“Which is lawful?”

“Which is lawful?”

 

  

 

 

“On another Sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled.  The scribes and the Pharisees watched Him closely to see if He would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find grounds to accuse Him.  But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in the middle.”  So, he got up and stood there.  Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?”  He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”  He did so, and his hand was restored.  But they were furious and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus’ (Luke 6:6–11).

 

 

While meditating on the words, I desire to receive the instruction given as I meditate on this passage:

 

(1)   After reading today’s passage, Luke 6:6–11, I also read Matthew 12:9–14 and Mark 3:1–6, and I meditate on them together, dividing my thoughts into several parts:

 

(a)    First, on “another Sabbath” (different from the “Sabbath” spoken of in Luke 6:1), Jesus left the “grainfields” (“fields of grain” in Luke 6:1; Mark 2:23) and entered the Jewish synagogue (“their synagogue,” Mt. 12:9) at “that place” (v. 9), and was teaching.  There was a man there whose right hand was withered (Lk. 6:6).

 

(i)               When I meditate on the fact that Jesus entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and carried out His ministry of teaching, I am reminded of several passages where the apostle Paul, following Jesus’ example, also entered synagogues to preach the Word and the gospel (e.g., Acts 13:14; 14:1; 17:2; 18:4; 19:8–9).  Among these, I became particularly interested in the words describing how Paul, in Ephesus, entered the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the kingdom of God.

 

·        In Acts 18:19–21, Paul, near the end of his second missionary journey and just before going up to Jerusalem, visited Ephesus.  There he proclaimed the Word, and the Jews responded very positively, asking him to stay longer.  Paul declined, promising that he would return if God allowed.  In Acts 19:1, we see that God did indeed grant that opportunity, and Paul returned to Ephesus.  There Paul taught about the kingdom of God for three months in the synagogue (v. 8).

 

-        But some became hardened and disobedient, publicly speaking evil of “the Way” (v. 9).  They did not believe the message Paul proclaimed, but instead hardened their hearts.  This showed that their spiritual condition had become irrecoverably stubborn and unbelieving.  From this hardened state they moved into active hostility, publicly slandering Paul’s gospel before the people.

 

n  So, Paul withdrew the disciples and taught daily for two years in the lecture hall of Tyrannus (v. 10).  A Western manuscript states that Paul taught there from the fifth hour to the tenth hour (11 a.m. – 4 p.m.) (Metzger).  This reflects the cultural custom of Asia Minor, where people rested or napped during the heat of the day.  Both Jews and Gentiles used this rest period to learn God’s Word from Paul (Sang-sub Yoo).  As a result, all who lived in Asia—both Jews and Greeks—heard the Word of the Lord (v. 10).  “Asia” here refers to the region along the western coast of the Anatolian peninsula, bounded by Bithynia to the north, Galatia to the east, and Lycia to the south (J. A. Harrill).  Ephesus alone had a population approaching 250,000, and including the surrounding areas, the total number would have been much larger.  This suggests how many people heard God’s Word in the Tyrannus lecture hall (Yoo).

 

#    Thus, I am reminded again that even while the Word spreads widely and many receive the gospel and accept Jesus as Savior and Lord, others harden their hearts, refuse to obey God’s Word, and attack the messenger.

 

·        In today’s passage (Lk. 6:6–11), while Jesus was teaching in the synagogue, the scribes and Pharisees were watching to find grounds to accuse Him, looking to see whether He would heal on the Sabbath (v. 7).

 

-        Thus, in the ministry of teaching God’s Word, there can be positive spiritual fruit, but there can also be negative fruit instigated by Satan.

 

n  In Acts, when Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, preached God’s Word, many were “pierced to the heart,” asking, “What shall we do?” (Acts 2:37), and about 3,000 repented, were baptized, and received forgiveness (v. 38). But when Stephen preached, some were also “cut to the heart,” yet they gnashed their teeth, and ultimately stoned him to death (Acts 7:54, 58).

 

#    Therefore, in the ministry of the Word, some who hear repent of their sins, but others become angry and resentful, killing the messenger with their tongues (cf. 1 Jn. 3:15).

 

(ii)             Continuing my meditation on Luke 6:6, I found it meaningful that Jesus met the man with the shriveled right hand in the synagogue on the Sabbath.

 

·        I do not consider this meeting accidental. I believe that within God’s sovereignty, Jesus and that man with the withered hand met in the synagogue at that exact time.

 

-        I wish to share part of a meditation I wrote on October 7, 2025, titled “The Encounters God Gives Us in Life Are Never Accidental!”: “Among the encounters given in the journey of our lives, some seem good from our perspective and bring us refreshment, joy, and benefit.  Others seem unpleasant, causing difficulty and pain, appearing to bring no benefit at all.  How does God view all these encounters?  I personally believe that none of our encounters in life are accidental, but that all come under God’s sovereignty.  God permits every encounter, and in each of them there is surely God’s purpose.  Though we may not understand that purpose at the moment, our encounters lie within God’s will.  When we faithfully face our encounters in the Lord, God unfolds His purpose and allows us to see His glory.”

 

(b)   Second, the scribes and Pharisees sought grounds to accuse Jesus and watched Him closely to see whether He would heal the man with the withered right hand on the Sabbath (Lk. 6:7; Mk. 3:2). They then asked, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” (Mt. 12:10).

 

(i)               While meditating on this, I recalled something I wrote recently: “Love is not looking for faults in others; rather, it is seeking to cover them.”  This came to mind because the scribes and Pharisees were watching to find fault, wrongdoing, or what they considered “sin” in Jesus so that they could accuse Him.

 

·        The Scripture says they “watched” Jesus to see whether He would heal (Lk. 6:7), or “kept watching” Him (Mk. 3:2).  The word “watched” (“παρετήρουν,” paretēroun) is the imperfect of paratēreō, meaning “to watch,” “observe closely,” indicating continuous observation with hostile intent, as they stayed close to Jesus looking for something to charge Him with (cf. Lk. 14:1; 20:20) (Hochma).

 

-        This word demonstrates how an unrighteous heart focuses not on learning, but on accusing (Lk. 20:20; Acts 9:24).  The religious leaders and persecutors of that day followed Jesus and His servants like shadows, attempting to trap them legally or politically.

 

n  All three Sabbath-healing contexts (Lk. 6:7; Mk. 3:2; Lk. 14:1) highlight the tension between grace and hardened religiosity.  While Christ extends mercy, the law-keepers wield the law as a weapon.  Thus, the word paratēreō (“to watch closely”) symbolizes a heart that fails to see that the Messiah is standing before them.

 

#    In Galatians 4:10, paratēreō shifts from watching a person to the scrupulous observance of regulations. Paul grieves that believers have returned to “weak and miserable principles” (Gal. 4:9). The same word used to describe Pharisaic surveillance now describes the Galatians’ self-imposed bondage—exposing legalism as a spiritual snare.

 

(ii)             The scribes and Pharisees asked, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” intending to trap Jesus.  If He healed, they would accuse Him of breaking Sabbath laws; if He refused to heal, they could accuse Him of violating His own teaching that mercy is greater than sacrifice.  They crafted this question to put Jesus in an inescapable dilemma, forcing Him into either hypocrisy or inconsistency (Hochma).

 

(c)    Third, Jesus, knowing their thoughts, told the man with the withered hand, “Get up and stand in the middle,” and he came forward (Lk. 6:8; Mk. 3:3).  Jesus then asked, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” (Lk. 6:9).  But they remained silent (Mk. 3:4).

 

(i)               When I meditate on “doing good” or “saving life,” I connect this with Matthew 12:11–12: “Jesus said, ‘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? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep!  Therefore, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.’”

·        Jesus’ point is clear: if it is good to rescue an animal on the Sabbath, how much more should one rescue a human being made in God’s image?  Thus, Jesus answers their question (“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”) by declaring, “It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath” (v. 12).  Healing on the Sabbath is doing good, and therefore right.

 

-        But the scribes and Pharisees, though willing to rescue a sheep, had no desire to show mercy to a man with a withered hand.  Instead, they used him as a tool for their political purpose of accusing Jesus.  Jesus argues that if acts of mercy toward an animal are allowed, then mercy toward a human being is far more righteous and proper (Hochma).

 

n  Jesus’ concern is centered on whether the Sabbath exists to do good or to do evil.  “Good” here refers to showing mercy to the afflicted.  This connects to verse 7, where Jesus declared the disciples innocent—both the disciples plucking grain and Jesus healing the man are declared good by the Lord of the Sabbath Himself (Hochma).

 

(d)   Fourth, Jesus, grieved at the hardness of their hearts, looked around at them in anger (Mk. 3:5) and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”  He stretched it out, and it was completely restored like the other hand (Mt. 12:13).

 

(i)               Their “hardness of heart” refers to a state as rigid as marble—so hardened that they could neither accept Jesus’ words nor act rightly (Hochma).

 

·        The word translated “grieved” (συλλυπούμενος) is a compound verb emphasizing that Jesus’ sorrow was not mere sympathy but a sorrow experienced “with” or “alongside” the people before Him.  Though the Pharisees were the direct object of His grief, their suffering, the confusion of the crowd, and the spiritual blindness of Israel all weighed upon Christ’s heart.  This recalls Isaiah 53:3, the “man of sorrows,” who bore not only sin but also the emotional burden of the people (Internet).

 

-        Jesus was not only sorrowful but also angry—an expression of righteous indignation toward their hardened hearts (Internet).

 

n  Mark records both grief and anger to show Jesus’ holy love—a love that refuses to accept hardened hearts, yet longs deeply for their restoration (Internet).

 

(ii)             Jesus healed the man solely by His spoken word. His withered right hand became whole like the other hand.

 

·        This “word” of Jesus is the same power by which He created the universe in the beginning (e.g., Genesis 1:3: “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light”)—the same divine power expressed in John 1:1–3 (Hochma).

 

-        This reminded me of a meditation I wrote on October 26, 2012, titled “A Faith that Even Amazed and Was Praised by Jesus”, based on Luke 7:9. I share a portion:

 

n  “Third, the faith that amazed Jesus transcended time and space. In Luke 7:7 the centurion said, ‘… but say the word, and my servant will be healed.’  This Roman centurion believed that Jesus’ word alone—spoken from a distance—could heal his dying servant.  What astonishing faith!  He believed in the power of the God who created heaven and earth by His word.  While most people wanted Jesus to touch them or lay hands on them, the centurion believed that Jesus’ spoken word alone was enough.  Do you not desire such faith—a faith that transcends time and distance?”

 

·        That the withered hand “was restored and became whole” (Matt. 12:13) confirms that Jesus has the power to make a person whole—body and soul (Hochma).

 

-        The Lord of the Sabbath had already confirmed His authority to forgive sins through the grainfield incident (Lk. 6:1–5) (Hochma).

(e)    Fifth and finally, when Jesus healed the man’s withered right hand by the power of His word, the Pharisees were filled with rage (Lk. 6:11) and immediately went out to conspire with the Herodians about how they might kill Jesus (Mk. 3:6; cf. Mt. 12:14; Lk. 6:11).

 

(i)               Their rage (Lk. 6:11) indicates that they lost all sense and reason—becoming like madmen, rushing ahead in blind fury (Hochma).

 

·        They left the synagogue (because, having condemned Jesus as a Sabbath-breaker, they did not even want to remain in the same building with Him) and plotted evil—unlike Jesus, who had done good and saved life on the Sabbath.  They united with the Herodians to devise a plan to kill Him (Hochma).

 

-        They condemned Jesus as a Sabbath violator (Exod. 31:14) and, together with a secular political group (the Herodians), seriously discussed how they might destroy Him.  This is the inevitable result when religion joins forces with politics (Hochma).

 

n  While meditating on this, I recalled Luke 23:12: “Herod and Pilate, who had previously been enemies, became close friends that day.”  Considering how Herod (the son of the Herod who ruled when Jesus was born) and Pilate (a Roman governor) became friends over their treatment of Jesus, Psalm 2:2 comes to mind: “The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the LORD and against His Anointed.”  Though both Herod and Pilate knew Jesus was innocent, Herod mocked Him and sent Him back to Pilate dressed in a splendid robe (Lk. 23:11), and Pilate, though three times declaring Jesus innocent (vv. 14, 15, 22), finally surrendered Him to be crucified because the crowd kept shouting insistently until their voices prevailed (vv. 23–25).