Then he said to the man,
Stretch forth your hand.
And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like the other.
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Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
De Cons. Ev., ii, 35: It might have been supposed that the matter of the ears of corn, and this cure following had been done on the same day, for it is mentioned to have been the sabbath day in both cases, had not Luke shown us that they were on different days. So that what Matthew says, “And when he had passed thence, he came into their synagogue,” is to be taken as that He did not enter into the synagogue till He had passed thence; but whether several days intervened or He went thither straight is not expressed in this Gospel, so that place is given to the relation of Luke, who tells of the healing of this kind of palsy on another sabbath.
De Cons. Ev., ii. 35: But it may raise enquiry how Matthew can say that they asked the Lord, “Whether it were lawful to heal on the sabbath,” seeing Markand Luke relate that it was the Lord who asked them, “ Whether it is lawful on the sabbath day to do good or to or evil? It is to be understood then that they first asked the Lord, “Is it lawful to...
Stretch forth. Our Saviour places the man that had the withered hand in the midst of the Jews, and looking round upon the multitude, (according to St. Mark) he ordered him to stretch out his hand, that by these several ways, he might excite the pity of the stiff-necked people; but no sooner had he performed this act of charity, than they, swelling with anger, went out, meditating destruction. So ruinous and pestiferous is the vice of envy! (St. Chrysostom, hom. xli).
St. Matthew having mentioned this miracle, takes occasion to narrate others which Christ performed on his second return from Judea. We have frequently to mention that the particle tunc, then, and such like, do not always relate to what immediately goes before. A soul in sin may be said to resemble the withered hand, but obedience with faith to God's commands can and will restore it to its pristine state. Jesus bids him stretch out his hand, and power accompanies the command; he stretches it forth, and it is made whole lik...
Ord.: Thus He answers their question with a suitable example, so as to she that they profane the sabbath by works of covetousness who were charging Him with profaning it by works of charity; evil interpreters of the Law, who say that on the sabbath we ought to rest from good deeds, when it is only evil deeds from which we ought to rest. As it is said, “Ye shall do no servile work therein,” that is, no sin. Thus in the everlasting rest, we shall rest only from evil, and not from good.
Such healing is rightly attributed to our Lord. After his return from the cornfield from which his apostles had gotten the produce, he went to the synagogue. From there Jesus intended to acquire laborers for his own harvest. Many of them afterwards lived with the apostles. Many were healed, as in the case of the maimed man. Yet the leaders of the synagogue did not believe in the grace of salvation. The use of the man’s hand had atrophied. That function of his body had withered, by which he was able to do or share in certain tasks. So the Lord ordered him to stretch out his hand, and it was restored to him as the other one was. His whole cure rested on the word of the healer alone. The hand was restored to the same condition as the other hand. It was made a partner in the service of the apostles in their duty of granting salvation.
For the things that had gone before were said and done in the open air, and after this He entered the synagogue.
When He was entered into the synagogue, they bring a man of a withered hand, asking Him whether it was lawful to heal on the sabbath day, seeking an occasion of convicting Him out of His answer; as it follows, “And they brought him a man having a withered hand, and asked him, saying, Is it lawful to healon the sabbath day?.
Figuratively; After their departure from the corn field, from which the Apostles had received the fruits of their sowing, He came to the Synagogue, there also to make ready the work of His harvest; for there were afterwards many with the Apostles who were healed.
All healing is done by the word; and the hand is restored as the other; that is, made like to the ministry of the Apostles in the business of bestowing salvation; and it teaches the Pharisees that they should not be displeased that the work of human salvation is done by the Apostles, seeing that ...
Because by fair instances He had vindicated His disciples from the charge of breaking the sabbath, the Pharisees seek to bring false accusation against Himself; whence it is said, “And passing thence, he came into their synagogue.”.
And they ask Him whether it is lawful to heal on the sabbath day, that if He should refuse, they might charge Him with cruelty, or want of power; if He should heal him, they might charge Him with transgressing the Law.
Thus He answers their question in such a way as to convict the questioners of covetousness. If ye on the sabbath, saith He, would hasten to lift out a sheep or any other animal that might have fallen into a pit, not for the sake of the animal, but to preserve your own property, how much more ought I to deliver aman who is so much better than a sheep?.
In the Gospel which the Nazarenes and Ebionites use , and which we have lately translated into Greek out of the Hebrew, and which many regard as the genuine Matthew, this man who has the withere...
Observe how He shows many reasons for this breaking of the sabbath. But forasmuch as the man was incurably sick, He proceeds straightway to the work, as it follows, “Then saith he to the man, Reach forth thy hand: and he reach edit forth, and it was restored whole as the other.”
For His desire indeed was to cure them before him, and He tried innumerable ways of healing, both by what He did in their presence, and by what He said: but since their malady after all was incurable, He proceeded to the work.
Jesus teaches and works chiefly on the sabbath, not only on account of the spiritual sabbath, but on account of the gathering together of the people, seeking that all should be saved.
Otherwise; The man who had the withered hand denotes the human race in its barrenness of good works dried up by the hand which was stretched out to the fruit; this was healed by the stretching out of the innocent hand on the Cross.
. Many, even now, have withered hands, that is, they are merciless and tightfisted. But when the word of the Gospel resounds within them, they stretch out their hands in giving. They do this even though the Pharisees, that is, the proud demons who are cut off from us, (The word "Pharisee" in Hebrew means "cut off" or "set apart") on account of their enmity for us do not want our hands to be stretched out to others in mercy and almsgiving.
