Luke 13:10-20 The Sabbath And The Kingdom.
Early in His ministry Jesus made clear that He was Lord of the Sabbath, and that it was made for man and not vice versa (Mk. 2:27-28). Here Luke records an example of what has come to be described as a work of mercy. As Jesus pointed out, His listeners would feed and water their livestock on the Sabbath, so why would they be opposed to Him healing someone on the Sabbath? It was a hypocritical position on their part. It was teaching like this that put the teachers to shame. False teaching is one thing, teaching that lacks integrity is even worse.
This event is placed by Luke within what he just wrote about concerning the barren fig tree, and the seed and leaven of the kingdom which grows steadily until it fills the whole earth. The implication seems obvious: false teaching does not produce fruit, but the gospel of the kingdom does. Sandwiched between these two is an event which puts things in focus-people and their needs are more important than manmade tradition. Sadly, what occurs on the Lord’s Day in many places of worship misses this important lesson.