The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?
The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? Jesus' response begins with a devastating label: "hypocrite" (ὑποκριτά, hypokrita, singular, directly addressing the ruler). The Greek originally meant stage actor—one wearing a mask, playing a part. Jesus exposes the ruler's pretense: claiming to honor God while violating His heart.
The rhetorical question employs kal v'chomer (light to heavy) reasoning common in Jewish argumentation: if you do X for an animal, how much more should you do X for a human? The ruler would "loose" (λύει, lyei, from lyō, ἀλύω, the same root as "loosed" in v. 12) his ox or donkey for water on the Sabbath without hesitation. Jesus uses identical vocabulary: the woman needed to be "loosed" from bondage just as animals are "loosed" for care.
The argument is irrefutable: Sabbath law permits caring for animals' needs, yet the ruler objects to liberating a woman from eighteen years of Satanic bondage. The logic demonstrates that Pharisaic Sabbath regulations were arbitrary and inconsistent—allowing what benefited them while prohibiting mercy toward others. Jesus exposes their self-serving interpretation of God's law.
Historical Context
Jewish Sabbath law recognized that animal welfare sometimes required Sabbath activity. The ox and donkey mentioned here recall the fourth commandment itself (Exodus 20:10, Deuteronomy 5:14), which includes animals in Sabbath rest. Rabbinic tradition allowed untying animals for watering on the Sabbath, recognizing that animal needs couldn't wait. Jesus uses their own accepted practices to demonstrate the absurdity of opposing human healing on the Sabbath. If animal discomfort warrants Sabbath relief, how much more does human suffering?
Questions for Reflection
What does Jesus' use of animal care to defend human healing reveal about the value God places on people?
How does the charge of hypocrisy challenge those who are more concerned with religious appearance than genuine mercy?
In what areas might contemporary believers apply religious standards inconsistently, strict with others but lenient with themselves?
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Analysis & Commentary
The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? Jesus' response begins with a devastating label: "hypocrite" (ὑποκριτά, hypokrita, singular, directly addressing the ruler). The Greek originally meant stage actor—one wearing a mask, playing a part. Jesus exposes the ruler's pretense: claiming to honor God while violating His heart.
The rhetorical question employs kal v'chomer (light to heavy) reasoning common in Jewish argumentation: if you do X for an animal, how much more should you do X for a human? The ruler would "loose" (λύει, lyei, from lyō, ἀλύω, the same root as "loosed" in v. 12) his ox or donkey for water on the Sabbath without hesitation. Jesus uses identical vocabulary: the woman needed to be "loosed" from bondage just as animals are "loosed" for care.
The argument is irrefutable: Sabbath law permits caring for animals' needs, yet the ruler objects to liberating a woman from eighteen years of Satanic bondage. The logic demonstrates that Pharisaic Sabbath regulations were arbitrary and inconsistent—allowing what benefited them while prohibiting mercy toward others. Jesus exposes their self-serving interpretation of God's law.