Faith
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE As A Member OR Visitor
Message Writer
Hire Writer
Report Article
Christ Gives a Hand to the Man with the Withered Hand
Luke 6:6-11
By
Christian Belyea
The man with the withered hand clearly needed a hand—with everything! I mean, his withered hand was his dominant one, and now it was useless. And so, he was feeling as he usually did that Sabbath Day in the temple, hoping for some encouragement, a Word in season to those who are weary. Maybe that would banish his blues away. Maybe that might make his predicament more bearable. Then again, maybe not. For this crew of Pharisees gathered here were anything but encouraging. All they cared about were man-made rules and regulations.
Suddenly, into the temple treks Jesus, joyful as ever. He looked around, and then He frowned. The place was packed with judgmental Pharisees just waiting for the chance to accuse Him of something—anything this Saturday Sabbath day. As Christ carefully looked around at the crowd, He knew what they were considering. Their hardened hearts wanted to accuse Him of not being the anointed One, but rather of being a self-appointed one. How miffed our Maker must have felt as His smile became a frown.
Ignoring the accusing eyes all around Him, Jesus said to the man with the withered hand, “Arise, and stand here” (Luke 6:8).
And the confused creature stood, walked over to his Creator and held out his hand, for he sensed what was coming. He’d heard all the reports of this Redeemer healing hurting people. And he knew in his world-weary heart that he was about to be another one of our miracle Maker’s miracles. He even held his breath.
By this time, the Pharisees’ eyes were like daggers. If looks could kill, Christ would be on that cross right now. How they hated this Man. Oh, they knew He was God, but they didn’t want God. They wanted religion, not relationship. In fact, I would go so far as to say they were in league with Lucifer, all of them thinking if they kill the Son, the planet would be theirs (Luke 20:14). They believed Baal’s lies that they were going to become like gods themselves. So, why should they listen to the LORD. Why not kill God’s Christ and have it all for themselves?
Jesus was really riled by then. His mind was torn between their evil motives and the man’s marred hand. He looked around and He spoke: “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 it” (Luke 6:9)?
Still nobody said anything. Oh, they wanted to give Him a piece of their landmind, but no one had the courage to confront Christ. His logic was irrefutable. And yet if they killed Him, this place, this planet would become all theirs. And they would be gods, at that…or so Satan said.
Then Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand." And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other” (Luke 6:10-11).
How elated that poor person must have felt doffing his feeble hand for a fresh new one that worked now! “Wow,” he must have thought. “This Man—the Messiah has had mercy on me and performed a miracle! Now, I can hold a cup again. Now, I can hold my girl’s hand. Now my hand won’t flop like a dead fish every time I move around. What an amazing God! I give myself to Him this moment forward. I love Him!”
I’m certain that man couldn’t thank Christ enough before he left that dead temple with all those cold, dead hearts inside it. How merry that man must have felt. How he must have laughed. Laughed in a way he hadn’t in a very long time, instead of feeling reviled anymore by people who thought he must be a bad sinner for God to have dealt him such a bad hand, so to speak.
And yet again, by healing that man’s hand, God was glorified through the handiwork of His Son!
Praise God!
All Scriptural references taken from the NKJV Bible, 1985
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE AS A MEMBER OR VISITOR
This article has been read 299 times < Previous | Next >
Free Reprints
Main Site Articles
Most Read Articles
Highly Acclaimed Challenge Articles.
New Release Christian Books for Free for a Simple Review.
NEW - Surprise Me With an Article - Click here for a random URL
God is Not Against You - He Came on an All Out Rescue Mission to Save You
...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 2 Cor 5:19
Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38
LEARN & TRUST JESUS HERE
FaithWriters offers Christian reading material for Christian readers. We offer Christian articles, Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction, Christian Bible studies, Christian poems, Christian articles for sale, free use Christian articles, Christian living articles, New Covenant Christian Bible Studies, Christian magazine articles and new Christian articles. We write for Jesus about God, the Bible, salvation, prayer and the word of God.