Healing Hands (Luke 6:6-11)

On another Sabbath He entered the synagogue and was teaching; and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closely {to see} if He healed on the Sabbath, so that they might find {reason} to accuse Him. But He knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, "Get up and come forward!" And he got up and came forward. And Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?" After looking around at them all, He said to him, "Stretch out your hand!" And he did {so;} and his hand was restored. But they themselves were filled with rage, and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.

As we begin our study, the first fact that we can take note of is that Jesus has returned to preaching in the synagogues on the Sabbath. This is probably the Sabbath immediately following the one found in Luke 6:1-5 or it is referring to the same one (See Matt. 12:8-10). We had mentioned in other lessons how Jesus had made a clear transition from synagogue preaching and teaching to taking the word to the open road. Now on a Sabbath as Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, He has an opportunity to help a man who has a withered hand.

Notice that Luke is specific in his diagnosis of this man’s issue, as he, unlike the other gospel writers, informs us that it was the “right hand” of the man that was withered. As a writer who was paying attention to detail and a doctor who was familiar with such deformities as this, Luke was able to shed more light on this man’s predicament. Trench said of this disease that it was, “occasioned by a deficient absorption of nutriment in the limb; it was, in fact, a partial atrophy, showing itself in a gradual wasting of the size of the limb, with a loss of its powers of motion, and ending with its total death. When once thoroughly established, it is incurable by any art of man.” It is likely that this man comes to Jesus after having tried to seek medical attention and being told that there was no hope for restoring his hand. But there is always hope with Jesus.

Keep in mind that the scribes and Pharisees had also assembled themselves in the synagogue on this occasion and they were watching Jesus to find out if He would break the Sabbath, so that they could bring accusations against Him. The Pharisees were following Jesus not as disciples but as critics (the words “watching Him closely” mean in a sinister design).

Let’s make a real quick point of application with regards to our assembling together. We are told to use our assemblies to encourage one another, and yet many times our attitudes and predispositions will not allow us to come with that pure motive in mind (Heb. 10:23-25). Perhaps something happened during the week that has caused us grief or hardship, and we are in a bad mood. It may be that we are holding a grudge against another person that needs to be resolved. We need to mend relationships before we bring any offerings of worship to God.

Do you come to the assembly to point out the faults of others? Do we assemble as a church to judge each other and seek to condemn one another? If you are like the scribes and Pharisees you do! Let’s strive to come together with the proper spirit and according to the truth of God’s word to maximize edification and give all the glory, honor and praise to God.

After saying all of that, it is obvious that Jesus did clearly break one of the laws regarding the Sabbath. To heal on the Sabbath day was to work. To work on the Sabbath day was to break the Sabbath. In the eyes of the Pharisees, to break the Sabbath was to sin and this sin was worthy of punishment and death. Even the laws that stated you could help a sufferer on the Sabbath day, would not have applied here since this man could have waited at least until the next day for his hand to be made whole. His life does not appear to be threatened by the handicap.

If we remember that Jesus had just claimed to be Lord of the Sabbath a short time ago, we will recall that for Jesus to do good on the Sabbath, even to the disregard of a stated law, was not a sin at all. The Sabbath was made to bless man with the opportunity to draw closer to God. This man in the text was doing just that, as He came to Jesus for a healing. Jesus is teaching these scribes and Pharisees that they need to learn the proper application of their law. Can you forsake the command to love in order to uphold the command to keep the Sabbath? Can you forget to show compassion on a fellow man and remember the Sabbath day? Jesus teaches us hear that we cannot maintain ritual law and not continue in a righteous love. Let us learn that lesson today and apply it in our lives.

Jesus knew the hearts (purposes, intentions) of the Pharisees and could see the hatred that they displayed towards Him. The text says, “But He knew what they were thinking”. Then Jesus actually reversed the accusations away from Himself to the scribes and Pharisees when He said to the man with the withered hand, "Get up and come forward!", and then asked this question to the scribes and Pharisees,  "… is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?". OUCH! In other words, Jesus was implying, “if it is wrong for me to heal this man and do good to him on the Sabbath day, then it is certainly wrong for you to sit here with hatred and murder in your hearts, scheming to do evil against Me”. Jesus deals with the issue at its core, when He revealed the hypocrisy of the thoughts and actions of the Pharisees on the Sabbath day. Lamar quotes in his commentary that Jesus, “shows that the alternatives are doing good or failing to do good, which last he puts as identical with doing evil, the neglecting to save as equivalent with destroying. Here there was no question: this under no circumstance could be right: it could never be good to sin. Therefore it is not merely allowable, but a duty to do some things on the Sabbath.”

In Matthew's account of this event, Jesus uses another illustration that reveals more about the point that He was making. In Matthew 12:11-12, Jesus said to these scribes and Pharisees,

"What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."

This man that Jesus was about to heal was important to Him. Jesus was doing good to this man, and according to Him, He was not breaking the Sabbath to help this man. God’s law cannot be violated when love is being demonstrated. The entire law was hung upon two commandments of love; love for God and love for fellow man (See Matt. 22:37-40).

Sometimes we are so quick to judge others on one hand while on the other hand we are doing wrong ourselves. We could sit all day and speak words of condemnation about others who go too far in what they do in their worship to God, and at the same time we might be lacking the proper spirit in our own worship, making it just as wrong. We could judge someone unworthy of eternal life because they have never obeyed the gospel as Jesus commands us to, while after having obeyed the gospel ourselves we have not grown beyond that point, and are destined for the same judgment. Don’t be like the scribes and Pharisees but make sure that your righteousness exceeds their own (Matt. 5:20).

Let’s talk about the man with the withered hand for just a moment. Many times when we study about a character in the Bible we often desire more details about them than what is offered from the Biblical text. I do not want to spend too much time on this next point, since it would lead us to speculate on something that may or may not be true, but nevertheless, I felt that it was worthy of sharing in this episode for the purpose of an illustration. Did you ever wonder why it was so important that this man who had a withered hand be made whole again? Whether or not this is a fact, one of the apocryphal writings (meaning a text that was not admitted into the Biblical Canon), which was quoted by Jerome as the Nazarene gospel, records that this man was a block mason and that he was seeking a healing for his hand so that he could work effectively. The apocryphal text states the words of this man as, “I was a stone mason earning my living with my hand; I beseech you, Jesus, give me back my health that I may not have to beg my bread with shame.” As a truth, God has always commanded and looked favorably upon a solid work ethic, and here on this occasion (whether this inserted apocryphal writing is true or not), Jesus found a good reason to bless this man with a restored hand.

Even if the only reason for this healing was to teach the Pharisees about their hypocrisy and the error of their own ways on the Sabbath day, that was certainly accomplished. (Allowing the apocryphal insight to be used for a moment) Do we need to seek a healing from the Lord so that we can get back to work? Many times, our sin and shame stands in the way of our ability to work for the Lord. Do we need to repent of some hypocrisy of our own so that we might do the will of God in all things? These scribes and Pharisees were unable to see the right for their rituals. They were dedicated to a ceremony instead of a Savior.

The text tells us that Jesus, “said to the man with the withered hand, ‘Get up and come forward!’ And he got up and came forward.” This man is now standing in front of the congregation that was present and was approaching the Great Physician. What a moment that must have been! Next, notice that after questioning the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus said to the man with the withered hand, “After looking around at them all… ‘Stretch out your hand!’ And he did {so;} and his hand was restored.”

Jesus, even though he was being watched, didn’t hesitate to make this healing open knowledge. The restoration of this man’s withered hand was not accomplished in a corner. Jesus looked every one of the scribes and Pharisees directly in the face and followed through with His healing. Mark tells us in his gospel that Jesus looked at the scribes and Pharisees with anger because of their hardness of heart

(Mark 3:5). Jesus knew that He was doing the will of God in healing this man on the Sabbath. These hypocrites couldn’t understand because their hearts were hardened to the real truth.

When Jesus issued a command to the man who was seeking to be healed, the man immediately obeyed. Jesus asked this man to get up and come forward. This man got up and came forward. Jesus asked this man to stretch out (word meaning to extend) his hand. He did so (even though it would have been a great matter of faith to extend a hand that was withered and failing in power). For his obedience, his hand was restored.

Will you come to Jesus by getting up and coming to Him while you extend your heart and soul to him for a healing? Will you do it? Jesus is ready to restore our hearts from wrong and cleanse our souls from sin. Do you need to obey the Lord Jesus today? Follow the example of this man who did exactly as Jesus commanded so that he might be healed and made whole again.

While I would love to close this episode there and extend the invitation to you, there is one more point that must be made. There are some, who even after hearing plain truth will still fight against it. On this occasion, after Jesus clearly explained the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees, they would not listen.

Even though Jesus told them that if it was wrong to do good to a man on the Sabbath, then it was wrong to do evil to a man on the Sabbath, they either missed the point or they completely disregarded it. This text concludes, “But they themselves were filled with rage, and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.” Jesus had put these scribes and Pharisees to shame before the people, and he had silenced them (See Mark 3:4). He violated their traditions, and this He did in their own synagogue. All of this was done in the face of their protest against such actions on the Sabbath.

So often I wonder why people become angry when you turn to a passage of scripture and show them the plain truth of God's will for their life. Why do people often walk away from Jesus when He extends to them the invitation to come believing in Him and being baptized for salvation (Mark 16:16). Why do so many today act like scribes and Pharisees when it comes to truly obeying the word of God (in other words, not in letter only, but in spirit as well)? The real question that needs to be addressed is, what are you going to do with the invitation of Jesus today? You can be filled with rage at Jesus or those who are trying to teach you about Jesus. That won’t help you. You can disregard everything that has been said by the Lord. That won’t restore your relationship with God. As we extend the invitation this day please consider what Jesus is able to do for you and respond to Him in obedience. Let the Great Physician cleanse you of the disease of sin. Be fully restored and whole again. Reach out to me if you have spiritual needs and I will be glad to assist you.