JESUS’ CHARACTER IN CONTROVERSY

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on February 12, 2020 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: February 12, 2020 from Luke 6:6-11

Theme: If we walk in union with Jesus, we walk with the Lord over God’s law.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

Jesus’ life is the most fascinating life ever lived on planet earth. He walked upon this earth as the Son of God in human flesh. And because this is true, His life was also the most controversial life ever lived on planet earth.

It is still controversial even today—as we who seek to follow Him know very well.

As we look at the life of Jesus, we see how His character shown out in the midst of the controversy. In the last section of Luke’s Gospel (Luke 6:1-5), we saw how He entered into conflict with the religious leaders of the day as He and His disciples walked in the fields of grain. As they walked along and rubbed the grain in their hands, the Pharisees accused them of breaking the Sabbath.

And now, another Sabbath controversy arose—this time, not in a grain field but in the synagogue of Capernaum. Luke tells us;

Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him. But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And he arose and stood. 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?” 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. But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus (Luke 6:6-11).

This passage teaches us much about the nature of the Sabbath. As we learned from the last passage, God desires that mercy be shown on His holy day. He emphasizes compassion over the keeping of man-made religious rules and regulations. That was the point in the previous passage; and we can certainly see that same point being made in this passage as well.

Another great value of this passage—one that we’ll focus on in this morning’s study—is that it shows us the nature of our Lord Himself. It teaches how He behaved in times of controversy and opposition. Controversy and challenge has a way of showing forth someone’s true character. From this story, we discover what He is like; and how He is able to be a help toward all those who trust Him. It’s good to study the character of our Lord under pressure; because, as we do so, we ourselves grow to be more like Him.

So as we look at this passage, let’s pay attention to the ways that our Lord’s character is shown forth—as the Son of God—in a time of controversy.

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First, we see …

1. JESUS’ FAITHFULNESS (v. 6a).

Luke writes to us and says, “Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught.” If we look back, we find that the last time something happened in the synagogue, it was when Jesus cast the unclean spirit of the man in 4:31-37. The demon had cried out against Jesus and said, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” (Luke 4:34). Jesus rebuked that unclean spirit and commanded it to come out of the man. And soon afterward, Jesus’ fame spread everywhere throughout the regions of Galilee; and people were coming to Him to be ministered to by Him.

We might think that, if anyone could reasonably be excused from coming to the synagogue, it would be the Son of God who exercised such authority over the spiritual realms. But our Lord never excused Himself from attending to the worship of His Father. Even in times when the controversy about Him was beginning to heat up—and when religious leaders were beginning to oppose Him—He still went to the house of His Father. He even ministered to others and taught them there.

May we grow to be faithful to our duties to our heavenly Father—just as our Lord was.

We also see …

2. JESUS’ COMPASSION (vv. 6b-7).

Luke reports to us about someone else who as in the synagogue that day. “And a man was there whose right hand was withered” (v. 6b). The Gospel writers Matthew and Mark also report this story to us. But it’s only Luke—the physician—who gets specific about the details and tells us that it was the man’s right hand. We’re not told how this happened to the man. We’re not told that his arm was withered; or that any other part of his body was disabled. It was only his right hand. His right hand was an important one. It may have been necessary for his livelihood.

Whatever the details were of how this had happened, it seems that the religious leaders in the synagogue were seeking to use the poor man’s condition against Jesus. In verse 7, Luke tells us, “So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him.” In Matthew’s Gospel, we’re told that they actually took the initiative of raising a controversy by asking Jesus directly, “’Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?’—that they might accuse Him” (Matthew 12:9). We’re told in Mark’s Gospel that, in response to all this, Jesus “had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts” (Mark 3:5). So clearly, this poor man’s condition was being used as a tool to trap our Lord.

And yet, what is fascinating is that they did this because they knew He would heal the man. They knew that He had the power to do so; and they counted on the fact that Jesus would be compassionate toward Him; and all so that they could bring an accusation against Him for healing on the Sabbath. It almost seems insane that they would do this—knowing that they could count on Him to perform a miracle. (It even seems dangerous to have done; because, if they knew that He had the power to heal a withered hand, did they think that He also had the power—I say this reverently—to wither their hands if He so chose?)

But what a testimony this was to the character of our Lord. They counted on the fact that He would be compassionate—and He was! Given what He had the power to do, He was also compassionate to them! If we can put it this way, they counted on Him to show mercy—and they were not disappointed. May it be that people can count on us being compassionate like our Lord—even when they intend to use that expectation against us.

Next, we see …

3. JESUS’ COURAGE (v. 8).

These Pharisees and Scribes didn’t catch our Lord by surprise. We’re told in verse 8, “But He knew their thoughts …” He knew what their evil plans were. He knew the trap they were trying to set for Him. As it says in John 2:24-25, “He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.”

And knowing perfectly well what they were intending to do, He didn’t try to back out, or suppress His compassion in any way. He didn’t simply tell the poor man to meet Him somewhere else later. Instead, He was very bold; “and said to the man who had the withered hand, ‘Arise and stand here.’ And he arose and stood” (v. 8). In other words, our Lord was courageous in the face of these hostile religious leaders; and would not allow them to intimidate Him out of doing what was right on the Sabbath day. He, in fact, showed compassion to the man right out in front of them—where all could see.

We should never presume to do what is right “in our own eyes”, of course. That wouldn’t be courage. That would be foolish presumption. But when we know confidently what our heavenly Father’s will is—when we know what is right to do—we should follow our Lord’s example and do it boldly. May we be more like Him in the face of the devil’s opposition—and show courage.

And in this demonstration of courage, we also see …

4. JESUS’ JUSTNESS (v. 9).

Jesus called the man to Himself—and had him stand out in the open. But He then spoke to the Pharisees and scribes. They were the experts in the law; and so He asked them a question about the law of God. “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?’” What a question! (If we look at the account that is given to us in Matthew’s Gospel, they first asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”; and He asked them this question in response to theirs.) And how else could they answer but by admitting that it’s lawful to do good and to save life on the Sabbath? (Of course, as Mark tells us in Mark 3:4, they all chose instead to keep silent instead.)

God’s desire for His holy day was not that His people merely keep man-made rules and regulations and prohibitions to the harm of those in need. Rather, it was that His people show compassion—that they do good. In Isaiah 58, He said;

“Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?” (Isaiah 58:6-7).

We will read later on, in Luke 14, about another occasion in which the religious leaders watched Him to see if He would heal on the Sabbath day. He did so, in spite of them; and then He asked them, “Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” (Luke 14:5). Our Lord didn’t do what man pressured Him to do—or pressured Him not to do—on the holy day of His Father. Instead, He pursued the justness that pleased His Father on that day. He did what was right to others on the Sabbath.

May we—like Him—be characterized by justness with regard to all that concerns the Father.

But more; we also see …

5. JESUS’ POWER (v. 10).

In verse 10, Luke tells us, “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.”

We shouldn’t miss how our Lord—in doing this—completely ripped away any ability that His opponents could have had to accuse Him. Clearly He healed the man. But He did it in such a way that He didn’t display Himself as having performed the healing. All He did was tell the man to stretch out his hand; and when the man did so, it was obvious that his hand was restored. How could they bring an accusation against Jesus for that? Would they accuse Him of breaking the Sabbath by merely telling the man to stretch out his hand? Our Lord completely outwitted His accusers in the very way that He healed the man’s hand!

But the great point in it all is that He did it! He healed the man—just as they suspected that He would. This demonstrates to us who it is that we should trust in our times of need. Nothing is too hard for our Lord Jesus Christ. He is even able to do what He wishes in such a way as to frustrate the plans of evil men.

And then, finally, notice …

6. JESUS’ ENDURANCE (v. 11).

The right thing for those religious leaders to have done—at that point—would have been to give up their opposition and repent. More than that, they should have bowed the knee to the one who demonstrated that He is the Son of God—the Lord of the Sabbath—and the Savior who forgives sins and saves and heals. They should have rejoiced in all that they had just seen of Him—His faithfulness, His compassion, His courage, His justness, and His power. Instead though, Luke tells us, “But they were filled with rage”—from the Greek word anoia; which literally means “non-thinking” or “foolishness”; and is here meant to describe an irrational fury—“and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.” It never ceases to be amazing just how hard the sinful human heart can be.

But this insistent opposition and irrational hostility from the religious leaders—which would eventuate in His being nailed to the cross—didn’t make our Lord run and hide. He went on to teach and heal. And may we be more like Him in His endurance! As the writer of Hebrews put it, we should be

looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls (Hebrews 12:2-3).

* * * * * * * * * *

Controversy has a way of showing forth character. This was certainly true of our Lord. And it will certainly be true of us who follow Him. Let’s make sure we keep our eyes upon Him, and learn from Him, and let His character be formed in us.

As the apostle Paul once wrote;

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18).

EA