In the synagogue on a Sabbath day, Jesus was confronted by the Pharisees, who were seeking to find a way to accuse Him of breaking the Sabbath. In the previous passage (Matthew 12:1-8), we read of Jesus’ assertion that He – the Son of Man – was “Lord of the Sabbath.” Surely enraged by that claim, His enemies now pointed to a man whose hand fell useless at his side, withered and lifeless.“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?,” they asked Jesus. The room was tense as everyone waited to see how Christ would respond. What follows demonstrated His true majesty. We see: - The perspicacity of Christ: He saw clearly through their inquiry, aware that it was not just an innocent request for information, and parried with two rhetorical questions of his own. (1) Which of them would not, on the Sabbath, rescue a sheep which had fallen into a pit? (2) How much more valuable is a man than a sheep? - The penetrating logic of our Lord, arguing from the lesser to the greater: “Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” - The pity of the Good Shepherd: He cared more for the crippled man before Him than for the niceties of Pharisaic tradition or the danger of the trap which they intended to spring. - The power of the Son of God: With a simple command, “Stretch out your hand,” He made the withered hand become “as whole as the other.” (We might note in the process that He did no real “work” according even to the man-made rules of His enemies.) Surely this Man is worthy of our deepest devotion and total trust!