Luke 6
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.
I'm so amazed by Jesus. He's such a smart guy! At this
point in Luke, Jesus is teaching his followers and the Pharisees about the
differences between their actions and their attitudes, especially concerning
the Law and tradition. Going purely on the order presented in Luke, he has been
teaching in the synagogues and has already infuriated his listeners by claiming
that God values the Gentiles. He has cast out many demons "at his
command," rebuked the dangerous fever gripping Simon's mother, and has
healed many others by "the touch of his hand," including "a man
with an advanced case of leprosy." He's becoming very popular so that
crowds gather to hear him speak and witness his healing.
Because of this, the Pharisees and teachers of the law are
threatened by him, and they begin looking to trap him. Jesus knows what
they are thinking, and is able to defy them on four more occasions: 1) when he
commands the lame man to "Stand up, pick up your mat, and go
home!"; 2) when eating with tax collectors and sinners; 3 and 4)
when defending his disciples' actions feasting and drinking, and picking wheat
on a Sabbath. All this sets the tension for the passage on the Sabbath
above.
When the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees try to
catch him laboring on the Sabbath, Jesus outwits them all. But first he
draws attention to the real issue: their focus is in the wrong place. He
asks them "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?” to
point out that their while they may be giving observance to the law, what is
going on in their hearts is wrong. They were trying to catch Jesus heal someone on the Sabbath, while in their hearts they plotted to kill him. Jesus reminds us that our attitudes are much more important
than our actions. Doing the right thing in the wrong way or for the wrong
reason does not bring God glory, so it is important to pay attention to why we
are doing what we are doing. As my dad says, in the Sermon on
the Mount, Jesus preached on the "Be Attitudes", not on the "Do
Activities."
And of course, Jesus is right so we must take this to
heart. But what I find so amazing and energizing is the next part, what Jesus did to
fill the Pharisees "wild with rage!" Part of this anger was because he
was healing on the Sabbath. But I think that it was more because they weren't
able to catch him healing on the Sabbath, to accuse him. Look what it
says: "He looked around at them one by one (my edit: as if to accuse and
let them know that he knew what they were thinking!) and then said to the
man, 'Hold out your hand.' So the man held out
his hand, and it was restored!" (italics mine) It does not say
"Jesus healed his hand." It implies it, and I'm positive that
Jesus DID heal it. But up until now, Jesus has been performing an action to perform
miracles, either commanding or rebuking or touching. In other healing miracles
he also spits, heals through the touch on his robe, and other actions. But here it is passive, he heals without
acting, without laboring at all!
So while the Pharisees are looking to trap him, they end up with
only a lesson to burn their hearts because Jesus is clever and powerful enough
to not only do what is right on the day that he created, but also to do it in
such a way that doesn't give his enemies any evidence to go by.
Can you imagine if they had accused him?
-- "We accuse you of working on the Sabbath!"
-- "How so?"
-- "You healed a man!"
-- "What is your evidence?"
-- "His healed hand is our evidence!!!"
-- "Well how do you know it was me?"
-- "It must have been you! Only you can do miraculous
healing!"
-- "But what did I do to heal it?"
-- "Nothing! It just is healed!!!"
-- "So, if I did nothing,... is that work?"
(silence.)
As I said, Jesus is such a smart guy!
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