What the Bible says about Ridicule
(From Forerunner Commentary)
Jesus is saying that, at the very time people should be most concerned about events and conditions around them, they may be totally unprepared, living life normally. II Peter 3:1-12 adds that, not only will there be those who are totally oblivious, but also those who may be vaguely aware of what is going on but are so anti-God and anti-Christ that they willfully mock and ridicule to discourage those who are fully aware.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Our Uniqueness and TimeRelated Topics: Discouragement | Our Uniqueness | Our Uniqueness and Time | Preparedness | Preparedness for God's Kingdom | Ridicule
The Jews had perverted the keeping of the Sabbath, commanded in Exodus 20:8-11, which codifies the observance of the Sabbath day as one of God's supreme laws. Nehemiah 13:15 and Jeremiah 17:21 deal specifically with working and doing business on the Sabbath. The crippled man carrying his bed was not condemned under the fourth commandment because works of mercy were acceptable on the Sabbath day.
For example, it is acceptable to rescue animals on the Sabbath. While performing another miracle Christ said to his critics, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:11-12).
The Jewish critics targeted the man's conduct, but in reality, Christ was the ultimate object of their hate. Jesus later tells His disciples, "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you" (John 15:18-19). Wicked people despise right conduct; they will ridicule it and even try to stop it because it is repugnant to them (Proverbs 29:27). Even relatives are often appalled when family members are called into God's church, and they see a change for the better. Human nature does not like to be outdone or shown for what it really is—self-serving.
Martin G. Collins
The Miracles of Jesus Christ: Healing a Cripple by a Pool (Part Two)