I read this morning in Mark 3. The passage tells us that Jesus entered the synagogue again and there was a man there with a withered hand. It says that “they” watched Him closely to see whether or not Jesus was going to heal the man. They is the Pharisees and the religious leaders of the day. First of all this right here proves that they knew that Jesus had the power to heal the man. Jesus told the man to come forward and then He asked the question of the Pharisees “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to kill?” (v. 4) My first thought was that they didn’t know what to say. How do they answer this man who always asks these questions. Jesus was very good at His questions and well basically causing them not to speak because His questions were actually pointing something out to them. But when you read the next sentence. “But they kept silent.” And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts. (v. 5). Ouch! I wonder how many times do I grieve Jesus with the hardness of my own heart. How many times have I thought, “Lord, that person is too far gone, too mean, too bad, too much of a sinner. There is no point in even praying for this or that person because I don’t see that they will ever come around. Or worse, “what are they doing in church!” Yes, I know that in this passage Jesus was healing the man’s withered hand. But in many of Jesus healings He points out that not only is He here to heal the body, but He tells many of the people that He heals that they have been forgiven or to go and sin no more. Jesus was frustrated with the Pharisees. He was giving them the opportunity to come to Him in belief and to change their minds. Yet they were holding on to their own thoughts and their old ways and the law and weren’t willing to look at this man who needed healing with compassion. They weren’t willing to look at Jesus and realize that He is the Messiah. I pray that God will give me a compassionate heart and that I will not grieve Him with my hardened heart when I look at His people. I pray that I will allow Jesus to change me.
Please pray today for our President, and our government leaders who are making the decisions!
Restore 