Luke 14:5
And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day? And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?
Jesus accepted an invitation to dine with a Pharisee, and used the meal as an occasion to teach lessons suited to His hearers. By doing so He also showed His disciples how to conduct themselves among both religious and nonreligious people. The saying about the ass or ox fallen into a pit belongs to His discourse in Luke 14:2-14, which establishes the right position on the Sabbath question.
The Sabbath law does not forbid promptly pulling out an ox or an ass fallen into a pit, nor does it forbid relieving suffering. Labor may therefore be done even on the Sabbath to save the life of a man or of an animal, and healing a suffering person on that day is lawful and proper. The argument exposes inconsistency in accepting care for animals on the Sabbath while objecting to acts of mercy and healing for people. Yet this allowance does not extend to work done for personal pecuniary advantage. To violate the letter of the fourth commandment for gain makes a person a Sabbathbreaker guilty of transgressing the whole law.