Christ heals tne man with paralysed hand

Jesus heals a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath in one of his miracles recounted in the Gospels, namely in Matthew 12:9- 13, Mark 3:1-6, and Luke 6:6-11.

Biblical accounts

On a Sabbath, in Luke, "another Sabbath", when Jesus went into the synagogue, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse him, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath and (in Matthew's Gospel) they asked him: "Is it

lawful Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...

to heal on the Sabbath?" In Mark and Luke it is Jesus who asks whether it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath. By way of reply in the Gospel of Matthew, appealing to "the human sentiment of his hearers",

He said to them, "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." Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other.

According to the Mark's account, the Pharisees then went out and began to plot with the

Herodians The Herodians (''Herodiani'') were a sect of Hellenistic Jews mentioned in the New Testament on two occasions — first in Galilee, and later in Jerusalem — being hostile to Jesus (, ; ; cf. also , , ). In each of these cases their name is co ...

, their "natural enemies", how they might kill Jesus.

Tradition

Ilyas Basim Khuri Bazzi Rahib - Jesus Heals the Man with a Withered Hand - Walters W59231B - Full Page (cropped)

According to St.

Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is co ...

, in the Gospel which the Nazareni and

Ebionites Ebionites ( grc-gre, Ἐβιωναῖοι, ''Ebionaioi'', derived from Hebrew (or ) ''ebyonim'', ''ebionim'', meaning 'the poor' or 'poor ones') as a term refers to a Jewish Christian sect, which viewed poverty as a blessing, that existed during ...

use, which was written in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

and according to Jerome was thought by many to be the original text of the

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and form ...

, the man with the withered hand, was a mason.

Commentary

Archbishop

John McEvilly John McEvilly (1818–1902) was an Irish Roman Catholic Church clergyman who served as the Archbishop of Tuam from 1881 to 1902. He was born on 15 April 1818 in Louisburgh, a small town near Westport, County Mayo, Ireland., ''The Episcopal Su ...

notes that in the question of Jesus, He implies that "to omit saving our brethren, when in great danger, is the same as destroying them; that such omission was doing evil." They could not answer him (Mark 3:4) because "it could not be denied that it was lawful to do good, and also that it was lawful, “to save life”".

Venerable Bede Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom o ...

gives an

allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory t ...

commentary on the miracle writing, "Adam plucking the forbidden fruit, dried up the hand of the human race, that is, he deprived man of the power to be fruitful in good works. Christ, however, restored that power by stretching forth His hands on the cross."

Arts

This miracle is the subject of the spoken sermon portion of composer

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of t ...

' 1973 work, "

Christian Zeal and Activity ''American Standard'' is an early ensemble work by noted American composer John Adams. The work is named for American Standard Brand appliancesJohn Adams"Sonic Youth" ''The New Yorker'' 85.25 (25 August 2008). p32-39. although Adams says that the ...

References

Citations

Sources

* * {{Miracles of Jesus, state=expanded Miracles of Jesus Supernatural healing