Luke 13:10-17 Healing on the Sabbath.

The stories of Jesus healing on the Sabbath are numerous, almost to the point where it would seem the authors of the gospels were trying to make a point, or perhaps Jesus did this frequently and it always caused a stir among the legalists. Other stories include Matthew 12:9-14, Mark 3:1-6, Luke 6:6-11, Luke 14:1-6, and John 5:2-17. Why did Jesus' healing on the Sabbath so enrage the Pharisees and their ilk? Jesus asked the question - is it right to do good on the Sabbath? Perhaps the Pharisees thought it impossible that God would break the rules He set down for mankind, so therefore Jesus was either not from God or misrepresenting God. But they couldn't deny the miracles He performed. So they were filled with rage because they knew that the gospel He was preaching would deprive them of their position and its perks. There might be a legitimate theological question of whether God would do something that He told humans not to. But of course, the Old Testament Law never said not to perform supernatural healing on the Sabbath. Jesus told them that the Sabbath was made for man (i.e., to rest) and not man for the Sabbath (i.e., to be in bondage to it). (Mark 2:27) The theological point that the Pharisees could not accept is that the love of God far transcends His rules for conduct. God commanded humans to love Him, but His love far surpasses that of the humans who love Him. And so there is no question in God's value system about healing on the Sabbath. Which really illustrates how the Pharisees, having the whole of the Mosaic Law and the Prophets of the Old Testament, completely misunderstood God's nature and character.

          The alternative view is darker. If the Pharisees saw religion, and thereby God, as a means to enhance their own position - gain wealth, prestige, power - then Jesus clearly threatened that comfortable system. And as a result they had to get rid of Him. Because it was not merely that He revealed the true heart of God. It was also that He humiliated them in front of the very people that they were fleecing in order to feather their own nests, and that couldn't go on forever before those people decided they didn't like the game.