03_Wilson_201_221_201_221 10/07/15 12:41 Pagina 215 215 MATTHEW, PHILO, AND MERCY FOR ANIMALS (MATT 12,9-14) 215 his survey of the law in De humanitate and related texts Philo was drawing not only upon specific concepts (e.g., filanqrwpi,a) but also upon specific forms of argumentation (and the assumptions in- forming them) familiar from Greco-Roman moral thought, all in an effort to assert for the law a place of respect within its cultural and intellectual environment. III. Learning the Law, Mercy for the Other As we have seen, in 12,1-14 Matthean redaction has the effect of (1) binding the two controversy stories about Sabbath obser- vance more closely together, and (2) introducing the theme of mercy (e;leoj) and the use of arguments a minori ad maius into Jesus’ side of the debate. In addition, it is also important to recog- nize how the evangelist has created a new literary context for these stories, especially by prefacing them with Jesus’ invitation to dis- cipleship in 11,28-30, material which is unparalleled in either Mark or Luke. Insofar as the terms avnapau,ein (11,28) and avna,pausij (11,29) were often used to give expression to Sabbath rest, the pas- sage is connected thematically with what follows 51. The use of the phrase evn evkei,nw| tw|/ kairw/| in both 11,25 (cf. Luke 10,21) and 12,1 (cf. Mark 2,23) further reinforces the connection. Moreover, given the references in 11,29-30 to his “yoke” (a common symbol for Torah obedience) 52, what one would “learn from me” (ma,qete avp v evmou/) in 11,29 presumably includes Jesus’ instruction on the Law. The debates about Sabbath observance in 12,1-14, then, can be taken as examples of what (and how) the disciples are invited to learn from Jesus in 11,29 53. As Celia Deutsch observes, 11,28-30 also prepares the way for 12,1-14 insofar as the former’s contrastive structure accords with 51 FRANKEMÖLLE, Matthäus, II, 130; J. LAANSMA, “I Will Give You Rest”. The Rest Motif in the New Testament with Special Reference to Mt 11 and Heb 3-4 (WUNT II/98; Tübingen 1997) 89-91, 246. 52 Jer 5,5; Acts 15,10; Gal 5,1; m. Ber. 2.2; m. Abot 3.5; 2 En. 34.1; 2 Bar. 41.3 53 MAYER-HAAS, Geschenk, 437-439; DAVIES – ALLISON, Saint Matthew, II, 289; LAANSMA, Rest, 210.