On another sabbath he went into the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. 7 The scribes and the Pharisees watched him closely to see if he would cure on the sabbath so that they might discover a reason to accuse him. 8 But he realized their intentions and said to the man with the withered hand, “Come up and stand before us.” And he rose and stood there. 9 Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” 10 Looking around at them all, he then said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so and his hand was restored. 11 But they became enraged and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.
12 In those days he departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. 13 When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named apostles: 14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, 16 and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
The Jewish Sabbath (rest) celebrates creation and redemption and forbids work. It is a reminder that the fruit of one’s labor is a gift from God. Jesus told the Pharisees in the previous section that “The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath (Lk. 6:5).” This meant that the Sabbath was subordinate to him and therefore the Law was subordinate to him. Jesus continued to show that he was superior to the Sabbath by restoring the withered hand of a man on the Sabbath. Jesus did not touch the man so he could not be accused of working. Jesus tried to show the Pharisees that compassion was more important than the Sabbath rules.
The Twelve symbolized a restoration of the 12 tribes of Israel in the Messianic age (Lk. 22:30). Jesus ascending the mountain to pray recalls the image of Moses, the one chosen by God, ascending the mountain to commune with God (Ex. 19:3). Jesus, after a night of prayer, came down the mountain and chose the Twelve. When Jesus ascended to Heaven, the Apostles would continue Jesus’ kingdom proclamation by preaching God’s word. The importance of the Twelve decreased as the Church grew because it is the primacy of the risen Christ that leads to salvation; 'He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent (Col. 1:18).' JBap said, “He must increase; I must decrease (Jn. 3:30),” We must die to self so that Christ can increase in us.
Almighty God, your Son though he was one in being with you did nor regard himself equal to you and prayed so he would know your will. Grant us, O most loving God, the understanding to humble ourselves and place you above all things, and the desire to spend more time in prayer so we may understand your will. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Expanded Edition, Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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