14 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. 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. 5 And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son1 or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” 6 And they could not reply to these things.
Section Overview
The next passage helps us understand why Israel’s temple will be desolated. The religious leaders, the Pharisees, do not grasp or embrace the will of God in Jesus. We see this in Sabbath controversies. On another occasion at which Jesus dines at the house of a Pharisee, they do not welcome Jesus but rather view him with suspicion. A man with dropsy is present, and Jesus asks if it is lawful to heal him on the Sabbath. The Pharisees refuse to answer, showing the hardness of their hearts. Jesus heals the man and reminds them that they would rescue a son or ox who fell into a well on the Sabbath. They have no response, and yet they still oppose Jesus, showing the hardness of their hearts.
Section Outline
IV. Galilee to Jerusalem: Discipleship (9:51–19:27) . . .
B. The Journey Continues (13:22–17:10) . . .
2. Discipleship on the Journey (14:1–35)
a. Healing on the Sabbath (14:1–6)
Response
Garland rightly points out, “People can be quite legalistic in strictly applying rules to others, but when they are hit with similar problems they are quick to bend them. It becomes a crisis for which loopholes can be found.”159 We see from this text that we must be humble and open to truth. We may think we are completely right about something and be closed to any evidence that contradicts our presuppositions. We read everything that occurs through our preconceptions, which confirm what we thought in the first place. But if our starting point is wrong, as it is with the Pharisees, then all of our thoughts that follow will lead us astray. The Pharisees are convinced Jesus is in the wrong, and they read everything he does negatively. Jesus seeks to show them that they are inconsistent, that they contradict their own worldview, but they are impervious to criticism. We realize that people need light from above to see who Jesus truly is (2 Cor. 4:6). We pray that God would break through biases so that people might behold Jesus in all of his glory (2 Cor. 3:18).