REFLECTIONS TODAY
Obviously, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. But for the Pharisees, doing good refers to observing the practices of the Sabbath like resting from work and attending to the synagogue services. It excludes what Jesus does—healing a man with a withered hand—which is a violation of the Sabbath rest. For them, there is always another day when Jesus can heal without courting controversy. But for Jesus, not to attend to the suffering man while he is present, is doing “evil.” It is prolonging for another day the suffering of the man. Since he is an itinerant preacher, he may not be around for another day.
Jesus accuses the Pharisees of obstinacy or “hardness of heart” (Greek: porosis tes kardias). Hardness of heart or obstinacy implies rebellion against the Lord, an unwillingness to listen to and be led by him. Here the Pharisees harden their hearts and close their minds against Jesus. They see Jesus as totally undermining their interpretation of the Law, their piety and their actions. For them, Jesus breaks the tradition and confronts the authority. They do not rejoice that a man is delivered from a state of distress, even if it is done on a Sabbath. Ironically, they, the guardians of the Sabbath, determine to do harm and to kill— to let the man with a withered hand continue to suffer and to put Jesus to death. They reject life and redemption. This is the bitter fruit of that hardness of heart which provokes in Jesus both anger and godly sorrow.
Source: “365 Days with the Lord 2025.” SE-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.