On a sabbath he went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully. 2 In front of him there was a man suffering from dropsy. 3 Jesus spoke to the scholars of the law and Pharisees in reply, asking, “Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?” 4 But they kept silent; so he took the man and, after he had healed him, dismissed him. 5 Then he said to them, “Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern, would not immediately pull him out on the sabbath day?” 6 But they were unable to answer his question.
Jesus went to dine at the home of a leading Pharisee, and scholars of the law (v. 3) were also in attendance. A man suffering from dropsy was suddenly placed in front of him. Dropsy is edema, where the body is abnormally swollen because it retains serous fluid. The Pharisees and scribes did this to see if Jesus would heal the man and break the Sabbath in violation of the Mosaic law. They were all watching intently to see what Jesus would do. In response to the implied question, “Are you going to heal this man on the Sabbath?” Jesus asked, “Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not (Lk. 6:9)?” They would not answer but waited to see what he would do. Jesus healed the man and released him as he had previously released the bent-over woman (Lk. 13:10-17). The Sabbath is the day that Israel celebrates its release from captivity in Egypt. Jesus asked the Pharisees and scribes if they would not pull their son or ox out of the water in a cistern on the Sabbath (Dt. 22:4). They had no reply because they understood the implication that the Law would also permit Jesus to rescue the man from edema (water) on the Sabbath.
Almighty God, strengthen us in our infirmities so that we may serve you in accordance with your will. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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