's coming. All Jews knew and accepted Isaiah, one of the most illustrious of all the Hebrew prophets; so Christ's explicit fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy, that God's "elect one" would bring justice to the Gentiles, helped Jewish Christians to accept the presence of Gentiles in early Christian congregations.
