Recently I penned a series of posts on the Ten Commandments and as I was writing it, found that the Sabbath day was the only commandment not reapplied to believers in the New Testament.
In writing that series of posts, I was reminded that the Sabbath day was one of the main irritants between the Lord Jesus and the Pharisees.
Let’s stay in the gospel of Luke for our next post. Our last post dealt with a synagogue ruler called out as a hypocrite!
This miracle will have a response from the Jewish religious leadership, but somewhat different. Outward discussion with Jesus was a failing method of retaining power. Things were going to get notched up a bit!
Luke 14:1-6
1 One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully.
2 And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy.
Dropsy.
What in tarnation is dropsy?
In modern times, we call it edema. A swelling or fluid retention in the legs, arms and face.
Acute pulmonary edema can be fatal.
3 And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?”
4 But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away.
Jesus healed the man, and sent him away. This time the religious Jews weren’t going to get a chance to persecute the newly healed man. What a relief.
These lawyers and pharisees were silent before the miracle occurred. They were silent after the miracle took place. Amazing!
One of my favorite proverbs is
Pro 17:28
Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise;
when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.
These folk exercised wisdom, whether they knew it or not!
5 And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?”
Note that by this time, the argument for healing the sick on the Sabbath was established, comparing the sick with a fallen ox, or a thirsty mule. See the previous post Jesus on the Sabbath – Part 6 – A Withering Response
6 And they could not reply to these things.
Pretty sure they were not calmly considering the argument. Action plans were being formulated.
Follow Considering the Bible on WordPress.com
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.
Considering the Bible 