Meeting Jesus - Jesus restores
If you are grieving over a lost relationship, a lost job, a lost friendship, or a loss of anything, this message is for you. And I want to ask you to do me a favor: If you have a moment in today’s message that I call, “A Jesus Moment” come back next week and invite a friend to worship with you to experience a “Jesus Moment” as well. In this passage – you are going to see Jesus heart for the hurting, the broken, and the crushed. The man that Jesus encounters was not looking for life-change. He wasn’t asking for a miracle. Rather, he was simply there to listen to the teachings of Jesus. When you and I continue to LISTEN to Jesus – through biblical worship songs, through biblical teaching and preaching, through reading our bibles – even though we may not ask to have our lives change – Jesus may just show up and change our lives. We are able to understand more about God’s compassion and restoring work He desires to do in our lives.
Luke 6:6-11 (NLT2)
6 On another Sabbath day, a man with a deformed right hand was in the synagogue while Jesus was teaching. 7 The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath. 8 But Jesus knew their thoughts. He said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” So the man came forward. 9 Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” 10 He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! 11 At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him.
The first thing we can gather from this passage is this:
BROKEN PEOPLE ARE DRAWN TO JESUS
Wherever Jesus went, broken people went to meet him. The people with leprosy went to find him. The adulterous woman found him. The blind, the paralyzed, the crippled, the deaf found him. Those who were broken over the potential death of a daughter, a son, or a loved one found him. There is something about the heart of our compassionate Savior that draws people to him. It really is fascinating that Jesus never really had to search for people who were broken. He made himself available, and the broken people were drawn to him.
In this passage, Jesus was teaching on the Sabbath – and this broken man – simply went to listen to Jesus teach. He does not appear to ask for a miracle – but he is there because he is drawn in, he is pulled in, by the presence of HOLINESS and GOODNESS in a dark world. So he slips into the back of the room and listens to Jesus.
Something is going on in your life. Not everybody knows about it, but you are hurting. Maybe you came to church today to find an answer for some difficulty you are facing. Some problems are fixed immediately, and some take time. I hope Jesus restores what is broken in your life today, and if he doesn’t, I hope he gives you a glimmer of hope of what a restored life could look like. I invite you to keep coming back, keep brining a friend, and lean in to the worship and the teachings.
Like me, this man had something wrong with him. When we do a careful reading of this text in the original language, we can see that he once had the use of both of his hands, but now one was “withered.”
We see that because the word Luke used to describe this man’s right hand is:
Xeros: (xsay-ros): members of the body deprived of their natural juices, shrunk, wasted, withered
The author of Hebrews used that very same word in Hebrews 11:29 to describe the land of the Red Sea the Israelites crossed over upon…
They didn’t cross through muddy, mucky water. They crossed the red sea on DRY LAND. The ground that had been saturated and filled with the water of the Red Sea, became so dry the Israelites could ride across without getting any mud on their feet or wagon wheels. Because Luke used this word, we are to understand that this man’s hand had not always been withered!
He once had the use of his hand – but it had been damaged, maimed, mutilated. It was useless, drawn up, dried up, and shrunk. It was once a strong arm – and now it was lifeless and good for nothing. He knew what it was like to go through life with BOTH hands – and now only one. He was MISSING something he once had. His arm just hung there, muscles had atrophied, and it was useless.
Jesus KNEW that this man was struggling. He was hurting. The life that he once enjoyed was gone, and his new normal was this dangling, useless limb that people stared at and kids tried to touch. But the man wasn’t the only person there with Jesus. Those pesky religious leaders were watching Jesus – If Jesus healed the man, they were going to accuse Him of working on the Sabbath. Religious people always try to point out people who break customs and traditions. Religious people always strive to point out the flaws of others, but have a difficult time examining their own hearts. I love what we read in verse 8: “Jesus KNEW their thoughts.”
No wonder the Religious Leaders always had a hard time tricking Jesus. He knew their thoughts. He knew what they were thinking. He knew they were thinking about pointing out to people that Jesus was breaking religious rules about working on the Sabbath.
I want you to accept the truth today that…
OUR STRUGGLES ARE NOT HIDDEN FROM GOD
Psalm 139:1-4 (NLT2)
1 O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. 2 You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. 3 You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. 4 You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD.
God knows you COMPLETELY. He knows our thoughts and our actions. With over 7 billion people on the planet, it seems crazy but it is true. Just like Jesus stood up in the temple that day and knew the thoughts of the religious leaders, God understands your thoughts and your struggles right now. In the Old Testament, Job was experiencing some great misery and said to his friends:
Job 31:4 (NLT)
4 Doesn’t (God) see everything I do and every step I take?
Hagar was the name of a women who had a conversation with God in the Old Testament. After she had that conversation with God and realized God cared for her, she said:
Genesis 16:13 (NLT2)
13 Hagar used another name to refer to the LORD, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.”
When I was a younger follower of Jesus, I used to think that God knowing all my thoughts, actions, and motives was a little unsettling, but my perspective has changed. I have been a follower of Jesus since 1991, and I now find this truth that God knows my thoughts and actions COMFORTING.
Think about it!
God knows my thoughts, and my actions.
He knows my fear, my worry, my doubts, my insecurities.
He knows my actions the good and the bad.
He knows my motives. He knows everything about me.
If you are a follower of Jesus, that means you trust that he died on the cross and paid the penalty for your sin, he rose from the dead, he ascended into heaven, and you have received Jesus as your Savior by committing your life to Him.
This TRUTH that He KNOWS you and SEES you can be VERY comforting!
It is comforting because GOD knows precisely how to counsel us when we mess up.
He knows exactly what we need to hear, to motivate us and to comfort us.
He knows the people to put in your path, to encourage you and challenge you.
He knows how to help you and get you back on track.
He knows your thoughts and actions YET HE LOVES you ANYWAY!
If we all were capable of knowing each others thoughts and seeing everybody’s actions, I do not think we would like each other very much. BUT GOD not only likes us – he loves us!
He loves you
God is filled with COMPASSION and MERCY. He knows we are not perfect. He knows we fail. He knows all about us and chooses to LOVE you and I with a love that is indescribable and incomprehensible. And because Jesus understands us so completely…
JESUS CAN RESTORE YOUR LIFE, TOO!
Luke 6:8b (NLT)
...He said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” So the man came forward.
I imagine that this man could have been a little embarrassed about being called to come to the front of the room. He had slipped into the back of the room. He didn’t want more people staring at his arm. The Religious Leaders were already staring at him.
In Elementary School, one of the kids that rode our bus had an arm that never developed. He always tried to hide it, and everybody always stared at it. Yet, Jesus brought this man up from the back of the room to stand in front of everybody before he worked the miracle. This man may have felt the stares – but all eyes were on Jesus. Now – watch what happens:
Luke 6:9-10 (NLT)
9 Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” 10 He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored!
Jesus restored this man’s hand! Right in front of everybody. He said, “Hold out your hand” The man stretched out his shame right in front of everybody – and then a miracle took place. The bones grew. The skin stretched. The fingers, fingernails, fingerprints, all miraculously grew right in front of everybody.
He now had the full use of his arm and hand back. Jesus didn’t merely give this man back his hand – he gave him HOPE.
As unbelievable as that moment was, understand JESUS CAN RESTORE YOUR LIFE TOO! Jesus is calling you to stretch out your hand.
Expose your hurt to somebody.
Expose your brokenness to somebody.
Expose your shame to somebody.
That friendship you lost? If you are willing to admit you were wrong, apologize to the person, God can restore your friendship. That distant relationship with a family member? If you are willing to be humble – God can restore it.
God can RESTORE your life to what it should have been from the beginning.
Our prayer team would love to pray with you and for you. If you need somebody to help you seek restoration, begin with the prayer team. Be honest with them and ask them to pray with you and for you.
God sees you right now.
God knows your thoughts.
God knows what you have done.
And he loves you anyway. I am so grateful for our loving Heavenly Father that loves us so.