Contextual Miracles (Luke 13-14)

Luke 13:10-17

10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.

12When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, "Woman, you are set free from your infirmity." 13Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

14Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, "There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath."

15The Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?"

17When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.



Luke 14:1-6

1 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. 2 There in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy.

3 Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?" 4But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him away.

5Then he asked them, "If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?" 6And they had nothing to say.



Contextual Notes

1. Though nearly all Jews in Jesus’ day were opposed to Roman authority, there were differing ideas on what to do about it:
a) Hillel (Retreat)
b) Shammai (Revolt)

2. Those present were almost certainly trying to decipher where Jesus stood in this debate, but He instead turned the argument on its head by focusing on the sin of those asking the question.

3. Jesus used a simple parable to communicate the soon coming fate of those who would refuse to repent
a) Owner = God
b) Tree = Israel
c) Care-taker = Jesus
 Luke 3:8

4. This parable, coupled with the various Passovers mentioned in the Gospels, allows us to speculate as to the length of Jesus’ ministry

5. Jesus was not shy to publicly expose legalism & hypocrisy.

6. Jesus taught that His kingdom would have humble beginnings compared to other kingdoms

7. Jesus deflected the question about how many people will be saved, instead putting the focus on how to avoid being left out:
a) Don’t be half-hearted
b) Don’t be late
c) Don’t depend on biology
d) Don’t depend on geography

8. Jesus continued to focus on the acceptance of outsiders heading in the right direction over and against insiders simply in Jesus’ circle.

9. The Pharisees were constantly trying to put Jesus in tricky situations, but each time He turned the tables on them with Scripture, tradition, reason & experience.

10. Jesus illustrated a contrast between those who get their backs scratched now and those who delay their rewards as long as possible.

11. Jesus told a parable about how some were going to be left out of the Kingdom because:
a) They were self-employed
b) They were pre-occupied
c) They were already taken

12. Jesus discouraged people from entering the Kingdom without first counting the cost of discipleship