A Matter of the Heart
There are many different instances of Jesus performing healings all throughout the New Testament. When you sit and read through the gospels, it would be good to spend some time reflecting on the different occasions that Jesus either heals the blind, mute, or demon possessed. On the surface we are able to see the power of God to heal when others cannot. At another level, we can see Jesus’s authority over demons, but there are even deeper meanings that can be seen in these healings when we allow the Holy Spirit to show it to us. I believe that Luke 14:1-6 is one of those where there is more than what meets the eye.
“ One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. 2 And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. 3 And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 4 But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. 5 And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” 6 And they could not reply to these things.”
At first glance we see that Jesus was invited into the home of a Pharisee where He was closely watched. The reason for this is there was a man present who was ill; if you believed as the Pharisees did, you should not heal on the Sabbath. In short, this was a set up to accuse Jesus of not following the law. However, Jesus was aware of what the Pharisees were trying to do and so He presented to them a question, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not? Jesus also presented the question of if a child or an ox was stuck in a well, would they not help it? For both of these questions the Pharisees had no answer. If the Pharisees said no, they would show that they were inhumane religious leaders who valued tradition over human life. If they said yes, they would break their own traditions regarding the Sabbath; and so they simply did not answer.
On the surface level, this passage shows Jesus’ authority not only over illness, but also shows Jesus’ authority over mankind by being able to know what it was the Pharisees were thinking. However, I believe there is more to this passage and a deeper meaning begins with one simple word. Dropsy.
If you were to research what dropsy is, you would see that it is a disease that causes excessive swelling of the soft tissue due to excess water. However, if you were to look at what dropsy does to a person you would find that dropsy has been seen in people suffering from heart disease. What I find interesting about this is that when we place our faith in Jesus we receive a new heart. “7 I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.” Jeremiah 24:7. The man who was suffered from dropsy was in short given a new heart, and I believe that this is because while the Pharisees meant to use him to trick Jesus, the man truly believed that Jesus was the Messiah. He had a heart that knew God and as a reward, he was made well!
Seek the truth and encourage one another,
Alex