Jesus from house to house (8) On the way to Jérusalem, in a chief of the pharisees

"When Jesus came into the house of one of the chiefs of the Pharisees on a sabbath day to have a meal, they watched him. And behold, there was before him a man suffering from dropsy. Jesus spoke to the doctors of the law and to the Pharisees : Is it lawful to give care on the Sabbath ? But they fell silent. Then he took the sick man, healed him, and sent him away. And he said unto them, Which of you, if his ass or his ox fall into a well, shall not withdraw it from it on the sabbath ? Luke 14: 1-5

Jesus was very often invited by Pharisees. He accepted to eat with them, but it was certainly not to express any communion with them ... and the Pharisees sought only to find in him a reason to reject his teachings or a subject of accusation for him condemn.

The Gospels contain seven stories in which Jesus heals one Sabbath day. One might think that these miracles would respect the leaders of the people. On the contrary, they only amplify their hatred. Jesus heals a sabbath day, so he works, so he breaks the law. There was only one exception to this rabbinic rule, if the absence of care led to the death of the person before the end of the Sabbath.

One Sabbath day, a leader of the Pharisees invites Jesus to a meal. There is a hydropic man, that is to say, swollen by the accumulation of water in his tissues, whence, doubtless, great difficulty in moving. Certainly the man is very ill, but not in danger of death. Jesus takes the lead and asks a question to the doctors of the law and to the Pharisees who spy on him : "Is it lawful to heal on a Sabbath ?" They remain silent.

The Lord heals the sick and returns him home, no doubt on foot! The miracle was fully accomplished during the Sabbath. Jesus remarked to those around him that a little judgment (and compassion for the sick) would have allowed them to answer : did not they themselves, on the sabbath day, deliver an animal that had fallen into a hole ? No one could reply.

The Lord reads in our eyes and in our hearts. He always wants us to examine the motives that make us act. The greatest is love.

Source (To pleasing the Lord)