City Life Starter

Written by Paul Lane

The Word

⁶ On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. ⁷ And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him. ⁸ But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there. ⁹ And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” ¹⁰ And after looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored. ¹¹ But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

Luke 6:6-11 ESV

³ “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 5:13-16 ESV

Reflection

It is interesting that often people say that Jesus was not into politics, but I don’t think that’s true.  He never ran for office or anything like that, but he was a stunningly effective politician.  Perhaps I should step back and explain.  The word “politics” means “the many influences.”  In a similar way, the word “economy” means “the law of the circles” i.e. social circles.  We are just used to trusting the larger influences that direct our countries to leaders who hold government offices. 

However, not all influencers are office holders.  And we have that today.  There are so many people influencing society via the internet.  We even have people calling themselves “influencers” and “public intellectuals”.  I don’t think we can claim that no one voted for them.  Every click on one of their pages is another vote for them.

But what about Jesus healing a man with a withered hand?  How is that a political act?  Luke 6:7 says that the scribes and Pharisees were watching him “to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him.”  There’s a shocking admission here.  The question of Jesus being able to heal is a given.  They are only interested to see if he will step over the “Sabbath Day” line, which would be a political act.

Is Jesus playing politics, or just expressing compassion for a hurting soul?

Why is it that when we read about the miracles that Jesus performed intentionally, a lot of the story is focus on the political interactions and the person being healed is almost a side note?  Along that line, note that in this story, the man’s right hand is withered, which means that he was left-handed through no fault of his own.  In that time, left-handed people were generally untrusted, thought to be awkward or sneaky.  So, he was likely a beggar or at least seen to be a burden to society.

Healing this man meant that someone who was probably looked down upon for years would be brought into regular society, so there were probably some mixed feelings in the crowd.  But healing on the Sabbath, that was a clear shot at the people in charge.  Jesus’ miracle was effective in public, so his influence was undeniable.  He did not follow their path and yet was successful, and thus a new path to political power was demonstrated.

Application

So, are you ready to run for office, start a political campaign, take on a new cause for human society?  Great!  I hope you’re successful in all that you do, but that’s not quite what I’m getting at.  The man healed received his healing by obeying, and so doing became a great influencer of societies.  His story has influenced hundreds of millions and perhaps billions of people. God is doing great and wonderful works in our societies, and He wants you to participate in that work.  All you must do is obey.

Prayer

Lord, thank You that You are in control and that nothing that happens is outside of Your control.  Give me the grace to ask for what I need, to be happy with what You provide, and to boldly obey You in all things.  In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.