Imagine that you’re part of the crowd in the northern part of Israel, Galilee, watching Jesus interact with the religious leaders. You’ve just seen Jesus say some striking things to them in a grain field.
He says that he’s greater than the temple, the Son of Man, and the Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12.1-8).
It is the Sabbath, and you keep walking with the crowd all the way to the synagogue. You wonder what is going to happen now and find out rather quickly.
A man was there with a withered hand, and they asked him, “Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath?” so that they might accuse him (Matthew 12.10).
As you hear the Pharisees question Jesus about the man with the withered hand and see the expression on their faces, you know they’re not interested in the man’s healing. They want to trip Jesus up with a hypothetical question.
You now wonder how Jesus is going to deal with this situation, given what has already transpired in the wheat field.
He said to them, “Suppose one of you has only one sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath; will you not lay hold of it and lift it out?
“How much more valuable is a human being than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath” (Matthew 12.11-12).
You know the general thoughts about healing. Someone with a withered hand can wait until the next day to be healed. They don’t have to be healed on the Sabbath and violate the law.
You also know that customarily, if someone’s farm animal falls into a pit, they’ll do what they can to lift it out. They are technically violating the Sabbath, but still doing it anyway.
Jesus has just pointed out the coldness of these religious leaders’ hearts. They merely used a man, not caring about his feelings or his needs, to attack Jesus.
Jesus points out that human beings are far more valuable than farm animals and certainly not worthy of being disrespected as this man who has been used by the Pharisees.
You’ve heard about Jesus’ healing, but you haven’t seen it face-to-face. Jesus turns to the man and says, “Stretch out your hand” (Matthew 12.13).
You think that’s the one thing he can’t do, but something happens within the man. He tries to stretch out his hand, and right there before your eyes, a withered, useless arm becomes completely whole. Amazing!
What you didn’t know, but later found out was that “the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy Jesus” (Matthew 12.14).
Today’s Application
If you’ve never tried the experiment that I outlined above, I’d encourage you to take a passage of Scripture.
Read through it and become familiar with it. Close your eyes and imagine yourself as a part of the scene. I think you’ll be blessed by doing that.
This passage, like many others in the Gospel of Matthew, points out the danger of preconceived ideas about what God should do.
The Pharisees had preconceived ideas about the Messiah, and they completely missed Jesus. Instead of listening to Him and learning from Him, they tried to trap Him.
Humility and openness to God’s Word will always serve us well.
Jesus asked the man with the withered hand to do something he couldn’t do. We are often asked by God to do things we can’t do.
Look at the passage below from Isaiah and think about God’s word. His word and His thoughts are higher than ours, and we should always trust and act on His word.
When our will matches God’s word for our life, His power is released to enable us to accomplish it.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55.8-9)
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross and I discussed this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
Real Voices 