Sometimes one’s interest in another is only to do harm. For example, a thief might observe the habits of a person in order to understand what the best opportunity would be to either steal from the man personally or steal his goods, while he is away from his house or place of business. Jesus’ enemies were men in positions of authority, so they watched him in an effort to find fault with him in order to discredit him, and, if they could show he had broken the law, to take him into custody and destroy him. At times these efforts embraced hypocrisy, in that Jesus’ enemies invited him to social gatherings, so that, under the pretense of friendship, they could watch him and uncover the evidence they needed to do him harm.
It was the Sabbath day, and Jesus was invited to the home of one of the chief Pharisees, to be his guest for a meal. It seems that Jesus’ invitation to a meal was offered only so that his host, the chief Pharisee, and those who were with him, could observe Jesus and see what he might say or do (Luke 14:1). Their efforts exposed a desire to accuse Jesus of wrong, so that they could either discredit him or get rid of him permanently. Understanding the hearts of the chief Pharisee and his other guests could be interpreted to mean they made sure the man who had dropsy was also present at the time of the meal (Luke 14:2). While his presence there is by no means proof he was told to be there, it does seem oddly coincidental, if he was not invited.
Jesus asked his host and the other guests if it were lawful to heal on the Sabbath day (Luke 14:3). When you are a gazingstock, it is difficult to miss what is going on before your eyes. People begin to say things with an obvious hope that you will have an offering in their baited discussion. There may be long, deafening pauses between statements that almost compel one to speak, or they may simply ask leading questions in order to draw out a desired reply. These men (Luke 14:1) didn’t need to say a word, because Jesus knew what was going on, which is why Luke says Jesus “replied” by asking the Pharisees and lawyers (rabbis) a question of his own (Luke 14:3). Jesus replied to the circumstance before him—i.e. the man with dropsy and all the eyes that were fixed upon Jesus. It could also have been that some whispered in the ears of the other guests without taking their eyes off Jesus, the target of group’s trap.
The room was full of rabbis (lawyers) and Pharisees, but they remained silent before Jesus’ inquiry. They were probably already aware of the shame Jesus had put to other Pharisees and rabbis, when he healed the woman on an earlier Sabbath. She had been bent over at the waist for 18 years, and, when the ruler of the synagogue expressed his disapproval of healing on the Sabbath day (Luke 13:14), Jesus shamed all the authorities in that synagogue for showing more care for animals than for the children of Abraham (Luke 13:10-17).
These men (Luke 14:1) didn’t have an appropriate response that would defend their point of view either. Therefore, they remained silent, because they wouldn’t agree with Jesus, because agreement would mean they understood that the traditions, which they held so dear were, in fact, in error. They would never agree to that, so they remained silent (Luke 14:4).
What did Jesus do next (Luke 14:5)? Jesus’ question in Luke 14:5 seems to expose the reason for the silence in the room at that point. His response is strikingly similar to what he told the ruler of the synagogue in Luke 13:15.
If it weren’t such a tragedy, the silence of Jesus’ enemies might be comical. They had sought to embarrass Jesus, but they had embarrassed themselves. They tried to make Jesus a gazingstock, but now all eyes were upon them, awaiting their reply to Jesus’ question, a reply that would never come. Sometimes one’s silence speaks volumes. One doesn’t always need to speak in order to be understood.
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