"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE FOR THOSE WHO NEED A HEALING"

Luke 6:6 Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered.

Luke 6:7 So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him.

Luke 6:8 But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And he arose and stood.

Luke 6:9 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 6:10 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.

Luke 6:11 But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

Some explanatory thoughts and application:

1. When Jesus came into the synagogue, there was a man with a withered, or paralyzed hand.

2. It's interesting to note that the haters of Jesus were watching Him, to see if He would heal the man on the Sabbath. This tells us that they knew Jesus would generally be drawn to people in need, and would heal them, or teach them, or help them in some way. He is the same today by the way. He is drawn to weakness and need.

3. Jesus wound up healing the man, to the dislike of the Jesus haters as I like to call them. (they needed salvation but did not realize it) There are many, many people like that today.

4. Jesus spoke to the man and actually asked him to do something he could not do. "Stretch out your hand" That was an impossible thing for him to do, given that he was paralyzed. But, in a sense, a very real sense, the Lord was calling the man to exercise faith. And, the result was that Jesus healed Him.

5. It's certainly true that God does not choose to heal everyone, that's very clear. We don't need to wonder or question Him about it, that's all within His prerogative. But, what we can do, is ask Him to heal us. We can ask Him to heal others. And, we can exercise faith, and encourage others to exercise their faith, and then we can leave the results up to Him.

6. Do you need healing? Do you desire healing from God? Do you know someone who needs healing? Let's remember, that Jesus knows about the need, and as mentioned, He is drawn to the need as it were. He was and is known to be the healer, of both bodies, and of course souls. Let's pray right now.

Our prayer for healing:

Lord, as we pray this prayer, we may have ourselves in mind, a spouse, a child, a family member, a friend, a relative, a co-worker, a fellow church member, a neighbor, or some other person. You know them, You know their condition, and we ask You to extend Your power and Your grace into their lives to bring healing to them. They have a measure of faith, just as the man in the story did. We have a measure of faith. You have given that to each one of us. And, right now, we are exercising that faith by praying and asking You to heal. We ask it of You, in Your own name, Amen.

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia