Doing Good on the Sabbath

This episode is part of a section unique to Luke (14:1–24); the section is loosely tied together by the setting of Jesus being invited to the house of a Pharisee. The episode is the fourth and final episode in which controversy over Sabbath laws emerges. Previously Jesus has been accused of breaking the Sabbath by doing what the Pharisees regarded as work, such as picking grain to eat (6:1–5) or healing someone (6:6–11; 13:10–17). This time the controversy revolves around the question of healing on the Sabbath, an activity that was viewed as work (i.e., practicing medicine).

Apparently Jesus was invited to have dinner following a Sabbath service at the local synagogue. The dinner was held in the house of a prominent Pharisee (lit. “one of the rulers of the Phari…