Luke 14:1-5 And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him. (2) And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy. (3) And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? (4) And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go; (5) And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?
Why do people ask that general question? Is it lawful? Is it right? Is it OK? Is it permissible? This is usually a LOADED question!
It is my opinion that most of the time that one asks this question, people are NOT on a quest for truth, instead they are trying to elicit a response of one kind or another. Think back when you were a child and you asked your parents to do something. Didn’t you already have an answer in your mind of what you wanted them to say? Here is a good indicator of my hypothesis: when they said no, do you shrug your shoulders and say: OK. Or...did you try to convince them that their first answer was misguided? Thus the question was loaded. You might have even asked the question in a leading manner.
In our text today, Jesus uses this tactic as well. He asks the question: “Is it Lawful” to cause those around him to think differently than they had. He was not searching for the answer to that question. He knew the answer!
The Jews had expanded the law of Moses and had taken it to a whole new extreme level; beyond what God had intended. In doing so, they made the law a burden on the people.
Matthew 23:3-4 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.(4) For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
Matthew 15:1-9 Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, (2) Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. (3) But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? (4) For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. (5) But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; (6) And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. (7) Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, (8) This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. (9) But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
The Jews thought they knew what the law said about observing the Sabbath, but much of that “Law” was tradition that they had created. Jesus wanted them to understand the difference. So he asks the question: “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” He knew both what they thought and he knew the real answer. His purpose was to teach the lesson that they had misused their power and had made the law more strenuous than it needed to be.
Mark 2:27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
Jesus said in Mark’s Gospel that the Sabbath was made for our benefit, not the other way around. The Sabbath was a day of rest. But the Jews had twisted the law to make the day of rest a day of burden. When he asked that question, they refused to respond. To further prove his point, he asked a rhetorical question as a follow-up. He asked: “If you had a ox that fell in a ditch on the Sabbath, could you not get it out?” The answer is : Of course. Jesus is trying to prove that the life of a human is far superior than that of any animal. If an animal is worth setting aside the Sabbath for, then so is healing a human.
Jesus is letting us know that man must not use his law as a weapon. Also, there are limited times and rare events in which we may set aside a commandment in order to serve a greater good. Note though, that Jesus is not giving us carte blanch approval to act as if his laws are insignificant. His laws are there for our benefit. They must be respected. But God does allow for reasonable emergencies.
Reflecting His SON,
Dennis Hogan
Minister, North Hardin Church of Christ
1804 Sam Stewart Dr.
Radcliff, KY 40160
Questions, comments or further explanation? Contact me at: dennis.hogan@icloud.com
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