culpability of the transgressor. Young Jesus listened attentively for
a while, and then suddenly stepped out of the crowd. Placing himself
in front of the learned men, he asked: "Rabbis, ought a man to do good
on the Sabbath or not?"

They did not know at first whether to honour this bold young man with
an answer. But there is a precept in the law which declares that every
inquirer must be answered, so one of them said curtly and roughly: "Of
course a man should do good."

Jesus inquired further; "Is life a good thing or not?"

"As it is the gift of God, it is a good thing."

"Should a man then preserve life or harm it on the Sabbath?"

The wise men were silent, for they would have been compelled to
acknowledge that life must be preserved on the Sabbath, and their
accusation of the man who had baked bread for his food would have
fallen to the ground.

Jesus walked quickly up the steps to the table, and said: "Rabbis, if a
sheep fell into a brook on the Sabbath, would you leave it there till
the next day? You would not first think: To-day is the Sabbath day,
but you would pull it out before it was drowned. Which is of greater
value, a sheep or a man? If a sick man comes on the Sabbath day, and
needs help, it is given him at once. And if you have a splinter in
your flesh, no one asks if it is the Sabbath; the splinter must be
taken out. But you come with your laws against a poor man who was
obliged to prepare his food on the Sabbath, and you imagine yourselves