14:1
This is the third recorded occasion when Jesus went to eat at a Pharisee’s house. The first was when the sinful woman anointed Jesus (Lk 7:36-50), the second was when Jesus really lambasted the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law (Lk 11:37). One wonders why they kept on inviting Jesus, things never turned out as expected! This time the point of confrontation will be over healing on the Sabbath, a recurrent theme in the gospels.
“He was being carefully watched.” The Pharisees and other religious leaders were desperate for an excuse to “get” Jesus. This the tragedy of the human condition. We complain that God hides Himself or does not provide enough “evidence” of His existence, yet when God does “show up” we object as well. And this does not just apply to atheists and pharisee types, all of us can be prone to this. For God is radically different from us, so when He “shows up” He is going to offend us in some way or other.
14:2-4
A man with bloating of the body, or “dropsy”, ie excess fluid gathered in parts of the body. This time Jesus deliberately confronts the Pharisees and experts of the Law, asking them if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath. There is a time to be direct, and always to pussyfoot around an issue. The attitude of the religious leaders to the Sabbath was not just wrong, it was completely contrary to God’s intentions, and was harmful to people. Jesus considered this to be a vital matter. The Pharisees and experts in the Law had had previous dealings with Jesus on this matter and so knew what sort of answer Jesus would give, ie concern for the person, and God doing good on the Sabbath, bringing peace and healing. They could, of course, have learnt from their past experiences and admitted that Jesus’ way was correct, but instead they remained silent. So Jesus, not being the least intimidated by them, went ahead and healed the man, sending him on his way. The man had no further part to play and Jesus did not want to involve him in the confrontation that would ensue.
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