Doing Good on the Sabbath

 

Stretch Out Your Hand – Luke 6:6–11

Dear Friends, on another Sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and was teaching. A man was there whose right hand was withered. That detail matters. For a working man the right hand was livelihood, dignity and usefulness. He had come to hear the Word, and he sat there with a need no one in the room could hide.

The scribes and Pharisees were not looking at the man. They were watching Jesus, to see whether He would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse Him. Religion without mercy always watches for a mistake. It is more interested in a charge sheet than in a restored life.

Jesus knew their thoughts. He did not slip the healing into a corner. He said to the man, “Come and stand here.” The need was brought into the light. Then He put the real question to His accusers: “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” The Sabbath was God’s gift for rest and life. They were using it as a weapon. Silence answered Him. After looking around at them all, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was restored.

The room should have been full of wonder. Instead they were filled with fury and began to discuss what they might do to Jesus. A withered hand was made whole, and withered hearts grew harder. That is still the dividing line. Some see the work of God and worship. Others see the same work and only feel threatened.

The command still stands. Stretch out what is withered. Bring the need into the open. Let Christ do good, even when others would rather keep the rules and leave the man unchanged. The question is not whether we approve of mercy. The question is whether we will receive it — and whether we will rejoice when someone else does.

Pause & Pray: Ask the Lord to show you any place where you have been more concerned with being right than with doing good. Thank Him that He still restores what is withered. Pray for a heart that welcomes His mercy in your own life and in the lives of others.

Verse to Remember: “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?’” (Luke 6:9 ESV)

Question to Consider: When God works in a way that unsettles your sense of order, do you stretch out your hand in faith — or fold your arms in fury?

Article written by Shaun Fereday, Leader @SFGH Church