Luke 6:6-11

Luke 6:6-11

And it became on another Sabbath for Him to enter into a synagogue and teach.  And a man was there and his right hand was withered.  And the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely if he heals on the Sabbath, in order that they should find something to accuse Him.  But He had seen their inward thoughts and He said to the man who had the withered hand, “Rise up and stand here in the middle.”  And after rising up, he stood.  And Jesus said to Him, “I ask you: is it lawful to do good or evil on the Sabbath?  To save a life or to destroy it?”  And after looking around at all of them, He said to him, “Stretch out our hand.”  And he did.  And his hand was being restored.  And they were being filled with a mad rage and they were talking with each other about what they might do to Him.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

They continue to watch Him.  We have back-to-back stories about how the ruling elite watch Jesus to see what He will do.  They aren’t curious.  They aren’t open-minded.  They want to accuse Him!  As I said yesterday, people are always watching.  Some watch with good intentions.  Others watch just waiting for an opportunity to find fault with us.  But you notice that Jesus knows they are watching.  Jesus acts anyways.  People watch.  It is better to be accused of the truth that to not follow God because we are afraid that people are watching.

Do you ever fear living out the truth?  Do you ever worry about who is watching?  Do you have what it takes to welcome persecution because of your actions?

Second Thought:

Jesus heals the man.  He even brings him into the middle of the room in order to heal him.  Jesus has power over the physical world.  He has power over illness and infirmities.  He has power over physical malformations.  There is nothing in the world that has more power than Jesus.

Why is it important to you to understand the scope of God’s power?  Can you ever understand that power?

Third Thought:

The plotting and the planning begins.  We’re only in chapter six and they are already plotting how to get rid of Jesus!  On some level I’ve always found this part of the story hauntingly inspirational.  They hate Jesus because He isn’t going along with tradition.  They hate Him because He doesn’t fit into their mold.  They hate Him because He is willing to challenge the status quo in order to get at the truth.  Because Jesus is willing to pursue the truth, they plan how to get rid of Him.

Do you pursue the truth?  Are you willing to be hated for the truth?

Passage for Tomorrow: Luke 6:12-16