| Devotional Hours with the Bible |
Chapter 12 |
Page 5 |
“He saith unto them, is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath day, or to do evil? To save life or to kill?” In the account of this incident in Matthew’s Gospel (12:11, 12), we learn that Jesus gave an illustration. “What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep! Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath day.” He appealed to simple common sense. The Jews could not but admit that a man should lift his sheep out of the pit on the Sabbath. Whatever their traditions said about such a case, the practice of the people would be on the merciful line. Now Jesus asked: “Is not a man better than a sheep? If it is right to help a sheep out of a pit on the Sabbath, it surely is right to relieve a sufferer from his malady on that day.” So we get the lesson that it is right to do good on the Sabbath. It is right for physicians to attend to their patients on that day. It is right for those whose duty it naturally is, to nurse the sick and care for them on the Sabbath. It is right to visit the sick, when we can carry blessing or cheer to them; to visit the afflicted, when we can carry comfort to them; to visit the poor, when we can minister to their needs or relieve their distress; to go out among the unsaved, when we can do anything to bring them to Christ and save their souls; to gather neglected children from the streets and from Christian homes and bring them to the Sunday school and the Church. Jesus here gives us warrant for many works of mercy on His own Holy Day.
When Jesus entered the synagogue, there was a man there with a withered hand. The scribes watched very intently to see whether Jesus would heal this man on the Sabbath. He asked the man to stand forth, as if He would cure him; but first asked the scribes whether it was lawful to do good on the Sabbath. They were not willing to commit themselves in answering His question, and after a little while Jesus proceeded to heal the man. “He saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and his hand was restored.” Jesus would not let the man suffer because of the criticism of the Jews. We get a lesson here. We must not be hindered in doing good by the opposition and the fault-finding of those about us. We must do our good deeds fearlessly, serving Christ regardless of the world’s sneers and hindering.
Page 5
<< Prior Page 1 2 3 4 5 Next Page >>