1 On a day of rest—a holy day 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.
Read Luke 14:1-6 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
Today’s journal entry touches on a running theme throughout the four gospels – Jesus healing people. Now, normally this wouldn’t have concerned the Pharisees all that much, because by this time, they probably classified Him as a doctor, but what really irritates them is when this profession interfered with the Sabbath – the day of rest God instructed them to remember centuries before on Mount Sinai.
In this passage, the big idea I want to bring out is that Jesus is not interested in “do nots” regarding the Sabbath, but instead with “dos”.
It would seem as though Jesus, who was a guest in this Pharisee’s home, did not want to overstep His host’s welcome, but at the same time, Jesus knew their thoughts. He asks them the question that they have been wrestling with for some time: “Is it right to heal on the day of rest—a holy day [the Sabbath] or not?” (v. 3)
They likely really wanted to say that it was not okay, but they wouldn’t have been able to back the answer up with the writings of Moses and the prophets, so they remained silent. Jesus, responding to their silence, simply heals the man, as though it isn’t a big deal.
Once the man has left, Jesus asks them a parallel question, “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?” (v. 5)
The brilliance of this question is not that it silences them, but it is so clearly acceptable and relevant that they could not disagree.
In this short event, we see Jesus focusing us on helping others (and giving glory to God) over getting caught up in the details of what is right or wrong on the Sabbath day of worship.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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