The beloved physician Luke wrote, “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 in chapter six and verse seven of his book Luke shared how, “the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day” where we read:
And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day;
that they might find an accusation against him.
The verse reads, “And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day;” Luke began with the words, “and the scribes” or “and the men learned in the Mosaic law and in the sacred writings who served as interpreters and teachers” “and Pharisees” which means “and the sect that seems to have started after the Jewish exile. In addition to Old Testament books the Pharisees recognized in oral tradition a standard of belief and life” “watched him” or “observed and attended to Jesus with their eyes”, “whether he would heal” which means “if by chance Jesus would cure, serve and restore a person back to health” “on the sabbath day” or “upon the seventh day of each week which was a sacred festival on which the Israelites were required to abstain from all work”. Luke shared how the “religious leaders” known as “scribes and Pharisees” observed Jesus to see if He would “cure” the man with the “withered hand” on the “Sabbath day of rest”.
The verse goes on to say, “that they might find an accusation against him.” Luke continued with the words, “that they might find” which means “so the scribes and Pharisees could observe, discover, recognize and detect” “an accusation” or “a criminal charge” “against him” which means “in opposition to Jesus”. Luke shared how the “religious leaders” were watching Jesus to discover a way to bring a “charge” against Him.
When we meditate upon Luke's words in this verse, we discover another time where the “religious leaders” were attempting to find something they could “accuse” Jesus of doing. This time they wanted to see if Jesus would heal someone on the “Sabbath day”. Their understanding of the “law of God” was that no “work” whatsoever was to be done on the “day of rest”, and if Jesus healed the man with the “withered hand”, He would in effect be working and they would have something with which to “charge” Jesus. God sent His Son Jesus into the world to “save” people from their sins, and to demonstrate that He had the power and ability to do so, He often “healed and cured” people of their physical troubles. Those who are wise will examine the care Jesus had for people and realize He tends to them “all” the time - even on the “Sabbath days”.
Next time Luke shares how, “knew their thoughts” and told the man with the withered hand to “Rise up, and stand forth in the midst”, 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".
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