SABBATH MIRACLES | HEALING A MAN WITH DROPSY

0. Introduction

a) Over the centuries, the Jewish religious leaders had added rule after rule to God's law. For example, God's law said the Sabbath is a day of rest (see Exodus 20:10-11).

i) ¹⁰ but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. ¹¹ For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. (Exodus 20:10-11 NKJV)

b) But the religious leaders added to that law, creating one that said, "You cannot heal on the Sabbath" because that is "work." Seven times Jesus healed people on the Sabbath. In doing this, he was challenging these religious leaders to look beneath their rules to their true purpose - to honor God by helping those in need. Would God have been pleased if Jesus had ignored these people?

c) Let's look at one of the 7 miracles on the Sabbath.

1. Jesus heals a man with dropsy.

a) Text reference: Luke 14:1-6

i) Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely. ² And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. ³ And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” ⁴ But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. ⁵ Then He answered them, saying, “Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” ⁶ And they could not answer Him regarding these things. (Luke 14:1-6 NKJV)