The man whom Jesus had healed at the pool of Bethesda, seems to have
made the first use of his restored power by going into the House of
God, to thank and praise Him for having been made whole. Jesus,
finding him in the temple, bade him remember the cure which had been
worked upon him, and show his gratitude by forsaking all his sins and
leading a holy life, so that he might not bring upon himself far more
terrible sufferings than any which he could feel upon earth. The man
now understood who had cured him, and went "and told the Jews that it
was Jesus which had made him whole": evidently believing that Jesus
was the Messiah, and that His command was quite sufficient to justify
a man for doing that which was not strictly lawful on the Sabbath day.
The Jews, however, would not allow this: therefore did they "persecute
Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the
Sabbath day."
Jesus, then, in a conversation of which St. John gives us an account,
tried to convince the Jews that He was indeed the Messiah, and as
such, _had_ authority even to heal on the Sabbath. On this occasion He
gave the Jews advice that all of us should listen to and follow; for
He said, "Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal
life: and they are they which testify of me." The Jews believed that
the Scriptures of the Old Testament, which were all that at that time
were written, were indeed the Word of God, and that they showed them
how to obtain eternal life: Jesus therefore bids them read and study
them honestly and carefully, and that they would then see that He must
be the Messiah, of whom those Scriptures testify or speak. We know
that the New Testament as well as the Old, is the Word of God; and
that it shows us the way to eternal life. Let us then obey our Lord's
command, and search the Scriptures, that we may learn His will in
order to do it.
Jesus also told the Jews, that Moses, whom they pretended to obey
exactly, wrote of Him; and that if they really believed Moses, and
wished to obey the Law, they would acknowledge Him to be indeed the
Messiah, of whom Moses and all the prophets had written. All that
Jesus said, does not seem to have had any effect; for on the next
Sabbath, something of the same kind happened. The disciples who were
following Jesus through the corn-fields, being hungry, began to pluck
the ears of corn, rubbing them in their hands, to take off the husk,
and eating them as they went. It might seem to us that the disciples
had no right to take ears of corn which did not belong to them, but
this was, under the circumstances, allowed by the Law of Moses, or the
Levitical Law: a hungry man, who was passing through standing corn,
might pluck the ears with his hand to satisfy his wants, though he was
forbidden "to move a sickle unto his neighbour's standing corn."
The Pharisees, who were constantly watching for an opportunity to find
fault, now asked Jesus, why He allowed his disciples to do what was
not lawful for them to do on the Sabbath day.
For very many years the Jews had neglected to observe the Sabbath in a
proper manner, and this neglect of a positive command, had been one
cause of the destruction of their kingdom, and of all the misery they
afterwards suffered. Now their descendants had gone into another sin,
and instead of making the Sabbath a day of rest from worldly cares,--a
day to be devoted to the service of God, and to thinking of all His
mercies,--they made so many rules as to what might or might not be
done, that the most common and necessary actions, such as healing the
sick, or saving the life of an animal, came to be looked upon as
unlawful, and therefore sinful. Jesus reminded the Jews who thus
blamed His disciples, that David was not considered to have broken the
Law of Moses, because once, when pressed by hunger, he and his
followers had eaten the shewbread, which it "was not lawful to eat,
but for the priests alone." He also told them, that no one accused the
Priests of breaking the Law, because on the Sabbath day they, in
performing the temple services, did things in themselves forbidden on
that holy day. Jesus ended by declaring, that "the Sabbath was made
for man, and not man for the Sabbath": that is, that the Sabbath was
meant for the benefit of mankind, as well as for the glory of God, and
not to be an oppressive burden; and that the Son of man was Lord also
of the Sabbath, and had therefore power to dispense with its rigorous
observance; and that if they had understood the meaning of God's
words, "I will have mercy and not sacrifice," they would not have been
so ready to blame His disciples, as if they had been guilty of a
crime, merely because, to relieve the pangs of hunger, they had
plucked a few ears of corn on the Sabbath day.
On another Sabbath, Jesus went into a synagogue and taught: and
behold, there was a man whose right hand was withered; that is, his
hand was so shrunk and dried up, that he could make no use of it. The
Scribes and Pharisees, thinking it likely that Jesus would heal this
man in spite of its being the Sabbath day, watched him; that they
might find an accusation against him. "But he knew their thoughts" and
purposes, and said to the man with the withered hand, "Rise up, and
stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth" in the sight
of all the people in the synagogue. "And the Scribes and Pharisees
seeing this, asked him, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days? that
they might accuse him." One party of Jews, in their mistaken zeal for
the strict observance of the Sabbath, had come to the extraordinary
decision, that no one might comfort the sick or mourning on that day;
though another party did permit the people to prepare medicine, and to
perform any service which was required for the actual preservation of
life. Instead of answering a question only put for the purpose of
having something to accuse Him of, Jesus said unto them, "I will ask
you one thing; Is it lawful on the Sabbath days to do good or to do
evil? To save life or to destroy it?" for He knew that they wished to
destroy Him, whilst He only wanted to do good to a suffering human
creature. Whatever might be their wishes, they could not openly
declare that it was more lawful to do evil than good; therefore they
made no answer, but held their peace. "And he said unto them, 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 days." To such words the Jews could
make no answer. Jesus, grieved to see the hardness of heart that
prevented the Pharisees believing in Him, and made them angry instead
of glad, to see a fellow-creature relieved; "looked round about on
them with anger, and saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand":
the man had faith to try, and the power to do so was given to him; "he
stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other."
Then the Pharisees, almost beside themselves with anger, are said to
have been filled with madness; and they went forth, with the
Herodians, and straightway held a council against him; and communed
one with another, what they might do to Jesus, and how they might
destroy him. It is sad to think that all the proofs of our Saviour's
power, only made the Pharisees and others more and more anxious to put
Him to death.
When we read such accounts as these, let us be thankful for our
Sabbaths, and try to keep them holy; spending our time in worshipping
God, in learning our duty, and in doing good to others. Above all, let
us take particular care to be holy on this holy day; and not to do the
least wrong thing, on a day which is called the Lord's Day.
The time was not yet come for Jesus to give up His life, and
therefore, knowing that the Pharisees sought to destroy Him, He
withdrew Himself from Jerusalem, and went with his disciples into
Galilee "to the sea; and a great multitude followed him" from all
parts, even from beyond Jordan; and also many of the inhabitants of
Tyre and Sidon, having heard what great things Jesus had done, came
unto him. As many as had plagues or diseases "pressed upon him for to
touch him," and he healed them all. "And unclean spirits, when they
saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of
God." Thus was fulfilled what had been said 700 years before by the
prophet Isaiah, who declared that when the Messiah should come to set
up a new Law, even the Gospel, He would use no force nor violence, but
do it entirely by kindness; and by showing an example of kindness and
forbearance to the weak, encouraging them to become better. The
prophet's words, put into his mouth by God, were, "Behold, my servant,
whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased; I
will put my spirit upon him; and he shall show judgment to the
Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his
voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking
flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.
And in his name shall the Gentiles trust."
An _example_ of goodness and holiness and kindness, has more effect
than all that can be _said_ on the subject. By the piety and good
conduct of the followers of Jesus, men were led to take the same part,
and thus by the blessing of God, has the Gospel spread over the earth.
All Christians should remember this, and try to show by their conduct
that they are followers of Jesus. Even children can set an example to
other children, either for good or evil: but if they do it for evil,
they are doing the work of the Devil.