Luke 6:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And after looking around at them all he said to him, "Stretch out your hand." And he did so, and his hand was restored.

NIV: He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He did so, and his hand was completely restored.

NASB: And after looking around at them all, He said to him, 'Stretch out your hand!' And he did so; and his hand was restored.

CSB: After looking around at them all, he told him, "Stretch out your hand." He did, and his hand was restored.

NLT: He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, 'Hold out your hand.' So the man held out his hand, and it was restored!

KJV: 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.

NKJV: And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.

The man Jesus now speaks with has a withered hand (Luke 6:6–9). This might have been due to a condition such as polio, which causes paralysis and atrophy. Jesus looks at the Pharisees, with what Mark indicates is a mixture of anger and grief (Mark 3:5). Then He tells the man to straighten his hand. Both Jesus and the man have now straightened a limb for the purpose of healing. As far as the Pharisees are considered, Jesus not only just broke the Sabbath laws, but He incited another man to, as well.

The manmade Sabbath laws state that if someone's life is in danger on the Sabbath, Jews are required to do what they can to save it. It's an exception to the rule, and so they won't be punished. But they may not deliberately take any steps that would result in the cure of a disease or the treatment of a wound.

The commentary on Mishnah Shabbat 22:6 gives specifics. No one may straighten a child's arms, legs, or vertebrae. Some rabbis say no one may set a broken bone. And no one may shake a dislocated limb in water to put it back into place. These are applications of Shabbat 7:2 which gives thirty-nine Sabbath restrictions based on the building and care of the tabernacle. Fixing a bone is too close to acts like demolition and rebuilding of a structure.

The Pharisees are wrong, however. First, the thirty-nine Sabbath laws and countless applications are manmade additions imposed upon the God-given Mosaic law. Second, God always intended the Sabbath to be a blessing, not a burden (Mark 2:27). Gaining a functioning hand is certainly a blessing in a culture of manual labor. Third, the fact that Jesus successfully performs a divinely empowered healing on the Sabbath at the synagogue should tell the Pharisees that God endorses the act.

The Pharisees' breach of the Sabbath law is far greater than Jesus'. As soon as they leave, they conspire with the sect of Jews who support the political control of the Herodian empire to destroy Jesus (Luke 6:11; Mark 3:6). Ironically, for these men, arranging a murder doesn't count as work.

Luke 6:6–11 includes the last of six controversial actions which put Jesus at odds with the religious leaders. This passage on healing and the previous on eating (Luke 6:1–5) focus on the true purpose of the Sabbath. It is not to worship God with strict, suffocating rules but to rest and restore—even to heal. Next, Jesus will select twelve men out of a group who have decided to follow Him instead of the Pharisees. This story is also recorded in Matthew 12:9–14 and Mark 3:1–6. Luke 13:10–17 tells the story of Jesus healing a woman on the Sabbath, and Luke 14:1–6 gives an account of Jesus healing another man on the sabbath, at the house of a Pharisee.

Luke 6 contains two main sections of teaching and calls to discipleship. Luke 6:1–16 continues the pattern of Luke 5. The two ways in which Jesus sets aside tradition—this time by taking authority over the Sabbath—are paired with His call for the Twelve disciples. Luke 6:17–49 records Jesus' teaching on the ''level place,'' or His ''Sermon on the Plain,'' and a call to a crowd for general discipleship. Much of this material has parallels in Matthew 5 through 7, but it's not clear if the two accounts are of the same event. As a travelling teacher, Christ likely gave the same general message multiple times.

Luke 6 completes Jesus' call for disciples and followers that started in Luke 5. Luke 5:1—6:16 consists of three calls for disciples, each paired with two revolutionary teachings about Jesus' authority that increasingly infuriate the religious leaders. Luke 6:17–49 continues the theme with a general call for followers and a description of their responsibilities. In Luke 7:1—8:3, Jesus interacts with the other: Gentiles, women, and even the dead. This is followed by another general call (Luke 8:4–21), a series of miracles (Luke 8:22—9:17), and a final call for the Twelve to follow Him even more deeply (Luke 9:18–50).

Luke was a traveling companion of Paul (Acts 16:10) and a physician (Colossians 4:14). Unlike Matthew, Mark, and John, Luke writes his gospel as an historian, rather than as a first-hand eyewitness. His extensive writings also include the book of Acts (Acts 1:1–3). These are deliberately organized, carefully researched accounts of those events. The gospel of Luke focuses on the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Luke's Gentile perspective presents Christ as a Savior for all people, offering both forgiveness and direction to those who follow Him.