A Man with a Withered Hand

6 On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him. 8 But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there. 9 And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” 10 And after looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored. 11 But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus. Luke 6:6-11

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A Man with a Withered Hand
What does it mean to do good? The Lord Jesus comes to do good. He comes to take away that which is bad and restore his creation and most especially his people to the good. Sin had caused the withered hand. Jesus comes to destroy sin’s grasp on us. He comes to take our sin from us and to give us his perfect life instead. He comes to restore a right relationship with God. That which is pleasing to God, that which fulfills his will, and that which he delights in is good. To love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your strength and to love you neighbor as yourself, is to do good. We can only do good because he first did good to us. The whole of Jesus is life given to you and he gives it freely, without cost. But he will not be beholden to anyone. He does good freely without your permission or the Pharisees either. His death on the cross destroys the bad and establishes the good again. Thanks be to God that he has done this for us. Amen.