B11-devotions

Read on / NOTES / GOING DEEPER / APPLICATION / DISCIPLESHIP /

Luke 6:6-11

Devotions for Wednesday 10th March

6 On another Sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there who had a withered right hand. 7 The scribes and the Pharisees watched him closely to see if He would cure on the Sabbath, in order to find some accusation against him. 8 But He knew what they were thinking, so He said to the man with the withered hand, ‘Get up and stand in front of us.’ He got up and stood there. 9 Then Jesus said to them, ‘I ask you, is it right to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to destroy it?’ 10 After looking around at them all, he said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He did so, and his hand was fully restored. 11 But they were filled with fury and began to discuss with each other what they might do to Jesus.

Dear Lord, why do we suffer so much in this world? We ask You to relieve us of the pressure of sin and the burden of the world’s failures, yet too often, we feel as if we are following Your pathways unaccompanied. Forgive us, dear Lord, for those of our own sins that prevent us from seeing what You are doing in us and through us, and show us the truth about Your love and care for us. Then, with hearts renewed, may we face life refreshed and ready for anything. All praise to You, Lord God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. AMEN

For gentleness, see the joy and care

with which a grandparent plays with a grandchild;

For faithfulness, see the endless romance

of two lovers lost in the pathways of passionate love;

For patience, see the self-control of a parent

who never gives up hope on a lost or struggling child;

For kindliness, see the reassuring smile

of one who visits you unexpectedly when ill in hospital;

For graciousness, see the honesty and love

which holds together true and lasting friendships;

For goodness, see those who are all these things

who show in their lives the fruit of the Spirit of God;

For all that’s best in life, follow the advice of the Creator.

Prayer ideas

Open your Bible and read it. Think about what it means to do this and think about what you mean by ‘God’s Word’?

On-going prayers

Pray for the people you know Pray for friends and neighbours of yours who are in need of God’s care and Salvation. Pray they will be blessed
Praise the Lord for those who work tirelessly for justice and peace
Pray for Afghanistan and the people of that war-torn country

Luke tells the story of the healing of the man with a withered hand immediately after Jesus dramatically said, ‘the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath’ (6:5). He performed the healing in order to give a public demonstration of the truth of this important claim. In general, Luke tells us about the miracles of Jesus when he wants to illustrate Jesus’ power and authority, and although Jesus had already won His argument with the Pharisees about the laws of the Old Testament, He had yet to demonstrate His authority over them in a miracle of power. On a previous Sabbath, Jesus had evicted demons from a man who shouted at Him, and this deliverance showed that Jesus had authority over evil, as the Messiah. So in this healing miracle, Jesus demonstrated His authority over the religious laws that might prevent people doing good on a Sabbath.

The story is certainly tragic. Jesus went to the Synagogue (see also 4:16, 6:6, 13:14 etc.), and became aware of the man with a withered hand. He was presumably there as one of the worshippers, but possibly because he had been following Jesus, like so many others (4:42, 5:15), looking for healing. In this situation, Jesus knew that if He healed the man and did not defeat His opponents in public as well, then the man would receive unwelcome attention from the Pharisees, and possibly be rejected by his own community; such was the power and influence of the Pharisees in those days. It is extraordinary that people who regarded themselves as defenders of true religion should be unconcerned about the need of the man with a withered right hand; for the Pharisees were clearly set on catching Jesus out, but Jesus’ heart was set on both healing the man and defeating the Pharisees.

Jesus knew the Pharisees (6:8) were watching him, because they controlled the Jews by applying hundreds of supplementary laws (quite literally), which defined what work could be done on the Sabbath day. They were watching to see if he would overstep their mark, and were prepared to pit their encyclopaedic knowledge of rabbinic law against Jesus’ grand Messianic claims. They believed that if they could catch Jesus out in just one way, they would be able to say to the Jews something like this; ‘He’s not what you think, you know!’

Jesus rose to the challenge by openly defying the Pharisees. He knew that both the Old Testament and the rabbinic law said that ‘saving life’ was a higher principle than ‘rest’ and was allowed on the Sabbath (see later in ‘Going Deeper’). It was right to ‘do good’ on the Sabbath (6:9), because doing good was a fundamental principle of life reflecting the nature of God the Creator, and it could not be set aside for the Sabbath. His question ‘is it right to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or destroy it?’ (6:9) was all that was required. The Pharisees had no answer.

Almost imperceptibly, Jesus had introduced something new to the situation. His words imply that not healing the man meant harming him (6:9). This is a crucial insight, welcomed by all who suffer. People can assume that if life is not in danger it is wise to leave things alone, without perceiving the deadly effect of unattended disease or injury. Jesus knew that the man before Him did indeed need a working hand, and to leave him without healing was tantamount to destruction (6:9). These are strong words, which are aimed at those who debate healing yet will not attempt it.

In an instant, Jesus spoke to the man and he was healed as soon as he did what Jesus said. I wonder whether the Pharisees noticed that Jesus did no actual work when healing the man; He did not touch him, or do anything dramatic, He simply said to the man, ‘stretch out your hand’ (6:10). With this demonstration of power, Jesus made His authority over the Sabbath clear, and the Pharisees were ‘filled with fury’ (6:11). Jesus’ ministry was falling into place, and the Pharisees began to gather evidence with which to charge Jesus with blasphemy.

Going Deeper

The Bible study goes deeper to look at these issues:

Further comments about Old Testament law and rabbinic law on the Sabbath
The true nature of Jesus’ healing ministry
Salvation and healing

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