“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” Jesus asked a simple question in a simple, straightforward way. Jesus wasn’t using tricky language or imagery. “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” Was it “yes” or was it “no”?
The Pharisees, to whom Jesus directed this question, wouldn’t even answer. Oh, they could point out the errors of others. But when it came time for a yes-or-no answer, their tongues grew thick, and they became silent. When it came down to it, they were cowards. They were afraid to speak when it mattered the most, afraid to take a risk.
Now, if you were to ask the Pharisees how you should wash your hands before eating, they would have an answer. If you were to ask them how far you could walk on the Sabbath before that became “work,” they’d have an answer for that. They’d be fully fluent in their self-made traditions.
But when a Law question, based on God’s traditions and teachings confronted them, they waffled back and forth. They had become ever skillful in dancing around God’s clear directives. And so, when Jesus confronted them with a yes-or-no question, they became fearful and gave no answer.
“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” God’s Law says: Don’t work on the Sabbath. But they had become self-made experts and had their rationalizations down pat. They had all mastered the art of making excuses, which all sounded so good and right and even doable. And so if one tried hard enough, with their shaping and changing of God’s Law, one could do what God had demanded.
After all, why would God tell them to do something that was impossible to do? Doesn’t God expect us to change His Laws, so they fit our day and age and the way we live? Doesn’t God expect us to understand His Law in such a way that we have a chance of doing what He asks?
But their shaping and molding of God’s Law had made them unable to answer such a simple question: “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” A current-day comparison could be a recent statement by a prominent church leader about whether unbelievers will be in heaven. He said, “God’s mercy has no limits, if He is approached with a sincere and repentant heart.”
That church leader couldn’t bring himself to say that non-believers won’t be in heaven. After all, that would make God look like a meanie. But he also couldn’t bring himself to say, “Unbelievers will be in heaven.” If he said that, that would’ve made himself and the Church that Jesus founded as irrelevant. So, he did his Pharisee dance and said, “God’s mercy has no limits …”
In a similar way, the Pharisees didn’t want the light of truth exposing them as hypocrites, frauds, or as being unmerciful. But in their case, instead of speaking in double-speak, they said nothing. Under the unflinching light of the truth, they knew their excuses were feeble and weak. God says don’t work on the Sabbath–and they all cheated in one way or the other. So, instead of letting themselves be exposed as the frauds they were, they remained silent.
That’s what the Law does. It always leaves us powerless. It always accuses. We never live up to it. The only way we can live up to God’s Law is if we cheat and stack the deck in our favor. That’s what the Pharisees did. And that’s what we do.
Jesus says, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” So, how’s that going for you? Must you give the homeless man your coat? Should you empty your retirement account for the poor? You would do it for yourself. You wouldn’t go hungry if you had money in the bank, which you could use to buy food. But there you are every month making sure that your needs come first.
So, the homeless man goes hungry while you have money in the bank or your pocket. Be honest. Stop lying to yourself. You don’t love others as much as you love yourself. You don’t even know how to love them as yourself.
Should we try another? Luther wrote in the Small Catechism about the 7th Commandment not to steal. He wrote that we should help our neighbor “improve and protect his property and means of making a living.” How do you do that when it comes buying a car? The salesman lives on commission. Should you see his actions in the best possible light, tell him what you know, what other deals you may have, and the most you can honestly spend? Would you even overpay him to improve his income?
What God demands in His Law doesn’t even make sense. We are so jaded and hardened in our ways that we can’t imagine keeping the Law. To the world, it’s just plain foolishness. And since the world shapes us more than it should, like the Pharisees, we take God’s Law and finagle it to make in manageable and doable.
So what does “love your neighbor” mean? Is it lawful to walk by a homeless man without giving him something or not? Is it right to buy an antique at a garage sale, way under its value, from its unknowing owner, intending to sell it later for a huge profit?
Suddenly, we find we are the Pharisees to whom Jesus is speaking. We also are brought to silence. The Law is good, but we are not. God’s Law leaves us for dead by the side of the road. His Law crushes us; it oppresses us and exposes us. God’s Law leaves us powerless and dying. You can’t bring yourself to say that you must empty your bank account to help your neighbor who is suffering. But what else does “Love your neighbor” mean?
Repent. You have failed. And so have I.
Here’s the irony about Jesus’ conversation with the Pharisees. They assumed that Jesus was talking about them, about what they should do. It was as if Jesus were asking them, “Is it lawful for you to heal on the Sabbath or not?” But they didn’t have the power to heal the sick man anyway.
Jesus wasn’t asking them if it was lawful for them to heal on the Sabbath. He was asking if it was lawful for Him to do that. And then He healed the man and said: “Suppose your son or ox fell into a ditch on the Sabbath day. Wouldn’t you immediately pull him out?” It’s now clear: The man whom Jesus healed is His son; after all, Jesus is God in the flesh. All people belong to Him. He is here to help them, and He will not even let the Law stop Him. He will even suffer all to rescue the lost.
Did Jesus break the Sabbath? Yes, He did. But Jesus didn’t violate the Sabbath by sinning. Instead, He broke the Sabbath by stopping it and putting it to an end. Jesus did that–not because the Sabbath wasn’t a good tradition that God had set up–but because it was no longer needed. Now, this wasn’t a matter of mercy being more important than justice or the Law. This was Jesus’ giving Himself into death on the cross, satisfying the demands of the Law.
Jesus fulfilled the Law by going as a Lamb to the slaughter. Because of that, the Law has now been silenced, for Jesus has answered all it accusations. All is done and finished because Jesus has done it all.
Another question worth asking is this: “Is it is lawful for Jesus to forgive sinners.” The answer is, “Of course not!” The Law condemns sinners, not saves them. Yet, Jesus forgives them. Is that lawful? Not according to the Law. The Law condemns and gives you what you deserve. That’s what the Law does.
But Jesus forgives. That’s what He does. He has destroyed the Law’s accusations, removing its venomous sting. He has answered for the sins of all, making the Law powerless. Jesus removes guilt and punishment. He opens Hell’s prison and frees us without cost. This isn’t according to the Law but according to His mercy. It is good, and it is His will.
Now, Jesus hasn’t violated the Law by committing sin. For if He did that, then His work for us would amount to nothing. But even as the Law is beyond us and leaves us silent, so also is Jesus’ compassion and grace also beyond us. What God sends His Son to die for rebels? Our God does.
Even as God gave us His Law in goodness, so He ends the Law in goodness. By His resurrection from the dead, He put all the Law’s accusations to rest. He met His own demands, paying for the life of the world with His holy blood. He will not leave His sons in the ditch. He will not leave us in Hell. He has compassion. He heals, cleanses, feeds, and forgives. That leaves us–not powerless–but full of power, full of the Holy Spirit. And now, our tongues are silent no more but, instead, filled with praise.
So what does “Love your neighbor” mean? It is much like “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” You must turn it around. Jesus fulfills the Law. He loves you as Himself–as He also loves the Father. He doesn’t leave you hungry while He has money in the bank. He gives you everything. What must you do? You do nothing. Be loved, be healed, and be free.
For Jesus says to those who had no right even to come in to the banquet, “Friend, move up to a better seat. I have taken care of everything. You are more than a friend; you are my own dear Bride. Come; sit beside Me in the place of honor. I was humbled but am now exalted. Now in my grace, I exalt you because I love you.” Amen.
