Matthew 12:10

Matthew 12:10. A man having a withered hand. It was not only paralyzed, but dried up. According to Luke, the right hand; the language used by Mark implies that this was the effect of accident or disease. There is no evidence that the man was aware that the Pharisees wished to make use of him to accuse Jesus.

And they asked him, The other accounts tell us only of their ‘watching' Him, to accuse Him, and lead us to infer that our Lord, knowing their thoughts, took the first active step by calling upon the man to ‘stand forth,' and that then this questioning took place.

Is it lawful to heal, etc. This question was put that they might accuse him, might find in His teaching and then in the act of mercy they expected would follow, the basis for a formal charge before the local tribunal of which they were themselves members (see Matthew 12:14).