One Sabbath day Jesus went to eat dinner in the home of a leader of the Pharisees, and the people were watching Him closely. There was a man there whose arms and legs were swollen. Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in religious law,”Is it permitted in the law to heal people on the Sabbath day, or not?”
When they refused to answer, Jesus touched the sick man and healed him and sent him away. Then He turned to them and said,”Which of you doesn’t work on the Sabbath? If your son or your cow falls into a pit, don’t you rush to get him out?” Again they could not answer.
Luke 14:1-6
Another fun time with the Pharisees. Luke is very sensitive to the home visits that Jesus made to people’s homes. He has a number of stories concerning these personal visits. To name some of them: Simon’s house (Luke 4), Levi, the tax collector (Luke 5), Jairus’ visit (Luke 8), plus numerous others. But what is even more interesting, are the number of times that Luke records Jesus eating with the Pharisees (Luke 7, 11 and now, 14). The other Gospel writers don’t record these moments, only Luke. It seems his attention is focused on these personal moments with Jesus going to the home of someone. And more especially when He goes to a Pharisee’s house. These are not recorded anywhere else. Luke records those times when Jesus spends time with the sinners and the despised and then spends time with the Pharisees, Sadducees and teachers of the Law. It seems that Jesus spends lots of time with the riff raff at the top and the bottom of society. Luke also records a number of times when there is a controversy surrounding what Jesus does on the Sabbath. This is another of those moments.
Each time He spends time with a Pharisee in his home, it is like there is a plant there. I.e. there is someone there who should not be there. When Jesus relates to the person whom He should not associate with or should not help on the Sabbath, then they build controversy around what He has done. Or they pay careful attention to what He does so they can find fault. In the Luke 11 example it’s the fact that Jesus didn’t ceremonially wash His hands. In Luke 7 it was Jesus allowing a fallen woman to touch Him. But if she was so awful, why was she in the Pharisee’s house in the first place? Hence, my claim that these Pharisees seem to have a plant in each place where they invite Jesus to eat. Note in this case before us today, that the people there watched Him closely. The sense is with some degree of maliciousness, as if they were lying in wait for Him.
The text records that right in front of Him was a man who suffered from swollen limbs. Some translations tell us dropsy [Dropsy (hudropikos or dropsy) in which the limbs and body are distended with water called anasarca. A disease whereby the body swells up in the joints and the body cavities with unwanted fluid. It would have been hard for this man to move without pain in his joints. While this disease was not directly life threatening, there were side-effects on the kidneys, liver, blood pressure and heart. [He was not a well man.] It was very evident that the man was in discomfort. Interesting isn’t it, that this man should be placed right in front of Jesus. Oh, you can bet that Jesus was led to His place at the table, directly opposite this man. There’s a sense in which this man was an uninvited guest, but if he was uninvited, why is he seated directly in front of the “guest of honour”? It’s a set up. I suspect they were waiting with bated breath to see what Jesus would do with this sick man right in front of Him on the Sabbath. All waiting to accuse when Jesus did anything.
It is like Jesus knows their motives and He starts the ball rolling with His question: “Is it permitted in the Law to heal people on the Sabbath or not?” Jesus knows they are sitting there watching and waiting for Him to make a move. So He asks the question. What an interesting question! Notice their answer speaks volumes. Silence! When Pilate asked, “What is truth?” Jesus was silent. Now Jesus is asking, “Is it lawful for me to heal or not?” The Pharisees are silent. I love it. Talk about mind games. Is it lawful, can mean according to the Law of Moses or according to your regulations? On either count they are silent. Yes, there was nothing in the Law of Moses that specifically prohibited healing on the Sabbath. If according to their collection of cherished laws, yes, there were laws which limited what Jesus could do. But if they came out with such laws, it showed a stark contrast against the Mosaic Law and their own collection or minute laws for every occasion. So they say nothing, for fear of being judged by the people. I wonder if their silence was not because they were waiting for Him to show His hand, but because they couldn’t answer Him?
When they gave no answer, Jesus takes the man, touches Him and then sends him away healed. That’s your answer! He was obviously not one of the invited guests because he didn’t stay for the meal like one of them. He was a plant. Jesus, to follow up the silence, adds, “Which among you, if your son or your cow falls into a pit, doesn’t rush to get him out?” Yes indeed, you all would do that if it was your SON or cow. It is your interest that is in focus here. So you set aside your laws and principles to look after your interest. Notice the contrast in this question – son vs cow. Much like the daughter of Abraham and the ox we encountered in the previous chapter. Oh, such political intrigue and such perfect contrasts used by Jesus.
Again the silent treatment from those gathered. No one dared to say anything. They didn’t know how to counter what Jesus had just done to them. All of this contrived plot comes to nought; the Pharisees are totally silent. Jesus 2 / Pharisees 0.
Much can be said with silence. Often it’s not what you say; but what you don’t say that matters most.
Ian Vail
You can’t reach for anything new if your hands are still full of yesterday’s junk!
Shierly Hotnida
Life is measured not by the things you do, but by the things you set into motion.
Jeff Leake
When small, you’ll be ignored; When you grow, you’ll be criticized; If you get big, you’ll be resented. “Live for Him!”
Rick Warren
You can’t kill a Christian, you can only change his address.
Mathias Grehn