Tuesday Devo
Scripture Reading:
Luke 6:6-11
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.
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.
Commentary from the ESV Study Bible:
6:6–11 A Man with a Withered Hand. In a second Sabbath controversy (cf. vv. 1–5; 13:10–17; 14:1–6) Jesus exercises his power (4:14, 34; 5:17) and authority (4:32, 36; 5:24) to heal on the Sabbath.
6:7 The scribes and the Pharisees (see 5:21) watched Jesus, not to gain insight but to accuse him. They would have conceded that life-threatening situations allowed for breaking the Sabbath, but this was not such a situation (13:14).
6:9 is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm …? …? Jesus had acted out of compassion to heal the man with the withered hand. His opponents, however, finding themselves in a dilemma, refuse to answer (cf. 13:15–17; 14:5–6; 20:3–7).
6:10 Stretch out your hand. Jesus pointedly did not do anything in this situation that could be called “work”: he did not even touch the man, but simply spoke a word (and surely speaking is not prohibited on the Sabbath!). Nor did the disabled man do any forbidden “work,” for he simply stretched out his hand. Jesus’ accusers were silenced, and they were furious (v. 11). his hand was restored. This is proof that Jesus is lord of the Sabbath (cf. v. 5).
6:11 they were filled with fury. Even a mighty miracle cannot change their hardened hearts. What they might do to Jesus serves as the conclusion of vv. 1–10 and foreshadows his suffering and death.
6:7 The scribes and the Pharisees (see 5:21) watched Jesus, not to gain insight but to accuse him. They would have conceded that life-threatening situations allowed for breaking the Sabbath, but this was not such a situation (13:14).
6:9 is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm …? …? Jesus had acted out of compassion to heal the man with the withered hand. His opponents, however, finding themselves in a dilemma, refuse to answer (cf. 13:15–17; 14:5–6; 20:3–7).
6:10 Stretch out your hand. Jesus pointedly did not do anything in this situation that could be called “work”: he did not even touch the man, but simply spoke a word (and surely speaking is not prohibited on the Sabbath!). Nor did the disabled man do any forbidden “work,” for he simply stretched out his hand. Jesus’ accusers were silenced, and they were furious (v. 11). his hand was restored. This is proof that Jesus is lord of the Sabbath (cf. v. 5).
6:11 they were filled with fury. Even a mighty miracle cannot change their hardened hearts. What they might do to Jesus serves as the conclusion of vv. 1–10 and foreshadows his suffering and death.
Study Questions:
- Jesus heals a man with a deformed hand. Some scholars believe this man could've been planted by the religious leaders in order to trap Jesus. They knew he would have compassion on this man and heal him, which is exactly what he did. Jesus, of course, knew what they were thinking and called them out. Jesus always knows the attitudes of our heart. He then acts to deal with their thinking by turning their private thoughts into a topic of public reflection. This helps to engage them on how they view spirituality. He was basically asking, is it about outward action and rule keeping? Or is it about inward love, compassion and mercy? Are you ever guilty of making your walk with Jesus more about outward actions rather than the love, compassion and mercy inside of you? How does this manifest itself?
- When Jesus had this man brought up in front of everyone, he most likely would've been expecting to be publicly rebuked for his sin or his parents' sin. In those days, if you had some kind of sickness, disease or deformity people assumed it was God's punishment for some kind of sin. Instead, Jesus responds with compassion and love and he heals the man. Jesus often did this in his dealings with people. When he was expected to shun or rebuke people that were in their sin, he extended grace, forgiveness and healing. Is there a situation in your life right now that, if you were to extend grace and compassion, would be a shock to everyone? In this particular situation, what would Jesus do?
Pray:
- That your walk with Jesus would be more than just the outward show.
- That you would learn to respond to difficult people with grace, love and compassion.
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