Day 53 – Healing on the Sabbath

Study Luke 6:6-10

“Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?” Luke 6:9

In his Gospel, Luke shows the rising resistance to Jesus and His followers. Yet, Jesus still attended synagogue services and did not forsake the gathering of God’s people. But even here, where it was supposed to be about worship and fellowship, the religious leaders watched Jesus closely. By their very actions, they admitted that Jesus had the power of God to work miracles, but they sought to trap Him. I have wondered if they purposely set Jesus up by bringing the man into the synagogue. We can watch Jesus, but like the religious leaders, He can still be far from our hearts.

Jesus knew their thoughts, their intentions, and their hearts. Instead of entering a debate or trying to defend Himself, Jesus turns the tables and questions them. They neglected compassion and love for the needy – this man was 𝘪𝘯 their synagogue.

When asked by Jesus to stretch out his hand, the man had to do something impossible in his current condition. But Jesus gave both the command and the ability to fulfil it, and the man put forth the effort and was healed. How many times do we ignore Jesus’ command and just expect to be healed?

Jesus wasn’t trying to reform the Sabbath. He tried to show that in their understanding of the Sabbath, they missed the whole point. A legalist wants to debate the rules, but the point wasn’t which rules were the correct rules; the point was the basic way to approach God.

Pray with me: Jesus, thank you for emphasizing that our faith is not based on what we do for You, but on what You have done for us. We can either choose to be obedient to Your command (even if it seems impossible), like this man, or we can debate what we think is right and never learn about Your compassion and love. Teach me, Lord, to see the world through eyes of compassion and love. Amen. ©

Love, Iriza