This is an in-depth examination of the Sabbath healing events in the gospels and the history of the Jewish debate on healing on Sabbath. Based on a meticulous textual analysis of the Sabbath events in the gospels and on the relevant material in the early rabbinic texts, Collins traces the history of the process by which Jewish law accommodated such acts. Part One considers evidence preserved in the gospels that deals with the contemporary Jewish debate on healing on the Sabbath. In contrast with traditional conclusions Collins shows that Jesus and the Pharisees were fully in agreement concerning the necessity for such Sabbath acts. Collins also explains the reason for the apparent differences between the Pharisees and Jesus on acts of healing on the Sabbath. Part Two traces the continuation of the search by Jewish sages in the second century to find ways to integrate acts of Sabbath healing within Jewish law. The Jewish arguments they composed are then compared with those that exist in the gospel texts.This reveals their different features, and thus helps to date the composition of the rabbinic directives on healing and saving life, in relation to the first and second centuries CE.