Luke 6:10

And he looked round about them all, and said unto him, Stretch forth thy hand, And he did so; and his hand was restored, But they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.

They were filled with madness ... The expression here is very strong, indicating that those religious bigots were out of their rational minds with malicious fury. And why were they so angry?

(1) Because he had shown his power to work a miracle; (2) because he had done so in contradiction of their rules; (3) because he had thus proved that he was from God, making them WRONG in their interpretations; (4) because Jesus had openly condemned THEIR views; and (5) because he had done these things in the sight of multitudes, - these were the reasons.[11]

Evidently, Jesus deliberately challenged the religious hierarchy on the question of their sabbath regulations, the same being an excellent example of the manner in which they had made the word of God of none effect by their traditions. Trench observed that there were seven of these sabbatical wonders. These were:

(1) Curing the demoniac in the synagogue of Capernaum (Mark 1:21); (2) healing Simon's wife's mother (Mark 1:29); (3) healing of the man at Bethesda (John 5:9); (4) curing the man with the withered hand; (5) giving sight to the man born blind (John 9:14); (6) curing the woman with a spirit of infirmity (Luke 13:14); and (7) healing the man with dropsy (Luke 14:1).[12]

Before leaving this, we note the pseudocon arising from Luke's attributing the question, "is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day?" to Jesus, whereas in the other gospels, it is the Pharisees who ask the question. As Trench said, "Jesus answers question with question, as was so often his custom (Matthew 21:24; Luke 10:29)."[13] Thus the true record is the composite of all that the sacred gospels recorded.

[11] Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1954), Vol. Luke-John, p. 44.

[12] Richard Trench, Notes on the Miracles of Our Lord (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1953), p. 337.

[13] Ibid., p. 346.