The Man with a Withered Hand
3 Again Jesus entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2 The Pharisees were watching Him to see whether He would cure him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. 3 And He said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come forward.” 4 Then He said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 He looked around at them with anger; He was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against Jesus, how to destroy Him.
Once again we see the Pharisees acting like self-proclaimed police. But because they have no power or authority over other people, these unofficial leaders of Jewish opinion get together with their natural enemies, the Herodians who supporters of Herod Antipas. The Pharisees normally regarded the Herodians as a dangerous traitor to Judaism). But because the Pharisees had no power themselves, they knew that if they were going to attack Jesus, they needed to make unlikely alliances. This also happened at the end, when Caiaphas and Pilate together sent Jesus to his death. And not long afterwards, the young Pharisee Saul of Tarsus obtained authority from the chief priests to persecute the church.
But today there is no church that doesn’t hang on to unnecessary laws and rules that restrict the Word of God from breaking through. So Jesus heals the man with a withered hand, and still yet we cannot see how we complain just as the Pharisees do. I continue to shake my head in sorrow at the many Christian churches who restrict Communion to once a month. Some go further and restrict who can receive communion. The healing of Jesus is what we all hunger for, is it not?
Today in your prayer, pray for the outpouring of the grace of God through His Holy Spirit. Pray that God will give you what you need, not what you deserve.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.
From the Bible:
"For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace" Romans 6:14.
"But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace" Romans 11:6.
"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” Romans 4:6.
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