Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm19980114.htm
LUKE: GOSPEL OF CERTIFYING THE CHRISTIAN FAITH
Part XX: Certifying Christ's Power To Heal By Way Of Evidence From Hostile Witnesses
(Luke 6:6-11)
- Introduction
- Nobody likes to face hostility. We are created to extend warmth and be extended friendship in return.
- However, the believer at times faces unjust hostility because of his walk with the Lord, a fact that is an automatic "given" according to 2 Timothy 3:12.
- Yet, in the midst of this challenge, God in His great wisdom often uses the "downer" challenge of unjust hostility to further His work and testimony. This was evident in Christ's experience in Luke 6:6-11, and the event acts as an encouraging directive for us in facing unjust host ility as follows:
- Certifying Christ's Power To Heal By Way Of Evidence From Hostile Witnesses, Luke 6:6-11.
- Luke wrote his Gospel so that a man named Theophilus who had not been an eyewitness to the life of Christ would know for sure the truth of events concerning Jesus' life, Luke 1:4.
- In presenting his case, Luke records an event of Jesus' healing where the involvement of hostile witnesses is used of God to certify the reality of a miracle Jesus performed as follows:
- The setting in which Jesus healed a man with a withered hand had dangerously hostile witnesses, 6:6-7:
- Jesus was publicly teaching in a synagogue on a sabbath day. If he were to be seen doing an unjust "work" here, He would be easily condemned, the crowd being quickly swayed to oppose Him.
- Also, formidably hostile opponents of Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees, watched in this public religious gathering for a chance to "catch" Him doing the "work" of healing on the Sabba th in order to pounce on Him with a false accusation, Luke 6:6-7. The most authoritative and also motivated opponents of Jesus were available closely to observe His actions so as to entangle and ruin Him!
- A man with a withered hand was present, so the hostile witnesses planned to "entrap" Christ into trying to heal and thereby violate the Pharisee sabbath restrictions against working, Lk. 6:6b.
- Thus, had Jesus used any noticeably PHYSICAL effort to address the man's withered hand, the Pharisees would have been all over Jesus in condemning Him for violating the sabbath work law!
- However, Jesus profoundly healed the man WITHOUT physical effort as was evidenced by the response of these hostile witnesses who were present to see such an exhibition of effort, Luke 6:8-11:
- Jesus instructed the man with the withered hand to stand up in the midst of the congregation and to come forth to the front of the synagogue where everyone could see what would occur, Luke 6:8.
- Since Jesus was teaching, HE was some distance away from the man, being Himself sitting in the "seat of Moses" as the teacher that was located at the back of the raised stage, Lk. 6:6, 8.
- Now, in this position, Jesus asked His listeners, including the hostile witnesses present if it was good to do good by healing on the Sabbath, or to do evil as they were trying to do in testing Jesus not to heal the man. This further embarrassed and angered the hostile witnesses, Luke 6:9.
- There was no answer that even the hostile witnesses could give Jesus even though He looked at them all, showing they were embarrassed and growing increasingly hostile, Luke 6:10a.
- Then, some distance away, and in front of the whole crowd, Jesus told the man to stretch forth his own hand to be healed, Luke 6:10b. This would act to display if a healing would actually occur in two ways: (a) it would make the hand visible to all in the synagogue so there would be no question if a healing had occurred, and (b) for the withered hand to be restor ed on the man's own stretching effort against his having had any physical therapy to stretch it out would itself be miraculous!
- Well, the man stretched forth his hand, and the hostile witnesses became infuriated and left, proving 3 things: (a) the man's hand had indeed been undeniably healed (6:10c), but (b) without Christ's demonstrating any physical effort to achieve this healing, for Jesus could not be charged of violating the sabbath. (c) The furious witnesses had to leave because they had been stumped, Lk. 6:11.
- Thus, this uncomfortable event acts to certify to a non-eyewitness, Theophilus hard evidence that Jesus healed this man's withered hand on the sabbath in the public synagogue by means of a sheer miracle!
Lesson: Though it must have been incredibly UNCOMFORTABLE for JESUS, Luke's record of this healing event acts to testify those who are NOT eyewitnesses that Jesus MIRACULOUSLY healed!
Application: Thus, when we are put into STRAINED environments with unjustly hostile people, take it as a divine assignment in which GOD can make great discipling strides out of it as He did with Jesus!