that they were angry. They were baffled by what Jesus
had said. Their respect for the Sabbath rule was sincere; they believed
it was the most important regulation in the entire Jewish Law. No one
who disobeyed it, they were certain, could possibly love God. "Never in
my life have I seen such a fanatic!" exclaimed the minister finally.

"He is dangerous," agreed another. "What will happen to our religion if
the people begin to think that they don't need to keep the Sabbath?"

"We must tell the people how serious a matter this is," said the
minister. "I am going down to Capernaum tomorrow. I will stop and talk
to our friend Symeon. He may know about this Jesus. Perhaps he can tell
us what we ought to do."

At the inn where they were staying, the disciples were gloomy and
silent. They were worried about the dispute with the elders; but they
were troubled also about the thing Jesus had done that morning. Jesus
knew that he had perplexed them, and he was not surprised when the next
day, on the road down to Capernaum, Simon spoke up.

"Master, we would like to ask a question," said Simon. The others
gathered closely around. "Moses told us at Mount Sinai, 'Remember the
sabbath day, to keep it holy.' He told us never to work on the Sabbath.
Yet, Rabbi, you healed the woman on the Sabbath. We _do_ believe she is
more important than any animal--but still. Rabbi, you did break the
Sabbath rule! Do you want the Sabbath forgotten? Do you intend to cast
out all the laws and rules?" Simon's tense voice told Jesus he was
deeply disturbed. The other disciples looked at Jesus gravely.

"I have not come to destroy the Law," he answered. "Rather, I am showing
you what it really means to obey the Law."

"But you did heal the hunchbacked woman on the Sabbath, didn't you?"
persisted Simon.

"Unless you obey the Law better than these men who make the Sabbath so
important, you can never enter the Kingdom of Heaven," replied Jesus.

"We don't think they are right. Master," explained Simon. "We think that
the woman was more important than the animals, which they feed and water
on the Sabbath. But...." Jesus knew Simon was not satisfied.

"Even though the Pharisees are very careful about little things," said
Jesus, "that does not mean that they know what God asks of them. They
obey the Sabbath rule--but inwardly they have forgotten justice and
mercy. They all know that it is wrong to kill another Jew. But much more
is required than that: