Luke 14:1-6 — Rule Follower or God Follower?

READ THIS: Luke 14:1-6

1 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. 2 There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. 3 Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” 4 But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way. 5 Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?” 6 And they had nothing to say.

WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?

A few days ago, we did a devo all about how the Pharisees were often so caught up in the rules of God that they missed the real point behind the rules, and this passage shows us that same point! The Pharisees had invited Jesus over for a meal, which sounds nice at first… until you see that the whole point of having Him over was to see if they could catch Him saying something that went against their laws. This day happened to be the Sabbath, and the Pharisees were firm believers that people were not allowed to do anything on the Sabbath.

We’ve seen Jesus challenge the Pharisees on this before, once by picking food from the ground with His disciples and another time by healing someone publicly. In this passage, Jesus heals a man who was clearly suffering at the home Jesus was visiting, but the Pharisees say nothing! However, Jesus (who has shown before that He knows the thoughts of the Pharisees that often judge Him) decides to explain why He healed the man: because He cares for him just like he was His own child! Jesus challenges the Pharisees (and us) to think about what really matters most: following the rules, or displaying God’s love to those around us?

In our lives, doing what God calls us to often looks like following the rules… but we may be put in a position where we have to choose between following what we think is best and following what we know God says we should do. So let this be your reminder to choose what Jesus calls us to do in those moments!

THINK ABOUT IT:

1. The Pharisees finally caught Jesus doing something He shouldn’t have been doing (according to them)… why did they remain silent?

2. Have you ever been so caught up trying to follow God’s Word that you miss the point of why you should follow God’s Word? 

TRY THIS:

Jesus’s reasoning behind His choice to heal the man was rooted in loving and caring for those in need. Try to find a way to help someone in need today, even if it’s awkward!

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