The Sabbath controversy and the healing of a man with a shrivelled hand

(a) What does Matt 12:1-21 tell us about the greatness of Jesus?

(b) Why do you think the Pharisees were so angry with Jesus about his attitude towards the Sabbath?  In what ways might we be in danger of adopting an attitude more like the Pharisees than like Jesus?

(c) In Mark’s account of the healing of the man with a shrivelled hand we are told that Jesus ‘looked around at them in anger’ and was ‘deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts.’  (Mark 3:5).  What place do such strong emotions have in our lives as followers of Jesus today?