Matthew 12:10-13
And a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” 11 He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other.
Jesus “went into their synagogue"
“Behold, there was a man which had his hand withered.”
That word “behold” is a sort of note of exclamation to draw attention to it
The Man
he was a very humble, obscure, insignificant individual, probably very badly off and in great poverty, because he could not work as his fellow craftsmen could, but not a man of any rank, or learning, or special intelligence
It was his right hand which was withered, the worse of the two for him, for he could scarcely follow his handicraft or earn his bread.
His being in the assembly was in itself nothing very remarkable. I suppose he had been accustomed to go to the synagogue as others of his townsmen did; yet the Holy Spirit takes care to mark that he was present
it likely that he was there with the intention of asking for healing, he was there to be taught… to listen to what Jesus had to say, to be part of the gathering that had assembled for teaching.
notice THIS MAN’S OBEDIENCE
The teaching came before the healing
In most well-known stories of Jesus healing teaching comes before the miracles
what these stories teach us is that everyone is equal when it comes to Jesus’ teaching; he came for all, to share the Good News with all, for everyone to respond to him.
The Miracle
Jesus told the man to stretch out his hand, and his hand was healed. There is a metaphor for us all there too. By stretching out our hand in welcome, in love, to everyone, we are doing what Jesus would have us do
This command was addressed, then, to a man who was hopelessly incapable of obeying. “Stretch forth thine hand.” As a general rule when a thorough paralysis, not a partial one, takes place in the hand it seizes the entire member, and both hand and arm are paralyzed.
That stretching forth of the hand was entirely an act of faith. It was not an act of sense. As a matter of sense and nature the man was powerless for it. He only did it because his faith brought the ability.
the healing was manifest; it was also immediate. The man had not to stand there a long time, but his hand was straightway healed
If the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed
Notice that all of the healings of the Lord Jesus were permanent and total. There is no partial healing or temporary healing when Jesus does miracles.
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