The healing of the man with dropsy parallelled the healing of the crippled woman recounted earlier (13:10-17). The setting was different; the fact of the Sabbath was common to both.
Meal invitations were expected to be occasions for welcome and care. Not so with the Pharisees: they were observing him insidiously. Jesus challenged them openly. His justification of his action added nothing to what he had said on the previous occasion mentioned. In the face of their own inconsistency and Jesus’ explicit option for life, they were silent.
As Luke’s community reflected on the incident, they would have been reminded that their own gatherings for the Eucharistic meal were celebrations of life, in line with the true spirit of Sabbath observance.
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