LOC 044:
The Life of Christ:
A Withered
Hand Healed
The narrative we are going to look at today is the third in a row
that deals with the Sabbath. The first
was in Jerusalem at the feast in John 5--there he healed a man by the Pool of
Bethesda. The second instance was in
Galilee where Jesus’s disciples had plucked ears of corn in order to satisfy
their legitimate bodily need for food.
The third happened on “another Sabbath” as Luke tells us.
Dr. Luke gives us the details about the time when the Lord Jesus
Christ entered another synagogue on another Sabbath in order to confront some
Pharisees and a man in need. The
narrative in Luke is in Chapter Six, starting at verse 6.
Listen closely to the detail of the narrative:
1. The Time, Place and
setting:
Luke 6:6 ¶ Now it happened on another
Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there
whose right hand was withered.
2. The
Covert Operation
7 So the scribes and Pharisees watched
Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an
accusation against Him.
3. The Divine Awareness of the
Son of Man
Luke 6:8 But He knew their thoughts,
and said to the man who had the withered hand,
“Arise and stand here.” And he arose and stood.
4. Just One Insightful Question:
Luke 6:9 Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on
the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?”
5. One act of Righteous
Defiance
Luke 6:10 And when He had looked around
at them all, He said to the man,
“Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored as
whole as the other.
6. The Offense Taken Up
Luke 6:11 But they [The Pharisees] were
filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
To this narrative are added many insights by Matthew and
Mark. Our exposition of the text will be
based on What we have read, but much of the additional material will be brought
in to shine a light on important aspects of what went on that day in one of the
Jewish synagogues in Galilee.
1. The Time, Place and
setting:
Luke 6:6 ¶ Now it happened on another
Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught.
Jesus was still accepted as a teacher, a Rabbi in Israel. On another Sabbath, later than the one where
he was accused of insighting his disciples to work on the Sabbath by plucking
and eating grain. Jesus goes into a
Jewish congregation to teach. It was
quite natural for him to do this.
Apparently he enjoyed the goodwill of the locals, while the leadership
of the Jews treated him otherwise.
Luke gives us the time: another Sabbath.
Luke gives us the place: some other unnamed synagogue.
And now he gives us the setting relevant to the narrative that
follows. All he says is this.....
And a man was there whose right
hand was withered.
Some nameless man was present in the midst of the congregation who
had a withered hand. The word for
withered means dried or we might say, dehydrated. It is descriptive of the appearance of the
hand. It would have been pulled close to
the body and perhaps in a clump of atrophied or underdeveloped muscle. It would have just stayed near his body,
useless as a hand.
It is interesting that Luke, the Physician, tells us it was his
right hand where the other gospel writers simply state a withered hand. The right hand was considered a man’s good
hand. It was the hand for sanitary
things like eating, handshaking, giving blessing, etc. To have a withered right hand intensifies the
plight of and need of this man.
Matthew 12:10 says, “And, behold, there was a man with a withered
hand.” as if to tell us to pay close attention.
The man with the withered hand is the key to the narrative.
We meet the Pharisees and the Scribes who were already there with
this withered handed man.....
They must have known of Jesus and his reputation. Were they part of the “Leaders of the Jews”
in Jerusalem from the narrative in John 5? We don't know. Did they know that Jesus had cast out a demon
in Galilee some months previous? Did
they know about Jesus claims that he was Lord of the Sabbath? Did they know that Jesus claimed equality
with his heavenly Father? We do not know
exactly what they knew, but they knew enough to be suspicious and to watch
Jesus to the point of setting him up....
2. The Covert Operation
7 So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He
would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him.
The Leaders of the Jews followed him with an intentional stare in
order to see if he would do one thing.
That was all they wanted.
They must have known his character as a man of compassion. For many months Jesus had taught and healed
the masses who came to him. They had to
know of all the miracles he had done, all of the wonders in word and work, they
had to have been aware of who Jesus claimed to be. They didn’t believe it, though they heard
about it.
They dismissed what they knew in favor of their own agenda. And their agenda is clear--to set him up in
order to find fault with him.
What were they thinking? If
we can get him to sin, we undermine his claim to be God. Get him to sin by healing on the Sabbath, the
people will no longer flock to him. We
will get the hearts of the people back on us and our teaching.
They had no understanding about the true nature of the Sabbath,
nor the true nature of the one before them. They wanted to find a way to accuse
him to be rid of him, to kill him. Jesus goes on to show something of his
divinity through.....
3. The Divine Awareness of the
Son of Man
Luke 6:8 But He knew their thoughts,
What a blessed statement.
You can’t fool a divine being, even if he is in the flesh. Jesus knew what they were about that
day. He knew what they were trying to do
to him by using this poor man. He knew
how wicked and vile a thing it really was to use an afflicted man to seek to
murder the son of God. He KNEW their
thoughts.
Take a moment here for a moment to make a necessary direct
application: Jesus still knows the thoughts of all men. He knows what motivates you. He knows what
makes you tick, so to speak. Jesus knows
the thoughts of those who are truly with him in the faith, and he knows those
who are not serious about following him.
But, he also knows those who have the outward appearance of religion
without to true inward work--wolves dressed in sheep's clothing. In his ministry it is these wolves who get
his severest words. We should not think that somehow he has changed. Those who are truly his have the pledge of
his affection and nurture, those who are not his are dead men though they walk
about unaware of true heavenly realities.
But those who outwardly seek to be what they are not in reality, should
expect Jesus harshest condemnation. Men
have a tendency to self-delusion. They
want to convince themselves and others that they are worthy of attention and
affection. They do it in either hypocrisy or deception.
The Pharisees were trying to do what they believed was best for
Israel. They were wrong. What was the best for Israel stood before
them in humility--the Messiah sent from God to bring salvation and deliverance
on God’s terms and in God’s way. They
wanted everything in their religion to be in their terms. People are still like that today. Jesus knows what is in your heart. He knows what you are like when you are not
around Christians during the week. He
knows how you are responding in your mind to this application. Jesus knows!!
He knew their hearts then and he knows the hearts of all men know. Jesus Christ the same, Yesterday, today and
forever!
Matthew gives us detail to know the conversation went on to create
a bit more intrigue. In Matthew 12:10
the Pharisees ask Jesus a question. They
didn’t just watch to see his reaction they added a catalyst to the situation to
spur him on. They ask him directly, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?
Jesus answered their question with a question. Matt. 12:11-12 Then
He said to them, “What man is there
among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will
not lay hold of it and lift it out?
Nobody was going to let one of their precious sheep stay in a hole
on the Sabbath. It would be
rescued. Interestingly, this is how
Jesus saw his work of healing. This man
was one of his sheep, he would not allow him to stay into the pit in which he
had become accustomed. Jesus goes on to
make a statement about the intrinsic value of human beings over animals. He
said,
12 “Of how much more value then is a man than a
sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
It must have been a powerful moment. They knew the Law made allowance for
accidents with animals on the Sabbath because they would need to be
rescued. And here we have Jesus doing
that, not for an animal, but for what has greater value than an animal, a man.
The Lord of the Sabbath is making a universal statement that it is
consistent with the law to do good on the Sabbath.
Knowing the setting and background and motivation of the
Pharisees, we continue reading back in Luke 6:8
and [He] said to the man who
had the withered hand, “Arise and stand
here.” And he arose and stood.
Mark 3:3 adds the words “Step Forward.” Jesus told the man to
stand, and step forward. He must have
had the attention of the Scribes. He
must have had the notice of the Pharisees, he certainly had the gaze of the man
with the withered hand. Was this man
wondering if he would finally be healed or if he would be a witness brought
forth to verify that the one who claimed equality with God and said he was the
Son of God, the Messiah, had healed on the Sabbath? The only way he was going to loose out was if
he did not get healed. But, he must have
known the recent history of his land.
Bracing for more words from Jesus, the man with the withered hand
stood there.
But, Jesus did not address him, he turns to the Pharisees and
Scribes.
4. Just One Insightful
Question:
Luke 6:9 Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on
the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?”
You asked me if it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath, I gave you an
answer, now I ask you one thing, oh leaders of the Jews, “Is it lawful on the
Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy.”
What were they asking Jesus about when they asked about healing on
the Sabbath? They did not care for the
physical well-being of the man with the withered hand. They only wanted to accuse the Lord Jesus
Christ that they might put him to death.
Jesus’s question was about doing good or evil on the day. What they did was evil. They were guilty of murder in their minds as
they plotted to accuse and kill Jesus.
They were the true sabbath-breakers. Murder is a sin against God’s Law
at anytime. They were doing “evil” as
they sought to “destroy”. Jesus healed
to do “good” and “save life.”
Jesus was doing what was lawful, they were not. Accusation could have been brought against
them easily. What a great reversal of
the circumstances. Such brilliance from
the Son of God.
They did not answer. They
knew what he was getting at. For Mark
records their response: Mark 3:4 says, “But they kept silent.”
Jesus had silenced the gainsayers of his day. To gainsay is to speak against something or
someone — ‘to oppose, to speak in opposition to.’
The sorry part of all this is that their are still gainsayers
among those who profess to be religious.
There are still people who want to attach themselves to God’s people who
find reason to bring accusation in many ways--all the while justifying themselves. There are still those of with a Pharisaical
spirit among the faithful, wolves among the sheep. One of the least admirable
parts of a Pastor’s job description is just this. Titus 1:9 Holding fast
the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine
both to exhort and to convince the
gainsayers.
I can tell you from experience that this is one of the hardest
areas of ministry. I expect Jesus found
this exasperating as well. There are
times when people need to be told things directly with great force even though
they may not like the manner in which they are told, they need to hear and heed
the words that are given. In correcting
those who gainsaid and contradicted his ministry, Luke records....
5. One act of Righteous
Defiance
Luke 6:10 And when He had looked around
at them all,
Mark adds: Mark 3:5 And when He had looked around at them
with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts,
Just a look sometimes says things that are necessary. The Lord Jesus Christ looked around, he
looked each one of them in the eye, an eye filled with righteous anger and
grief. The anger and grief came from an understanding of just how hardened
their hearts were towards the truth of who Jesus was, what God’s Law meant, how
it was to be used, and their lack of compassion for the man with the withered
hand. He was angry and grieved by their
sin and utter depravity of their hearts.
Men are not basically good willing and waiting to respond to the
preaching of the Gospel. They are more
like the hardened Pharisees justifying themselves along the way to
perdition. Men naturally hate what Jesus
represents and calls them unto--a life of repentance and faith.
Jesus is angry and grieved by the Pharisees and tells them in his
gaze. Don't dismiss correction from a
messenger of God because you don't like the way it was delivered. Heed the words as if from God himself. It may be your last opportunity to repent
before your heart gets as hard as the Pharisees in this narrative. It happens.
And, hardened men go on thinking they are the ones who were right and
justify their actions to the grave.
In the midst of his justifiable anger and grief, Jesus turns to
the man with the withered hand and commands him to do what is impossible for
him to do on his own power.
He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and
his hand was restored as whole as the other.
Jesus commanded a man with a useless withered hand to stretch it
out knowing it was the very infirmity that was used in an ungodly manner. Jesus made it whole. The man was able to do what Jesus had
commanded because God was at work.
What God commands can always be done if accompanied by faith. Our problem is this: we have become experts
at finding excuses for ourselves, including our sin.
This man obeyed what had been given even though it would have
seemed impossible at first.
What was the response by the Pharisees to all of this?
6. The Offense Taken Up
Luke 6:11 But they [The Pharisees] were
filled with rage,
Jesus anger and grief was justified and righteous. The rage of the Pharisees was not. The word
for rage is an intense word only used twice in the entire New Testament. Here
is the definition of what the opponents of Jesus were filled with, a‡noiaa the state of being devoid of understanding
— ‘to lack understanding, absence of understanding. In 2 Timothy 3:9 we read
‘their [a‡noia]
lack of understanding or their folly will be evident to everyone’ a‡noia does not imply in this passage
that people are incapable of any understanding, but that they evidently are
unwilling to understand based on truth as truth.
a‡noiab , aß f: a state of
such extreme anger as to suggest an incapacity to use one’s mind — ‘extreme
fury, great rage.’ aujtoi« de« e˙plh/sqhsan
aÓnoi÷aß ‘they were extremely furious’ Lk
6:11. We might say they were utterly beside themselves, or they were out of
their right minds, or completely annoyed.
That is the characterization of the Holy Spirit as regards the
Pharisees. What they do in this
instance, what did their unjustifiable rage bring them to do?
and discussed with one another
what they might do to Jesus.
Or, more to the point, Mark says, Mark 3:6 Then the
Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how
they might destroy Him.
They didn’t waste any time. They went out and immediately, on the
sabbath day they were not hallowing in their actions or attitudes, to plot as
to how they could destroy him. And, they
did this with the Herodians--a new group of men introduced into the Life of
Christ. Herodians: a Jewish political party who sympathized with the
Herodian rulers in their general policy of government, and in the social
customs which they introduced from Rome. They were at one with the Sadducees in
holding the duty of submission to Rome, and of supporting the Herods on the
throne.
Together the Pharisees with the Scribes and Herodians sought to
destroy the Lord Jesus. To DESTROY means to cease to exist, with a possible
implication of violent means ‘to cease to exist, to no longer exist, to come to
an end, to disappear.’ Or, to destroy
or to cause the destruction of persons, objects, or institutions — ‘to ruin, to
destroy, destruction.’
‘the wineskins will be ruined’ Lk 5:37;
‘the thief comes only in order to steal, kill, and destroy’ Jn
10:10;
‘but fear rather the one who is able to destroy soul and body in
hell’ Mt 10:28.
‘objects of his wrath destined for destruction’ Ro 9:22.
This is what the self-righteous pharisees did. They plotted.
They held an advisory council.’
‘then Festus answered after conferring [plotting in the sense of
setting a path to follow] with his council’ Ac 25:12.
Or its other primary meaning is to engage in joint planning so as
to devise a course of common action, often one with a harmful or evil purpose —
‘to confer, to consult, to plot, to make plans against.’
All because the Lord Jesus Christ sought to do a work of mercy on
the Sabbath day. All because Jesus spoke
the truth directly to their sin and misconceptions. All because he knew what was truly in their
hearts.
Just like some today, the Pharisees were blind to the reality of
who Jesus was simply because they loved darkness rather than light because
their deeds are evil. It goes back to
Jesus comments to another leader of the Jews, Nicodemus. Men love to justify their own sinful
attitudes and actions. What is evil men convince themselves is good in order
that they will be found right--in their own eyes, rather than in the eyes of
Jesus. That is what matters.
When you stand before the great Judge of all, the Lord of the
Sabbath, what will his eyes be like as he looks at you? Will he pity you
because of his work on your behalf? Or, will he have eyes like the flame of
fire we find to be true of the judge in Rev. 19:11? ¶ Now I saw heaven opened,
and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True,
and in righteousness He judges and makes war.
12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many
crowns.
Jesus knew the hearts then and he knows them now. With whom will you stand? Now, and in the
judgment? A withered hand brings us to
consider matters of eternal importance.
Will you stretch out your hand to take Jesus as your own to follow,
adore and serve for all of your days?
That is what he commands all men everywhere to do.
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