To the thoughtful reader of this Gospel two questions jump out at once: Why was Jesus invited to a dinner with the Pharisees on the Sabbath? And why did he accept? In answer to that, there are three key sentences in this Gospel, and all three come across the centuries and speak Jesus’ word to us.

I

"They were watching him." (verse 1) Lo! Our two questions are answered. He was invited so they could watch him. What further evidence could they gather to feed the fire of their animosity toward him? Obviously he knew they were watching him, so he gave them ample evidence as to the kind of person he was. In verse twenty-six, for example, which is omitted from our reading, a man with dropsy was planted in his path. Would he break their law by healing on the Sabbath? He would, and he did.

This …