Luke 6:6-11

John Burnett:  ⁶ On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. ⁷ The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. ⁸ But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there.

⁹ Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”

¹⁰ He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored. ¹¹ But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.  I tremble to think where the Pharisees are right now.  They worked so hard on the Sabbath to accuse Jesus of working on the Sabbath. 

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Mike Grimm:  ⁶ On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. ⁷ The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. According to the tradition of the religious leaders, no healing could be done on the Sabbath. Healing, they argued, was practicing medicine, and a person could not practice his or her profession on the Sabbath. It was more important to the religious leaders to protect their laws than to free a person from painful suffering. ⁸ But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there.

⁹ Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”

¹⁰ He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored. ¹¹ But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus. Jesus’ enemies were furious. Not only had he read their minds; he also flouted their laws and exposed the hatred in their hearts. It is ironic that it was their hatred, combined with their zeal for the law, that drove them to plot murder—an act that was clearly against the law.

I found a nice commentary by Jeremy Myers concerning verse 10. It’s actually in-line with my posting on 3-21-17, and my constant struggle with who I am, and who I want to be. “He looked around at them all.” You know, there will be a time when He will look at you also. Will you be able to look Jesus in the eyes without being ashamed? Have you done everything you can with what He has given to you? Your time, your money, your skills?

I know I haven’t…but I’m trying. If I were to die right now, I do not think Jesus would say to me, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” I do not think I could look Jesus in the eyes. But I’m trying to get there. How? Well, 1 John 2:28 says, “And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.” Abiding in Christ is how we live a life pleasing to God. Abiding in Christ should be the goal of every Christian. Jesus tells us how to do this in John 13-17, and John tells us how in the book of 1 John. But you will have to study those passages on your own. All we see here in Luke 6 is that Jesus looked at them all – probably with disappointment, maybe even some anger in his eyes. And then, in answer to his question in verse 9, He shows the Pharisees what God would do on the Sabbath. Look again at Luke 6:10. (Jeremy Myers)

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Tomorrow’s reading for Luke 6:12-16

¹² One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. ¹³ When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: ¹⁴ Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, ¹⁵ Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, ¹⁶ Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.