Christ heals tne man with paralysed hand

Jesus heals a man with a withered hand on the

Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, Ten Commandments, commanded by God to be kept as a Holid ...

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 A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

, the

Pharisees The Pharisees (; ) were a Jews, Jewish social movement and school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism. Following the Siege of Jerusalem (AD 70), destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD, Pharisaic beliefs became ...

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 The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells the story of who the author believes is Israel's messiah ( Christ), Jesus, his resurrection, and his mission to the ...

) 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, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the art ...

to heal on the Sabbath?" In

Mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

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 Mark's account, the Pharisees then went out and began to plot with the Herodians, their "natural enemies", how they might kill Jesus.

Tradition

According to St.

Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

, in the Gospel which the Nazareni and

Ebionites Ebionites (, derived from Hebrew , , meaning 'the poor' or 'poor ones') as a term refers to a Jewish Christian sect that existed during the early centuries of the Common Era. Since historical records by the Ebionites are scarce, fragmentary and ...

use, which was written in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

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

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells the story of who the author believes is Israel's messiah (Christ (title), Christ), Jesus, resurrection of Jesus, his res ...

, 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 (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most fa ...

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 meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory throughou ...

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 a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

' 1973 work, " Christian Zeal and Activity".

References

Citations

Sources

* * {{Miracles of Jesus, state=expanded Miracles of Jesus Supernatural healing Gospel of Matthew Gospel of Mark Gospel of Luke