Last week we saw how Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath, which means He is the authority on what it’s purpose was about. Jesus rejected the “splitting hairs” tradition of the rabbis because they were dead wrong on what Sabbath was all about. Today we are going to see a second issue that led to complaints to how Jesus kept the Sabbath. This begins in Luke 6:6.
Often the differing schools of interpretation within Judaism liked it when Jesus contradicted or disproved their opponents. However, Jesus had an ability to do this to all of them. That is why they scrutinized him so much. They needed something they could use to discredit this “dangerous man.” Let’s see how Jesus responded to this scrutiny.
In verses 6 and 7 we are given a scene at a synagogue, much like a church is today. In this scene the Scribes and Pharisees are watching Jesus like a hawk. What would he do? There is a difference from watching out for a brother and watching someone like a bird of prey. This scene is similar to the political maneuverings we see in our own day. In fact, the “smart” politicians take out their opponents before they can get any following. Yet, this is not the Spirit of the Lord.
There happens to be a man there who has a paralyzed hand. It is called “withered” because the paralysis had shriveled and curled the hand up leaving it useless. Most likely this man heard Jesus would be there and had come hoping to be healed. It is possible he is there because the religious leaders are creating this trap. Either way, they are hoping Jesus will heal the man because then they can accuse Him of breaking the Sabbath Law. It is almost surreal that they could on one hand know that He could heal and yet on the other hand still accuse Him.
Now this leads up to the issue. There is nothing wrong with testing teachers, prophets, and healers. The Bible tells believers to “Test all things.” God’s children are not called to be gullible sheep who are easily duped. Not everything that purports to be a miracle from God really is. However, we must learn to test properly. These religious leaders have created a improper test. They do not test Jesus against the Scriptures themselves. But rather, they test Him against their own traditions based off of the Scriptures. This is a dishonest test. It is not just that they had a different interpretation. But at the heart of it, they had added things you couldn’t do on the Sabbath because of their own wisdom. All things must be “properly” tested against “Scripture alone.” We shouldn’t test it against one verse pulled out of context. Nor should we test it against a twisted and tortured understanding of a text. Often, we might find ourselves coming to the conclusion that we don’t have enough information. It is not clear. In those cases it would be better to leave it between that person and God, rather than making a public judgment.
Verses 8-11give the response of Jesus. It is important to notice that, in the Bible, Jesus is not a rebel who was always trying to “stick it to the man.” Rather, He was interested in Truth and rescuing Israel from the path that their religious leaders were taking them down.
Now we are told that Jesus knew their thoughts. Whether words had been said, He knew what they were hoping for. Remember that the same is true today. Christ knows what is in your mind and heart. He knows whether you are looking for excuses to walk away from Him or if you are hoping for a miracle. You most likely aren’t struggling over whether Jesus should heal on the Sabbath or not. However, you might have things against Jesus and His Word that are unspoken in your mind and heart. Jesus could have not healed the guy, or did it later when they weren’t around. Instead he boldly met their challenge.
First Jesus challenged their biblical understanding. Just like Isaiah 1 has God calling out to Israel, “Come let us reason…” so Jesus takes time to reason with the “wise men” of any age. He does so to draw us away from lies and towards a love of the Truth. He asks two questions. “Is it lawful to do good or evil on the Sabbath?” Now doing evil on the Sabbath is clearly wrong because it is wrong on any day. The Sabbath law was given, in part, as a check against the “evil” of working 7 days a week trying to increase yourself without acknowledging a need for God’s help. This law helped to check the evil heart and point man to his greater need and greater supply. We may not be under the Sabbath law today as Christians, but we still need to listen to the wisdom of God behind this law He gave Israel. However, on another level this question begs another question. If it is in your power to help someone in need and you do nothing, isn’t that evil? Jesus could heal. How could he walk by a man who wanted healed and do nothing because it is the Sabbath day? Clearly he should do something.
Now there are many who use this line of reasoning against God Himself. “How can God sit in heaven and not fix the bad stuff in this world? If He exists then He must be evil.” Of course this line of reasoning would be true if God had done nothing. But the testimony of the Scriptures and of many throughout history is that God has helped us, just not in the way we demand he do it. A common problem in helping people is that sometimes people don’t want to be “helped.” God has helped mankind, but most won’t receive it. What a tragedy. He asks the same question again but used the word heal. Which is lawful to heal or destroy? The word translated as save in some versions would mean to heal in this context. Jesus did not come to destroy men, but to bring healing and salvation to their lives. This is the heart of God, especially in the Sabbath law that He gave Israel.
Jesus has the man come and stand by Him. Apparently no one wants to debate with Jesus. So Jesus then tells the man to stretch out his hand and it is healed. They don’t care about the reasoning of Jesus. They are convinced that they are right and only watch the outward actions of Jesus so that they can condemn Him. Jesus is not only the justifier of His disciples, but He is also the healer of them too. He courageously steps forth and heals a man even though He will be maligned for it. In fact this is a hallmark of Jesus and God. God has the courage to stand by the weak and poor of this world who will embrace Him. Even though the strong, rich, and wise mock such a band of people. Whose side are you on?
The last verse of this section says that the Pharisees and Scribes were filled with madness. Literally they lost their mind and tried to figure out what to do with Him. When we contrast this with the passage in Acts 2, it begs another question, “What are you filled with?” Am I filled with a madness or with the pure, Holy Spirit of God? When God is doing a beautiful and wonderful work of salvation or healing, what am I filled with? At the Red Sea the children of Israel were filled with joy and praise as a way was made through the waters. However, Pharaoh’s heart was filled with rage and rushed into the trap bent on destroying Israel. Today, God is drawing together a people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. He is filling them with His Spirit and faith. However, others are becoming more and more maddened by such archaic beliefs. We live in a mad world, but in the midst of that madness we are called to be a bold and courageous healer and savior with Jesus. Let’s stand with the Lord of the Sabbath and rest in His peace!