"Healing More Than The Withered Hand"

Introduction: This miracle highlights the “Lordship” of Jesus Christ.

1. Jesus is Lord of the Synagogue.

(Mat 12:9 KJV) And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:

Did you notice the phrasing of the statement, “He went into their synagogue?” When did the synagogue no longer belong to Jesus? When had the synagogue become “their” synagogue?

The purpose of this text is to show that the mission of Christ on earth was to reclaim what had been taken from him because of sin. Satan is a thief and a robber. He had convinced the Jewish leaders of their day that they now had complete authority over the Church.

Jesus is Lord. He is the Lord of the Synagogue. He should be Lord over your home. Everything in this world belongs to him. Including our schools, our children, etc… The governments of this world are to be seen as sitting upon his shoulders!

2. Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath.

(Mat 12:8 KJV) For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

The Jewish leaders in the synagogue were looking for some way in which they could find fault with Jesus. They assumed that if Jesus healed the man with the withered hand, it would be a violation of the Sabbath. But in verse eight of this text, Jesus declares himself to be the Lord of the Sabbath.

To heal the man’s withered hand was not “work” to Jesus. It was his ministry. For Christ, to see this man healed of his withered hand, was as to him, the heart of worship itself!

As the people of God, we need to come to a place where we reaffirm that our Church is the Lord’s Church, and Sunday is the “Lord’s Day," not our day!

We are not to attend the Church to worship ourselves. How sad it is when so many people stop going to Church because they thought that not enough attention was paid to them.

Church is not about us, it is about him! Jesus should be the centermost part of our worship.

3. Jesus is Lord of his sheep.

(Mat 12:11 KJV) And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?

After Jesus gave this statement in verse eleven, he looked at the man with the withered hand and told him to stand. This man did not belong to the pharisaical leaders of the Church. This man belonged to Christ. He is the shepherd of the sheep fold. If Christ desired that this man be healed, who were they to stand in the way of him healing doing it!

The president does not own you. Your Pastor does not own you. Your husband does not own you. Christ alone has the right to have total ownership of your life!

He is Lord.

He is the Lord of the Synagogue.

He is the Lord of the Sabbath.

He is the Lord of his Sheep!

Personal illustration:

Yesterday afternoon I finally did it.

Judy and I have the privilege of living on top of a dune overlooking Lake Michigan. For the past six months, the Big Lake has belonged to "Old Man Winter." It has been a slow spring, but finally, the huge ice has melted back from the water’s edge.

Although yesterday was a cloudy day and only about 45 degrees outside, I decided to reclaim the Lake for myself. It took about an hour to dig out my Kayak from where I had left it last fall. It was filled with a combination of ice and sand. But I managed to bring the Kayak down the slope of the beach and into the calm cold waters of Lake Michigan. After paddling out a couple hundred yards, I stopped and stared into the distant grayish blue and beyond. A powerful feeling overwhelmed me. I was back! Summer has started for me. I reclaimed authority over the Lake!

In much the same way, Christ came to earth to reclaim his rightful place. He is King of kings and Lord of lords.

Conclusion:

Have you given place to the Lordship of Christ in your life?