THE TESTIMONY OF MERCY

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on March 17, 2021 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: March 17, 2021 from Luke 14:1-6

Theme: The watching world should see us bear witness to the mercy of Jesus in the way we live out our faith.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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We come this morning to a story that is found at the beginning of Luke 14. But before we look at it, I ask that we look at some other passages in Luke first. As we do, we’ll find that the story in Luke 14 tells us something that has already—in different ways—been told to us before.

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First, consider a story that is found in Luke 6. In that chapter, we find that our Lord began to face opposition from the religious leaders of the day. He was, in their view, violating the strict rules and regulations and prohibitions of the Sabbath. We’re told in verses 6-11;

Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him. But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And he arose and stood. Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?” And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus (Luke 6:6-11).

The religious leaders were already watching Jesus closely. His behavior on the Sabbath had already brought Him under criticism. And amazingly, because they knew that He would heal him, they placed a needy man before Him. And so it was that, on this particular Sabbath day—right in the midst of the synagogue; and right in front of these religious leaders—Jesus healed the man who had the withered hand. They knew He had done it; but because of the way He did it, they really couldn’t find a way to accuse Him of breaking the Sabbath. All He had done was tell the man to hold out his hand—and when the man did so, his hand was healed. Unless they wanted to be so ridiculous as to say that the Lord violated the Sabbath by telling the man to hold out his hand, they had no accusation they could make against Him. But in doing this, Jesus did succeed in exposing their hypocrisy. He asked them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?” What could they say in answer to a question like that? It left them embarrassed and angry. All they could do was plot what to do against Him.

Now; let’s consider another story told to us by Luke. This one is found in Luke 13. We considered it not long ago. Once again, it’s an event that happened in the synagogue on the Sabbath. In verses 10-17, we read;

Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.” And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, “There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.” The Lord then answered him and said, “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?” And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him (Luke 13:10-17).

This story has some differences from the previous one. In this case, rather than a man, it was a woman that was healed. In the case of the man, it seems that the religious leaders placed him in the synagogue in order to trap Jesus; but in the case of the woman, no mention is made of that. Jesus seemed to have called her forward on His own initiative. The man’s hand was described only as being withered in what we may call a ‘natural’ illness; but in the case of this woman, her crippling condition seemed to have been brought about by a diabolical source. She had ‘a spirit of infirmity’. And whereas Jesus seemed to have healed the man without touching him, Jesus physically touched the woman and made His action toward her visible and obvious. He made it clear that it was He that had healed her. But the problem is the same in this story as in the previous one: hypocrisy. Jesus even came right out and called His opponents hypocrites, and exposed their hypocrisy by asking, “Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it?” And of course, the result was also the same. They had nothing that they could say against His words—or against His act of mercy.

And now, we come to Luke 14. In it, we find yet another such story. It’s a fascinating story to read in the light of the two previous stories. In verses 1-6, Luke tells us;

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. And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. 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?” And they could not answer Him regarding these things (Luke 14:1-6).

This story is slightly different from the others. Whereas the previous two stories occurred in the synagogue, this one does not. It occurred in the home of a leader of the Pharisees. But there are some remarkable similarities. This one also occurred on the Sabbath. The religious leaders were watching Him closely. A sick man was presented before Him—perhaps deliberately in order to trap Him. And in this case, Jesus asked them almost the identical kinds of things that He had said in the previous stories—and all to show forth their hypocrisy. He asked them, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—which was a question to which they didn’t dare give an answer. And then, after healing the man, He asked again, “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?”—in response to which, again, they remained silent.

It’s remarkable that we’re told this same kind of story three times. It’s remarkable that though there are some differences, they share the same basic kind of actions in them, the same basic kind of responses, and the same basic words that were uttered. Clearly, this repetition is not an accident. The Holy Spirit wants us to learn something from our Lord’s behavior; and it’s so important to our life before Him in this world that the Holy Spirit saw fit to repeat it to us.

This presents to us the very important lesson of what our Lord’s priorities were. He never violated His Father’s law. He kept the Sabbath as His Father intended it to be kept. But in it all, He always prioritized mercy. He would not allow the Sabbath-keeping regulations that the Pharisees had created to stand in the way of genuine compassion. In one of His earliest confrontations with the religious leaders over the Sabbath, Jesus told them,

“But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless” (Matthew 12:6).

This story in Luke 14:1-6, then, is a repeated lesson to us as we follow the Lord Jesus in this world—our Lord who placed mercy and compassion toward people over the preservation of ritual and ceremony. True devotion to God is in complete harmony with true compassion to people. And as this passage shows us, the watching world needs to see us bear witness to the mercy of Jesus in the way we live out our faith.

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Notice first that …

1. AS JESUS’ FOLLOWERS, WE ARE ALWAYS BEING WATCHED.

We see this illustrated to us in verse 1. We’re told, “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.” If they watched Him, they will also watch us who follow Him.

Now; by this time, our Lord’s behavior and conduct were being carefully scrutinized. And also by this time, our Lord would have known that He was being watched by unfriendly eyes. And so, it was a remarkable act of courage and bravery—and even compassion—that He would go to the home of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to have dinner. Our Lord was not afraid to go where He would be watched; and He displayed courtesy even to those who did not believe in Him.

We too need to remember that, as Jesus’ followers, we are being carefully watched. Don’t ever think that just because you don’t hear from unbelieving family members or friends or acquaintances—or that just because they don’t outwardly show an interest in your faith and in your Lord—that they’re not watching you. They are! And they should; because the Lord Jesus left us on this earth to be “the light of the world”. The question is, when they look at us, do they see the character and life of Jesus being exhibited in us? Do they see His mercy on display?

The apostle Peter wrote to his fellow Christians who were suffering persecution for their faith. They were in a hostile environment. But they were also being watched. He told them;

And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil (1 Peter 3:13-17).

When we’re invited to associate with unbelieving people, let’s go at their invitation. When we’re placed in a situation where we are being watched, let’s shine. We’re called to be the traveling ambassadors of Jesus’ mercy.

And as we do …

2. LIKE JESUS, WE SHOULD NOT FEAR CONTROVERSY.

Jesus didn’t fear it. As omniscient Lord—and even based on the encounters He had already had—He knew exactly what was about to happen. Luke tells us in verse 2, “And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy.”

It’s always interesting when Luke mentions someone’s illness; because he was a physician. He often identifies the illness by name. ‘Dropsy’—in the original language—is a word formed from the Greek word for ‘water’. And in this case, the disease seems to be something that we, today, would call edema. It’s an excessive accumulation of fluids in the bodily tissues and cavities. It may have been caused by cirrhosis of the liver or by congestive heart failure. It may have shown itself by the arms and hands and legs and feet and ankles of the man being swollen and bloated.

Now; given the fact that we’ve read these kinds of stories before in Luke’s Gospel, we may wonder if it could be that there’s significance in the fact that the man was there. Could it be that the religious leaders actually planted the man there in order to test Jesus and see what He would do? Back in the story of the man with the withered hand, we’re told that—before Jesus had done anything—the man with the withered hand was present, and that the scribes and Pharisees were watching Jesus carefully, “whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him” (Luke 6:7). If this was so, then not only was this poor man with dropsy their victim—but they were trying to make Jesus their victim as well through him.

With this in mind, look at what we find in verse 3. We’re told that Jesus ‘answered’ them. Did anyone ask Him anything out loud? No. But they were testing Him; and so He responded. “And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” They had hoped to put Him in a spot; but His question put the attention back on them. We’re told in verse 4, “But they kept silent.” It was a question that they dare not answer.

In this world in which we’re being watched, we might be afraid to associate with those who don’t believe. We might be afraid that we will be put on the hot-seat in some way. But like our Lord, let’s not be afraid. Let’s go—even when it may involve controversy. Those occasions become an opportunity to speak God’s word into situations in which it might not otherwise be spoken. And the Holy Spirit goes with us to help us to put Jesus’ own character on display.

And thankfully, our Lord’s example shows us what to do. As we read on, we find that …

3. THROUGH JESUS, WE SHOULD ALWAYS PRIORITIZE MERCY.

We’re told in verse 4, “And He took him and healed him, and let him go.” It may not be—of course—that we can follow our Lord’s example in performing a miracle! But we can certainly follow His example of the kind of mercy that the miracle was meant to display. Verse 5 goes on to say, “then He answered them, saying, ‘Which of you, having a donkey [or as some translations have it, “a son”] or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?’” Every one of them there that day would have—indeed—immediately gone out to the rescue on the Sabbath. In that case, even if it was toward an animal, they would have understood the priority of mercy. And so, Jesus was showing them that He—in His conduct—also placed mercy over religious ritual and ceremony. People were more important to Him than the programs or religious practices that men place over the will of God. They all knew this principle and understood it in practice. To have denied it would have been open hypocrisy. That’s why we read in verse 6, “And they could not answer Him regarding these things.”

Mercy is a great proof for the faith. When we are placed in situations in which people expect us—as followers of Jesus—to follow rigid rules and regulations to the disregard or harm of others, they should instead find us compassionate and loving and caring and merciful. They should see in us the compassionate love of Jesus for those in need. In fact, they should see this in us before they see it in anyone else. It’s evidence for the truth of the Christian faith that cannot be argued against.

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In Micah 6, we read these words:

With what shall I come before the Lord,
And bow myself before the High God?
Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings,
With calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
Ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:6-8).

Jesus Himself demonstrated this in His tenderness to those in need—even when it may have violated the ‘religious proprieties’ of others.

When we’re in situations in which we are being watched carefully—and we are being scrutinized in our testimony of Jesus—let’s show people what Jesus is truly like. Let’s show them His mercy. We cannot go wrong in doing so.

EA