the effect of repetition

In Luke 6:6-11 Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath, asking the question of whether it is lawful to do good and save lives on the Sabbath. There is no answer to that question but the Pharisees were filled with fury.

In Luke 13:10-17, Jesus does the same thing again, this time healing a woman and, in response to the Pharisees anger, he points out their hypocrisy as they would do good to an animal on the Sabbath but wanted this woman to come on another day to be healed. There is no response to that charge except we are told that it put them to shame.

In Luke 14:1-6 the same thing happens again, Jesus restates his question from chapter 6 and his accusation of hypocrisy from chapter 13. Again, the Pharisees could not answer and remain silent

No answers

They had no answers to Jesus' challenge, but they remained unmoved. Rather than being softened by repeated exposure to Jesus' life and teaching, their hearts became increasingly hard. 

Warning

We should see this as a warning. When we are consistantly challenged and convicted of sin by the Holy Spirit and continue to ignore it, our hearts are becoming a bit harder for the next time and eventually we're not only ignoring the sin but becoming angry at Jesus and plotting to remove his influence. Let's pray that God gives us soft hearts to repent of our sin and put our trust in him.