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THE MAN WITH THE WITHERED HAND

Introduction:

If you visit the island of Jamaica, you will notice that they have a popular slogan that is written on T-shirts and billboards wherever you go. The slogan is two words, "No Problem!"

The idea is to convey to the tourist crowd that Jamaica is the island of no problems.

However, you only have to be there just a short period of time to discover that Jamaica is just like anywhere else that you might go in the world. They have their share of problems, too.

The truth is, you won't find a country that does not have problems! Thank God for America– Even with all of its problems!

A lot of people today are longing to have the perfect family. They want to have a family that doesn’t have problems. The only problem is that it doesn’t exist. As long as sinners are involved in something, there are going to be problems–and we all are sinners. AMEN!?

The same principle goes for the Local Church, too. Many folks are looking for the perfect Church. They hop from Church to Church in their search. But there is a problem. All Churches are made up of sinners! Wherever there are sinners there are going to be problems! AMEN!?

Any of us can try to adopt the "No Problem," attitude, but that doesn't make the problems of life go away.

In our text, we see that Jesus went to the synagogue on the Sabbath, and He encountered some problems.

I.         WE SEE THE MAN WITH THE WOEFUL PROBLEM. (Luke 6:6)

The word "withered" means shrunken or withered. In other words, the man’s right hand had become useless to him.

If this man was right handed, as the vast majority of people are, this was even more of a problem to him!

The Bible lets us know that those who were in attendance were aware that this man who had the withered right hand was there.

Some of the people who were there were Scribes and Pharisees. They were very much aware of this man's problem. They also were very watchful as to what Jesus would do if he saw this man in this condition.

Understand a few things here before we move on:

            1.         This man with the withered hand had not give up on God because of his condition. He was in the synagogue on the Sabbath day as he should have been.

            2.         Had this man not been where he should have been on the Sabbath day, he would not have received help from Jesus that day.

            3.         The only sense that could be made out of his condition, was for the glory of God.

II.       WE SEE THE MEN WITH THE WICKED PROGRAM. (Luke 6:7) 

The Scribes and the Pharisees were watching for any little thing that might be out of order in what Jesus would do in the synagogue on the Sabbath.

Whenever preachers preach to a congregation, there are different kinds of people in the congregation. Normally you will find at least four kinds of people:

            A.        IN CHURCH THERE ARE SOME WHO ARE RECEPTIVE.

The Congregation in Berea was such a church. Look at Acts 17:11, we read, "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so."

What a blessing it must have been to the ministers who preached to that crowd.

They loved to hear the preaching and the teaching of God's Word. But one thing for sure about this congregation, the preacher had better preach the Word of God, because they searched the Scriptures to make sure what he preached was from the Word of God.

Ministers of the gospel are indeed thankful to the Lord for the RECEPTIVE members they preach to each week.

            B.        IN CHURCH THERE ARE SOME WHO ARE APATHETIC.

These are the ones who have come to church, but they do not have strong feelings toward the MESSENGER, or the MESSAGE.

                        The most that can be said of them is that they are present.

These are the people that believe that when Jesus said "occupy 'til I come", he meant take up space on a pew.

Some of them don’t even bother to bring their Bibles, because they don't expect to learn anything from the Word of God.

Some of them don't open their hymnals and sing, because they did not come to worship the Lord.

Some of them do not participate in giving, because they could care less if the expenses of the Church are met and they could care less if the whole world dies and goes to a Christ-less eternity.

                        Most of them do not bother serving because they have come to be served instead.

            C.        IN CHURCH THERE ARE SOME WHO ARE DOUBTFUL.

It is difficult to preach to this crowd, because they don't have any real faith in God or His Word.

You can preach about all the promises of God, but they doubt that God can do anything for them or anyone else.

             D.        IN CHURCH THERE ARE SOME WHO ARE HOSTILE.

The minister of the gospel will not see many smiles from this group, and there won't be any "amens".

When the Lord was on earth, He often preached to a hostile congregation.

They followed him from city to city, listening to every word that came out of His mouth, not because they wanted to learn something, but because they wanted to find something they could use against him.

Stephen preached to such a hostile crowd, and they stoned him. This is the most difficult crowd to preach to because they are looking for something to be said to give them the opportunity to cause an uproar!

People who are hostile towards God’s man are not rejecting THE MESSENGER, they are rejecting the MESSAGE.

Usually, you will find a blend of RECEPTIVE, APATHETIC, DOUBTFUL and HOSTILE people who make up a congregation.

When the Lord came to the Synagogue on the Sabbath, He encountered some very hostile people. They were constantly watching Him wherever He went, to see if they could find fault with what He SAID or with what He DID.

They knew He went about doing good, and healing, and on this day they were interested in what he would do with the man with the withered hand.

III.      WE SEE THE MAN WITH THE WONDERFUL POWER. (Luke 6:8-10)

The scribes and Pharisees came looking for something to complain about, and Jesus knew it. Jesus still did that which was right, even knowing they would complain about it.

            There are some folks who complain about anything and everything!

I heard a story about a protester who said to his girlfriend, "I'm on my way to pick up my unemployment check. Then I've got to go to the university to see what's holding up this month's Federal Education Grant. Meanwhile, you can go over to the Free Clinic and check up on your tests. And right after I stop by the Welfare Department to see if they will increase our eligibility limit again, I'll meet you at the Federal Building for the demonstration against this rotten, oppressive establishment!"

That is the same way the Scribes and Pharisees were; they could find no good because they were not looking for good.

They were eyeballing everything Jesus did so that they could find something to complain about.

People who are like that make life miserable for themselves and for others who are around them.

Some of us can remember when we were growing up, and we walked around the house whining and crying and complaining about everything. My Dad would tell me to “Dry it up!” and then he would say, "If you want something to cry about, I will give you something to cry about!" I wouldn’t stick around to find out what he was talking about!

It would be good for some of today's grumblers to be taken to the woodshed for a attitude adjustment.

            In our passage we see Jesus. He was and is the man with the wonderful power.

            A.        We See His Awareness.

                        Luke 6:8 "But he knew their thoughts…"

It is probably a good thing that we do not know what is in the minds of some folks.

There was one man I heard about who admitted that he went to a church just to see where they kept the church money. He later broke into the church and stole the offering. Suppose when he attended that church that the people could have read his mind. Do you think he would have ever been able to steal the offering?

We come to Church and most people will greet us with pleasantries. Such greetings might make us think that they really like us. However, there are some of these who, the whole time they are greeting us, have evil thoughts about us. Under the surface they think about what they would like to do to us if they had the chance.

Some people sit in church, and they give the impression that they really love the Lord, but their mind is not in the worship service at all. They get up and leave Church and the lives they live outside of the Church building show that their love for the Lord is feigned–not genuine.

Listen, people think all kinds of things when they come to church, and we all can be thankful that God did not give us the ability to know what people are thinking.

One thing I can assure you of is that God knows every thought you have had from the moment you came into this church. In fact, He knows what you think outside of this Church too!

The Scribes and Pharisees were watching Jesus like a hawk, and they were THINKING about how they could trap Him.

                        The Bible says, "...he knew their thoughts...."

                        They were guilty of stinking thinking!

                        We See His Awareness.

            B.        We See His Actions.

Jesus was aware of their thoughts, but it did not keep Him from doing what needed to be done.

                        1.         He Acted Publicly.

Luke 6:8 "…and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth."

                                    They did their evil in secrecy, but He acted openly.

                                    He knew it was the Sabbath, that is why He was in the synagogue.

                                    He saw the man with the withered hand.

He asked the man to stand where everyone could see him, and the man complied. "And he arose and stood forth."

                        2.         He Acted Purposely.

                                    The Lord always had a purpose in doing what He did.

He knew what they were thinking, so He could have said to Himself, "These Scribes and Pharisees are trying to cause a problem, so I will pretend I do not see this man with the Withered hand," and He could have ignored him. But instead of doing that, He did what they were hoping He would do - HE HEALED THIS MAN ON THE SABBATH.

WHAT WAS HIS PURPOSE FOR DOING THIS? It was to show them that PEOPLE were more important than the RULES the religious leaders had instructed the people to observe.

We need to remember that the Sabbath was set aside as a day of rest and worship for God's people. They had six days to work, but on the Sabbath they were to cease from all these activities, and use the Sabbath to worship the God who had so richly blessed them, and to rest from their labor.

The problem was that along with the commands of God for this day, the Scribes and Pharisees had added their list of "do's and don'ts". When they got through adding their list to what God had commanded, the day became more important than the people.

Jesus said in Mark 2:27, ". . .The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath:"

It had come to the place where observing the Sabbath was more important than helping people.

I heard of a church that had just put down brand new carpet, and some of the members were complaining, because some of the bus children that came would come and kneel at the altar, and since they came from the poor area of town, they were afraid they might soil their carpet.

WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT, THE CARPET or THE CHILDREN?

It is very easy to put religious things in the wrong place. GOD'S DAY IS FOR GOD'S PEOPLE.

Look at how the Lord responded to them. Look at Luke 6:9.

The Lord asked the question, and you notice that there was nobody answering it. The answer should have been obvious. Mark's account gives us a look into the heart of Jesus as He observed this heartless people.

Mark 3:5a "And when he had looked round about on them WITH ANGER, being grieved for THE HARDNESS OF THEIR HEARTS,..."

We see the outward things, but Jesus sees the root of the problem, the hard heart of man.

It is interesting that in Matthew's account, it says that they asked Jesus a question.

Matt. 12:10 "And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him."

Jesus answered their question with an illustration and a YES answer. Matt. 12:11,12 "And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? WHEREFORE IT IS LAWFUL to do well on the sabbath days."

Look at the POWER of the Lord Jesus! Luke 6:10 "And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other."

                                    The Pharisees viewed healing on the Sabbath as a violation of the law.

                                    Jesus viewed it as a show of mercy, appropriate on any day of the week.

JESUS HEALED THE CRIPPLED MAN. I am glad we don't have to depend on the hardhearted people in this world, we can depend on Christ. Aren't you thankful for the mercy and healing of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Conclusion:

This story of Jesus healing this man with a withered hand communicates to us many valuable lessons.

1.         What Can We Learn From The Man With The Withered Hand?

            a.         We all have problems that need the touch of Jesus!

            b.         We need to draw near to God in spite of our problems! (James 4:8a)

            c.         We need to be where we can be blessed by Jesus!

            d.         When Jesus speaks, we need to listen and be obedient to Him!

                        (i.e. We need to be receptive to the preaching of God's Word.)

            e.         Sometimes the only sense we can make out of problems in our lives is that they are for God to get the Glory out of them–are we allowing Him to get the glory!

2.         What Can We Learn From The Scribes And The Pharisees?

            a.         Just because we are religious doesn’t make us right.

            b.         We need to be careful about how our attitudes affect ourselves and others.

            c.         We need to be more concerned about the Truth than about our own position and preconceived ideas.

3.         What Can We Learn From Jesus?

            a.         We Can Learn About His Care For Us.

                        1)        Jesus Knows Our Needs.

                        2)        Jesus Can Meet Our Needs.

            b.         We Can Learn About His Care For Others.

                        1)        Jesus had compassion on those with needs and so should we.

                        2)        Jesus did good on the day of rest and worship and so should we.

                        3)        Jesus did what was right even when it wasn’t convenient (i.e. He did it in the midst of opposition and criticism) and so should we.

                        4)        Jesus committed Himself into the hands of His Father and so should we.

1 Peter 1:23–“Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously”

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NOTICE:   THESE SERMONS ARE FREE TO BE USED BUT ARE NOT TO BE SOLD!