Luke 6:6-11

 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. ⁷ So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him. 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. 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?” 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. ¹¹ But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

Commentary
Vs. 6-7 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. ⁷ So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him.

Luke now recalls another incident that occurred on a Sabbath. On this occasion Jesus entered a synagogue on the Sabbath and taught. Now there was there a man who had a withered hand. And seeing the man there the scribes and Pharisees watch Jesus closely to see whether He would heal the man on the Sabbath, so that they might find an accusation against Him. Thus, two things are readily evident: First they were not interested in learning anything from Jesus, they were only there to watch Him, in order to find something to accuse Him of. Second, upon seeing the man with the withered hand they were not moved with any sort of empathy towards him, instead they only saw him as the means by which they could bring an accusation against Jesus. And so, they watched both Jesus and the man hoping above all hope that Jesus would see him and heal him, so that they could accuse Him of breaking their most “precious” Sabbath. Thus, for them neither people. nor the Word of God mattered, what mattered to them was bringing down Jesus, that’s all that mattered to them. Everything else then was just a justifiable means to that end. Now that sort of blinded obsessive focus, that darkens one’s own heart and soul and strips one of all sound discernment is not unique to them, but plays itself out wherever and whenever those in lawful authority likewise become blinded by their own zeal, and thus are not realizing that they themselves are being deceived and mislead by those who are using them for their own evil ends.

Vs. 8-9 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. 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?”

Jesus’ then knowing their thoughts that they were watching Him to see if He would heal the man on the Sabbath so that they might accuse Him of breaking it, now says to the man with the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” Jesus then will not shun away from healing the man in the presence of them all, even though He knew they were going to use it to justify seeking to kill Him. For the good works of God must never be hidden, even though evil and unjust men will only see them in the worst possible light, because they themselves are only motivated by the lowest and basest of things. Therefore, Jesus having called the man to Himself will heal him, but before He does, He says to them all, “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?” Now their silence to Jesus’ question is not only revealing, but it is deafening! Because through it they reveal what they really are (consider Psalm 58:1-2); that is a pack of ravenous wolves who disguise their true natures in religious garb and jargon so they might have and enjoy and privileges of it, or seek they’re prey through it. For they could care less about doing justly, or showing mercy, or walking humbly with their God (see Micah 6:8). Because for them all that mattered was not the man’s wellbeing as was Jesus’ focus, but keeping the Sabbath according to their and their fathers’ traditions, that was all that mattered to them. Now in Jesus’ question there is a fundamental truth that is being revealed, and that is that doing good on the Sabbath (or any other day) is fully in accord with it, for that is the Will of God, that we all do good to one another regardless of Day, all which requires our “working”. For as Jesus says elsewhere about the Sabbath, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.” ^{John 5:17} Meaning there are works that must be done on the Sabbath that God does not cease from just because it is the Sabbath. Therefore, there are works that are fully justifiable to do on the Sabbath (even while under the law), and healing a man with a withered hand so that he might fully enjoy the Sabbath and the rest it was meant to bring, is one of them. Jesus then in healing the mans withered hand will not only restore his body, but He will bring rest to his soul. For that is what Jesus Christ does, He brings rest to everyone who is weary and heavy laden (see Matt. 11:28-30). And that is why God also now commands us all to enter His Rest; that is to cease from all our own attempts to save ourselves by religious observances, or whatever else one tries to do to please God, and rather trust and believe in His Son who already has done everything needed for our salvation (see John 3:16), because God’s Sabbath Rest is that we trust and believe in His Son. For that is how we now according to God’s New Covenant Commandment keep and observe His Sabbath Rest (see Heb. 3-4:10).

Vs. 10-11 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. ¹¹ But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

Jesus’ then looking at them all, looking to see if there is even one who understands the heart of God, now tells the man to stretch out his hand, and with that Word from Jesus the man does! In that instant then the man’s hand is fully healed and restored. However, when the scribes and Pharisees saw what had just took place before their own eyes, they were not filled with joy and praise as the multitudes were so often given to spontaneous praise when Jesus healed someone in their midst. Instead they were only filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus. Thus, in them we see the grave pitfall of “religion” without love, which only produces wrath, man’s cruel, and evil, and unjust wrath (Rom. 4:15).

Scripture Quotations

New King James Version. (1982): Thomas Nelson