“And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2 So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. 3 And He said to the man who had the withered hand,“Step forward.” 4 Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent. 5 And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.” (Mark 3:1-6)
Imagine with me that you are a member of a high school football team. Let’s even say that you are the quarterback. The one who gets to call the plays in the game. You have led the team to victory many times and everyone looks up to you. But then, during your senior year, a new player joins the team, who just moved to town from another school. It turns out that this player is better than you, thinks quicker, runs faster, throws better, and becomes more popular than you. He is made the quarterback in half the games and the team does even better than before.
How would you feel? How would you respond? Would you rejoice that your team was doing better under this newcomer? Or would you burn with jealousy because you are being outclassed in a game where you used to be “top dog”?
Well, who were the people in our Scripture passage that were watching for Jesus to heal on the Sabbath so they could accuse him? They were Pharisees. Men who considered themselves the “top dogs” when it came to religion--to keeping the Jewish law. Pharisees were well-respected in the nation of Israel. They were so serious about keeping the laws of God, that they actually wrote some additional laws to protect each other from violating the laws God had given them!
One of the additional laws they had made up said that you could only heal a person on the Sabbath day if the person’s life was in danger. No matter how serious the injury was, if it wasn’t life-threatening, the man or woman would have to wait until sundown on Saturday evening to receive treatment. Because Sabbath was a day of rest, and healing was considered a kind of work. The poor man with the withered hand may be miserable, but not in danger of DYING.
Do you know who also was serious about obeying the laws of God? Much MORE serious than the Pharisees? Jesus. As the second Person of the Triune God, Jesus Christ was the law’s very Author. And as the chosen Messiah, our Lord took upon His human nature the mission of a perfect obedience to that law. A perfect righteousness that would be accounted to those who believed in Him. To guilty sinners who could produce no righteousness of their own.
So, was Jesus breaking God’s law by healing this poor man’s withered hand? Of course not. He was disregarding the Pharisees’ tradition which they had added to the proper keeping of the Sabbath Day. Their additional rules made them appear more holy than their fellow Jews. But true holiness in God’s eyes means more than the outward appearance of “keeping the rules.” True holiness is a matter of the inward person. A matter of the heart.
The religious leaders who sought to accuse Jesus of violating their precious rules cared about keeping their own “top dog” image before the other Jews. They cared so much about looking good. Having a holy image. But what about their hearts? None of the other Jews had x-ray vision and could examine the Pharisees’ attitudes and feelings of love and compassion. But Jesus could.
The man with the withered hand came into the synagogue that day, perhaps with sadness in his heart. After all, his right hand was crippled, malformed, useless. People of that culture were forced to use their hands to labor, to earn a livelihood. And some accident or disease had robbed this poor soul of that ability. He was unable to work, to be useful, to provide for his family, to be able to share his wealth with others. But still, he came to the synagogue, to the church, to worship. In spite of his sadness--perhaps because of his sad heart.
For this crippled man also had hope in his heart. He probably knew that Jesus of Nazareth was in town, attending that very synagogue that Sabbath Day. He likely had heard the stories of this traveling Rabbi who could perform miracles--astounding works of healing! Maybe he found hope in his own heart for the first time in his life. Maybe this will be the day my sadness will end, he may have been thinking. Other poor, injured, sick people have had their bodies healed, even their sins forgiven, by this Man. Why not me, as well?
How excited he must have been when the Master cried out, “Step forward!” Oh, Jesus could have waited and come to him in private, in some isolated place, away from the crowd, as He had done for others at times. Jesus could have avoided the scandal of breaking the extra, man-made Sabbath rules of the Pharisees. But no, the Lord had a lesson to teach, as well as a man to heal. He was interested in affecting hearts, not just bodies.
The question Jesus asked of the religious leaders was so simple and so revealing. “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil? To save life or to kill?” You are so eager to fulfill the law, He was saying to them. You even add your own rules to make it harder to break the law. So tell me what is lawful. Good or evil? Life or death? Come on now, what do you say? The answer should just spring from your lips, just trip off your tongue!
SILENCE. The Pharisees were stuck. They couldn’t or wouldn’t give an answer. What an opportunity Jesus was offering to them! All they had to do was take the side of “goodness and life,” and admit their own hypocrisy. All they had to do was answer the simplest question of all. But their hearts would not let them. Jesus was not fooled by their outward image. Their outward show. He could see it on their faces. They were not concerned about the awful burden of the crippled man. They were not filled with excitement or expectation about seeing a glorious miracle of healing there in that worship service. All they cared about was accusing Jesus of breaking a Sabbath rule. Taking this rabbi from Nazareth down a peg so they could remain on top of the heap. Their hearts were cold, selfish, lifeless, hardened. They couldn’t face the truth. So they couldn’t speak the truth.
The gospel writer, Mark, is an expert at expressing feelings as well as actions. And when Jesus looked around at those Pharisees, Mark writes that it was a look of anger and a look of grief. The scholars tell us that the Greek word Mark uses for anger is not just a mere annoyance or a minor irritation. But an anger that is burning and furious! Hebrews 5:14 tells us “Be angry and sin not.” To you and me, this takes discernment and constant practice, because so often our own anger is mixed with pride and selfishness.
But the Son of God burned with a totally righteous fury. Fury at their refusal to speak the truth. Fury at their willful ignorance of right and wrong. Fury at their fear that God might be glorified by this poor man’s healing. Here they all were, in the presence of Him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and they were refusing to acknowledge Him. Their spiritual eyes were blind because they refused to see.
Jesus, Mark tells us, was also “grieved” because of the hardness of their hearts. Often the gospel tells us that Jesus was moved with compassion. His heart is a heart of compassion, one of kindness, one of mercy, one of comfort and care. Many times the Gospel of Mark speaks of Jesus reaching out and touching with His hands. Touching people in need. Hurt, grieving, needy, sad, lonely, hopeful people. Sheep without a shepherd, without one to meet their deepest needs. Jesus feels along with them. Jesus cares.
Do we care? Do our hearts see the needs of others around us? Or are our hearts hardened by our own selfish concerns and sinful pride? If Jesus gave you and me His “heart exam,” what would He find there? Would the compassionate Savior be pleased, or grieved, with what He found?
“Stretch forth your hand,” Jesus commanded. He wanted the crowd to take a good long look. He wanted the glory of God to be manifest, radiant, obvious, unmistakable. The shriveled, withered, powerless hand was changed. The skin was plumped up and full of life. The blood vessels pulsed with new vigor. The crooked fingers straightened and flexed. The hand could now grasp and hold the tools of labor and the hands of loved ones. The withered hand was withered no more!
Jesus did His miracles out of true heart compassion. For that is the very heart of our God. He also did them to give us a preview of the Age to come, where all things will be made new. There are wondrous things to behold in the world God has made, even though it’s a fallen world. But because of sin and its curse, there are also many withered things in our world. There are storms and famines that devastate and destroy. There are mutations and diseases and pandemics that threaten and shorten our lives. There are birth defects and the challenges of aging bodies.
But the worst withered thing in all the world is a withered heart. A lifeless heart that has no love for God, for Christ, for heavenly things. Such a heart has no desire for salvation--freedom from the bondage of sin. A withered heart might ACT religious for the purpose of LOOKING good to people around it. But it is all for show. Secretly, the withered heart only truly loves itself, and the sinful thoughts and actions it plays with when no one is looking. But Someone IS looking at the heart. Jesus Christ lived and died and rose again to provide LIFE for dead, withered hearts!
Maybe today, you can hear with the ears of YOUR heart, the voice of the compassionate Savior calling you to “Step forward” and “Stretch out your hand” of faith. For today is the day of salvation. Jesus is with us by His Holy Spirit right now. And the Spirit of Christ commands you this day to believe, to trust, this living Savior to give new life to your withered soul. Leave your withered, sinful past behind, and trust Christ today. He’s the Healer of withered hearts.
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