Sabbath: A Time for Healing

Scripture — Matthew 12:9-14 (NRSV)

[Jesus] left that place and entered their synagogue; a man was there with a withered hand, and they asked him, “Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath?” so that they might accuse him. He said to them, “Suppose one of you has only one sheep and it falls into a pit on the sabbath; will you not lay hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a human being than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the sabbath.” Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and it was restored, as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

Devotion

In the centuries after the biblical Gospels were written, some Christians – usually with unorthodox theologies – wrote other “gospels” to supply further details about Jesus’ life and teaching. Occasionally these non-canonical gospels contain historically reliable information about Jesus. But, for the most part, they are fictional elaborations based on the biblical accounts.

For example, in an ancient document known as the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, we find fascinating but fictional stories relating to the birth and early life of Jesus. For example, in Chapter 18 of this “gospel,” the boy Jesus, his mother Mary, and his father Joseph were on their way to Egypt. Because they were tired, they rested in a cave. But, to their horror, “suddenly there came forth from the cave many dragons.” But little Jesus, hopping down from his mother’s arms, “stood on His feet before the dragons; and they adored Jesus, and thereafter retired” (Translation from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol 8, 1886).

Another ancient “gospel” known as the Infancy Gospel of Thomas contains a story that elaborates creatively based on the biblical record. In one episode in this “gospel,” the five-year-old Jesus was playing with some soft clay, from which he formed twelve sparrows. He did this on the sabbath, which angered his Jewish neighbors since they considered Jesus to have worked. One man reported to Joseph what Jesus had done. Angrily, Joseph cried out to Jesus, “Wherefore doest thou these things on the Sabbath, which it is not lawful to do?” Jesus did not answer his father. Rather, as he clapped his hands, the clay birds became real and flew away, which amazed his onlookers. (II:1-5; Translation from The Apocryphal New Testament, M.R. James-Translation and Notes, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924).

Though we have no reason to believe the details of this story from the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, it does contain a kernel of truth. The historical Jesus actually did get in trouble for doing on the sabbath what his contemporaries regarded as work. He didn’t give life to clay birds, but he did heal people of various ailments such as a withered hand (Matthew 12:9-14). Healing of this sort was considered to be work by the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders, who criticized Jesus for breaking the sabbath law.

Interestingly enough, Jesus did not deny their factual claim. He did not argue that healing was not some kind of work. Rather, he pointed out that the Pharisees themselves permitted certain sorts of work on the sabbath, like rescuing a sheep who had fallen into a pit (Matthew 12:11). Jesus argued that healing a human being, who has “more value” than a sheep, is also work that deserves to be done on the sabbath. He concluded by saying, “So it is lawful to do good on the sabbath” (12:12).

Healing is central to the good work Jesus did on the sabbath. The biblical Gospels offer several different stories of healings on the sabbath (Mark 1:21-28; 29-31; 3:1-6; Luke 13:10-17; 14:1-6; John 5:1-18; 9:1-16). When a Jewish leader argued that healing, as work, should be done only on the other six days of the week, Jesus disagreed (Luke 13:14-16). The sabbath was a perfect day to set someone free from spiritual bondage and the disease it caused.

Today the work of healing on the sabbath continues. Doctors and other medical caregivers often work on what would otherwise be their day of rest. Christians who gather for worship pray for the sick, sometimes experiencing the miraculous healing power of a God who heals on the sabbath.

For those of us driven to overwork, the sabbath offers yet a different kind of healing. When we stop work in order to rest, our minds, hearts, and bodies are refreshed. We are “healed” of the mistaken notion that we have to work nonstop or else life will fall apart. We’re reminded of our dependence on our gracious, all-powerful God, who is always at work and who offers us the gift of rest.

In next Monday’s devotion, I’d like to reflect a bit more on what it means for us to “do good” in our times of regular rest. For now, I’d invite you to reflect on the following questions.

Banner image by Arthur Mazi on Unsplash.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: How Rest is Restored – Sabbath & Jesus’ Redemption in the New Testament.

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