Their Silence Speaks Volumes

Hello everyone, 

Hope everyone is doing well.  Today, I will jump back into my exegesis of Luke, starting with Luke 14:1.  Here is my translation:

1 One day, on a Sabbath, Jesus went into the home of one of the leaders of the Pharisees to eat a meal.  They were watching him closely. 2 While he was there, a man suffering from abnormal swelling came before him. 3  So Jesus asked the experts in the law and the Pharisees, “ Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” 4 But they remained silent. So Jesus took hold of the man, healed him and sent him on this way.  5 Then Jesus asked them, “Which one of you, if your child or your ox fell into a well on a Sabbath, would not immediately pull it out? 6 They were unable to reply to Jesus’ questions.

So, on a Sabbath, one of the Pharisees invited Jesus over, and collectively, they were watching him closely to see what he would do.  Since he was in the home of one the leaders, it is possible that Jesus was invited to the home to watch him and try to catch him in some kind of mistake. 

While he was there, a man came in front of Jesus who was suffering from an abnormal swelling somewhere in his body.  The Greek word ὑδρωπικὸς (hydrōpikos) is used here. In many older translations it uses the word Dropsy.  Dropsy is a dated medical term.  Some modern translations use the word Edema, and others, like TNIV, use abnormal swelling.  I went with abnormal swelling because I understand what that means.  Had this man been invited over, as well?  Or did he show up uninvited?  The text doesn’t say.  He may or may not have been a part of a trap laid by the Pharisees.

  

When the man appears before him, Jesus is the one to ask the question this time. “ Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” He is putting it back on them.  They have questioned him on it in the past, and now he turns the tables.  But they remain silent. 

Jesus has put the Pharisees in a difficult spot.  If they say, ‘yes’ then it would raise questions about their 'rule-keeper' view of the law.  If they say ‘no,’ then they are taking a stand against doing something that is overwhelmingly positive and against showing compassion, simply because of the day of the week it is.  So, they say nothing.  

Since  they say nothing, Jesus heals the man and sends him on his way.  They had their opportunity to speak and they said nothing.  They neither approve nor condemn, so Jesus does what he knows is right, and heals the man. 

However, Jesus is not done questioning them. After the healed man has left, he asks them, “Which of you, if your child or your ox fell into a well on a Sabbath, would not immediately pull it out?”  Would they hold stubbornly to their tradition if  they needed to rescue their oxen on a Sabbath.  The implication here is that they would definitely rescue the oxen, and none of them say otherwise.  Like before, there is no response from the Pharisees and the teachers of the law.  This has come up before, but it seems that the Pharisees have learned nothing.  

The Pharisees and the teachers of the law hold out strict obedience to the law.  Jesus holds out compassion. Compassion wins the argument. (It reminds me of what Jesus said to the Pharisees in Matt. 9:13, when Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” and he tells the Pharisees to go and learn what that means.) 

Jesus was not silent here, but the Pharisees were, and their silence spoke volumes.  Jesus put up arguments that they could not argue with.  The winning argument, Compassion is greater than rule-keeping.