Withered Hands

Mark 3:1 And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand.
Mark 3:2 And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.
Mark 3:3 And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.
Mark 3:4 And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.
Mark 3:5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. (KJV)


INTRODUCTION:

To really grasp the message in this story, you need to go back to chapter
2:23-28.
In this passage, Jesus and his disciples were passing through a corn field, and picked corn to eat.
The pharisees began to accuse them of breaking the sabbath, to which Jesus answered them by informing them that He was the Lord of the Sabbath.

Jesus then proceeded on to the Synagogue, I believe, with the intent in mind to make his message clearer to them.
Once he arrives at the synagogue, he meets a man who is troubled and heals him.
He does this in spite of the consequences to Himself.
Let’s look at a few things about this story.

First, let’s look at the condition of this man.
His hand was withered and drawn, and he could not use it.

THIS WITHERED HAND EFFECTED THE MAN
1) PHYSICALLY,
2) EMOTIONALLY,
3) SPIRITUALLY

1) Physically....he was handicapped as a worker.
He was unable to do manual labor, and was unable to provide for himself. Because of this withered hand, he was dependent on others.

2) Emotionally, his affliction made him feel self-conscious.
Now, the Bible does not clearly state that, but I’m sure he was self-conscious about his hand.
It probably made him to feel inferior and made him to envy those with normal bodies.

I used to work with a man...
Very talented... Radio DJ, attractive...super personality.
A great guy.
Lost almost all of his fingers on both hands due to frost bite.
It changed him.
He became self-conscious of his hands...hid them.
He quit his job...hid himself.
Envied others...gained over 150 lbs.

I’m sure this man felt a lot like Mike.


THIS AFFLICTION ALSO EFFECTED HIM SPIRITUALLY

What do you mean it effected him spiritually Brother Garrett?

It made him pray...
It made him go to the synagogue
He didn’t know that Jesus was going to be there, but he was in God’s house.
Sometimes, it takes us being afflicted, to get us into a position where we will seek the Lord.

BLESSED IS THE AFFLICTION THAT BRINGS US TO GOD!

When he sought God, God blessed him!


NOW, I WANT TO LOOK AT THE COMPASSION OF JESUS TOWARD THE MAN

I want you to notice how the enemies of Jesus watch Him...

...You see, they had followed and watched Jesus enough, that they are aware of his compassion, and they know He will stop to heal this hurting man.

Isn’t it amazing that they enemy of the Lord knows about his compassion, that he will heal the sick and hurting, yet it is so difficult for God’s own people
to believe that Jesus would heal them?

It blows my mind when I read that those who did not accept Him, those who were trying to find a reason to do away with him...
they believe he will heal.

Then