Bold Faith
Last weekend, my pastor spoke about when Jesus healed a man with a withered or shriveled hand. The story is found in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Luke, a physician, describes the event like this:
On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored. (Luke 6:6-10 NIV)
All the gospel accounts say that Jesus told the man to “Stretch out your hand.” However, Jesus did not specify which hand. I know which hand I would have presented to Jesus, and it would not have been the damaged one. If I had been in that synagogue that day and encountered this Jesus, about whom I had heard stories but had never seen Him before, and if He had told me to stand up in front of everyone there, and then asked me to stretch out my hand … I would have presented my good hand.
The fact that the man presented his shriveled hand to Jesus indicates that he had faith in Jesus' ability to heal him and improve his situation and life, as he had heard Jesus do for many others. Stretching out his damaged, weak hand in front of the other members of the congregation took courage. There were Pharisees in the congregation who opposed healing on the Sabbath, though that was not in the Law of Moses. These religious men would rather a person remain in his impaired condition than for Jesus to work a miracle on the Sabbath day. Therefore, this man was already at a disadvantage and likely felt prejudice against himself for his impairment.
When Jesus asked the man to stand up in front of everyone and stretch out his hand, though Jesus did not say which hand, the man presented his shriveled hand to Jesus. No doubt he experienced the moment of choice as possible ramifications coursed through his mind. Would he stretch out his left hand and act as though everything was fine and he had no defect or limitation? Or would he reveal his impediment, his frailty, and his need to this man Jesus and all those of his community that were gathered around him? Praise the Lord, he had faith to show Jesus the hand that was shriveled! Through that bold act of acknowledging and exposing his need to the Lord, a miracle was performed on his body that unquestionably changed his life.
Reflecting on this story has brought me to a place of repentance. May God forgive me for having such small faith, and may He increase my faith more and more! Hiding my defects, camouflaging my weaknesses, and not acknowledging my deficiencies before the Lord only serve to keep me bound in my current state. By stretching out my hand to Jesus, however, I come face to face with the power to heal, to fill, and to build up every weak area of my life.
Perhaps I am the only one who would have hidden my weak hand and stretched out my strong one, but I don’t think so. There is something within us that wants to preserve our image and protect us from the negative opinions of other people. But when Jesus is present in our lives to heal and restore our damage and weaknesses, I pray that we all would have the faith and boldness to stretch out our needs to Him. Let’s not let any opportunity for a healing touch from Jesus pass us by. I pray that our faith is buoyed by reading God’s Word and through prayer, and that we would not be hindered any longer by fear of the opinions of others. May we have the boldness and faith to stretch out our hands to Jesus and receive His healing power in our lives!