6 Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him. 8 But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And he arose and stood. 9 Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?” 10 And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. 11 But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
In verses 6:6-11, a second Sabbath controversy occurred. While teaching in a synagogue, Jesus healed a man with a paralyzed right hand. He did this on the Sabbath, showing His authority over the Sabbath.
6:6
Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered.
Jesus’ purpose for teaching in the synagogue was to expose God’s thoughts from the Word of God. There was a man in the service with a paralyzed hand.
6:7
So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him.
Religious leaders watched Jesus closely to see whether he would heal the man with a paralyzed hand on the Sabbath. They had no interest in the man’s healing but only in whether Jesus would heal on the Sabbath. They wanted to find an occasion to accuse Jesus of breaking the law. However, their view of the law went far beyond the statements in the Old Testament.
6:8
But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And he arose and stood.
Jesus knew the thoughts of the religious leaders and that they were scheming a plot to trap Him. Jesus called the paralyzed man to approach Him where He stood.
6:9
Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?”
Jesus asked the religious leaders when it was permitted to heal on the Sabbath. His point was that failure to do good in healing the man was to do evil.
6:10
And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.
Jesus healed the man’s hand before the crowd. He restored the hand to be as whole as the other hand. The Lord healed the man to show His authority over the Sabbath. The healing was instantaneous and complete.
6:11
But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
The religious leaders were filled with rage and tried to determine what they should do with Jesus.
PRINCIPLE:
Legalism leads to indifference to the needs of people.
APPLICATION:
Some Christians are very legalistic about their faith. They judge themselves by how much they measure up to artificial rules they themselves create. To put emphasis on the mechanics of religion invariably leads to formalism and indifference to the needs of people. This attitude introduces a mercenary spirit into Christianity.
