Flashback Episode — Rules or Relationships: Luke 14:1-6

All throughout the gospels, while Jesus was teaching, preaching, healing, and traveling throughout the countryside, there seemed to be only one key thing that the religious leaders really disliked Him for.

While Jesus was helping people, and pointing people to God, which are both things the religious leaders couldn’t really complain about, the religious leaders did not like that Jesus was gaining popularity – but a popular Jesus didn’t bother them as much as something else Jesus continually did.

It would seem as though on about every chance Jesus got, He would choose to heal people regardless of what day of the week it was. Whether the day was a weekday or a weekend day, it seems as though Jesus never really took a day off from helping people – and this really bothered the religious leaders because it went against one of the Ten Commandments in their minds, specifically the Sabbath commandment.

The Sabbath commandment said that the other six days of the week were workdays, but the Sabbath seventh-day of the week was set aside to be a holy day where there was to be no work performed on it. The Pharisees saw Jesus as a teacher-healer, and therefore, healing was part of Jesus’ occupation and something that the Sabbath said He should rest from.

Our passage in this episode shares an event where Jesus heals on the Sabbath day, and the interesting thing about the version of the Bible I chose to use for this episode is that it doesn’t use the word “Sabbath” to describe the day. But even though the day is not given a name in this translation, the day is still given significance. This event is found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 14, and we will read it from the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 1, Luke tells us that:

¹ On a day of rest—a holy day [most other translations say this day was the Sabbath] Jesus went to eat at the home of a prominent Pharisee. The guests were watching Jesus very closely.

² A man whose body was swollen with fluid was there. ³ Jesus reacted by asking the Pharisees and the experts in Moses’ Teachings, “Is it right to heal on the day of rest—a holy day, or not?” ⁴ But they didn’t say a thing.

So Jesus took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him away. ⁵ Jesus asked them, “If your son or your ox falls into a well on a day of rest—a holy day, wouldn’t you pull him out immediately?” ⁶ They couldn’t argue with him about this.

I find this version of the Bible fascinating because of how it has chosen to describe the Sabbath day. The Sabbath is described everywhere it is found in this version of the Bible as a day of rest and specifically as a holy day. Perhaps this is because these translators wanted to take the emphasis off of the name Sabbath, or perhaps they felt that the name of this day had become watered down and had lost its meaning. By always describing the significance of the Sabbath instead of simply saying its name, while it makes for a little more awkward flowing text, we are pushed to remember what this culture thought about this specific day.

But a number of other things in this passage stood out to me as I read it. Before we even learn about the man with the disability we read that “The guests were watching Jesus very closely.” (v. 1b)

This immediately tells me that this event was a set-up. At the home of a prominent Pharisee, with all of his Pharisee friends present, probably following a worship service at the local synagogue, Jesus accepted the invitation for lunch. Had this been a supper time meal, it would have been close to the sun setting and there would be no problem with a miracle healing because after the sun set, the Sabbath would have been over and a new week would have begun.

I also find it interesting that the first thing Jesus does is pose the question about whether it is right for someone to heal on the holy day of rest or not. In this question, it seems Jesus is either opening up the floor for discussion, or being polite and asking if anyone had any objections to Him healing this man.

This looks even more like a set-up when no one answers Jesus’ question. Remember, this is a group of Pharisees, and Pharisees were among the most legalistic law-followers around. Yes, they objected to this healing, but they wanted to trap Jesus doing work, so technically they could not object because then Jesus might not perform the miracle they wanted to trap Him with. In the simple question and lack of response, it was like these Pharisees gave Jesus the green light to go ahead and heal this man.

However, Jesus knows that they really did object, but instead of answering their objection directly, He makes a comparison that they could not argue with. Jesus asked them the semi-rhetorical question in verse 5: “If your son or your ox falls into a well on a day of rest—a holy day, wouldn’t you pull him out immediately?”

While the Pharisees couldn’t argue about this, they still didn’t like the implication. Jesus didn’t even break a sweat healing this man. Healing was almost effortless for Him. However, everyone present at this meal knew that helping up a child or an animal that had fallen into a well would take a lot more effort and if this was something the religious leaders were willing to do, then healing a person would be just as acceptable. Part of me wonders if this had happened recently and a number of Pharisees present helped free an animal that had fallen into a well or ditch.

But a question still remains: Why would Jesus even accept the invitation knowing that He was being set up? If Jesus knew this entire event was a set-up, why even go?

I believe it was because Jesus loved the person who was ill and He wanted to heal him regardless of who was present, and because Jesus wanted to take those present – yes the legalistic Pharisees who were wanting to trap Him – to a different and more accurate view of the Sabbath holy day of rest.

For Jesus, the Sabbath was a day that was dedicated to God to rest and focus on family, friends, and relationships. It was to be the high point at the end of the week and it was to be a blessing for those who kept it. It was not intended to be a burden where people had to be extra-cautious for those 24 hours for fear of breaking a rule.

Jesus lived God’s idea of the Sabbath, and that was an idea that focused on helping people on that special day. For the man who was healed, that Sabbath day would forever be a special day in his life because it marked freedom from his illness, and it may have been a day he chose to celebrate every year like a birthday or anniversary.

Jesus loved to help people, and He wants us to realize that the Sabbath is a day where we are free to help others!

With that said, here are the challenges I want to leave you with at the end of this podcast episode:

If you have written off the Sabbath, or if you have been more focused on the rules of what not to do, pay attention to how Jesus treated the Sabbath. As I have read about this, Jesus observed the Sabbath but did so differently than the culture did at that time. When celebrating the Sabbath, be sure to focus on God, friends, and family, and be sure to avoid letting it become a day where rules trump relationships. God loves you and He created the Sabbath day to be a blessing and gift for all humanity.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, prayerfully study the Bible for yourself to learn more about why God set the Sabbath day apart for rest, and if you have never looked into it, the Bible gives enough information to help one discover what day of the week the Sabbath day is today in the 21st century. Learning what day this is might both surprise and challenge you.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or deviate away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!