One Sabbath day Jesus was teaching in the Synagogue and saw a man whose hand was shrivelled.  I’m not sure what a shrivelled hand looks like. The Greek word used in this sentence is Xaraino (Zay-ra-eeno) and its meaning is to dry up, to wither, to waste away.

I have a picture in my head of a hand with fingers somehow curled up and locked into an unusable position with the palm of the hand squeezed together with the base of the thumb forced inward toward the palm. Withered. Unusable. Wasting away.

All through the Bible, we see instances where Jesus healed the multitudes and all who came to him. In this situation he does something a little unusual. He doesn’t simply heal the man; he first asks a question of the religious leaders who were present.

“What is lawful on the Sabbath; to do good or to do evil? To save a life or to kill?” In their silence Jesus was angry and deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts and told the man to stretch out his hand – which he did to the astonishment of everyone in the room. The man’s hand that just a few moments ago was withered and wasting away is now being stretched out, with life once again pulsating through the muscles, tendons, nerves and joints.

The context of the passage is dealing with the religious leaders who were more concerned with keeping their man-made tradition than they were concerned about the good of the people. By asking the question, Jesus exposed their stubbornness in front of everyone. But, his question did more than simply embarrass the religious leaders.

Everyone knows the answer to the question Jesus asked. To do good is always a better option than to do evil and to save a life is always better than to kill. These questions don’t even require consideration from any right-thinking person. So why did Jesus ask the question?

Through his question, he made clear that there is a connection between doing good and saving a life. To do good is to act in such a way that brings hope, invites promise or demonstrates righteousness. This type of action is life-giving in the spiritual sense as well as in the tangible, physical sense.

Conversely, there is a connection between choosing evil and killing. To do evil is to act in such a way that steals, inhibits righteousness or oppresses others. Even if there is no overtly evil deed, a decision not to act for good when you have the power to do so, is still an action. And this in-action is the opposite of goodness; it robs life and, over time, it kills.

To do good or to do evil? To save a life or to kill? Each action is a result of a choice.

But this question seems a bit too heady, too deep, almost over the top for the situation. The religious leaders had been teaching for strict adherence to their laws around keeping the Sabbath holy. Surely, they weren’t trying to kill anyone, all they were trying to do was keep people in line – even if it was through an unreasonable & overbearing approach.

But, in a way that only Jesus is able to do, he cuts through all the smokescreens and religious double-talk and gets right to the heart of the matter. To choose not to do good is just as evil as an overt act of evil.

Throughout his ministry Jesus consistently stated that one of the reasons he came was to do good and to save. He said that he came to give life in abundance, but the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy (Jn 10.10). When speaking to Cornelius in Acts 10, the disciple Peter made a statement about Jesus that summarises this point. Peter describes Jesus as going around “doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil because God was with him” (Acts 10.38).

So the reason behind Jesus’ question becomes even more clear when we look at the context of Jesus’ teaching and ministry. Jesus came to bring life. Healing the man’s hand was a demonstration of goodness and life.

Another important element in the context of Jesus’ ministry is that he taught, and expected, his followers to continue in his mission.

Which is better; to do good and save a life, or to do evil and kill?