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Never one to back down from a fight, Jesus takes the bait, and summons the man. He literally says, “Rise in the midst of the group.” And there are two reasons for this request. He wants everyone to see and witness this event. He wants him up and in the middle. The second is this. As a teenager, my family would go to an event called Peds in the Weeds, which was a picnic for any child with cancer and their families. It was hosted by the Pediatric Oncologists and paid for by them. While it was a fun day, it would also be an emotionally draining one, as well. You saw suffering kids everywhere! You would see kids in wheel chairs from their treatments. You saw children bald from the effects of chemo. Others would be lethargic, weak, pasty white, and sick looking from the disease. As you would see these children and their families, you could not help but feel sympathy for them and what they were going through. I could relate with some of them. It was tough to see so many hurting and wounded people. Seeing them evoked a variety of emotions like love, pity, and sadness. It is the same here. Hopefully by seeing the man with the withered man, the Pharisees could come to their senses. Maybe their sympathy and emotions would move them, but it doesn’t.

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