Good Deeds on a Good Day

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
Luke 14 (click the link)


KEY VERSES:
Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely.  And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy.   And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”  But they kept silent.  And He took him and healed him, and let him go.  

Then He answered them, saying, “Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?”  And they could not answer Him regarding these things.  (Luke 14:1-6, NKJV)


REFLECTIONS:
First let me just say that I have always loved the uniqueness of the Gospel of Luke.  It’s a fairly different perspective of Jesus and His teachings as compared to the Gospels written by three of the twelve disciples.  I love that Luke never met Jesus and yet devoted His entire life to learning all he could about Him and sharing that information with others for the Kingdom.

Chapter 14 begins with Jesus once again challenging the Pharisees.  He enters the house of a ruler, finds a sick man, and asks a question—“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”  Everyone gathered remains disapprovingly silent.  I focus today on these first few verses because I struggle constantly with “keeping the Sabbath holy.” 

Exodus 20:8-11 says, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God.  In it you shall do no work… For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day.  Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”  Pretty plainly said if you ask me.  So why was Jesus constantly finding Himself answering to the Pharisees about the Sabbath?  Here in chapter 14 He preempts the issue they questioned Him about in chapter 6, where Jesus has already proclaimed that He is over the Sabbath.  Now He stands in a room with a sick man and is answering the same question all over again.  

To Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day, His healings on the Sabbath were sacrilegious—it was seen as work, which was specifically prohibited by the Ten Commandments, and punishable by death (Exodus 31:14-15; 35:2).  Scribes and rabbis spent roughly the next 600 years (515 B.C.—A.D. 70) pouring over the words of the Scriptures, interpreting every detail.  Men had to determine what constituted a burden carried on the Sabbath.  It all had to be clarified and defined.  While on the surface these scribes were trying to keep people from inadvertently breaking the Sabbath law, they wound up emphasizing external adherence to the Law instead of helping to cultivate an attitude of submission before the Lord.  Perfect obedience to the Law became a source of pride instead of a real expression of love for God.  By Jesus’ time rabbis had become so strict that just plucking and eating some grain on the Sabbath was cause for accusation against Jesus and his disciples (Luke 6:1-2).  So of course Jesus’ healings on the Sabbath outraged them.  What Jesus saw as common sense and a good deed was prohibited by the Pharisees.  Jesus calls out their hypocrisy by asking them about the ox in a pit, and no one could answer Him.  It was allowable to save livestock on the Sabbath but not to save a fellow man.  The rabbis missed the main point of the Law: God gave the Law to encourage the Israelites to love Him and love each other—never to prohibit doing good on the Sabbath.  


PRAYER:
Thank you Jesus for being Lord over ALL things.  I know I personally need reminders to rest and keep Your Sabbath holy, but I am so grateful that You came and that mercy and grace came with You.  I pray I continue to know You better, and that You continue to grow my heart for others—that like Luke I can devote my life to Kingdom work.  Amen.


WHO AM I?
I’m Jennifer Babb, and I love that my kids are getting old enough to enjoy fishing!  My family takes an annual trip to the beach in October and this past year my dad and I had company on the pier.  James and Ellie both spent afternoons fishing with us.  Ellie caught a sting ray and James caught about 100 little hammerheads.  Nothing great, but they loved it!  And I loved it!