Luke 14:1-6

Christ the Guest of a Pharisee. Luke 14, 1-14.

Healing a man afflicted with dropsy on the Sabbath: V. 1. And it came to pass, as He went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath-day that they watched Him. V. 2. And, behold, there was a certain man before Him which had the dropsy. V. 3. And Jesus, answering, spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath-day? V. 4. And they held their peace. And He took him, and healed him, and let him go; v. 5. and answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the Sabbath-day? V. 6. And they could not answer Him again to these things.

The Pharisees continued their method of attempting to provoke Jesus to some rash utterance, chap. 11, 53. 54. It was for this reason, also, that He was invited by one of their number, as once before. His host was one of the chief, or first, among the Pharisees, occupying a position of honor among them, since they had no regular rulers. He may have been a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest council of the Jewish Church, or he may have been known for the excellency of his learning.

In the house of this man Jesus was a guest; for feasting on the Sabbath was common among the Jews, though they were permitted to serve only cold dishes. The Pharisees had an object in inviting the Lord, for they were observing Him most carefully and suspiciously. They had, as they thought, arranged a trap for Him. For when Jesus came into the house, there was, as though by chance, and yet by most cunning planning, a dropsical man [a man with edema].

The omniscient Christ knew their thoughts, answering them as though they had spoken aloud. He addressed Himself to all the scribes and Pharisees present, for they were all equally guilty. His question was the same which He had asked upon other occasions, whether it was the right, the proper, the obligatory thing to heal on the Sabbath-day or not. His question implied an assertion in the affirmative, and they found themselves unable to contradict Him, preferring to say nothing, since their heart and conscience told them that they could not deny the fact which Jesus wanted to convey. Works of love were indeed permitted on the Sabbath-day, even according to the strictest Mosaic law. And so Jesus fulfilled the greatest law of all: putting His hand upon the sick man, He healed him and sent him away.

Then the Lord turned once more to the Pharisees and answered their unspoken thoughts, which condemned the healing on the Sabbath. He asked them whether it would not be self-evident for them, in case one of their domestic animals, a mere beast of burden, should fall into a pit, an empty cistern, to draw the poor victim of the accident up at once, without the slightest hesitation, without paying any attention to the fact that it might be the Sabbath-day. Once more they were silenced, not being able to contradict the statement of the Lord, since it was impossible to do anything but acknowledge the truth of His argument.

Note: The Pharisee, in inviting Jesus, professed friendship, affection, and respect for Him, while at the same time he was preparing snares to catch Him. Thus many children of the world will simulate interest and regard for the Gospel and its ministry, while in reality they are trying to draw out the Christians, in order to ridicule their belief in the words of Holy Scripture. Also: The same Sabbath fanatics that made the life of Jesus miserable at times are at work also in our days, insisting upon all manner of outward observances of Sunday, though many of them are not one whit concerned about the pure preaching of the Gospel.

"The doctrine of Sabbath has mainly this object, that we learn to understand the Third Commandment correctly. For to sanctify the Sabbath means to hear God's Word and to help our neighbor wherever possible. For God does not want the Sabbath kept so holy that we should on that account leave and forsake our neighbor in his trouble. Therefore, if I serve my neighbor and help him, though this means work, I have kept the Sabbath rightly and well; for I have performed a divine work on it."(Luther, 13 a, 894).