Note:
I. The meaning of the withered hand. It was a word picture of that infirmity whatever it may be which destroys a man's power of doing anything well in this world of ours. There was a man there who had a withered hand. That right hand, as St. Luke describes it, robbed of its nourishment, hanging helplessly in a sling, was a picture of whatever deprives a man of the power of holy work, and renders him an incumbrance, if not a mischief, in God's great kingdom. (1) The bigotry of the Pharisees rendered them useless in the great kingdom of God and destroyed their power of serving Christ. (2) Prejudices wither up some of the energies of men. (3) Past inconsistences often wither up the power of service. (4) Easily besetting sins will paralyse the usefulness of any man who does not with earnestness, faith, and prayer, wage war against them. (5) The fear of man is another of the silent withering influences which restrain usefulness, and quench our zeal.
II. The healing of the withered hand. Christ came into this world not merely to set man free from the bondage of sin, but to emancipate all his faculties for holy service, to strengthen all his powers, to summon him to work while it is day. He cried in words which are preserved by three Evangelists, "Stretch forth thine hand," and immediately that hand which had no power in itself, which no human skill could heal, felt at once that a Divine energy was given to it. Divine strength was perfected in its weakness, and it was made whole even as the other. There are three lessons of practical value which we may learn from this narrative: (1) We may gather Christ's willingness to heal, as He is ever seeking us; His eye is always scanning our necessity; He knows our imperfections and shortcomings as no other can do, and He is able and willing to remove all that hampers and impedes the freedom of our spiritual life. (2) We may learn the way in which we are to make use of Divine strength. When the man willed to stretch forth his hand God willed in him; the communication of Divine strength was granted to him at the very moment when he determined to obey the will of Christ. This is just a type of what takes place whenever a sinner tries to seize and appropriate God's promises or God's strength. (4) Here is the great rule by which, at all times, we may overcome our listlessness and uselessness in God's service. It is by our own vigorous effort to overcome the withering up of our faculties that we shall test the worth of Divine promises. Let us stretch forth our hands, let us try to serve our Master; and let us work while it is day, for the night cometh.
H. R. Reynolds, Notes of the Christian Life,p. 207.