Rev Gav

Nod

Luke 6:6-11

⁶ On another Sabbath day, a man with a deformed right hand was in the synagogue while Jesus was teaching. ⁷ The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath.

⁸ But Jesus knew their thoughts. He said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” So the man came forward. ⁹ Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?”

¹⁰ He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! ¹¹ At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him.

Reflect

There’s more to this story than meets the eye. Luke put this story with the previous story — a story about how Jesus’ disciples broke the Sabbath law. The Sabbath was the seventh day of the week, kept for rest, and kept holy for God. In this story, Jesus was teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath, and the Pharisees (the unofficial religious law police) were waiting and watching to see if Jesus would, again, break the religious law.

There was a guy present who had a withered hand and Jesus knew what the Pharisees were thinking. Would Jesus take the bait? Jesus threw down a challenge and the Pharisees were ready to pounce. Every eye was fixed on Jesus. What would he do? But Jesus didn’t do anything. I love this. He just said to the guy with the withered hand, “Come on down and show us your hand,” and the hand was completely healed!

The anger of the Pharisees, therefore, wasn’t that Jesus had broken the religious law, because technically, he hadn’t. He hadn’t broken the law by touching the man, or broken the law by commanding that the man be healed. The Pharisees were angry because they’d been foiled by Jesus when they were trying to trap him!

I don’t just love this story because Jesus scuppered the Pharisees’ trap, and did good at the same time. I love it because God’s compassion broke through despite the resistance of opposition. God knew that the man wanted and needed healing. The man didn’t have to ask for it, and it wasn’t an abuse of the man’s rights either. Jesus didn’t, and God doesn’t, oppose our free will. The man could’ve stayed in his seat and Luke pointed out that he was obedient in coming down to the front and stretching out his hand.

Sometimes, like the man in the story, we’re not in a position to pray. It can be just too difficult, too painful, or too tiring. God can feel a zillion miles away. But be assured that God knows your wants and needs before you even ask him. God is ahead of you, beside you and behind you.

Do

Today, if you’re finding it difficult to pray – simply give God the nod. You don’t have to say anything, just respond, and allow God to be with you.

Pray

Holy God
Sometimes I find it hard to pray.
You feel so distant and far away;
and yet you know me better than I know myself.
You know my thoughts, my wants and my needs.
You promised that you’ll never leave me
and that you are always with me.
Hold me in your loving arms
this day and forever.
Amen.

Think

Jesus foiled the Pharisees, but why did they get so angry with him?