July 1, 2014

Matthew 12:9-14, Mark 3:1-6, Luke 6:6-11 (The man with the withered hand)



Rachel Workman
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
9 Then Jesus went over to their synagogue, 10 where he noticed a man with a deformed hand. The Pharisees asked Jesus, “Does the law permit a person to work by healing on the Sabbath?” (They were hoping he would say yes, so they could bring charges against him.)
11 And he answered, “If you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn’t you work to pull it out? Of course you would. 12 And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath.”
13 Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored, just like the other one! 14 Then the Pharisees called a meeting to plot how to kill Jesus. Does that sound reasonable? Here is a man with compassion who loves people and healed them. Evil cannot be reasoned with. Neither can hatred. Hatred has no place in our hearts. It can not be reasoned with either. We would do well to keep it out of our lives.
3 Jesus went into the synagogue again and noticed a man with a deformed hand. 2 Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus’ enemies watched him closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath.
3 Jesus said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” 4 Then he turned to his critics and asked, “Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” But they wouldn’t answer him.
5 He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! 6 At once the Pharisees went away and met with the supporters of Herod to plot how to kill Jesus. This is my favorite version. It states that Jesus' enemies watched him hoping for a reason to accuse him. This tells me that they truly hated Jesus. God was not in them. And these are the religious leaders. Scary huh. It also states that Jesus was angry and deeply saddened. He was saddened by the hardness of their hearts. No one knows better than Jesus what that meant for them. That should be our reaction to evil, anger and sadness. For evil does not have God. And truly that is sad.
6 On another Sabbath day, a man with a deformed right hand was in the synagogue while Jesus was teaching. 7 The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath.
8 But Jesus knew their thoughts. He said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” So the man came forward. 9 Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?”
10 He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! 11 At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him.


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John Burnett:  This is a perfect example of the evil that people are capable of when they allow self-righteousness and pride to overtake humility and repentance.  The Pharisees allowed the law to overcome love for one another and did not understand that Jesus came to fulfill the law.  When evil is the result of someone doing a good deed, you can get a glimpse of how powerful sin really is.  Only then can you get a glimpse of how powerful and mighty our Savior really is when he overcame sin and death.  It should also give us a glimpse of how amazingly abundant his grace really is in that He died to pay the price for every sin of every person.  Knowing that he died for everyone’s sins, should not belittle the fact that our individual sin caused him to have to die and that he loved the world corporately and us individually to the point that he willingly went to the cross and died the most horrific death imaginable.    

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Mike Grimm: 
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Then Jesus went over to their synagogue, 10 where he noticed a man with a deformed hand. The Pharisees asked Jesus, “Does the law permit a person to work by healing on the Sabbath?” (They were hoping he would say yes, so they could bring charges against him.)
The Pharisees choose the man with the shriveled hand because his is not a life-or-death situation; Sabbath Law outlined that medical attention could only be given on Sabbath when it was this extreme-sort of situation. The Pharisees’ intentions are clear: gather the information necessary to accuse and condemn this man. They ask if it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath because if Jesus truly is of God than he would respect the traditions and wait until the following day to heal the man
11 And he answered, “If you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn’t you work to pull it out? Of course you would. 12 And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath.”
Christ points out a flaw among the Pharisees’ practices: they were strict in restricting another man’s healing, but not where their own property is concerned
13 Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored, just like the other one! 14 Then the Pharisees called a meeting to plot how to kill Jesus.
3 Jesus went into the synagogue again and noticed a man with a deformed hand. Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus’ enemies watched him closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath.
Jesus said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” Then he turned to his critics and asked, “Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” But they wouldn’t answer him.
Jesus healed the crippled man with a simple command and such a miracle should have immediately given the Pharisees pause in considering their motivations. For what could be more sacred, good and holy than to heal on the Sabbath? What could be more pleasing to God than to do justice and mercy in his Name on a day set aside to remember and practice such things?

He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! At once the Pharisees went away and met with the supporters of Herod to plot how to kill Jesus.
Rather than let their anger evaporate in the marvel of the miracle, the Pharisees plotted to kill Jesus.  In essence, they answered Jesus’ question with their deeds that said it was better to do evil on the Sabbath and that it was better to kill a life than to save it.
On another Sabbath day, a man with a deformed right hand was in the synagogue while Jesus was teaching. The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath.
Only Luke tells us that it was the man's right hand which was withered.
But Jesus knew their thoughts. He said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” So the man came forward. Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?”
He asked the piercing questions, "Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil?" That must have struck home, for while he was seeking to help the life of the man, they were doing all they could to destroy him. It was he who was seeking to save and they who were seeking to destroy.
10 He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! 11 At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him.

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