Luke now continues the tale of the Sabbath confrontations. Jesus was teaching in a synagogue and there was a man there with a shrivelled hand. Before we look at the Sabbath aspect of all this, it is worth noting that teaching and healing went together with Jesus, and indeed in the apostolic ministry. We so easily separate them. We have churches who focus on teaching, others that focus on healing. We have teaching meetings and healing meetings. In God's eyes the two go together.
The Pharisees were looking for an opportunity to accuse Jesus. Notice that they have no real concern for the man with the shrivelled hand. This is a classic symptom of legalism, we forget that people are people.
Jesus knew exactly what the Pharisees were thinking so He faced the issue head on by calling the man forward to stand up in front of everyone.
Then He asked the crucial question that went to the heart of the matter, "Is it lawful to do good or evil on the Sabbath, to save life or destroy it?". You see, as far as the Pharisees were concerned the Sabbath was a burden, as far as God was concerned it was a day of healing and restoration. I do not personally favour a legalistic approach to the Sabbath, but the Sabbath principle is important. We need Sabbath times when we rest from our labours, knowing that we are utterly dependent upon God for everything. Then those times can be times when God restores and heals us as only He knows how.
Jesus then told the man to stretch out his hand. The man did so and was immediately healed. Instead of delighting in the good that was done, the Pharisees were furious and looked for what they might do to Jesus.
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