6:6–7 This is the last of five controversies with the Pharisees. Jesus is in the synagogue on another Sabbath and is teaching, his regular custom (4:15). A man in the synagogue has a withered hand. In 1 Kings 13:4 Jeroboam’s hand is withered because of his sin. The scribes and Pharisees clearly view the man as a test case. They wonder if Jesus will heal the man, and if he does so, they will accuse Jesus of being a lawbreaker—as we saw in Luke 6:1–5, breaking the law regarding the Sabbath was not minor. Those who broke it, according to the law, deserved death (Num. 15:32–36). The Pharisees have forgotten about the man suffering with the withered hand. Their obsession with doing things right has blinded them to the man in their presence and his need. Nor are they open to Jesus but are lying in wait for him to do what they denounce so that they can pounce upon him (cf. Luke 11:54; 14:1; 20:20).

6:8–9 Jesus knows their evil “thoughts” (as noted in the comment on 5:22–23, this word for thoughts [Gk. dialogismous] always refers to evil thoughts in Luke). Jesus’ knowing their thinking shows that he is a prophet; at the same time it points to his divine identity, as the text on the Son of Man demonstrates (cf. comments on 5:17–26). Jesus could have quietly healed the man or waited for another day, but instead he calls the man to him and asks him to stand in middle. Doing what is good and right on the Sabbath should not be hidden but proclaimed to the world. The Sabbath for Jesus is a day of freedom, a day of release from evil and harm, a day to do what is good and to deliver people from the power of evil. He asks whether the day is one of good or evil in order to provoke the Pharisees to self-reflection. In their zeal for the law they have forgotten the purpose of the Sabbath (cf. 14:3). Jesus recalls them to the original purpose of the law: to give rest and freedom for human beings.

6:10–11 Jesus looks at each person, presumably to see if there is any vestige of mercy or love in their hearts, to see if the person standing in front of them is only an issue to be debated. Then he commands the man whose hand is withered to stretch out his hand. The man could have refused, but he believes what Jesus says and obeys his command, and his hand is instantly restored. Again, Jesus has the same power as God; his word is effective. The scribes and Pharisees are enraged, believing Jesus to have violated what they think is right, and they begin to convene and to discuss what to do with Jesus. This is a foreshadowing of the cross, by which the religious leaders in Israel will conspire to put Jesus to death. Their infuriated response is quite remarkable, for Jesus does not actually do any physical work. All he does is to speak a word, and all the man does is to stretch out his hand. By any definition neither of these actions is work. But by now the leaders have lost all perspective. They have already decided Jesus is evil, and everything that happens confirms their bias.