Rise Up and Stand Forth - Luke 6:8

Luke the beloved physician shared how, “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. And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him”, and in chapter six and verse eight of his book Luke shares how Jesus, “knew their thoughts” and told the man with the withered hand to “Rise up, and stand forth in the midst” where we read:

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.

The verse reads, “But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, ...” Luke began with the words, “But he knew their thoughts” or “however, nonetheless, notwithstanding and moreover Jesus perceived, observed and ascertained the Pharisees' thinking, inward reasoning, hesitations and doubts”, “and said to the man” which means “and uttered, declared and proclaimed to the male human being” “which had the withered hand” or “who possessed the physical hand which was shrunk, deprived of it's natural juices and wasted”. Luke shared how Jesus was aware of what the “Pharisees” were thinking and so He turned to the man whose “hand” was shrunken and spoke the following words to him.

The verse continues, “... Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth.” Luke added the words, “Rise up” which means “arise, get up and be erect”, “and stand forth in the midst” or “and stand in the middle of the people in the room”. “And he arose” which means “and the man with the withered hand arose, got up and erected himself” “and stood forth” or “and stood in the middle of the people in the room”. Luke shared how Jesus ordered the “man with the withered hand” to get up and “stand” in the middle of everyone who was there.

When we think through Luke's words in this verse, we learn how Jesus knew what the “Pharisees” were thinking about Him and the man with the shrunken hand. His response to their thoughts was to have the man “get up and stand” in the middle of all the people. Jesus will address the man's problem in the next few verses and in the meantime let us be mindful of the fact that Jesus knew what to do with both the “Pharisees” and this afflicted man. God loves people, and He knows what they are thinking, what they need and what it takes to “save” them. Let all who observe Jesus' ways with this man and the “Pharisees” understand that He knows what to do with their lives because He wants to be their personal “Savior and Lord”.

Next time Luke shares how Jesus asks the religious leaders, “is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil?” , so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".