Luke 6:6-11 - Raise Your Right Hand
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction:
In our justice system, a person has to raise his or her right hand as they give an oath asserting that they are going to speak the truth. The right hand is a symbol of power and authority as well because around 90% of people are naturally right-hand dominant. As I thought through this interchange that happens on a daily basis in America in light of our Scripture for today, I wondered what would happen if someone couldn’t actually raise their right hand. What if they couldn’t stretch it out as made an oath?
This leads us into today’s message. Today we are going to see Jesus ask a man to raise his right hand. And this man was not actually able to do this on his own. This man had a right hand that was nonfunctional. Yet, Jesus never asks us to do anything that He doesn’t equip us to be able to do. Let’s jump into today’s Scripture and watch Jesus continue doing His work - nevertheless on another Sabbath!
Join me as we read our account for today:
Read Full Scripture:
On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered.
And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him.
But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there.
And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?”
And after looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored.
But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
Prayer
Today we will see three ways that Jesus is greater. The first is…
I. Jesus Is Greater than Fear (6-7)
I. Jesus Is Greater than Fear (6-7)
On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him.
Here we have another account on another Sabbath. We are introduced to a man with a withered hand. And we are told that it was his right hand that was withered. The word for withered here is a word that was often used of plants or dried wood or even land that had undergone a drought and was cracked and withered. The Greek word is xēros (zair-ose) which is where we get the English medical term xerosis which means dry skin. This same word was used to describe physical ailments such as paralysis which is most likely how it is used regarding the man in this account.
Luke leaves us without any information about how this man’s hand became lame. As a physician, I can’t help but want to probe Luke the physician further on this. Was he born with a hand that was not functional? Did he suffer trauma? Was there a neurological condition causing it? We don’t know exactly why his hand was withered, but we know that it wasn’t usable. It was likely atrophied from paralysis and not being able to be used for quite some time.
This past week I was playing some basketball and God, in his providence, prepared me for this sermon by allowing me to have my left hand hurt. It was just a jammed index finger so it was nothing nearly as bad as what this man was experiencing and it was my left hand instead of my right which made it more tolerable as well. But I still was reminded when I went to do just about anything that it wasn’t working correctly as pains shot up my hand and it didn’t have much range of motion. It certainly gave me more empathy for this man!
It is amazing how many things require two hands. Losing what was likely his dominant hand would have made every day life difficult. This physical issue would have made it incredibly tough for him to hold a job as most first century jobs were physically taxing and more blue collar in nature.
We see that Jesus has compassion on this man in our next section, but sadly verse 7 shows us that instead of compassion for this man, the scribes and Pharisees see this man as an opportunity to condemn Jesus yet again. So here are these little evil detectives - these little minions of Satan - in the synagogue waiting to pounce yet again on Jesus. The Greek word for the phrase ‘watched him’ actually can mean to lurk or lie in wait. Luke uses this term 3 times and each time it refers to the religious leaders trying to catch Jesus in something. Some commentators have even questioned whether the scribes and Pharisees maliciously invited this man to the synagogue to try to catch Jesus. We don’t know that for sure, but we do know that it would not be beyond their wickedness to do so.
I think it is incredible here to see how much they knew Jesus’ reputation. They knew He was compassionate, gracious, and merciful. That is because He is One with the Father. See Psalm 103:8:
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
They knew He loved the people. And they knew that He was especially compassionate for those with infirmities. So they laid in wait ready to pounce.
Jesus, knew the situation as we will see in our next section and yet continued pressing on fearlessly. How amazing is it that He continued pressing on eventually to the cross without fear. He was able to do this because perfect love casts out fear.
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
Jesus Christ was perfect and so fear was far from Him (1 John 4:18).
He was the essence of perfect love in Himself. And so His overwhelming love for the Father first and foremost and then for man prevented fear from ever getting a hold on Him.
Jesus is greater than fear… and…
Scripture References: Psalm 103:8, 1 John 4:18
II. Jesus is Greater than Man’s Frailty (8-10)
II. Jesus is Greater than Man’s Frailty (8-10)
But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there.
The Pharisees and scribes are ready to pounce on Jesus like a lion, but as they continue to find out - Jesus is not some helpless gazelle prancing around the land. He is God-made-flesh. He knows the hearts of men. He knows the thoughts of men. And he brings the man with a disability over to Him.
I love how it says that knew their thoughts. Jesus was always steps ahead of the Pharisees. Their interactions with Him had to be so frustrating because He always had an answer that left them speechless. They never could catch Him doing anything wrong - other than breaking the man-made laws that they had no authority to make.
Another important thing to see in this verse is that Jesus asks the man to come and stand next to Him. Jesus wasn’t about to do this miracle in secret. He was ready to go toe-to-toe with the religious leaders this Sabbath. He was ready to remind them that He is Lord of the Sabbath as we saw in verse 5:
And he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
This was a deliberate attack on the religious leaders’ Sabbath traditions. He could have healed this man later in the day. He could have healed this man secretly. But he stood toe to toe against the Pharisees and did this publically. I love the toughness of Jesus shown here. He didn’t seek to appease these evil religious rulers. He didn’t play the Mr. Nice Guy card. Jesus is always kind and good - but He wasn’t always nice. I know that sounds blasphemous! But sometimes it is not kind to someone to be nice! When people are in sin and they refuse to respond to gentle rebukes, sometimes you have to be a little more direct. Sometimes the rebuke needs to be a little less nice and a little more intense. Today’s soft church has made up a new 11th commandment - though shalt be nice and never offend. We obviously know that this new commandment is not of God because Jesus definitely broke that manmade commandment like he broke the Pharisee’s rules!
And you can see this attack Jesus mounts on the religious leaders more clearly in verse 9:
And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?”
Jesus then asks a rhetorical question to the scribes and Pharisees - Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or do harm, to save life or destroy it?
He aims for the heart.
It is important to note that there were no Old Testament regulations on healing or ministering to a sick person on the Sabbath. But the Pharisees had developed some rather specific rules on healing on the Sabbath. One could make an exception for life threatening situations but not for anything that was not immediately life threatening. And for them - a withered hand could wait until tomorrow.
Matthew 12:11-12 gives us a little more information on what Jesus said to them.
He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
Jesus, showing their hypocrisy and lack of mercy brings up the matter of livestock. If one has a sheep that falls into the pit on the Sabbath, one would certainly work on getting it out. If you would show mercy to a sheep which is an animal, how much more should mercy be shown to a man made in the image of God.
Note that Jesus touches on another sinful problem with the Pharisees as well. We see this clearly taught in the New Testament, but it was taught in principle in the Old as well. James 4:17 states:
So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
This is known as the sin of omission (James 4:17).
The sin of omission is not doing what you should have done (See James 4:17).
The sin of commission is doing what you should have not done whether intentionally or unintentionally.
Theologian Robert Stein says the following:
The ultimate issue for him was not doing good versus doing nothing but rather doing good versus doing evil, for failure to do good in such instances is in effect to do evil.
- Robert Stein
Jesus saw the sin of omission as just as important as the sin of commission. Jesus had the ability and power to heal this man standing in front of Him. He wanted the religious leaders to see that God desires mercy and not sacrifice as we discussed last week with Hosea 6:6.
With all of this in mind, we come to verse 10:
And after looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored.
Sometimes we might glean over a statement like “after looking around at them all.” But I think this is an important part of this account. Each of us are judged based on our personal response to Jesus Christ. Yes, there was a group of scribes and Pharisees, but by looking at each on individually, He let them know that their individual hearts were being examined. They couldn’t hide behind the group. He knew each of them. He knew what was in each of their hearts and minds.
In the same way we can’t hide behind a group either. When it comes to eternity, Jesus will look each of us in the eyes, and we will have to give an account for our lives and actions. I pray that you are much more ready than these men were for that encounter! The only way to be ready is to have placed your faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. He is the only way and the only truth and the only life (John 14:6). And if we are in Christ as saved believers, we can be confident as we approach Christ - not because of our own inherent goodness but because our giving an account will be giving His perfect account which has been credited to us!
And just like those who are unbelievers who will stand in front of Christ speechless in the Presence of Almighty God, the religious leaders are hushed by Jesus. They have nothing to say as they are stared down by their Creator.
After staring down each individual there, He speaks life into this man’s hand. “Stretch out your hand.” Such a simple command to say, but such a miraculous work to do!
Luke lets us know that the man immediately follows Jesus’ command and does it and his hand is restored.
How amazing is this account?
You would think that it this point, the religious elites would be convinced. Maybe they will respond with humility and faith. Jesus did just do an incredible miracle right in front of their faces. Unfortunately, their hard hearts seem impenetrable. But despite the hardness of their hearts and the evil that they were conspiring to do to Christ, we see that…
Scripture References: Luke 6:5, Matthew 12:11-12, James 4:17, Hosea 6:6, John 14:6
III. Jesus is Greater than Man’s Fury (11)
III. Jesus is Greater than Man’s Fury (11)
But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
This word fury in Greek is anoia (ahn-you-ah) which means anger, rage, or fury. It refers to one who is out of his or her mind and mad. This is actually the only time Luke uses this word in his Gospel. They are so blinded by their anger that they just missed the fact that Jesus healed this man!
In a parallel passage in the book of Mark we see the following:
The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
Mark lets us know that the scribes and Pharisees hatred of Jesus was so bad that they sought to destroy Him.
They even resorted to going to the Herodians and planning with them how to get rid of Jesus. The Herodians and Pharisees were far different and frankly they were adversarial much of the time. The Pharisees were the ultra-conservatives religious elites while the Herodians were a more liberal Jewish political party (more often linked with the Sadducees) that sympathized with the rulers of the Herodian dynasty and therefore Rome.
But they were united against Jesus.
They were united against Jesus because although they did not agree with one another, they understood Jesus to be a threat to both of them. They saw Him as a threat to their political and religious power. And they were ready to do anything to neutralize the threat - even to seek to destroy Jesus.
Anger has that effect on people doesn’t it? Anger can cause one to completely lose their mind. Most people do not make wise decisions when they are mad.
In Matthew 5:21-22 Jesus compares anger to murder. We see that anger is the precursor to this heinous crime and to stew in anger brings about unrighteousness. Listen to James teach on this:
for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
The anger of man does not bring the righteousness of God. Yes, we will get inevitably become angry at times, but we need to ask God to help us see clearly and take captive our thoughts and emotions. We see that because of our fallen state, we will not make righteous decisions when we are angry.
We see this in all kinds of aspects of life, but it is rarely more clearly seen than in sports. Professional athletes can make the worst of decisions when someone gets under their skin. They get angry and start to make terrible decisions. See this picture of Draymond Green stomping a guy who had just grabbed his foot. He let his anger get the best of him. The two players had gone back and forth the whole game and eventually this foot grab was the last straw.
We must keep our anger in check brothers and sisters.
But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
Getting back to our verse we see the religious leaders on the exact opposite spectrum of Jesus. These leaders are merciless to the people and obviously merciless to Jesus.
As theologian Kent Hughes asserts:
True faith in God produces mercy.
- Kent Hughes (Commentary on Luke)
Mercy is the opposite of anger. Mercy sees enemies as those needing a Savior. Anger sees them as someone to get rid of. Mercy sees enemies and has compassion for their lostness. Anger sees enemies and sees them as obstacles to get past.
Going back to a verse we have discussed this week and last week, we see God assert in Hosea 6:6:
For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
I am using the NKJV here because the ESV includes the word love instead. Albeit love and mercy are extremely closely related. You really cannot have one without the other. But the thrust of this passage today is definitely on mercy.
The religious leaders did not have mercy on the people as they laid heavy burdens of regulations on them. They did not have mercy as they could care less about this man with a withered hand. And they mercilessly plotted to take the life of the Lord Jesus Christ right after He had just healed a man.
This verse in the book of Hosea is extremely applicable to the religious elites of Jesus’ day and is still applicable to many today as well.
For many people, it is easier to sacrifice and do “religious things” than to love and show mercy. It is easier to give up a certain food for a time than invite someone over to your home that has different religious, political, or other ideas than you have. It is easier to say three prayers a day than to go serve at a children’s shelter.
You see, mercy is hard. Mercy costs us something. It may cost us our comfort, our control, and frankly for Jesus - it cost Him His life.
Sacrifice can be difficult at times, but for most people it is still completely under their control. You choose what you are going to sacrifice. You choose how much you are going to give or what you are going to give up. You stay in the driver’s seat.
But mercy is different. There is a letting go of self that must happen in order to truly be merciful and loving. And this is Jesus at His best. He always exalts His Father first and then shows mercy and love to His fellow man in need.
What a Savior, Church?
And may we emulate Him - may we emulate the One who is greater than man’s fury.
Scripture References: Mark 3:6, Matthew 5:21-22, James 1:20, Hosea 6:6, 2 Corinthians 6:2
Conclusion:
As we come to a close we have seen some wonderful qualities about Jesus. We have seen that He is fearless. Nothing shakes our Lord Jesus Christ. He is our solid rock. We have seen that our frailty cannot outshine His power. He can overcome all human weakness. And finally, we have seen that He is greater than man’s fury. We see this played out later through the cross. These religious leaders eventually do crucify the Savior - albeit because He allows it to happen for our good. But He shows His greatness over man’s fury by raising from the dead three days later! And instead of coming back immediately with judgment and sending all mankind to Hell, He overpowers man’s fury with loving kindness and mercy in the form of salvation - offered to any who would humble themselves before Him. Any who would believe in Him, repent of their sins, and submit their life to Him. Yes, there will be a time when His mercy is removed and His righteous judgment comes. That day of the Lord is sure and promised by God throughout the Scriptures. But today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). Humble yourselves before Christ. He is good and worthy of your life and trust.
And for us who are already believers, may we worship our Savior who is greater than fear, greater than man’s frailty, and greater than man’s fury.
Prayer