‘On a different Shabbat, Yeshua entered the synagogue and was teaching. A man was there, whose right hand was paralyzed. But closely watching Him were the Torah  scholars and Pharisees, to see if He heals on Shabbat, so that they might find grounds to accuse Him. But He knew their opinions and said to the man with the paralyzed hand. “Get up and stand in our midst.” And getting up, the man stood.

Yeshua said to them, “I ask you, is it permitted on Shabbat to do good or to do evil, to save or destroy a life?” Then looking around at everyone, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” The man did, and his hand was restored. But they were filled with fury and discussed among themselves what they might do to Yeshua.’ (Luke 6:6-11, TLV)

To start out this article, the Tree of Life Version of Holy Scripture is used. It uses the original Hebrew wording. If you use a different version, you will understand the translation variances.

What is read in most translations is fairly simple. Yeshua (Jesus) healed a man on the Sabbath and the powers that be did not like it. But reading it translated from Hebrew, we find a telling message. So, let’s break it down.

In the KJV, the term Scribes is used. For understanding, Scribes are generally seen as those who write. Many translations use this term, meaning those with the Pharisees were those that wrote Holy Scripture. Using translations from Hebrew, we see that they were actually those that taught and studied the Torah (the 5 books of Moses commonly translated as the law). The Hebrew terminology needs to be understood so the reader can see that those present were the religious leadership and those that taught the law.

This is an important point when Yeshua is asking the question of what is permitted on Shabbat. He asked a specific question, knowing that those around him were well versed in the Mosaic law as opposed to the laws that the Pharisees input as regulation. The fact that the were not quoted as saying anything, shows that they understood Yeshua was silently telling them that their version of Mosaic law was not the true interpretation of the law.

The second thing we see is that mercy by Adoni through Yeshua restores, not heals. The is a difference. To heal means just to fix an issue. While restore means to put back into original form. Ask any car person whether they want a 1956 Thunderbird fixed or restored. You get the point.

This story follows the story of Yeshua and the Apostles in the fields on Shabbat (Luke 6:1-5). Where Yeshua stated that Shabbat was made for man (Genesis 2:1-3) and that the Son of Man is Lord of Shabbat.

What we find in this story is that the Torah, while still being in effect for all generations, was tampered with by the religious elite that used their version of the Torah to control the people and get wealthy.

BUT, the most important thing is the restoration of the man’s hand. The story is a foreshadowing of the power of restoration of those who  follow Yeshua at the time of our entering into His eternal kingdom. Not only will our bodies be restored but we will be restored to what humanity was meant to be before the fall in the garden.

This is why, the Hebrew translation of restoration is a better wording than just healing. The healing of man’s walk away from the things of Adoni is good. Restoration by Yeshua’s grace and mercy through His shed blood is best. While on this planet we are healed through that sacrifice in faith. In the world to come, we shall be restored to Holy perfection.