While thinking about this message I was reminded of a song from my hippy days…
And the sign said "Long-haired freaky people need not apply"
So I tucked my hair up under my hat and I went in to ask him why
He said "You look like a fine upstanding young man, I think you'll do"
So I took off my hat, I said "Imagine that. Huh! Me workin' for you!"
Whoa-oh-oh
Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?
And the sign said, "Everybody welcome. Come in, kneel down and pray"
But when they passed around the plate at the end of it all, I didn't have a
penny to pay
So I got me a pen and a paper and I made up my own little sign
I said, "Thank you, Lord, for thinkin' 'bout me. I'm alive and doin' fine."
Is this where the church is today? Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign? Are we all about the sign?…
A number of times, the religionists had attacked Jesus, accusing Him of teaching a false religion.
I guess they often wondered… “Hey Jesus! Can’t You read the sign!? We have rule against that kind of stuff!”
In Mark chapter three we see yet another confrontation.
Jesus took the man with a withered hand and demonstrated just what true religion is and the demonstration was so clear and forceful that the religionists were stunned.
I’ve titled this message : “Can’t You Read the sign!?” Looking at Mark 3 I have to ask the question “What is True Christianity?”
Is it keeping some long list of rules…Is it all about obeying the signs?
I want to look at five things that I believe true Christianity is.
But first let’s look at what happened when Jesus entered the synagogue.
In verses 1, 2
Jesus noticed a man with a withered hand. I really don’t have Biblical evidence, other than looking at verse 2 and wondering if the man was planted there by the religious leaders, for the soul purpose of trapping Jesus.
When you look at this in the Greek text, we see that his hand had been injured or become diseased.
He was not born with a withered hand but his circumstance was still desperate.
This man was unable to work to support his family, because no one would hire a man with a withered hand.
He was forced to beg for his daily bread.
Jesus also noticed the religionists. You would think that the religious leaders would be the first in line to push the man to Jesus and say “Here’s a guy who needs Your help.”
These were probably the same delegation who had been sent earlier from the Sanhedrin to investigate His teaching.
See it was their duty to protect the people from false teachers and to protect the nation from religious rebels.
In reality they were not attending the synagogue to worship God, but to watch Jesus, so that they might accuse Him of breaking THEIR laws.
I wonder how many sit in church, for no other reason than to watch and pick out wrong in others so that they might accuse them and gossip about them? They want to say HEY!! Can’t you read the sign!?
Church should be a place for worship and ministering to all the "withered hands" people--hands that are unable to worship and serve God, hands that are withered because of ... dead spirits…disturbed emotions…misguided lives
Jesus say to those…“Stand Up”
v3. true Christianity is a willingness to stand up:
The words “Step forward”NKJV "stand forth"KJV actually means to "Rise up, stand up in the midst."
Jesus was saying to the man “If you want help you have to be willing to stand up.”
Let’s say that we were having a meal, after the service and you were very hungry. But instead of getting in line to fix a plate you sat down and hoped that someone would come along and fix it for you…We know that around here if you’re gonna eat you better get in line…
The man had to want help enough to be willing to stand, even if it meant standing before the audience and before the scornful religionists.
By taking a stand he would be confessing his faith in Jesus and in His power to save and heal.
It’s when we stand up that we say to the world that we believe that Jesus can and will help…Even when were told to sit down and be quiet.
Real Christianty is a willingness to stand up. Rules tells to sit down BUT Christ calls every person to rise up, stand up.
v4. True Christianity is about saving lives.
The problem the religionists had with Jesus was His breaking of their ceremonial law.
People by the thousands were flocking to Jesus for help, and every time He broke the law. They felt He was teaching the people to discredit and disobey the ceremonial law.
Jesus was a serious threat to the Jewish religion and nation, and to the leaders of the nation--both civil and religious.
He threatened their security, position, and power.
What Jesus did was teach and show that true religion is doing good…true Christianity is about saving lives.
True Christianity is not rules and regulations, it’s not ceremony or ritual, no matter how good the rules and ceremony may be.
If a person has a need, true Christianity meets that need but man-made religion binds and limit’s us.
Jesus drove the point home by asking a two-part question.
First: "Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath day, or to do evil?"
Jesus had the power to do good by healing the man.
BUT if He did not heal the man, He would be withholding good and in reality He would be doing evil.
Yet the ceremonial law said that no WORK was to be done on the Sabbath.
Second: "Is it lawful to save life; or to kill?"
Jesus had the power and wanted to save the man's life; the religionists wanted to kill Jesus. The religionists were already plotting His death and He knew it.
See Jesus desired to do good, while the religionist plotted murder.
They knew what He was asking and saying. But they said nothing.
They refused to answer because either way they answered, Jesus had them.
If they said “It’s lawful to do good on the Sabbath, they were admitting their rules were no good because to do good meant you had to make an effort and making an effort could be classified as working.
If they answered any other way they were condemning themselves as evil.
They chose a religion of ceremony and ritual to that of doing good and saving lives. They wanted a religion that benefited them, even if it burdened the people to death.
v5. True Christianity grieves over wrong thinking and evil.
Verse five tells us that Jesus was angry with the rule keepers. His anger was an anger that involved grief.
He was angered because of "the hardness of their hearts" Did you know, we can get so religious that our hearts begin to develop a hard crust?
Jesus was grieved…He felt empathy for this man because he was injured and he had no way to provide for himself or his family. He was grieved because no one seemed concerned about the needs of a brother.
They were more concerned with keeping THEIR rules.
In this particular passage, Jesus' anger was combined with grief, for people who closed their minds--who remained stubborn in unbelief.
The evidence was all around them, yet they chose to harden their hearts and continue to be “the keepers of THEIR rules.”
v5.True Christianity restores.
True Christianity speaks and acts.
Jesus told the man with the withered hand…"Stretch out your hand." The man did, and Jesus restored the man to wholeness.
True Christianity does not hesitate to minister and restore broken people. True Christianity is love and service, not keeping a bunch of rules and regulations, ceremony and rituals.
Now don’t get me wrong…rules and ceremony are helpful; they are even necessary to mend the broken, heal the sick or draw the lost to Jesus.
The heart of Christianity is restoring people and making them whole in the name and power of Jesus. NOT how we look, smell, act, speak, sing…
v6 True Christianity is not deceptive nor is it destructive.
Jesus had confronted the religionists with the truth. They had been shown real truth.
They were now faced with the dilemma:
they had to either accept true religion, Jesus and His teaching, or else oppose Him.
They chose to oppose Him, but they' needed political help, so they went out and formed an alliance with the Herodians…People who were their sworn enemies.
Too many are willing to surrender to the enemy in order to get what they want or to have it their way…
In spite of the enormous philosophical differences, there was no difference between the religious and political leaders in behavior.
Position, power, and security had corrupted their hearts and minds, causing them to scheme to form a plan to destroy Jesus, simply because He opposed them…Because He refused to live by THEIR rules.
God gave HIS Laws but man reworked them or tweaked them to make them better or maybe more beneficial to the religious leaders.
True Christianity is not deceptive nor is it destructive…does not have to sneak around in back rooms scheming. True Christianity does not tear down,,,it builds up.
BUT every person has a choice to make… either true Christianity in Jesus Christ or the rules and regulations of the religious crowd.
Would you rather have A do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign religion?
Suzanne and I were looking for a church home, years ago and we visited one where I knew the pastor and wanted to plug in there. When we were singing, the music minister would encourage the people to say “Amen” Well I like that so when the pastor said something that struck a cord in me I said “Amen” The elderly couple in front of us turned, ever so slightly…Soon I gave another “Amen” and they turned a little farther. The third time I said “Amen” they turned and glared at me as if to say “Don’t make us come back there!” I told the pastor that we would not be able to be a part of the church because I feared for my life. He asked what happened and when I told him he said “Yes we do say “Amen” during the music but we kind of frown on it during the message.”
Some signs are not posted in plain view…you’re just expected to know the rules, when you walk in.
People often tell me how much they want to lift their hands and say amen…
But so many think it’s just against the rules in the “Baptist” church…
Is that what you want?
Or would you like to be set free and have the real thing…a personal relationship…not some religion? You can have a real and personal relationship with Jesus Christ today…
ALL you have to do is “step forward.”
