Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. - Exodus 20:8
After celebrating the Feasts of Booths in Jerusalem, it seems that Jesus made a tour through various towns and villages in Judea teaching and healing the people He encountered. He may have even briefly crossed the Jordan during this time (Matthew 19:2). The 2 miracles we will discuss this morning likely took place during these travels, just 5-6 months before Jesus’ crucifixion. The exact location of each remains unknown.
The title of this message is “A Disabled Woman and a Man with Dropsy”. Both of these miracles are only recorded in the gospel of Luke. Also, both of them occurred on the Sabbath day, which as always, drew harsh criticism. For those keeping track, these are the 37th and 38th miracles on our list of 45. Open your Bibles and let’s begin.
I. FREED FROM SICKNESS (Luke 13:10-13)
Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath day. There was a woman there who was bent over and could not straighten up. She had suffered from this condition for 18 years. When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said, “Woman, you are freed from your sickness.” He laid His hands on her and immediately she stood erect and began glorifying God.
As we’ve stated before in this series, it was common practice for Jesus to be teaching in a synagogue somewhere on the Sabbath day. I am sure by now that He drew large audiences. In this case, we don’t know the name of the town He was in. Nevertheless, He noticed a crippled lady while He was speaking and called her to come up to the front, which she courageously did. The woman had been physically disabled by the work of an evil spirit, although there is no indication that she was demon-possessed. Jesus healed her publicly in sight of those who were gathered there.
This was a healing miracle. Jesus performed it by both speaking and laying His hands on (or touching) her. In so doing, Jesus displayed His power to heal and revealed His glory, as evidenced by the woman immediately glorifying Him. He would also use this as an opportunity to teach about healing on the Sabbath.
II. RELEASED ON THE SABBATH (Luke 13:14-17)
The synagogue official was indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. He said, “Work should be done during the other 6 days of the week, not on the Sabbath.” Jesus called them hypocrites and answered, “Each of you unties your ox or donkey to water on the Sabbath. Why shouldn’t this woman be healed?” His opponents were humiliated and the crowds rejoiced.
Jesus pointed out the double-standard that the synagogue official was employing. He, as well as the other Jewish priests, Pharisees, and religious leaders, did work on the Sabbath by tending to their animals (among other things). If they worked on the Sabbath, why would Jesus be forbidden from doing something far more important - healing a crippled woman? Everyone recognized the truth of Jesus’ words and the hypocrisy of His opponents. Jesus put them in their place and they were humiliated, as they should have been.
III. LAWFUL TO HEAL (Luke 14:1-6)
Jesus went into the house of a leading Pharisee, likely a member of the Sanhedrin, on the Sabbath day. He was being watched closely. There was a man with dropsy seated at the table right in front of Jesus. He asked the Pharisees and scholars if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath day, but they declined to answer. Then Jesus healed the man and sent him away. He asked, “If your son or ox fell into a well on the Sabbath day, wouldn’t you immediately pull it out?” Again, they had no reply.
Dropsy is the ancient term for generalized edema. Edema is the swelling of the body’s tissue which results from an abnormal build-up of fluids (water in the system). In Biblical times, dropsy was quite common, especially among the rich. It was actually used as a metaphor by Greek philosophers for greed and wealth. This flows naturally into the parables that Jesus taught in the remainder of the chapter.
The details of this story seem to suggest that this may have been a set-up. Notice that the Pharisees were “watching Jesus closely”. Why would a man with dropsy be placed in a seat right in front of Him? Perhaps as a test to see what, if anything, He would do? Perhaps this Pharisee’s invitation to dine with him was a trap meant to entice Jesus into violating the Sabbath, so that they might make accusations against Him at the banquet? If so, it reveals the Pharisees’ sinister motivations. That said, Jesus outsmarted them all (again).
Jesus used this same argument against the Pharisees earlier in His ministry when He healed a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath day (Matthew 12:9-14). If you would save an animal on the Sabbath, why wouldn’t you heal a person? If the Pharisees had refuted Jesus’ words they would’ve looked ridiculous, which is why they kept their mouths shut.
Like the disabled woman we discussed earlier in this sermon, this too was a healing miracle. The Bible says that Jesus ‘took hold of” the man with dropsy, but it doesn’t explicitly say how He healed him. Therefore, we will categorize this miracle’s method as “unspecified”. Jesus used this occasion to teach about healing on the Sabbath and rebuke the practice of legalism.
CONCLUSION
Neither the disabled woman nor the man with dropsy asked Jesus to heal them. I am not suggesting that we shouldn’t ask Jesus for healing. The Bible clearly teaches us to ask, not only for ourselves, but for others as well. We are to pray persistently and with faithful expectation. That said, I am simply pointing out that Jesus can heal anyone He chooses, whether they ask or not. As I have emphasized throughout this series, the determining factor is God’s will, not our petitions and/or how fervently they are made. This is why we must learn to pray in accordance with God’s will in order to be effective (1 John 5:14-15).
These are the final 2 miracles of Jesus recorded in the Bible that took place on the Sabbath day. That said, let’s summarize His teachings on this issue 1 last time. First, Jesus made a habit of being in the synagogue on the Sabbath, honoring God’s command to keep the day holy and set it aside for worship. He taught that, while people were to rest and not work their regular jobs on the Sabbath, this was not an exclusion from doing anything at all on that day. In fact, He did good works on the Sabbath and encouraged others to do likewise. Finally, He emphasized that the Sabbath was established to be a blessing for mankind, not a burden.
I want to close this morning by calling our attention to Jesus’ courage. Can you imagine a guest speaker at church calling out the lead pastor in front of his own congregation from his own pulpit? That’s pretty gutsy. Or a guest in the elegant home of a prominent religious leader challenging his theology in front of everyone present? That’s quite bold. And in both cases, Jesus was not confronting the secular, nonreligious crowd, but rather those who professed to be the most righteous of all. True, Bible-believing Christians need to exhibit this same type of courage as they confront and refute the false teachings of wolves in sheep’s clothing present in our churches today.
In our upcoming message, we will discuss a miracle that most of us have probably heard about before. It involves 3 of Jesus’ dearest friends. When their situation gets desperate, they will send for Jesus to come quickly to intervene. Will He make it there on time, or will He be too late to help? We’ll find out together next Sunday. God bless you.
After celebrating the Feasts of Booths in Jerusalem, it seems that Jesus made a tour through various towns and villages in Judea teaching and healing the people He encountered. He may have even briefly crossed the Jordan during this time (Matthew 19:2). The 2 miracles we will discuss this morning likely took place during these travels, just 5-6 months before Jesus’ crucifixion. The exact location of each remains unknown.
The title of this message is “A Disabled Woman and a Man with Dropsy”. Both of these miracles are only recorded in the gospel of Luke. Also, both of them occurred on the Sabbath day, which as always, drew harsh criticism. For those keeping track, these are the 37th and 38th miracles on our list of 45. Open your Bibles and let’s begin.
I. FREED FROM SICKNESS (Luke 13:10-13)
Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath day. There was a woman there who was bent over and could not straighten up. She had suffered from this condition for 18 years. When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said, “Woman, you are freed from your sickness.” He laid His hands on her and immediately she stood erect and began glorifying God.
As we’ve stated before in this series, it was common practice for Jesus to be teaching in a synagogue somewhere on the Sabbath day. I am sure by now that He drew large audiences. In this case, we don’t know the name of the town He was in. Nevertheless, He noticed a crippled lady while He was speaking and called her to come up to the front, which she courageously did. The woman had been physically disabled by the work of an evil spirit, although there is no indication that she was demon-possessed. Jesus healed her publicly in sight of those who were gathered there.
This was a healing miracle. Jesus performed it by both speaking and laying His hands on (or touching) her. In so doing, Jesus displayed His power to heal and revealed His glory, as evidenced by the woman immediately glorifying Him. He would also use this as an opportunity to teach about healing on the Sabbath.
II. RELEASED ON THE SABBATH (Luke 13:14-17)
The synagogue official was indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. He said, “Work should be done during the other 6 days of the week, not on the Sabbath.” Jesus called them hypocrites and answered, “Each of you unties your ox or donkey to water on the Sabbath. Why shouldn’t this woman be healed?” His opponents were humiliated and the crowds rejoiced.
Jesus pointed out the double-standard that the synagogue official was employing. He, as well as the other Jewish priests, Pharisees, and religious leaders, did work on the Sabbath by tending to their animals (among other things). If they worked on the Sabbath, why would Jesus be forbidden from doing something far more important - healing a crippled woman? Everyone recognized the truth of Jesus’ words and the hypocrisy of His opponents. Jesus put them in their place and they were humiliated, as they should have been.
III. LAWFUL TO HEAL (Luke 14:1-6)
Jesus went into the house of a leading Pharisee, likely a member of the Sanhedrin, on the Sabbath day. He was being watched closely. There was a man with dropsy seated at the table right in front of Jesus. He asked the Pharisees and scholars if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath day, but they declined to answer. Then Jesus healed the man and sent him away. He asked, “If your son or ox fell into a well on the Sabbath day, wouldn’t you immediately pull it out?” Again, they had no reply.
Dropsy is the ancient term for generalized edema. Edema is the swelling of the body’s tissue which results from an abnormal build-up of fluids (water in the system). In Biblical times, dropsy was quite common, especially among the rich. It was actually used as a metaphor by Greek philosophers for greed and wealth. This flows naturally into the parables that Jesus taught in the remainder of the chapter.
The details of this story seem to suggest that this may have been a set-up. Notice that the Pharisees were “watching Jesus closely”. Why would a man with dropsy be placed in a seat right in front of Him? Perhaps as a test to see what, if anything, He would do? Perhaps this Pharisee’s invitation to dine with him was a trap meant to entice Jesus into violating the Sabbath, so that they might make accusations against Him at the banquet? If so, it reveals the Pharisees’ sinister motivations. That said, Jesus outsmarted them all (again).
Jesus used this same argument against the Pharisees earlier in His ministry when He healed a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath day (Matthew 12:9-14). If you would save an animal on the Sabbath, why wouldn’t you heal a person? If the Pharisees had refuted Jesus’ words they would’ve looked ridiculous, which is why they kept their mouths shut.
Like the disabled woman we discussed earlier in this sermon, this too was a healing miracle. The Bible says that Jesus ‘took hold of” the man with dropsy, but it doesn’t explicitly say how He healed him. Therefore, we will categorize this miracle’s method as “unspecified”. Jesus used this occasion to teach about healing on the Sabbath and rebuke the practice of legalism.
CONCLUSION
Neither the disabled woman nor the man with dropsy asked Jesus to heal them. I am not suggesting that we shouldn’t ask Jesus for healing. The Bible clearly teaches us to ask, not only for ourselves, but for others as well. We are to pray persistently and with faithful expectation. That said, I am simply pointing out that Jesus can heal anyone He chooses, whether they ask or not. As I have emphasized throughout this series, the determining factor is God’s will, not our petitions and/or how fervently they are made. This is why we must learn to pray in accordance with God’s will in order to be effective (1 John 5:14-15).
These are the final 2 miracles of Jesus recorded in the Bible that took place on the Sabbath day. That said, let’s summarize His teachings on this issue 1 last time. First, Jesus made a habit of being in the synagogue on the Sabbath, honoring God’s command to keep the day holy and set it aside for worship. He taught that, while people were to rest and not work their regular jobs on the Sabbath, this was not an exclusion from doing anything at all on that day. In fact, He did good works on the Sabbath and encouraged others to do likewise. Finally, He emphasized that the Sabbath was established to be a blessing for mankind, not a burden.
I want to close this morning by calling our attention to Jesus’ courage. Can you imagine a guest speaker at church calling out the lead pastor in front of his own congregation from his own pulpit? That’s pretty gutsy. Or a guest in the elegant home of a prominent religious leader challenging his theology in front of everyone present? That’s quite bold. And in both cases, Jesus was not confronting the secular, nonreligious crowd, but rather those who professed to be the most righteous of all. True, Bible-believing Christians need to exhibit this same type of courage as they confront and refute the false teachings of wolves in sheep’s clothing present in our churches today.
In our upcoming message, we will discuss a miracle that most of us have probably heard about before. It involves 3 of Jesus’ dearest friends. When their situation gets desperate, they will send for Jesus to come quickly to intervene. Will He make it there on time, or will He be too late to help? We’ll find out together next Sunday. God bless you.