Mark 3:1-6
It’s Never Wrong to Do Right
And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered (right) hand. So they (the Pharisees) watched Him closely, (and asked Him “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?”) whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse (to bring charges against) Him. (But He knew their thoughts;) And He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward." (to rise into the middle) Then He said to them, ("What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.") "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they kept silent. But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus. 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. Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.
Introduction – Doing the Right Thing
A funeral director asked a new local minister to preach a funeral for a person with no friends, money, or known relatives. The new minister responded gladly. The directions to the cemetery were vague. It was 8 miles into a wooded area and set for 2 pm. After getting lost and being 45 minutes late, the young minister finally sees two men leaning over their shovel handles near a hole taking a break. He thought this must be it, so he runs over to the hole and begins to speak a few appropriate words about the deceased. One man said "AMEN" and the young minister begin to preach even more earnestly. The 2nd man encouraged the young minister by saying "PREACH IT BROTHER!" After some 30 minutes of hard preaching, the young preacher felt so proud and began walking away. One of the men stopped him and said "Sir, we don’t know who you are, but we have never in our entire career heard such a message over burying a septic tank".
The moral of the story: You may be doing a good thing, but it doesn’t mean you’re doing the right thing. God wants His people to do the right thing, to live the right life and to trust the right Person.
Jesus was constantly challenged by the Pharisees. Here we find Him attending the synagogue and observing the Sabbath. Interestingly, the Pharisees were watching Jesus to catch Him breaking one of their man-made laws. Let’s examine the four things in today’s text.
Notice first, that Jesus had a habit of attending the synagogue.
The CUSTOM was observed 1
The synagogue was a place for IDENTITY. When there were a least ten Jewish men who lived in a city, they had the responsibility to begin a synagogue. It was here that they formed their community. They socialized through it. They worshiped in it. The synagogue was their identity as God’s people. We also find that it was a place for INSTRUCTIONS. It was here that they were to hear God’s Word explained. The rabbi’s or synagogue leader had the task to educate God’s people on how to live before God. Too often though, they focused on the legalistic “doing” more than trusting the Word. And then we find it was a place for IMPERFECTIONS. Imperfect people came to the synagogue to be changed inwardly.
The church is really a reflection of the synagogue. It should be our custom to attend and participate. The church body is the body of Christ. We have a unique identity. We are His body. We should help others come to know Jesus. We are to receive our instructions on growing in grace, loving the unlovable, touching the untouchable and reaching the unreachable. And the church ought to be a place for imperfections. The church is a spiritual hospital for spiritually sick people. Jesus is the Great Physician! Only He can heal our bruises and wounds.
Illustration – The Fern & the Bamboo
One day a man decided to quit...he quit his job, his relationships, his spirituality... he wanted to quit his life. So he went to the woods to have one last talk with God. "God", he said. "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?" God’s answer surprised him..."Look around", He said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?" "Yes", he replied. "When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit. In year four, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. I would not quit. Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant...But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle." He said to the man. "Did you know all this time that you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots?" "I would not quit on the bamboo and I will never quit on you."
Interestingly, God never gives up on us. He is always there to correct, encourage and enable us to trust in Him. We have a Great Redeemer who loves us, takes us as we are and makes us what He wants us to be as we yield ourselves to Him!
Not only do we see Jesus observe the custom of attending the synagogue, we see that…
The CLIMATE was charged 2-4
I believe the man with the withered hand was an unwitting plant by the Pharisees. They wanted Jesus to break their laws exposing Him to their wicked accusations. In this verse we witness their DETERMINATION. They conspired to bring Him down. Even their question regarding the lawfulness of healing on the Sabbath was a leading question. But Jesus responded by calling the man forward. This brought about their DILEMMA. They could not or would not help the man revealing their inability to address the issue of his crippled hand. Jesus asked a series of questions which exposed their DIFFICULTY. They could not answer or they would reveal their hypocrisy before the people. They didn’t care about the man’s plight. They were more interested in retaining their position, power and prestige among the people. As a result of their attitude, it led to their DOWNFALL. Jesus revealed what was in their hearts. There was a cold, calculating callousness in their lives. They could care less about people unless it served their purpose.
Illustration - The Heart of a Mouse
A legend from India tells about a mouse that was terrified of cats until a magician agreed to transform him into a cat. That resolved his fear…until he met a dog, so the magician changed him into a dog. The mouse-turned-cat-turned-dog was content until he met a tiger-so, once again; the magician changed him into what he feared. But when the tiger came complaining that he had met a hunter, the magician refused to help. “I will make you into a mouse again, for though you have the body of a tiger, you still have the heart of a mouse.”
The Pharisees had the heart of a mouse. They lived by fear. They could not live by faith in Christ. They loved the earthly praise of men and the prosperity of legalism.
The climate was charged and the custom was observed which brings us to our third point. It is here we find…
The CHALLENGE was resolved 5
Jesus deals with the issues head-on. He exposes their misplaced PRIORITIES. They were more into words than they were works. James addresses this by condemning those who say “be warm and be filled” and yet does not minister to those who are naked or hungry. We have a call as believers to respond to the physical and spiritual needs of people. He also revealed their misguided PREMISES. They thought that a powerful tradition and good intentions were good enough. They demonstrated neither compassion nor love to those who were hurting. After exposing them for the frauds they were, we see Jesus’ miraculous POWER. He spoke to the man and his hand was healed. There was no great display of touch or work. Jesus simply spoke and the hand was restored! Jesus was revealing the power and presence of God! He resolved the issue.
Illustration – God Can Bring Good Out of Our Failures
A few years ago, an angry man rushed through the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam until he reached Rembrandt’s famous painting “Nightwatch.” Then he took out a knife and slashed it repeatedly before he could be stopped. A short time later, a distraught, hostile man slipped into St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome with a hammer and began to smash Michelangelo’s beautiful sculpture The Pieta. Two cherished works of art were severely damaged. But what did officials do? Throw them out and forget about them? Absolutely not! Using the best experts, who worked with the utmost care and precision, they made every effort to restore the treasures.
By His sovereign grace, God can bring good out of our failures, and even out of our sins. Jesus works with those who respond to Him. He never won everyone’s heart. The Pharisees were stubborn and set in their ways. They refused to trust and obey.
Alternative Illustration – Good enough BUT…
“If you live a good enough life, you’ll make it to heaven.” After preaching in countless churches across the nation, I’m convinced that these fighting words are the biggest lie that is still being bought by millions of professing Christians. There is a mentality that “sure Jesus died for me, BUT…” As a matter of fact, I always say that “everyone in hell has got a big BUT”: “BUT you also have to live a good life.” “BUT you also have to obey The 10 Commandments.” “BUT you also have to live by The Golden Rule.” “BUT you also have to turn, try, seek, surrender…” The way of work and the way of grace are separate ways. If you seek to earn salvation via the way of work, you have to go the whole way. Jesus laid it out pretty clearly in the Sermon on the Mount. When Jesus begins the “You have heard…but I say unto you” list of impossible standards, I’m sure that everyone listening wilted. Those present (save Jesus himself) had unjustly been angry at their fellow man and had lusted at their fellow women. And having lusted, they were busted and unable to measure up to the ultimate standard of entrance into heaven: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). If our people dare approach Christianity as a religion, then the standard is impossibly high. To get into heaven, we have to be as good as God himself. Oops. That’s why the offering of salvation is the way of grace through faith and not by good deeds (Ephesians 2:8-9). Those ways, according to Romans 11:6, cannot be mixed. “And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.” SOURCE: “Them’s fighting words!” Greg Stier Dare2Share
Finally, we discover their hearts condition. It is in verse 6 that we discern when…
The COALITION was created 6
The Pharisees wasted precious little time in seeking to destroy Jesus. They witnessed His miracles but He did not fit into their mold for a true Messiah. It is here we notice two groups who opposed each other but joined together to destroy a common enemy. First, we have the SANCTIFIED LEGALISTS. They hated Jesus for who He claimed to be. He claimed to be God by over-ruling their sabbatical laws. He would not yield to their demands to be like them. Jesus radically challenged their “old wineskins”. They simply could not handle the “new wine”. Second, we have the SECULAR LEGALISTS. The Herodians did not like the rules of the Pharisees but Jesus compromised their political connections. They were politically motivated.
Both the Pharisees and Herodians had their own agendas. But as great as they thought they were, they could not defeat God’s agenda.
Illustration – You Will Not Drive Over the Blood of My Son
Several years ago in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, George and Vera Bajenksi’s lives were changed forever. On a very normal Thursday morning, the phone rang at 9:15 a.m. "There’s been an accident..." It involved their son Ben. As they approached the intersection of Adelaide and Simcoe Streets near the high school, they could see the flashing lights of the police cars and ambulance units. Vera noticed a photographer and followed the direction of his camera lens to the largest pool of blood she had ever seen. All she could say was, "George, Ben went home--home to be with his Heavenly Father!" Her first reaction was to jump out of the car, somehow collect the blood and put it back into her son. "That blood, for me, at that moment, became the most precious thing in the world because it was life. It was life-giving blood and it belonged in my son, my only son, the one I loved so much."
The road was dirty and the blood just didn’t belong there. George noticed that cars were driving right through the intersection--right through the blood. His heart was smitten. He wanted to cover the blood with his coat and cry, "You will not drive over the blood of my son!" Then Vera understood for the first time in her life, one of God’s greatest and most beautiful truths...why blood? Because it was the strongest language God could have used. It was the most precious thing He could give-- the highest price He could pay.
[Through God’s amazing love we were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19). May we never treat lightly nor trample underfoot the blood of God’s Son (Hebrews 10:29). "Amazing love! How can it be? That though, My God, shouldst die for me!" (Charles Wesley). (George and Vera Bajenski minister with Global Missionary Ministries, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.)]
God did not and will not allow people to tread on the blood of His one and only, unique Son. His blood was given that we might have everlasting life. Jesus tells us in John 14:6 that He is the only way to God. We find that scripture reveals that without the shedding of His blood there can be no redemption of sins.
Today we are challenged to follow Jesus. We are confronted to examine whether we follow the ways and works of men or the witness of God’s Son.
