And behold there was a man which had his hand withered.
The withered hand
I. The person to whom the command in our text is addressed.
1. TO a man who was hopelessly incapable of obeying. The hand had lost the moisture of life. Christ’s power is displayed on our inability.
2. To one who was perfectly willing.
II. The person who gave the command. “He said.”
III. The command itself. The stretching forth of the hand was-
1. An act of faith.
2. An act of decision. The Pharisees around him.
IV. This man’s obedience.
1. He did not do something else in preference to what Jesus commanded.
2. He did not raise any questions.
3. He was told to stretch out his hand, and he did so.
V. The result of this stretching out of the man’s hand in obedience to the command.
1. The healing was manifest.
2. It was immediate.
3. It was permanent. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The withered hand
I. A common calamity.
II. The man could do nothing.
III. He knew he could do nothing.
IV. He is a type of those whose usefulness is spoiled by some defect-the crotchety, ill-tempered, hasty, niggardly man.
V. The causes of this withered hand.
1. Disuse.
2. Multiplied anxieties and cares.
3. Contact with poisonous matters-questionable company or pleasures.
VI. The cure. The services of the synagogue not enough. The solemn ritual, the round of confession and sacrifice, of singing and the word, each of these was a help to the healing power, but nothing more-hands that pointed and lifted the sufferer nearer to the great Restorer. At last, before the man there stands the living Christ, as He stands before all who seek Him. Then swiftly comes the being made whole. That living Presence sought; that great Love appealed to; that mighty Power trusted; His word waited for, believed, obeyed. Thus may every withered hand be stretched forth perfectly whole. (Mark Guy Pearse.)
The use of means
It is one of the sophisms of every age Go urge the Spirit’s efficacy, as a plea for the neglect of means. It is folly and presumption to think that, because power is with God and from God, efforts should not be in ourselves. (Dr. Manton.)