And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.
Ver. 4. To do good or to do evil] Not to do good, then, as there is opportunity, is to do evil. Qui non, cum potest, servat, occidit. Non faciendo nocens, sed patiendo fuit, it is said of the Emperor Claudius. Not robbing only, but the not relieving of the poor, was the rich man's ruin, Luke 16:19,23; passive wickedness is taxed in some of the churches, Revelation 2:4; Revelation 2:14; Revelation 2:20; Revelation 3:4; Revelation 3:15,16 .
To save life] Gr. ψυχην, soul, for man, and man for the body of man. So Psalms 16:10; "Thou wilt not leave my soul in the grave," that is, my body, as Piscator senseth it.