Right-Hand Man
Primary Scriptures:
Luke 6
Story Summary:
Healing of the man with the withered hand, early ministry of Jesus
Location:
Galilee
Time:
Circa 30 AD
The Pharisees and Jesus start confronting each other early in his ministry. The Pharisees were religious leaders intent on obeying their strict interpretation of the laws of Moses. In fact, they created hundreds of rules to make sure that nobody would ever come close to breaking the laws. Unfortunately, in their efforts to obey the rules, they often forgot the reason for the rules, frequently neglecting the fact that God loves people and wants them to be healed, both physically and spiritually.
In the opening scene of this episode, a man with a deformity stands in need of healing. This man had a withered right hand, which was a disastrous event at the time, meaning he couldn’t work at hard physical labor, couldn’t be a full member of the synagogue, and would have a hard time finding a good wife. He would surely have died a little inside every time someone looked at him with pity or disdain. When Jesus heals him, it changes far more than just his hand.
However, the event occurs on the Sabbath when the Pharisees had concluded that any act of healing would be “working”. Since it was prohibited to work on the Sabbath, Jesus was in violation of the Pharisees interpretation of the Law. No matter how much it helped the man, it was not appropriate to do on the Sabbath.
The healing of the man with a withered hand was just the start of how Jesus would show people that their world-views were often contrary to God’s desires, that they could follow the Law to the letter while completely missing its spirit. It would not be long before the people around Jesus began to understand the words of an ancient prophet, “God desires mercy, not sacrifice.”
Sometimes it appears as if Jesus chose his apostles almost at random. It might be better seen that Jesus wanted everyone to follow him, but concentrated on certain people. His apostles, however were chosen from among many followers. How did Jesus choose them? After spending a night praying to God!
Eyewitness Bible Series
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