Luke 14:1-6


Luke 14:1-6
1 It happened that when He went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching Him closely. 2 And there in front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy. 3 And Jesus answered and spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 4 But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away. 5 And He said to them, “Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?” 6 And they could make no reply to this.

Most of us don’t enjoy the feeling of being under scrutiny.  No matter where Jesus went, He was constantly under the watchful eye of the Pharisees who were just waiting to find some fault with anything He did.  On this occasion He was going to the home of a Pharisee for breakfast, but it seems the entire group came out to find a way to condemn Him.  Perhaps they found a person who was obviously sick to see what Jesus would do on the Sabbath.  They are not only looking to condemn Jesus, but are exploiting the sick man in order to do it.  They have clearly forgotten, as we often do, that all of our deeds, thoughts, words and motives are all under God’s constant scrutiny.

JESUS DEMONSTRATES COMPASSION: When Jesus arrives at the home he immediately sees the man who was suffering from dropsy, which is the swelling of the abdominal cavity due to the retention of water.  It must have been a very painful as well as embarrassing disease.  We don’t know if he heard about Jesus coming to this location and came on his own, or if the Pharisees placed him there strategically to see what Jesus would do in this circumstance.  What we do know is that Jesus had compassion on the man and the suffering he faced.  It would have been more convenient for him to just pass by and ignore the man, but Jesus was not concerned with His own convenience.  He was concerned with the suffering of the people around Him.  God calls us to notice the people around us and to care for their needs in any way we can.   

JESUS DEMONSTRATES COURAGE: Despite being scrutinized, criticized and threatened, Jesus had the courage to do what was right and help the sick man.  Jesus knew the hearts of the religious leaders around him and he knew of their intention to kill.  He knew that healing this man could put himself at risk, but he continued to do what was best for the man who was in need.  Helping others even when it jeopardizes our own well-being is the definition of courage.  This can be contrasted by the cowardice of the Pharisees who don’t even have the courage to answer the question Jesus asked.  The fear of men is a constant plague in the heart of many people.  When we constantly worry about how others will react to us or think about us; we are being controlled by the fear of man.  God can give us the courage to do what is right no matter what the cost.

JESUS DEMONSTRATES CLARITY: Once Jesus heals the man, he knows the Pharisees will be critical of Him and perhaps even bring an accusation against Him.  Instead, Jesus brings great clarity to the situation by explaining the Law to them.  He reminds them that it is legal within the Law for a person to remove a son or an animal from a hole on the sabbath.  Jesus makes it clear that this sick man is of more value than an animal.  They had no response to His argument and were left without an option but to agree with His teaching.  The Word of God should bring clarity to our thinking and provide a means for us to defend our actions.  One day each of us will be judged according to the way we followed the Scripture.  God will bring great clarity at that time to each of us.  We would do well to seek a clear understanding o Scripture now in preparation for the judgment then.

APPLICATIONS: Develop compassion for those who are hurting there is so much need all around us it can become easy to be desensitized to those who are suffering.  Don’t allow our fear of what others might think of us to keep us from doing what we know God would have us do.  Know God’s Word and use it to confront and challenge ourselves and others.

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