Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Luke 13:14

"And the ruler of the synagogue, being moved with indignation because Jesus had healed on the sabbath, answered and said to the multitude, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the day of the sabbath." — Luke 13:14 (ASV)

The controversy over Jesus’ Sabbath activities now comes to the fore as the synagogue ruler speaks to the people on the ground of Ex 20:9–10. He avoids addressing Jesus directly. There was ample evidence of rabbinic precedent for helping animals in emergencies on the Sabbath. So Jesus used a lesser-to-greater argument to move from helping animals to helping human beings (cf. 12:6–7, 24–28). “A daughter of Abraham” means a Jewess. In keeping with Luke’s purpose, this designation highlights the priority of the Jews in the program of the Gospel. As he often does, Luke gives us the crowd’s reaction to Jesus’ response (v.17; cf. 4:15, 22, 32, 36–37; 5:26).