Accounts of the healing of withered or paralyzed hands always suggested great power both in Jewish (1 Kings 13:6; Test. Simeon 2:12-13) and pagan (F. Grant 1953:56) texts. Jesus heals partly to attest God's endorsement of his ministry (Mt 9:4-7); would God heal through him on the sabbath if God disapproved of his sabbath ministry?

But before healing the man, Jesus offers another "how much more" argument by analogy. In contrast to the stricter Essenes (CD 11.13-14; compare F. Bruce 1969:73), Pharisees and most Jewish people accepted the necessity of rescuing an animal on the Sabbath (compare Theissen 1978:82). Yet how much more important is a person than a sheep (see comment on 6:26)! Jesus concludes with a summary principle: Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath (v. 12).