“On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. 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. 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. 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?” And after looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored. But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.” —Luke 6:6-11
Whatever We Give To Jesus, He
Jesus took this man’s withered hand and transforms it into a completely healthy and restored hand. Whatever we give to Jesus, He transforms. It’s who He is. It’s in his character.
“To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, To give unto them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they might be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.” —Isaiah 61:3
Listen to what God says the messiah will transform.
1. Beauty for ashes.
2. Oil of joy for mourning.
3. A garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.
Real joy is sorrow accepted and transformed. —Hannah Hurnard
Jesus Transforms
Into Wholeness
Imagine being this man. He felt nothing but shame about this hand. When we are carrying shame, we might try to hide it. I’m sure this man had a long sleeved robe on to try and cover his hand. We try to cover the things in our life that we are ashamed of. We try to cover our past, our sins, our hurts, our disappointments.
“Christ has transformed all our sunsets into dawn.” —Clement of Alexandria
We Are Called To Transform What Others
To Us
- When we are given hate, we transform it into love and give it back.
- When we are given bitterness, we transform it into forgiveness and give it back.
- When we are given anger, we transform it into kindness and give it back.
- When we are given sadness, we transform it into joy.
- When we are given fear, we transform it into contempt, we give them acceptance.
- When we are given guilt, we give grace.
- When we are given death, we give life.
“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.” —Luke 6:27-31