Jesus and modern Halakha
From the point of view of modern Jewish Halakha (Jewish religious laws derived from the Written and Oral Torah), Jesus definitely did break Shabbat. Today, life-saving on Shabbat is not only permitted, but is also a duty. However, treating the minor and not life-threatening medical issues on Shabbat, is prohibited. Since the withered hand was not a life-threatening condition, today Jesus’ healing would be clearly seen as a violation of Shabbat.
Important testimony
While violation of Shabbat for life-saving healing is an accepted practice today, in the first century this principle had probably not yet been clearly defined. That’s why “the synagogue official" was “indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath.”(Luke 13:14) In this sense, the testimony of the Gospels is significant: for the first time, we see here a Jewish rabbi allowing healing on Shabbat and teaching that “Shabbat was made for man, not man for Shabbat.”(Mark 2:27)
Jesus and Judaism
Jesus did not break a God-given commandment. He did break a contemporary tradition of keeping Shabbat at any cost. The Gospels are the oldest source we have where healing is permitted and performed on Shabbat. Jesus advocates – perhaps even establishes – the same approach that later, slightly modified, will become normative in Rabbinic Judaism. If you want to know more about this dynamic between the teaching of Jesus and first century Judaism, enroll in our upcoming course: “The Jewish Background of New Testament”.
