Luke 14:1 - Meaning and Application

In this passage, we see that the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and he mixed freely with all kinds of people. He did not avoid publicans, even though they had a bad name, or Pharisees, even though they disliked him. He accepted friendly invitations from both groups, so that, if possible, he might do good to both. Here he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees, likely a ruler or magistrate in that area, to eat bread on the Sabbath day (Luke 14:1).

This shows how kind God is to us, since he allows time for bodily refreshment, even on his own day. It also shows how careful we should be not to abuse that freedom or turn it into sin. Christ went only to eat bread, to take the refreshment needed on the Sabbath day. Our Sabbath meals should be watched closely, so they do not become excessive. On Sabbath days we should do as Moses and Jethro did, and eat bread before God (Exodus 18:12). We should also remember the early Christians, and eat and drink on the Lord’s Day as people who still must pray before resting, so that we are fit for prayer.

We also see that he went about doing good. Wherever he went, he looked for chances to help others, and he did not wait only for opportunities to come to him. Here there was a man before him who had dropsy, a disease that causes severe swelling in the body (Luke 14:2). We do not read that the man asked for help, or that his friends brought him to Christ as a patient. Christ met him first with the blessings of his goodness, and before he called, Christ answered him. It is a blessed thing to be where Christ is, to be before him, even if we are not formally brought to him.

This man likely had a very serious case of dropsy, and he may have appeared greatly swollen. He was probably a relative of the Pharisee who was hosting Jesus, which is more likely than that he was simply an invited guest at the table. Christ was not waiting for requests before he showed mercy. He was already ready to heal.

We also see that he endured the opposition of sinners against himself. They watched him (Luke 14:1). It seems the Pharisee who invited him did so with the intention of finding fault with him. If that was so, Christ knew it, and still went. He knew he could stand against even the most clever opponents, and he knew how to move with care while being watched. Those who are watched need to be careful. As Dr. Hammond notes, it is against all laws of hospitality to look for a way to trap someone you have invited as your guest, because you have taken that person under your protection.

These lawyers and Pharisees, like a hunter waiting to catch birds, stayed silent and acted quietly. When Christ asked them whether it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath day, he is said to answer them, because he answered their thoughts as well. Thoughts are words to Jesus Christ. They would say neither yes nor no, because they did not want to be taught. They wanted to accuse him, not learn from him. They would not say healing was lawful, because then they would lose their chance to treat it as a crime. Yet the matter was so plain that they could not bring themselves to say it was unlawful. Good people have often suffered for doing what even their enemies would have had to admit was right, if they had let their consciences speak plainly. Christ did many good works, and they threw stones at him and at his name for them.

We also see that Christ would not be stopped from doing good by the opposition of sinners. He took the man, healed him, and let him go (Luke 14:4). Perhaps he took him into another room and healed him there, because he did not want to make a show of himself, since he was humble, or stir up his enemies, since he was wise and gentle. We should not let the malice of our enemies push us away from duty, but we should arrange things so our actions cause as little offense as possible.

Or, when it says he took him, it may mean he laid hands on him to cure him. The word suggests he embraced him, taking him in his arms, even though the man was likely big and heavy with swelling, as people with dropsy often are. Christ reduced him to health at once. A cure like that, especially for a disease as serious as dropsy, might seem as if it should take time, yet Christ healed even that disease completely in a moment. Then he let the man go, so the Pharisees would not attack him for healing a man who had done nothing himself, since he was only passive in the matter. People like them could easily turn anything into a complaint.

Our Lord Jesus did nothing he could not defend, and he left those who argued with him convicted and ashamed (Luke 14:5, Luke 14:6). He answered their thoughts and silenced them by appealing to their own practice, as he often did in similar situations. In this way, he showed them that in condemning him, they were condemning themselves. Which of them would have an ox or a donkey fall into a pit by accident and not pull it out on the Sabbath day, and do it at once, without waiting until the Sabbath was over, so it would not perish? Notice that they did this less out of pity for the animal and more out of concern for their own gain. It was their own ox or donkey, worth money, so they would make an exception to the Sabbath law to save it.

This exposed their hypocrisy. Their complaint about Christ healing on the Sabbath was not really about honoring the Sabbath. That was only their excuse. In truth, they were angry because of the miraculous good works Christ did, the proof those works gave of his divine mission, and the favor he gained among the people. Many people can easily set aside a law when their own interests are at stake, though they will not set it aside for God’s glory or for the good of their neighbors. This question silenced them. They could not answer him after this (Luke 14:6). Christ will be shown right when he speaks, and every mouth must be closed before him.