John Calvin Commentary Matthew 12:11

"And he said unto them, What man shall there be of you, that shall have one sheep, and if this fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?" — Matthew 12:11 (ASV)

What man shall there be among you who shall have a sheep? Christ again points out what is the true way of keeping the Sabbath; and, at the same time, reproves them for slander, for charging him with what was a universal custom. For if anyone’s sheep had fallen into a ditch, no one would have prevented it from being taken out; but just as a man is of more value than a sheep, so much more are we at liberty to assist him. It is plain, therefore, that if anyone should relieve the necessity of brothers, he did not, in any way, violate the rest that the Lord has commanded. Mark and Luke do not mention this comparison, but only state that Christ inquired, Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil?

Anyone who takes away the life of a man is considered a criminal; and there is little difference between manslaughter and the conduct of someone who does not concern himself with relieving a person in distress. So then Christ indirectly charges them with endeavoring, under the pretense of a holy act, to compel him to do evil; for sin is committed, as we have already said, not only by one who does anything contrary to the Law, but also by one who neglects his duty. From this we also perceive that Christ did not always use the same arguments in refuting this slander; for he does not reason here about his divinity as he does in the case mentioned by John (John 5:18). Nor was there any need to do so, since the Pharisees were completely refuted by this single defense: that nothing could be more unreasonable than to pronounce a man who imitated God to be a transgressor of the Sabbath.