Mark 3:1-6

Mark 3:1-6  Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there.  Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath.  Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”  Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?”  But they remained silent.  He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”  He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.  Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

When evil men do not get their way, they are completely vicious, looking for ways to retaliate, to get even with their enemies.  In the above passage, we see the Pharisees once again attempting to bring Jesus down in the eyes of the people.  We see them complaining about Jesus healing on the Sabbath.  They were complaining not because Jesus was doing good but because Jesus was violating the Sabbath, the rules of order in their religious world.  If Jesus could get away with violating the Sabbath, He could bring down their whole world of religion, which might mean their place of prominence in society would be lost.  The Pharisees could not tolerate his success as a healer or his popularity among the people, for they would lose not only their status but their livelihood if he drew away their followers.  They would lose their position of command, their place in front of the congregation, their special seats in every celebration.  The Pharisees could not allow this man Jesus to do something good on the Sabbath, for eventually such actions could mean death to their way of life.  Rather than looking at the man with the shriveled hand as a person in need and Jesus as a healer who could help him, the Pharisees looked at this situation as a possible opportunity to accuse Jesus of breaking the law if He were to meet this man's need on the day of rest.  They saw this as a chance to attack Jesus. 

Jesus was not concerned with the Pharisees' way of life, for He knew them to be hypocrites, pretending to care about God's laws when they were corrupt from the inside out.  Speaking of the Pharisees, Jesus once said, Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.  In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.  (Matthew 23:27-28)  Any integrity in their way of serving God had passed.  They had nothing to give to the people but a system of rules and law, lacking purity and goodness of heart and mind.  The Pharisees themselves had placed a heavy burden on the people with their customs and laws that they themselves did not follow completely, and when they did, their hearts were not right with God, for they satisfied the laws and regulations but they did not have a contrite and humble heart before the Creator of all things.  They were hypocrites, serving God for show and power, but not in spirit and truth.  They had lost their love for God and man.  As Jesus said, Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God.  You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.  (Luke 11:42)  When the holiness of God came into their presence in human form, they were concerned, deeply concerned because Jesus threatened their way of life, and their only answer was to continually plot on how to remove this threat. In this instance, the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus. 

The attitude of the Pharisees always stirred up anger within Jesus, for He knew their hearts, their fleshly ways, and their lack of dependence on God.  Jesus knew their lack of allegiance to God indicated they were full of themselves, full of pride, envy, and greed.  He knew they ruled the people with an iron hand, not out of service to God, but for their own needs: money, housing, and food.  This self-serving attitude often corrupts the religions of mankind.  People tend to serve God to get something from Him.  They do not serve God primarily because He deserves to be served: they serve him oftentimes to obtain a better, more secure life.  They will serve him as long as God adds something more to their lives: helps them get a better job, makes them healthier, provides them more peace, helps in making a happier family, and so on.  They serve him to avoid going to hell.  In this state of mind, they serve God only as long as everything in their lives goes well and in their favor, but as soon as rough spots occur in the journey, they will start to complain and blame God for the problems.  "Why did He allow me to get in this car wreck?  Why are my children sick?  Why did He not help me keep my job?  Why doesn't He make my wife or husband more agreeable?"  As with the Pharisees in the above passage, man's self-interest overrides the fact that we are to serve God regardless of our circumstances because this world is not our home.  The Pharisees were afraid Jesus was going to bring down their position in the Jewish society, but had they truly loved and trusted God, they would have rejoiced in Jesus doing good on the Sabbath.  They would have praised the Lord for healing the man's hand.  But because of the evil in their hearts, they plotted to kill Jesus, so they might maintain their position and authority in the Jewish community.  But Jesus knew their hearts, and He rightly judged their intentions.  Today each of us will have opportunities to share the love of Jesus.  Jesus said, The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.  For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.  (Luke 6:45)  May the overflow of our hearts spread the Good News: Christ Lives To Save!