Moments With The Gospel: The Man with the Withered Hand.

 Moments With The Gospel

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Today is Wednesday of Second Week of Ordinary Time.  The Church offers us this Gospel.

I was meditating on the Gospel of the man with the withered hand this morning and the phrase "the withered hands" caught my attention.  I pondered what this might have meant for the man concerned and what the modern day equivalent might . Let us explore further.

The Man with the Withered Hand.

What was a withered hand in the time of Jesus?

In the time of Jesus, a withered hand likely referred to a hand that was paralyzed, deformed, shrivelled, or had lost function due to disease, injury, or congenital disability. It could have been caused by conditions such as nerve damage, polio, muscular atrophy, arthritis, or a birth defect. In biblical times, having such a condition would have been socially and economically challenging, especially in a society where most labour was manual.

Modern-Day Equivalent

Today, the equivalent of a "withered hand" would be a hand affected by paralysis, stroke, cerebral palsy, severe arthritis, muscular dystrophy, or an injury leading to permanent nerve damage or muscle atrophy. Conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome or Dupuytren’s contracture could also lead to a loss of function in the hand, though they are often treatable with modern medicine.

If Jesus healed a person with a withered hand today, it might be similar to restoring full function to someone with a paralyzed or deformed limb due to neurological damage, accident, or illness—a miraculous and life-changing event.

 

Why does Jesus not engage with the man like other healing parables?

 In the healing of the man with the withered hand (Mark 3:1-6, Matthew 12:9-14, Luke 6:6-11), Jesus does not engage in a personal conversation with the man like He does in other healing accounts (such as the blind man in John 9 or the paralytic in Mark 2). Instead, He simply tells the man:

“Stretch out your hand.”

And as the man obeys, his hand is restored.

Why Doesn’t Jesus Engage More?

Here are some key reasons:

1. The Healing is Not About the Man, But About the Pharisees

Unlike other healings where Jesus engages with the person’s faith or suffering, this healing is more about the hardness of the Pharisees’ hearts than the man’s condition. The main conflict in this passage is not the man’s ailment, but the Pharisees’ legalism—their belief that healing on the Sabbath was a violation of the Law.

Jesus deliberately performs the miracle in public and on the Sabbath, knowing that the Pharisees are watching and waiting to accuse Him. By not engaging in a conversation, He avoids any distraction from His main point: “Is it lawful to do good or to do evil on the Sabbath?” (Mark 3:4). His focus is on exposing the hypocrisy of those who prioritize rigid laws over human suffering.

2. The Man’s Faith is Demonstrated Through Action, Not Words

In many other healing stories, people cry out for Jesus’ help (e.g., Bartimaeus the blind man in Mark 10:46-52) or express their faith in words (e.g., the woman with the haemorrhage in Mark 5:25-34). But here, the man doesn’t ask for healing, and Jesus doesn’t ask about his faith. Instead, Jesus simply commands him to stretch out his hand.

This mirrors other moments in Scripture where faith is demonstrated through obedience rather than words—such as when Peter steps out of the boat to walk on water (Matthew 14:29). The man’s silent trust and obedience are enough, and his healing follows his action.

3. A Silent but Powerful Challenge

By not speaking much to the man, Jesus shifts the attention to the Pharisees' response. This healing is a challenge—will they recognize that God’s mercy surpasses their rigid interpretations of the Sabbath? The silence of the man contrasts with the hardened hearts of the Pharisees, who immediately conspire to destroy Jesus (Mark 3:6).

This healing is unique because it is a confrontation rather than a private moment of compassion. It forces a choice: Will we prioritize love and mercy, or will we cling to legalism and hardness of heart? The man stretches out his hand in obedience, but the Pharisees close their hearts in defiance.

It’s a powerful lesson—sometimes, Jesus’ greatest work in our lives doesn’t come through lengthy conversations but through simple acts of faith and obedience.

 

The Pharisees had withered hearts, and in a spiritual sense, their hands were withered too because they refused to do good. While the man in the synagogue had a physically withered hand, the Pharisees’ spiritual condition was far worse.

The Pharisees’ Withered Hearts

• The man’s withered hand prevented him from working, but the Pharisees’ withered hearts prevented them from loving and showing mercy.
• Instead of rejoicing in the man’s healing, they hardened their hearts and plotted against Jesus (Mark 3:6).
• Jesus' question—"Is it lawful to do good or to do evil on the Sabbath?" (Mark 3:4)—exposes their spiritual paralysis. They had the power to do good but refused.

Their Hands Were Also Withered

• A healthy hand is meant to serve, bless, and help.
• The Pharisees had the power to reach out in mercy, but instead, they withdrew their hands in bitterness and accusation.
• They sought to restrain the hand of Jesus.
• They wanted to stop Jesus from healing and halt the work of God, making their own hands as useless as the man's had been before Jesus healed him.
• Ironically, their hands were active only in destruction.
• After witnessing the healing, they immediately stretched out their hands to conspire against Jesus (Mark 3:6). Instead of using their hands for good, they used them for evil.

The Hand of Jesus

• In contrast, Jesus' hands bring life, healing, and restoration.
• His hands would later be pierced on the cross, becoming the ultimate symbol of love and sacrifice.
• After the Resurrection, Thomas sees the wounds in Jesus' hands, which proves that Jesus’ mission was to restore, not to destroy.

This moment in the synagogue reveals who is truly withered—not just the man with the physical disability, but those who resist the work of God. Jesus restores what is broken, but the Pharisees, blinded by their own pride, wither away in their rejection of Him.

The contrast between withered hands, withered hearts, and the hands of Jesus invites us to examine our own lives:

• Are our hands open to do good, or are they closed in resistance?
• Are our hearts softened by love, or hardened by pride and judgment?
• Do we trust in the healing touch of Jesus, or do we try to control and limit His work?

These questions challenge us, just as Jesus’ actions challenged the Pharisees. But the hope is this: Jesus can restore what is withered—whether it’s our hands, our hearts, or our faith.