Amy C Walters

A Man with a Withered Hand | Luke 6:6-11

Jesus continues to challenge the Pharisees on their Sabbath philosophy. With an unanswerable question, he shifts the conversation from Sabbath restrictions to saving lives. Then Jesus shows how he himself fulfills it.

Luke is continuing a debate between Jesus and the Pharisees about the Sabbath. In the previous story, the Pharisees criticize the disciples for picking grain on the Sabbath. Here, their anger is aimed at Jesus for healing on the Sabbath. 

Jesus has gone to the synagogue and is teaching. And Luke tells us about some of the people who are also there. One man has a withered, right hand. This disability is clear to everyone who looks at him, but not necessarily something life-threatening. 

There are also Pharisees and teachers of the law there. And Luke tells us something very interesting about them: they are looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they are watching him closely to see if he will heal on the Sabbath. The Pharisees have come with an agenda.

In previous stories, the Pharisees may have been curious about Jesus. They came to listen to his teachings and maybe learn from him. But in that process, as Jesus has taught things that are unexpected and done things that are unexpected, they’ve turned against him. They are looking to discredit him. They’re looking to undermine him and his ministry. And they seek to do that on the grounds of religious law.

The Pharisees’ understanding of the law is that it is illegal to heal on the Sabbath, unless it’s a life-threatening issue. This rule does not come from Scripture–it is man-made by the Pharisees to avoid breaking the Sabbath. And they’re going to use this rule to try to trap Jesus. 

But Jesus knows what they’re thinking, and he is not afraid of them. He’s not looking for the back door of the synagogue so he can sneak out unnoticed and unharmed. Jesus does not let the Pharisees set his agenda.

Instead, Jesus challenges them. He says to the man, “‘Get up and stand in front of everyone.’ And the man got up and stood there.” 

Now, if you were that man, how would you feel? It’s possible that with this man’s disability, he feels some shame, and shame can cause you to hide. So standing up in front of a crowd of people could be mortifying.

Why does Jesus have him do this? Jesus is not a cruel person. He wouldn’t needlessly put him in an awkward situation. Perhaps it is to help the Pharisees see this man, not as a tool for their agenda, but as someone who needs saving. 

Jesus then addresses the crowd with a question: “Which is legal on the Sabbath, to do good or to do evil, to save life or destroy it?” He does not give them many options here. It’s good or evil, save or destroy. 

What’s the obvious answer? To do good! To save! 

Up to this point, the Pharisees have been focused on dos and don’ts–Jesus and his disciples are doing all the wrong things. But this question shifts the focus. Sabbath is not about what you don’t do. It’s about salvation. 

Jesus also shifts the conversation away from something that is very self-focused to something that is more others-focused. These Pharisees displayed their self-righteousness in their restrictions, and in holding everyone to the same impossible standard. They were also so focused on trapping Jesus that they missed out on God’s purpose in that moment, to save life. 

The Pharisees had misplaced priorities. They had turned the Sabbath into something that was about their own rules, their own agenda. And in the process, they failed to see the people in need around them. 

After Jesus asks this question, “he looks around at them all.” He pauses to look at each person standing there. 

Imagine this scene. The man with the withered hand is standing in the middle. Jesus is standing next to him. They’re surrounded by these Pharisees and teachers of the law. Jesus asks this question, and there’s dead silence. There’s no response, no answer from “experts.” Jesus just leaves this awkward silence hanging. 

Then he turns back to the man and says, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretches out his hand, and it is completely restored. Jesus punctuates his teaching that the Sabbath is for doing good and for saving but doing good and saving! Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the Sabbath. This is the same point he makes in the previous story, that he is Lord of the Sabbath. 

Our key truth for today is that Jesus is the fulfillment of Sabbath. He is the one that Sabbath ultimately points to. 

Yes, physical rest is important, but it does us no good if we are living in opposition to Jesus. He brings the good and the salvation that nothing else and no one else can. 

Focusing on our own self-restrictions and self-righteousness won’t do it either. Only Jesus can save.

Today as you go, turn to Jesus for salvation. Let go of your own agenda, your own rules and pride, and rest in Jesus.