Jesus and the Pharisees clearly lived in two different worlds. The Pharisees lived in a black and white world controlled by rules, while Jesus lived in a more nuanced world guided by the principle of love. These are contrasting and incompatible views. The Pharisees were the educated scholars of both the Torah and their oral tradition. That tradition included many rules developed over time as a guide for the daily practice of Judaism (Ex 31:15). These rules eventually grew to the point of being cumbersome, with many bordering on the absurd (Mt 23:4). Although the Pharisees professed faithfulness to God in terms of strict obedience to these rules, they interpreted and applied them in ways that often oppressed the ordinary person (Mt 23:23). Even worse, they often found it more convenient to ignore and nullify the Word of God in favor of their own tradition (Mk 7:9-13).
Jesus had a very different perspective on faithfulness to God. He best reveals his take on faithfulness in summarizing the entire Law and the Prophets with the dual commandments to love God and neighbor, including one’s enemies. Jesus is not being a naive romantic in speaking this way. He aims to show that love is the heart of the Mosaic Law, in contrast to the burdensome extension of the Law by the Pharisees. For Jesus, following the principle of love is the only way to live in harmony with the Law and remain faithful to God.
Ironically, the Pharisees’ insisted on following the rules, and yet, they did not follow their own teaching (Mt 23:13-33). They stopped practicing what they preached. Their greed for status, money, and control made them spiritually blind. Because of their inability to perceive spiritual truth, they felt threatened by Jesus and often accused him of deliberately violating the Law, especially the commandment to keep holy the Sabbath. The encounter between Jesus and the Pharisees in today’s gospel is an example in that regard.
On this occasion, the Pharisees question Jesus about healing a man on the Sabbath. Their interpretation of the commandment strictly prohibited work of any kind, including healing (cf. Ex 20:8). Their objection has no basis, however, for Jesus lived as a faithful observant of the Law. He makes this plain when he declares that he did not come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it (Mt 5:17).
He provides further evidence of his faithfulness to the Law by teaching in the synagogues, especially on the Sabbath (Lk 4:16). He observes Passover with his disciples (Mt 26:17-19). He celebrates the feast of Tabernacles as well as the feast of Lights (Jn 7:2-10; 10:22). He even followed his own admonition to pray often and with persistence (Lk 18:1; 5:16). All of which shows that Jesus followed the Law, and in so doing, always honored the Sabbath as a day reserved by God for rest and holiness (Ex 20:8-11).
As a result, Jesus gives a more authentic interpretation of this commandment by describing the Sabbath as a day for doing good rather than harm, for saving life rather than killing (Mk 3:4). Jesus puts this point in sharp relief when he asks the Pharisees whether even they would work to save their own sons or livestock from harm on the Sabbath (Lk 14:5). Jesus asked because he knew they had lost sight of the guiding principle that "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath" (Mk 2:27). Because of their blindness, however, the Pharisees remain silent and do not answer his question.
What are the implications of this encounter between Jesus and the Pharisees for us today? What does Jesus want us to take away? At the very least, the implication of his question about working to prevent harm on the Sabbath is significant. We do not live in a black and white moral world. At times, we do not know how to love others in the right way, and resolving our doubt requires careful consideration. The more complex the situation, the more careful the consideration needed. We also have the example of Jesus.
Jesus solved the Pharisees’ question by choosing to act in favor of doing good, of doing what is merciful and just on the Sabbath. Jesus chose the person over the rule. At times, the moral dilemma we face also requires a decision born of a clear conscience (Summa, I-II, q. 94). Our calling is to remain faithful to a loving God with both our heart and our mind, not just our mind. From this perspective, love and faithfulness go hand in hand as the sure guideposts for an authentic relationship with God.
In his encyclical, “Love in the Family,” Pope Francis perhaps best summarizes this point. In that encyclical, Francis puts emphasis on the virtues of faith, hope, love, mercy, wisdom, and prudence in guiding the process of moral discernment and decision-making. For him, the best moral decisions are the ones that promote human dignity and development of the whole person. In other words, a living faith in God seeks and promotes a just human community in Christ1. Honoring and respecting the whole human person as a reflection of our love for God is the whole point of the Mosaic Law itself. Even today, this remains the perfect justification for celebrating the Sabbath as a day of holiness.
1 Populorum progression, 21; see also “Pope Francis and His Predecessors: A Remarkable and Unremarked Continuity” by Michael G. Lawler and Todd A. Salzman, The Furrow 68 (11), Nov 2017, pp. 579-589.
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