A Healing in the Synagogue
Introduction: Jesus healed people in different places at different times. One of the more unusual healings took place when four men carried a paralyzed man to a house but couldn’t enter. They didn’t stop, though: they carried the man up to the roof, opened a hole in the roof and lowered the paralytic (“sick of the palsy” in Luke 5) down to where Jesus was standing! That man was healed and walked home. This time, Jesus healed a man inside a synagogue!
This story is also told in Matthew 12:9-14 and Mark 3:1-6. Together, these three accounts supplement each other in adding some words and details to make a complete picture.
1 The man who needed healing
Text: Luke 6:6, KJV: 6 And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered.
Recently before this event took place, Jesus and the disciples had wandered through a field of grain and ate some of the raw grain, so it was near but before harvest time. They were approached by the Pharisees, religious leaders, who asked them why they broke the Sabbath by eating this raw grain on the Sabbath day. These leaders claimed that plucking the ears of grain was reaping and rubbing the husks off of the grain itself was threshing (per Ellicott’s on-line commentary at https://biblehub.com/commentaries/ellicott/matthew/12.htm, a parallel passage).
Think of it: they would rather see their fellow men go hungry instead of “breaking the Sabbath!”
Eventually Jesus and the others arrived at the synagogue. Apparently they followed the more-or-less standard procedure of the time, such as reading a passage from the Law and another from the Prophets, followed by a chance for one of the men to speak. This was the pattern which was in use during Paul’s ministry in Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:14-15). And this wasn’t the only time Jesus was invited to speak: Matthew and Mark both have several accounts where Jesus did this (see Matt. 4:23, 9:35 and Mark 1:29, to name three).
But that wasn’t the only thing to happen at the synagogue that day. There was a man whose right had (Luke alone tells which hand) was withered. I’ve searched a number of commentaries but haven’t yet found anything that explains what that term “withered” actually means. Now, I’ve seen a few people who had an arm that didn’t match the other. One neighbor’s right arm was much thinner and much shorter than the left arm; she was forced to become left-handed and for the time we were neighbors, she kept that right arm in a sling. Years later, we knew of another young man whose left arm seemed to be missing the forearm: we could see the elbow, but it seemed his fingers, and stubby ones at that, were close to the elbow.
Please remember, I am not criticizing or mocking these two or anyone else over something they had no control over. They and who knows how many others had congenital or birth defects; they were not in any way responsible for what had happened. Should these two, or anyone else, become believers or Christ-followers, their bodies will be made perfect. I pray they did!
And yet there is at least one man whose arm was withered due to an act of God Himself. That man was Jeroboam I, who was the first king of the Ten Northern Tribes (Israel) after these tribes split from Judah and Benjamin (1 Kings 12). Eventually Jeroboam built an altar dedicated to a golden calf in Bethel (a border town in those days) and offered sacrifices, all in defiance of God and the Law of Moses. A prophet delivered God’s message; Jeroboam didn’t like it (obviously) and ordered the prophet seized. Jeroboam got a very big surprise when his arm dried up and he couldn’t use it. He then asked the prophet to pray for him. After he did, Jeroboam’s arm was restored but he never repented of his sins (1 Kings 13 has that story).
Of course it’s anybody’s guess how many other Israelites suffered from withered arms or legs but we do know some waited by the Pool of Bethesda, They believed, and apparently it worked, that when the pool was “troubled”, the first one in was healed (see John 5:1-4). At first glance, this man in the synagogue had never been able to get to Jerusalem or visit the Pool of Bethesda because he was still here, maybe at or near Capernaum (none of the authors tell the location).
This man, though, was about to be part of a much larger story. How did he come to have a withered hand? We’re never told. And why was he in the synagogue at that moment?
Chances are, there was a less than honest reason why he was there. And we’re about to see why.
2 The men who hated the healing
Text, Luke 6:7-9, KJV: 7 And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him. 8 But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth 9 Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?
I’ve sometimes wondered if these scribes and Pharisees were the same, or part of the same group who had approached (!) Jesus before the service at the synagogue took place. Regardless, these men knew that Jesus was teaching (verse 6) and they knew that a man with a withered arm was right there among the congregation. And they weren’t just listening (or, maybe just hearing the words of Jesus bounce off their eardrums); they were watching. Again, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the scribes were ready to record anything to make Jesus look bad, even if He said anything even in the synagogue.
They didn’t think, or at least didn’t realize, that these leaders were dealing with the very God they claimed to worship standing before them in a body of human flesh! As such, Jesus knew everything each one of them was thinking. I doubt He found much of it honoring.
Knowing what they were thinking, Jesus proceeded to call the man with the withered arm to what some might call the center of the synagogue. Most of these tended to be arranged with a separate area for women plus the desk where the actual reading of a text took place. Easton’s Bible Dictionary has more information about these, available on-line at The Bible Portal’s website (https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/easton-s-bible-dictionary/synagogue). It’s possible Jesus asked the man with the withered arm to come to the center so that all could see what was about to take place.
But before anything took place, Jesus looked at each one of the leaders, and I’m thinking He looked each one of them directly in their faces. Clearly He wasn’t pleased with any of this, as Mark adds that He looked on each one with anger because of their hardness of heart. (Mark 3:5)
These men had tried to find fault with Jesus for who knows how long. They were still at it, fresh from complaining how He simply got something to eat (to be honest, raw wheat or barley or any kind of grain doesn’t seem that appetizing) and now looking at Him, maybe daring Him to heal a man who literally couldn’t help or heal himself.
It’s possible they thought, “We’ve got Him, no matter what He does or doesn’t do. If He does nothing, then we can say He is not compassionate and doesn’t care about those who are sick. But if He does, then we can get Him for healing on the Sabbath—meaning, He broke the Sabbath twice in one day! We’ve got Him!”
They clearly hadn’t paid attention to not only what Jesus did, but also what He said, and He was going to make things very clear to all of them in a moment. He asked them two simple questions: “Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?”
3 The miracle which proved the healing
Text, Luke 6:10-11, KJV: 10 And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other. 11 And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.
This next scene reminds me, almost, of a standoff where the sheriff or good guy is staring down all the bad guys. If you’ve ever seen a Western movie, you probably get the idea. Jesus had probably noticed the scribes, Pharisees, and anyone else in the synagogue besides the man with a withered right arm. Now He is taking a “sweeping gaze” at each one of them (see online notes at https://biblehub.com/greek/4017.htm). Being God, Jesus knew exactly what they were thinking. And He wasn’t pleased at all with what He knew.
I mentioned earlier that Mark’s Gospel adds how Jesus looked on each one of these leaders—I don’t think the laypeople (not the religious leaders, I don’t know any other word to use) were aware of the tension or challenge the leaders had placed before Jesus. Would He heal, or not?
And again I think Jesus was definitely angry because of the hardness of their hearts. Think about it: they were willing to use an innocent man as part of a test. Some have mentioned that there were and are people who worship the Sabbath more than they worship God and that just about pulled it all together here. It’s interesting that the word translated “anger” is also translated “wrath” in a number of places (see https://biblehub.com/greek/4017.htm). It was bad enough that they provoked the Lord to anger here, so just imagine what they’ll feel when they experience His wrath in the future. Let’s hope they repented and found salvation instead!
Then after looking at each one, Jesus told the man, “Stretch forth thy hand’ and he did so. Remember, this man was already standing in the “midst” of them or maybe the open space near the speaker’s desk in the synagogue. There is no record Jesus touched the man or did anything else except speak—and the man’s arm was completely healed! Dr. A. T. Robertson made the comment that there was a construction in Luke’s Greek that meant a total healing (see the online notes at https://godrules.net/library/robert/robertluk6.htm for this verse).
What happened after that? We’d probably think there would be at least some rejoicing! After all, a man who used to have only one good arm now had both! He could go back to living a more or less normal life. Oddly enough, if the man said anything to Jesus, his words aren’t recorded. I would think it strange that after receiving healing, a miracle, that the man would at least say thanks but, no record. Come to think of it, that wasn’t or wouldn’t be the only time the ones healed failed to show any gratitude. Later, when Jesus healed a group of ten lepers, only one even bothered to give thanks—and that one was a Samaritan (Luke 17:16)!
And not only did the man say nothing—that was recorded—the leaders were furious. Luke says they “were filled with madness”. Dr. Robertson’s comments on this verse, see the link above, said they—the leaders—were filled with “rage that was kin to insanity”. These men were now more determined than ever to get rid of Jesus. Luke adds these men “communed together”—oh, what a meeting of minds but so full of rage they couldn’t appreciate one simple act of kindness. All the rituals, teaching, making a show of their so-called righteousness; none of it healed the crippled man. Did they even try? It’s incredibly sad when those who know of a problem look to get rid of the problem solver, let alone try to solve the problem themselves.
Let me try to summarize here. Jesus and the disciples went to the synagogue, part of the worship in those days. Jesus, especially, noticed a man who had a withered hand sitting among the other worshipers. After the reading of the Scriptures, Jesus asked the man to come to where Jesus was standing. Jesus then asked a couple of questions then healed the man, using nothing but His own Divine power and words. The man went away completely healed but the leaders left completely furious, looking for a way to get rid of Jesus.
The narrative speaks for itself. One word, though: if we’re hated for doing good, we are in some very good company. I’d rather stand with Jesus than with those who wanted to destroy Him!
Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV)
