Chapter

Luke 6:7

ESV And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him.
NIV The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath.
NASB Now the scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He healed on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse Him.
CSB The scribes and Pharisees were watching him closely, to see if he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they could find a charge against him.
NLT 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.
KJV And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him.

What does Luke 6:7 mean?

Jesus is teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath. A man with a withered hand is listening (Luke 6:6). Pharisees and scribes are also there, watching to see if Jesus will heal the man. They aren't merely observing, they are spying on Him.

Pharisees were a sect of Jews who claimed to follow the Mosaic law but also followed and enforced the extra-biblical oral law. Scribes were lawyers; the scribes of the Pharisees specialized in the oral law. According to the oral law, it is allowed—required, even—to save a life. Likewise, medical attention was allowed for childbirth and circumcision if the eighth day fell on the Sabbath. But it is not allowed to take deliberate steps to heal someone else or oneself. Ironically, a person can ask a Gentile to take those steps. The laws regarding the Sabbath are based on the construction and maintenance of the tabernacle. For instance, when the Pharisees criticized Jesus' disciples for picking grain and separating the kernel from the chaff, they broke the specific rules related to baking the bread of the Presence (Luke 6:1–5).

"Withered" means being immobile and atrophied due to disease. This may correspond to conditions such as polio, which causes nerve damage and paralysis. This man's condition is chronic, but not fatal. To heal a withered arm on the Sabbath is against the Pharisees' traditional laws, such as Mishnah Shabbat 22:6 which says that no one may straighten the limbs of a child unless the baby has just been born. If someone breaks a bone on the Sabbath, no one may set it—although this interpretation is not universally accepted. And steps may not be deliberately taken to reset a dislocated arm or leg. The reason is that straightening a limb is too much like construction, as the tabernacle was constructed.

To break the Sabbath is a capital offense according to the Mosaic law (Exodus 31:14) although there is only one record of the punishment being used (Numbers 15:32–36). Maybe, the Pharisees think, Jesus will break the Sabbath and they'll have justification for executing Him.
Expand
Expand
Expand
What is the Gospel?
Download the app: