I always wanted to dunk a basketball. Unfortunately, my hops never matched my hopes. Unless I used a trampoline, the best I could do was a lay-up. Dunking proved too difficult, far beyond my capability. But an NBA center? They dunk all day, barely leaving the floor. With the right ability what’s impossible to most of us proves easy for others.

Even more so with Jesus. Listening to him teach on a Sabbath day, a gang of religious leaders waited to pounce. They wondered if Jesus would heal a man with a withered hand sitting in their midst. Jesus knew their thoughts (did he read their minds or was it just obvious on their faces?).

Jesus called the man over, then turned to the leaders. Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” And after looking around at them all he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored.

Healing represented work according to Jewish rules, and these leaders were upset that Jesus worked on the Sabbath. But healing a crippled hand was no effort for the Lord of the Universe. It’s more work for you or me to walk to the refrigerator and open the door. It was ridiculously easy for Jesus to heal. More siesta than sweat.

But the religious leaders saw Jesus as worse than a Sabbath breaker. He represented a threat to their hold on society, their grip on power. And in this they were correct. Earlier Jesus taught that the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath. He came to upend the religious edifices keeping men and women from God, and to draw all people to himself.

Healing for Jesus? Easy. Dying on the cross for our sins? Much more difficult. But Jesus accomplished this for you and me as well. Should we turn our hearts to this amazing God? That’s a slam dunk.

Luke 6:5-11

Photo by Tom Briskey