Luke 6:7, commentary and pictures

On another Sabbath in the synagogue a man with a withered right hand was present while the scribes and Pharisees watched Jesus as hostile spies, not to learn but hoping He would heal so they could find grounds to accuse Him. Knowing their thoughts, He made the man stand forth and exposed them by asking whether it is lawful on the Sabbath to do good or evil, to save life or destroy it, since a man is better than a sheep lifted from a pit. He then healed the man and restored his hand whole as the other. The healing was done to correct false teaching and to show that deeds of mercy are lawful on the Sabbath, for He kept the Sabbath according to God's law rather than false human requirements, thus honoring it while sweeping away senseless restrictions without breaking the fourth commandment. Their charge made the Sabbath's Maker out to be a Sabbathbreaker, yet it could not be sustained, and the miracle so intensified their enraged plotting that He withdrew with His disciples to the seaside of Galilee where great multitudes followed Him for teaching and healing.

Watchers, Question, and Miracle

It was on another Sabbath in the synagogue, and there was present a man whose right hand was withered. The scribes and Pharisees were there as hostile spies, watching Him closely not to learn but in hope that He would heal so they might find grounds for accusation against Him. Their scrutiny concealed jealousy and hatred while they sought to trap Him in His words.

Knowing their thoughts, He called the man to stand forth in the midst and laid bare their unreason by asking whether it is lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it. A man is much better than a sheep, which any of them would lay hold of and lift out if it fell into a pit on the Sabbath, so it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days. He looked upon them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts.

Then He healed the man freely and restored his hand whole as the other, speaking words to comfort the sick and heal disease. At His doing good on the Lord's day they were enraged and filled with madness, though they claimed to enjoy God's special favor. And they communed together about what they might do to Jesus.

Sabbath Law Vindicated

The healing of the withered hand under hostile watch was done to correct false Jewish teaching about the Sabbath and to impress upon the disciples that deeds of mercy are lawful on that day. He kept the Sabbath according to God's law rather than the false requirements imposed by religious leaders, so His conduct upheld and honored the Sabbath instead of dishonoring it. The act broke down custom without breaking the fourth commandment, leaving it standing as God gave it to the world, and it exalted the Sabbath by sweeping away the senseless restrictions that encumbered it, while those who complained themselves dishonored the Sabbath by their many useless rites and ceremonies.

The hostility of the watchers exposed a contradiction between condemning His Sabbath healing and harboring plans to kill on the Sabbath, with doing good through mercy more righteous than murder in the heart. Their charge treated the Sabbath's Maker as a Sabbathbreaker. That charge that He broke the Sabbath could not be sustained, so His accusers later avoided charging Him with Sabbath-breaking because examination would show His work was healing the afflicted, and they needed false witnesses to testify against Him.

Consequences and Sabbath Pattern

The Sabbath healing deepened the bitterness and malice of the Jews against Him, for His acts of mercy made the Pharisees more intense in their hatred while they closely watched all His movements to find cause to accuse Him. That hostility grew so great that He withdrew with His disciples to the seaside of Galilee in search of a more favorable field of labor. This watching was a continuation of the hostility already provoked in Jerusalem, where His Sabbath healing at the Pool of Bethesda had stirred a plot against His life, and spies followed Him to watch Him still as He taught in Galilee. The account of healing the withered hand belongs alongside the account of His disciples plucking ears of corn in the field.

The new miracle done on the Sabbath day was noised abroad through all that region and drew great multitudes to follow Him to the seaside. There He continued teaching and healing the sick and those possessed by demons. Yet the influence of the watchers kept many sick people from coming to Him for relief on the Sabbath day, for they feared being stigmatized and branded as transgressors of the law. So the diseased waited until the sun had set in the west, and then flocked to Him from every quarter in great numbers to be healed.

Healing on the Sabbath in this way is right and proper, and gives Sabbathkeepers an example to remember the afflicted on the Sabbath with fasting and prayer. They are to humble their hearts before God with the expectation that He will come in and work abundantly to uphold and raise the sick, as He worked healing freely on the right hand and on the left even while watched for accusation. He spoke words to comfort the sick and healed their disease every Sabbath and never grew weary in the work. That Sabbath healing was so extensive and widespread it was beyond computation, with the world as His practice, and His life is the pattern life and example to follow.