If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day? — Jesus argues that circumcision is allowed on the Sabbath to fulfill the covenant law; his healing of the whole person ('every whit whole,' holon, complete) on the Sabbath is far greater and more aligned with the spirit of the Law. The authorities' anger at his Sabbath healing is thus inconsistent with their acceptance of Sabbath circumcision. The logic forces a choice: either accept that the Law permits healing on the Sabbath, or admit that your opposition is not about the Law but about power.

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