Fine for Me

Luke 14:5 And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?”

What rules or laws do you regularly break? Be honest. You have probably rationalized your transgression. Perhaps you have said to yourself, “Everyone does it,” or, “It is not hurting anyone,” or, “It is a stupid law anyway,” or perhaps the doozy, “It is only wrong if you get caught.” We make peace with our disobedience and sleep soundly at night, but what happens when another breaks a different law or rule? Are we quick to dish out criticism and a guilty charge?

Jesus often challenged the Pharisees on their hypocrisy of holding one standard for themselves and another for everyone else. They were furious that Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath. In their tradition that constituted “work,” and God had forbidden work on the Sabbath in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:8-11). So, rather than acquiesce and wait a day to heal the man, Jesus healed him anyway and pointed out the Pharisees’ double standard.

If they had faced an unexpected crisis, like a son or an ox falling into the well, they would have taken immediate action even though it would have been more “work” than healing a man. Why would they have broken the law? “My son or the ox would die if I left him in a well over night. He would need immediate help. Surely that is alright.” Jesus’ point was not that it was not alright to rescue a wounded animal or child. In fact, his point was that it was wrong to say, “It is fine for me, but it is not okay for you.” Neither was he trying to do away with all laws. Instead, he attacked stratified selfishness once again. We need to exercise the grace we want to receive.