Unit 26, Session 6: Jesus Healed a Man's Hand
Matthew 12:9-14; Mark
3:1-6; Luke 6:6-11
Thank you for continuing this journey of The Gospel Project®
for Kids. Last week, preschoolers learned that four friends brought their
paralytic friend to Jesus. Preschoolers also learned that from that time, the
Pharisees kept a watchful eye on Jesus, to see if they could catch Him in sin.
One Sabbath as Jesus taught in the synagogue, a man was there who had a
paralyzed hand. The religious leaders knew Jesus had power to heal people. They
watched to see if He would heal on the Sabbath. According to the law, people
should not do work on the Sabbath.
Jesus was not only aware of the scribes and Pharisees watching Him,
but He knew their thoughts as well. So Jesus called to the man with the
paralyzed hand. “Stand up here,” Jesus said. So the man stood, and Jesus
addressed the religious leaders.
“Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do what is good or to do what is
evil, to save a life or to kill?” Jesus asked. The religious leaders did not
answer. The hardness of their hearts made Jesus sad. They didn’t understand
God’s purpose for the Sabbath. Jesus told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” The
man’s hand was healed. The Pharisees and scribes were angry, and they discussed
what they might do to Jesus.
Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath (Luke 6:5), meaning that He has
control. But Jesus hadn’t come to get rid of the Sabbath; He wanted to remind
the people why God gave them the Sabbath. (See Exodus 20:8-11.) God intended
for the Sabbath to be a blessing to His people, a day of rest from their hard
work. But the Pharisees made the Sabbath all about following the rules, making
the Sabbath a burden instead.
Jesus showed that God’s laws were meant to help people, not to hurt
them. Jesus acted in love, even on the Sabbath. The religious leaders planned
to kill Jesus. They did not know Jesus was going to die to show God’s love to
the whole world. God provided forgiveness and salvation through Jesus’ death on
the cross.
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