Matt 12:9-21 Honour God By Doing Good
Matt 12:9-21 ESV Parallel Passages: Mark 3:1-5 and Luke 6:6-11
9He went on from there and entered their synagogue. 10And 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. 11He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. 14But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.
15Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all 16and ordered them not to make him known. 17This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: 18“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. 19He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; 20a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory; 21and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”
The conflict that the Pharisees had with Jesus regarding not doing any work on the Sabbath day continues.
• Jesus entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and was met by a man with a withered hand.
• He wanted to heal this man but the Pharisees saw this as a chance to catch Jesus at work on a Sabbath and accuse Him of violating the Jewish Law.
They raised the question, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” (12:10).
• The commandment not to work on the Sabbath was given by God and passed down from the time of Moses.
• Exo 20:8-9 “8Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9Six days you shall labour, and do all your work, 10but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.”
• Six days we work and on the seventh we rest. This was the example God sets for us when He created the world.
• We read last week from Gen 2:1-3 “1Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.”
• After 6 days of creation when everything was completed, God rested.
This commandment reminds us not to make work our god but to rest from work and trust that God will continue to provide.
• We keep the rest day holy by honouring God as our Creator and Provider.
Unfortunately, the religious leaders in Jesus’ time had already added many more rules and restrictions to define what they considered as work.
• They have 39 categories of work that are forbidden on this day.
• So to keep to their Law, Jesus was not supposed to heal this man, which would be considered as working. They asked, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
• The Pharisees have already lost sense of God’s original intent for the Sabbath, which is to honour God, which includes doing good.
Jesus replied with an illustration: “Which one of you who has a sheep if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out?” (12:11)
• It was almost a common sense question and they would know the answer. Owners would save their sheep under those circumstances.
• Yet they would not attempt to help this man. Jesus states it openly, “Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” (12:12)
Jesus exposes the inconsistency of their practice.
• They were strict in forbidding the healing of this man but not the saving of their sheep. They love animals more than men.
• They chose to honour the rules of men rather than the will of God, by doing good and loving people.
The truth is, if you look at the Ten Commandments that God has given, the first 4 have to do with honouring God, and the next 6 about loving people.
• The 4th commandment is to “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”
• The 5th is “Honor your father and your mother.”
• The 6th is “You shall not murder.”
• The 7th is “You shall not commit adultery.”
• The 8th is “You shall not steal.”
• The 9th is “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.”
• And 10th “You shall not covet what belongs to your neighbour.”
The Pharisees failed to understand God’s heart and the intent of His commandments.
• They were caught up by the religion of man rather than a relationship with God.
• They followed the rules of man but not the will of God.
• Jesus said of them in Matt 15:8-9 “‘This people honours me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 9in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” (cf. Isaiah 29:13)
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Jesus went on to do good and healed this man: “Stretch out your hand.” (v.13)
• Responding to the words of Jesus with faith, this man stretched out his withered hand and it was restored completely.
• It was a miracle and the work of God. Jesus demonstrated the authority as the Son of God and authenticated His identity as the Messiah.
• He was the Saviour sent by God, as prophesied in the OT. If the Pharisees have read the Scriptures properly, they would have recognised Him and believed.
Unfortunately, after such a miraculous healing, not everyone was happy; at least not the Pharisees.
• Luke’s account tells us they were filled with rage (Luke 6:11). They were angry that Jesus did not obey their laws.
• And verse 14 tells us they “went out and conspired against Him, how to destroy Him.”
What went wrong? Nothing on the outward. Nothing was wrong with the healing.
• The only “wrong” was unseen, in their heart. The Pharisees were filled with evil desires and sinful intent.
• The good that was done – the healing – was not their concern. They wanted to accuse Jesus and remove Him.
• The sick man was just the bait to catch Jesus. Verse 10 tells us they were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus even before the healing took place.
Mark tells us more, that Jesus “looked around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart.” (cf. Mark 3:5)
• “He was deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts.” (NIV) Jesus was grieved by their stubborn unbelief.
• The Pharisees have already decided in their heart not to believe in Jesus as the Messiah. They have rejected Him from the start.
• They were so blinded by their desire to condemn Jesus that even the miraculous healing could not change them.
Do we know who Jesus is today? Do we recognise that He is the Son of God, the Saviour of the world? That apart from Him, we will never be able to know God.
• Or are we filled with preconceived ideas of who He is?
• Are the words and works of Jesus recorded for us in history enough to convince us that He is indeed our Saviour and Lord?
• If yes, can we believe Him, and trust Him for the power to heal us from our sin?
• This is not blind faith, because everyone who believes in Jesus will experience His healing.
It was amazing to see two very opposite perspectives in the same room that day.
• We have one group in the synagogue with eyes of condemnation all ready to accuse.
• We have another with eyes of compassion all ready to heal the sick.
• One group claims to know God but plots evil, the other seeks to do good and bless the people.
• I wonder when we come into the community, what perspective do we have?
• Are we filled with selfish desires seeking to gratify our wants, or are we filled with God’s love wanting to help those who are hurting and sick?
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One of the remarkable things about this incident is that they cannot accuse Jesus of anything – not even this “work of healing” if we are thinking of accusing Him of it.
• Jesus did nothing close to offending the Law, not even the man-made ones if we are trying to find fault.
• He did nothing. Jesus simply spoke to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out. (12:13)
• You might say that the only one who worked that day was this man because he stretched out his paralysed hand.
• But Jesus did no work. It was entirely an act of God! Our only rightful response is to praise God for His love and mercy, for His grace and power.
It was unbelievable that the Pharisees would go away from this event wanting to kill Jesus. It was so because they had already made up their mind right from the start.
• They were out to find fault in Jesus but failed to see the obvious fault in themselves.
• They want to accuse Jesus of healing but fail to see their desire to kill.
Jesus warned us in the Sermon on the Mount:
• Matt 7:3-5 3“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.”
• Finding fault in others is easy. Spotting our fault is very difficult. Telling others they are wrong is easy. Admitting that you have done wrong is hard.
It was also unbelievable that the Pharisees were unmoved by the miraculous healing of this man’s hand. There was no joy and no celebration for them.
• This man was just an item in their scheme, a pawn on their chessboard. Quite dispensable. They just wanted to use him to achieve their goal.
• Jesus treats the needy with genuine love and compassion, with respect and dignity. Everyone matters.
Jesus went off from that place and healed many more who were sick.
• Matthew closes this section by quoting to us the words of the prophet Isaiah – the longest OT quotation in his book - Isaiah 42:1-4.
• Matt 12:18-21 18“Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen, My beloved with whom My soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon Him, and He will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
19He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets; 20a bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not quench, until He brings justice to victory; 21and in His name the Gentiles will hope.”
Matthew stamped the identity of Jesus and contrasted the violent opposition of the Pharisees with the gentleness of Jesus, the Servant of God.
• We have here the revelation of the Messiah Jesus as the Servant of God and One who is gentle and meek, who is concerned for the weak and the burdened.
• A bruised reed He will not break, a faintly burning wick He will not quench until He brings justice and victory.
• And not just for Israel but also for the Gentiles. In His Name, the Gentiles will have hope.
This was the prophecy about the coming of Jesus from Isaiah 42.
• There are more than 300 prophecies in the Old Testament pointing to the coming of the Messiah Jesus.
• The words that the people have heard from Jesus and the miraculous signs they have been seeing from Jesus, testify that He is indeed the Messiah, the Son of God.
• He is the Saviour that God has sent into our world to save us from our sin.
Are we seeing Him correctly? Do you know that Jesus died for your sin to save you from God’s judgment? Do you know that He is your only Saviour?
• If yes, then let us put our trust in Jesus Christ. He is our Saviour and our Lord.
• We serve Him by doing good and loving people. Let us live like Him today.
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In closing let me share with you this illustration by Charles H. Spurgeon about the heart:
The heart does not receive blood to store it up but pumps it out. While it pumps blood in at one valve, it sends it out at another. The blood is always circulating throughout the body and is never stagnant.
The same is true of all the fluids in a healthy body; they are in a constant state of expenditure. If one cell stores for a few moments its particular secretion, it only retains it until it is perfectly fitted for its appointed use in the body.
For if any cell in the body should begin to store up its secretion, its store would soon become the cause of chronic disease. The organ would soon lose the power to secrete at all if it did not give forth its products soon.
The whole of the human system lives by giving. If the members refuse to contribute to the general stock, the whole body will become poverty-stricken and be given up to the bankruptcy of death.
Let us learn then from the analogy of nature this the great lesson, that to get we must give; that to accumulate we must scatter, that to make ourselves happy, we must make others happy; and that to get good and become spiritually vigorous, we must do good and seek the spiritual good of others. “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
- Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Quotable Spurgeon, (Wheaton: Harold Shaw Publishers, Inc, 1990)
Let us honour God by doing good!
Prayer:
May our lives be blessed because are blessings to others. Help us learn from You, Lord, to see our world with eyes of compassion and be motivated always to obey Your will and do good to others. Let us honour You by living like Jesus Christ. May Your love continues to flow through us today, this we pray in Jesus’ Name, AMEN.
