If a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses will not be broken, why are you angry with Me for making the whole man well on the Sabbath?
Parallel translations
- WEB If a boy receives circumcision on the Sabbath, that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me, because I made a man completely healthy on the Sabbath?
- KJV If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day?
- NKJV If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?
- NASB If a man receives circumcision on a Sabbath so that the Law of Moses will not be broken, are you angry at Me because I made an entire man well on a Sabbath?
- NLT For if the correct time for circumcising your son falls on the Sabbath, you go ahead and do it so as not to break the law of Moses. So why should you be angry with me for healing a man on the Sabbath?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus argues that if circumcision is allowed on the Sabbath to keep Moses' law, they should not be angry that He made a whole man well on the Sabbath. Healing fulfills, rather than breaks, the law's intent.
Overview
Jesus reasons from the lesser to the greater: if a ceremonial act on one part of the body is permitted on the Sabbath, how much more is the merciful restoration of a whole person. He exposes the hypocrisy of condemning an act of compassion while permitting their own. This reveals Jesus as the true interpreter and Lord of the Sabbath, who shows mercy is the law's deeper purpose.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- John 5:14–16Afterward, Jesus found the man at the temple and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Stop sinning, or something worse may happen to you.”
- Matt 12:5Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and yet are innocent?
- Matt 12:2When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”
- John 5:8–9Then Jesus told him, “Get up, pick up your mat, and walk.”
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Original language
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