In less than four months we have flown through an overview of the Old Testament, and just a week ago started into the New. Today we get to look at some of the first miracles Jesus did. Jesus finished filling His team of disciples during this chapter so these miracles took place very early in His ministry.
Easter weekend parts of my extended family gathered to celebrate. After reading through part of John, we had a discussion. A question was posed. Do you think it was easier to believe in Jesus during the time He was living on the earth or do you think it is easier now to believe, having complete scripture available to us? Have you considered this question before? As I read through the Gospels, story after story of Jesus miracles, I can’t help but put myself in the place of the people who had the opportunity to meet Him, hear him speak or even share a meal with Him and wonder what they thought as they encountered Him. If I were a towns person and word spread to me that Jesus was coming to my area to speak, would I have fought the crowds, cancelled plans and made the effort to go see what all the excitement was about? Would I have been willing to investigate if this really was the Son of God or would I have been scared to get sucked into a hoax and stayed away continuing to worship God as I had been taught. I even wonder what I would have thought of Him had I been one of His disciples. As I read Jesus’ teachings and look at the conversations He had with His friends, there are questions. The ones who spent the most time with Him didn’t always understand the big picture. They asked inappropriate questions and told Him He was wrong when He told them how things were going to go down later in His life. As I sit with this question today, I think I am drawn to continue working out my answer because I don’t want to miss out on what God is doing now, today in this world, in my town, in my family, and in my own heart.
Mark 3:1 Jesus went to the synagogue on the Sabbath and noticed a man with a deformed hand. The church leaders watched closely to see what He would do. The law said that no work was to be done on the Sabbath so they were using their knowledge of the law to try to get Jesus in trouble. Jesus knew how they were thinking about this situation, so He asked the man to come and stand in front of everyone; the church leaders, the church goers, and Himself. Then He asked the leaders, “ Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save a life or to destroy it? They wouldn’t answer Him. How could they? Jesus was breaking the letter of the law but loving this man by physically healing him and drawing him into relationship with Himself by giving him a fresh start at life with a whole healthy body. The Pharisees may or may not have been able to know in their hearts that Jesus was right, but they so badly wanted Him to be wrong that they wouldn’t admit it. Especially in public! An admission would have undermined their entire livelihood! Verse 5 says, “ He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hearts.” Then he turned his attention back to the man and healed him.
The Pharisees hearts were not soft to Jesus and they had no desire to learn from Him or follow Him. If they had had real relationship with God, their spirits would have been drawn to Jesus as others were when they encountered Him. I’m guessing that selfishness, (putting themselves above God in their hearts) was ruling their hearts and actions. They wanted the money, prestige and power of “leading” the people. They had to have been afraid of losing their positions, which made Jesus a threat instead of their Savior. I don’t want my heart to be in that condition. I don’t ever want to be found trying to outwit God by turning events, motives, or actions into something they are not. When I am honest with myself, I have to admit I have done it and will do it again, maybe today. The Pharisees sin looks so blatant and obvious to us. We are tempted to judge their choices and feel smug, thinking that we wouldn’t commit such obvious sin in our own lives, but each morning that I start on my to-do list without spending time with Him first, I am being selfish and placing me, (my agenda) ahead of Him in my life. Each time I am unwilling to be interrupted for another person’s need, I am putting myself higher than God in my heart. When I want credit or notice for something I’ve thought of or done, I really want to be most important for just a few seconds instead of giving God His rightful spot. It may flesh out differently for all of us, including the Pharisees, but the principle is the same.
I am hoping that those of us reading Mark 3 today differ a bit from the Pharisees in that we have soft hearts toward God, that we desire to give Him His rightful spot in our lives. We will miss the mark but I am praying that we will recognize our selfishness and ask God for forgiveness when we do. I hope we desire relationship with God more than anything else in life and that we are allowing God the freedom to work in our hearts and lives so that we miss the mark less and less as time goes on.