Pulling a Donkey or Ox from a Pit - Luke 14:5

The beloved physician Luke wrote about Jesus, “And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him. And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy. And Jesus answering spoke unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go”, and in chapter fourteen and verse five of his book Luke shared how, “they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him” where we read:

And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit,

and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?

The verse reads, “And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, ...” Luke began with the words, “And answered them” or “and Jesus responded and began to speak”, “saying” which means “uttering, declaring and proclaiming”, “which of you shall have a donkey” or “what person among you Pharisees will own and possess a donkey” “or an ox” which means “or an oxen” “fallen into a pit” or “that has fallen into, entrapped or overwhelmed with a well or hole in the ground”. Luke shared how Jesus presented the idea of one of the Pharisee having an “ox or donkey” that had “fallen” into a ditch, hole or well.

The verse goes on to say, “... and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?” Luke continued with the words, “and will not straightway pull him out” or “and does not immediately and forthwith extricate and draw out the ox or donkey away from the pit” “on the sabbath day” which means “upon the seventh day of each week which was a sacred festival on which the Israelites were required to abstain from all work”? Luke shared how Jesus questioned the Pharisees as to which of them would not “extricate” their “ox or donkey” from the hole even though it was the “Sabbath day”.

When we consider Luke's words in this verse, we see how Jesus continued His questioning of the Pharisees within the “chief Pharisee's” home by employing the idea of one of their domesticated animals falling into a hole or ditch on the “Sabbath day”. Jesus wanted to demonstrate their care for their “animals” regardless of what day of the week it was, and should they not have cared for this man with “the dropsy”? God cares for people continually, and those who yield their lives to His Son Jesus as their personal “Savior and Lord” align with His purpose and compassion for all the world. Man made rules and traditions do not supersede God's care and willingness to “save” mankind, and those who are wise will carefully consider Jesus' concern for this man with the dropsy and His willingness to override any rule these Pharisees had made.

Next time Luke shares how the Pharisees, “could not answer” Jesus, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".