Monday, May 4, 2009

Miracles Of Jesus In The Gospels- Bible Study- 10

Miracles Of Jesus In The Gospels- Bible Study- 10

Narrated In 1 Gospel

Gospel Of Luke

One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. There in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy. Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?" But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him away. Then 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?" And they had nothing to say. (Luke 14:1-6)


The confrontations with the rich, learned and powerful continued unabated in the 3 1/2 years of Jesus’ ministry. He was always watched carefully so that he might be caught in something that he said or something that he did. He spoke wisely so they could never catch him in his words. Finally they resorted to false testimony. But he knew that no one could do anything to him before it was his time so he continued his work with zeal and unmatched success.

Here was another occasion where the religious rulers, the experts in the law were eagerly waiting to accuse. Instead the tables were turned on them by his words and deeds. Whether the man suffering from dropsy was bait laid before him we wouldn’t know for sure but Jesus was up to the challenge anyway.

Here again we do not see Jesus looking for faith (for healing) in the sick man. He had dealt similarly with the woman bound by a spirit of infirmity for 18 years. He was here to prove a point; that God is compassion and love personified and one who cares for the afflicted, performing beyond the boundaries of laws and regulation which he has set.

He had been healing many on the Sabbath and again he chose a Sabbath here to heal this man. He posed a question before his critics: "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?" Strangely the Pharisees and experts in the law present there did not choose to argue or debate; perhaps knowing that it was an exercise in futility, because he was going to heal anyway.

The man in question here was suffering from Dropsy. Dropsy is an accumulation of watery fluid in the cellular tissues or in any of the cavities of the body, as the chest or abdomen, and may be due to disease of the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, or peritoneum. Whatever the cause, here was a man with generalized swelling; he must have been quite out of shape, but for Jesus, it was no major task. When someone is healed of a major debilitating illness or of a sickness which has no treatment, it is a MIRACLE to them and those who witness it, but for God it’s simple. He doesn’t have to work hard or put in extra effort. For him, it’s just “SAID & DONE”. So Jesus just took hold of the man, healed him and sent him away. All in a flash. He then faced his critics and asked, “"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?"

There wouldn’t have been 2 answers to that question, so again everyone kept quiet. Jesus had proved to them again that God was good and intended to do good to those who suffered, be it the Sabbath or not. He thus silenced his critics time and again by his miraculous works.

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