We continue our exploration during Lent of the question, “Why was Jesus killed?” In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus’ disciples are husking grain while walking through a wheat field on the Sabbath. This invokes the anger of the Pharisees, who confront Jesus about this violation of the Sabbath rule. Jesus goes on to heal a man with a withered hand in the synagogue – again, on the Sabbath. In his response to the Pharisees, Jesus makes a profound statement about our relationship to religious rules: “The Sabbath was made for humanity, not humanity for the Sabbath.” Immediately the Pharisees conspired to […]