The gospel writers did not record for us every moment of the life of Christ. At the end of his account, John tells us that “...there were also many other things which Jesus did...”. And supposes that if they were all written in detail the world would not contain the books.
That may be a stretch of reality for the sake of making his point, but we can surmise by what we do read that during the more than three years of Jesus’ ministry, His every waking moment was spent in the establishing of God’s Kingdom.
Since we know that the writers were eye witnesses, and that they were inspired by the Holy Spirit in their writing, it is important that we study carefully to understand the reasons God preserved the things He did preserve for us in scripture.
With that in mind, please consider the many times throughout the gospels that the writers contrast the life and thinking of Jesus with that of the religious elite of the day. The Pharisees.
The Pharisees were one of the leading religious sects in Judaism. The primary difference between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, as I understand it, is that the Pharisees looked for a future resurrection, and the Sadducees did not. As had been said many times, “That’s why they were so sad...you see...
There is much more information available about these two groups, but it is primarily Pharisees that we see in conflict with Jesus during His earthly ministry.
They had a form of religion with no power; His ministry had power because God was with him, influence on the common man because in Him they saw mercy and love, and rightness with God because He did always those things pleasing to the Father.
They trusted in the Law and the keeping of the Law to save them; He, the giver of the Law, knew that it was but a tutor pointing men to His coming, and he knew that a true relationship with God is based on Love and Grace and Faith, and that from those things obedience to His decrees springs forth.
They were proud, He was humble. They were spiritually blind, He was the light of the world. They placed extreme importance on ritual and the keeping of the Sabbath, He taught that those who worship God must worship in spirit and in truth, and He is Lord of the Sabbath.
That last point brings us to the account we will focus on here.
I’m going to read these verses from Mark 3, but first let me direct your attention to the last section of chapter 2.
In the area of Capernaum Jesus had been teaching and healing and forgiving sins; during which time He was also under the constant scrutiny and verbal abuse of the Pharisees.
They criticized Him for telling the paralytic that his sins were forgiven, for associating with social outcasts, for not instructing His disciples to fast, and finally, here at the end of chapter 2, for allowing his disciples to harvest grain to eat on the sabbath.
Jesus answers their grievance with scripture (an excellent lesson for us all), then declares in verses 27 & 28:
“The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.
Consequently, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
Let’s read our text. Mark 3:1-6
Now I want you to see today, THEIR HARDNESS OF HEART, then, THE PLIGHT OF VICTIMS OF EMPTY RELIGION, and finally, THE COMPASSION OF OUR LORD
Hardness of heart is a sneaky and dangerous enemy of our soul. By its very nature, the greater the progress of the disease, the less we are aware of its presence and the less we are apt to seek a cure.
In describing the plight of the godless in Ephesians 4, Paul ascribes to ignorance and hardness of heart, these symptoms: futility of mind and darkened understanding, and the outcome; exclusion from the life of God.
In Hebrews 3:13 the writer admonishes believers to encourage one another daily, and in so doing prevent each other from being “hardened by the deceitfulness of sin”.
Jesus, in another place, told the Pharisees that the laws they drew on to justify themselves in divorce, were only given to them because of the hardness of their hearts. At the end of Mark’s gospel, we see Him chastising his own disciples, after His resurrection, because they did not believe the others’ reports that they had seen Him alive...
...and it says, “...He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart!
Hardness of heart against anyone we claim to love is always damaging to the closeness of that relationship. I needn’t expound on that further. The term ‘hardness of heart’ says it all.
But hardness of heart against God, according to the scriptures, is an expression of unbelief. It is deliberate rebellion against His authority, denial of His promises, refusal to surrender, rejection of His love. It is no wonder that Jesus was both grieved and angry.
Child of God, are you like the Pharisees in your hardness of heart? Oh, you may have at one time surrendered to Him while in the throes of despair over your lost and sinful condition, and you may have come, even crawling, to the foot of His cross begging forgiveness and been saved. But what about since then? How often do you turn a deaf ear to the Holy Spirit when He convicts you of sin? How often are you called to prayer by a gentle prodding within, and telling yourself...no...telling Him that you haven’t time, or it wouldn’t do any good anyway, you go about your business and forget the matter altogether? How many times have you skipped over a portion of scripture while reading, because it makes you uncomfortable? Maybe you have been telling yourself that it is a difficult passage to understand, or that you’ve heard it so many times you can jump over it now because you know what it says; when in reality, if you were honest with yourself, you would have to admit that there is a sentence there, or a paragraph there, or just a word there, that calls you to repentance or obedience or action, and because of the hardness of your heart you give it a wide berth and go on to something more comfortable?
Examine yourselves believers! What is your motive for attending church on Sunday? To fulfill an obligation? What is it that inspires you to put an extra large check in the offering plate, or an extra twenty dollars or so? Does it cover your sin? In the private places of your mind do you blame God for your circumstances or for the slowness in getting the things you want in life, and do you feel that God is not fair because He does not do things by the means and in the order that seem right to you?
Don’t say ‘no’ to these things until you’ve considered carefully...perhaps even in the course of prayer, asking Him to reveal these tendencies in you. Because like I said, hardness of heart is a sneaky thing; and the more rock-like our heart gets, the less sensitive it is to God’s gentle prodding.
For any here who may be prisoner to a hardened heart, whether for a moment or since a long time ago, I pray God’s hammer to break it to bits; and soften it; and reshape it; so that you may once again know true humility, and surrender, and peace and joy in the Lord.
The Pharisees were not to be broken however. Let’s take a closer look at the hardness of heart that angered our Lord:
1. They were in a place of worship, and although I am sure their physical display was one of solemn humility and worship, their whole attention was fixed on Jesus for the purpose of catching Him breaking their law, so they could accuse Him.
Now keep in mind that death was the penalty for breaking Sabbath law. So in saying they wanted to accuse Him, it means they wanted to see Him dead.
2. They, the religious leaders and teachers, should have been the ones most fervently praying; “Oh Lord, there is in our midst a dear brother with a withered hand. Bless him and bless all of us here today by healing him; we entreat you.” Instead, they had no concern at all for the crippled man, his condition or his life’s circumstances or even his spiritual health. To them, in the hardness of their hearts, he was only bait.
So hard were their hearts that they deliberately deafened their ears to Jesus’ words, closed their eyes to His acts of divine mercy, profaned God’s house of worship with their murderous plots, and cared not one whit for a man who was less fortunate than they, and in fact, should have been specifically in their charge to care for.
Lord, search our hearts daily, please. At the slightest indication of a hardening of our hearts in unbelief, whether it be through disobedience or sinful callousness, or self-pride, please be quick to strike the blow that will break us and draw us back to your heart in repentance and submission, so that we might be more like Jesus.
Let’s take a closer look at the PLIGHT OF VICTIMS OF EMPTY RELIGION.
This was first century Palestine. We are not told how old the man was; only that he was a man. We are not told if the man’s hand was withered from birth, or due to later onset of palsy, or some tragic nerve-damaging accident in his work. We are only told that it was withered. In a time and culture that virtually any form of activity, whether it be vocation or play or daily chores required the use of the hands, you can imagine how his entire life must have been greatly hindered by this malady. We may suppose the man was poor, because he would have been worth about half as much to any employer as workers with two good hands. He had to write, if he could write, with the other hand, no matter which one would have been the normal one to use. He had to eat and drink with one hand, carry things with one hand, and if he was married, he could only caress the adored cheek of his beloved with one hand...perhaps only hug her with one arm.
Where, in all of our world, in all of time from the fall to the present, could a one-handed man ever go for any real sympathy and encouragement and help except to the people of God?
Yet here he is, taking his usual place in the synagogue among his family and friends; people of this small Galilean village he had known all of his life, and he was there to worship his God in spirit and in truth. And what was the attitude of his leaders? The ones he trusted in for answers to life’s hard questions; to whom he should have been able to go for wisdom and for prayer and encouragement? They cared so little for him that it didn’t bother them one bit that he may go back to his house one more time in the same pitiful condition. They cared so little for his God, that no Godly compassion could be found in them for one of His own.
How often have we, the church, been guilty of so focusing on our own defense and personal justification of our little doctrines or our little sins or our little selves, that widows and orphans and the elderly and the infirm and the destitute have actually come into our midst, worshipped sincerely, been blessed in their hearts, and gone away unhelped and with hardly our notice?
Do you think these are the victims of empty religion that I am referring to? Not at all. God is their help and their healer. Whatever their circumstances or their physical condition, worship from a true heart never goes unnoticed or unrewarded by our God.
The victims of empty religion are those practicing it. And their plight is to go on with hardened hearts, unbelieving, unblessed, unhelped, unchanged.
And they don’t even know it.
Their sad plight is to stand in the dark corners and plot and shake their heads at those they see as less religious and less worthy and less Godly; never realizing that they are the ones who are most crippled indeed.
Think about the various people in this story, and picture them all leaving the synagogue to go home that day. The Pharisees had all the power and authority and wealth and prestige; and they went away unchanged...no...changed for the worse. Newly hardened, more determined than ever to destroy the Lord’s Christ.
The man, whether he was a beggar, or a lower class single man struggling to get by, or a married man with children that he slaved daily to feed and clothe, went away gazing in wonder at his new, strong hand, laughing with friends, rejoicing in his God, blessing his holy name, and proclaiming this Jesus to all.
Who were the victims of empty religion?
Friend, how will you go down to your house today?
Well, time marches on, so I want to talk about my third and most important point of focus: THE COMPASSION OF OUR LORD.
Once again, the setting. Some small village in the area of the sea of Galilee. The temple itself was in Jerusalem, but each town had its own, smaller, synagogue. The Jews of that village have gathered for Sabbath worship. They talk in hushed whispers as they wait for the reading of the scriptures. The Pharisees are making their preparations, standing around, discussing in equally lowered voices the problem of this self-proclaimed Rabbi...the scourge of their countryside...when someone, perhaps another Pharisee, bustles up to them and in a breathless hiss informs them that this Jesus and a throng of people behind Him are making their way up the road toward the synagogue.
The Pharisees exchange a wary glance, then one of them points discreetly to the crippled man, sitting with his head down and his eyes closed; perhaps in prayer. As the rest of them turn to look in the direction he was indicating, he says, “Let’s see if this ‘healer’ will do anything for this man. By all accounts, He can’t seem to walk by one of these pathetic creatures without doing something for them; and we know that our law says that it is unlawful to heal on the Sabbath. This may be our chance. If He does something in front of all these witnesses, our task will be half done”
The rest nod their heads in agreement, then they separate, each wanting a clear view of whatever may transpire next.
Jesus enters the darkened worship area and stops to let his eyes adjust. His gaze falls momentarily on one of the Pharisees, standing proudly at the front; then, as he scans the crowd, he sees the man He was looking for. After all, chances are that while walking the dusty road toward the synagogue his heart had been blessed as God’s heart always is by prayer, as he sensed the silent prayers of a humble soul seeking relief from his trial.
Walking straight to the man and demanding his attention, He says, “Rise and come forward”.
Oh, now they have Him! The Pharisees exchange another sly glance and smile. But their stomachs churn slightly, when instead of immediately addressing the man’s problem, Jesus turns to face them and asks a question. “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save a life or to kill?”
GULP!
Folks, it may help you to know here, that by the time of Christ, the Jews had built up a hedge of laws around God’s original laws that, in the words of Jesus, placed a burden on men’s shoulders that they were unable to carry. One of those man-made laws was that one could not heal on the Sabbath. More specifically, a doctor or anyone giving aid to an injured person could do only what was necessary to sustain life in a life-threatening situation, but he could not lawfully dress a small wound, or bind up a broken limb or administer medication. That was work and work on the Sabbath was prohibited. keep that in mind for a moment.
Of course, the Pharisees had no answer for Jesus. What could they say? The question itself proved that He had read the intent of their hearts; and the act of calling the man up to the front was evidence that He didn’t feel He had anything at all to hide. He was about to expose their deeds of darkness with His glorious light of truth, and by now there must have been beads of sweat forming on their proud foreheads and running down their stiff necks.
No answer. Silent defiance was the only response He got.
One at a time He turns to the various Pharisees, catches their eyes, reads the same story in each one, and His anger burns at their lack of compassion...his heart grieves at their own plight. Grief for these men with murder in their hearts? Of course! They too were His creation. And God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
With heavy heart yet the courage of a lion, He turns back to the man and commands him, “Stretch forth your hand”; and as the man obeys, the hand is healed completely.
The Pharisees, stymied, march from the synagogue in seething anger, and go straight to the officials of King Herod’s house to continue their plot of destruction.
WAS THAT A LAWFUL THING TO DO ON THE SABBATH??? DID THEY FORGET THE WORSHIP SERVICE??? WHO READ FROM THE SCRIPTURES...A DEACON???
Did they really have any ammunition against Him? No. Even their own stringent laws were not broken that day. Did Jesus so much as touch the man? Nope. He only said, “Stretch forth your hand”. He had done nothing wrong.
Had he spoken unjustly against the leaders of God’s house? No...although they deserved a good chastising. He asked them a simple question, which would have been simple for a godly man to answer. Of course it is better to do good than to do evil; on any day, Sabbath or not!
But look at our Lord’s compassion!
He grieved in His own heart over the hardness of the Pharisees’ hearts.
He healed a hand and set a soul free, at the expense of heightening the danger to Himself, and in the process, He gave even the Pharisees one more opportunity to witness the presence of God in their midst, repent, worship, and be healed themselves.
Today, while it still called today, harden not your hearts!
That was God’s message to them, and it is His cry still today. Let him who has an ear to hear, listen.
There are a lot of religions, indeed, a lot of Christian churches today that have this same ‘form of religion’, but no personal relationship with God. The religion IS their religion. The forms, the rituals, the building, the missions, whatever. It doesn’t matter how good it looks or sounds. If it becomes more important than love; more important that becoming more like Jesus, then it is an idol. It has taken the place of God in people’s hearts. It is an idol. It makes Him angry.
At other times, He told these same people; “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire obedience more than sacrifice’.” In another place He said, “I desire compassion more than sacrifice”. See what He was saying to them? Giving our time or our talents or our money to the church means nothing, if we think that those things make us acceptable to God. If they are done from a heart of compassion for the lost and the hurting, God honors them. He accepts them. But if they are done for show or to earn His favor, with no compassion in them, they are worse than meaningless...they are IDOLS!
Christians, please be sure that your forms and rituals of worship spring from hearts desiring God and practicing compassion. Be sure that your Christianity is based on a relationship to the God who wants to conform you to the image of His Son, and not just churchiness. How it must weary the ears of a Holy God, when His people, who call themselves by His name, gather to congratulate themselves for their self-righteousness and pray to have their greed met, but neglect to honor Him in their worship and pray for the needs of others. True love for the brethren IS sacrifice, and it is acceptable to our God. This is what inspired Joshua to ask, “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?”.
Y’know what I like about this story? He knew they wanted to kill Him, but He didn’t let that stop Him from doing what was right. He made the man whole. He does the same for us, believer. He deliberately went to the cross and died, so that anyone who believes in Him could have eternal life.
No matter what the cost, compassion comes first with Jesus.
Compassion comes first with Jesus. Do you want to be more like Him? Compassion comes first with Jesus.
“We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”
I Jn 3:16
A FICTIONAL INQUISITION
ON THE EVENTS OF
MARK 3:1-6
Here was a man who had a withered hand. The text doesn’t tell us how long he had suffered this infirmity; 5 years? 10 years? 20? His entire life? Whatever job he did, he did it with one hand. When he ate, he put his utensil down to pick up his drink. When he drew his wife near to him, he did it with one arm. When he dressed, he pulled his garments on with one hand. Yet, when he sat in the synagogue, the Pharisees saw him only as a possible means of catching our Lord in some absurd violation of their interpretation of the Law.
I wonder how many times we in the modern church are guilty of the same sin.
The almost humorous truth is, Jesus didn’t even give them the ammunition they sought. If a proper inquisition into the matter had been held later, the dialogue may have gone something like this:
INQUISITOR: (Assigned by Herod’s court) So, Pharisees, you say that this Nazarene violated the sabbath, by working on the sabbath?
PHARISEE: (Spokesman) Yes. He entered the synagogue and began moving about talking to people, listening to their problems, answering their questions...
INQUISITOR: (Interrupting) Answering their questions you say? What kind of questions?
PHARISEE: Well, (Glancing at his friends with him) questions about the Kingdom of Heaven and how to be right before God and about the Law of Moses...
INQUISITOR: (Interrupting again) About the Law of Moses? (The Pharisees nod as one) And how is it that the people see this Nazarene as an authority on the Law?
SECOND PHARISEE: (Standing at the back of the group) Haven’t you heard? Never a man spoke like this man speaks! He speaks as one having authority...
PHARISEE: (Spokesman) Rapha, hold your tongue!
INQUISITOR: (Beginning to look bored) All right, so go on.
PHARISEE: Well, we had heard many stories about this man healing people and casting out demons, so we...
INQUISITOR: Wait, wait! Are you telling me that this man heals illnesses and casts out demons?
PHARISEE: Well, yes, but (adding quickly) we-have-good-reason-to-believe-he-does-these-things-by-the-power-of-the-evil-one.
INQUISITOR: (Looks down at his desk and shakes his head) OK, you’re the experts on those things I suppose. Go on.
PHARISEE: So we picked out this poor slob in the synagogue who had a withered hand, and decided to keep an eye on him. We figured the Nazarene wouldn’t be able to resist the free publicity that healing the man right there in the crowded synagogue would give him...
RAPHA: He walked right into our trap!
PHARISEE: Rapha, PLEASE!
(Rapha steps back and stares at his feet)
INQUISITOR: Get to the point, please. What did the Nazarene do to justify your presence here today?
PHARISEE: Well, he healed the man, of course! He performed work on the sabbath day, which our laws strictly forbid; and in the very synagogue itself!
INQUISITOR: Please be more specific, for the record. Did he bring surgical instruments and operate on the man right there?
PHARISEE: (Incredulous) No!
(A snicker escapes Rapha)
INQUISITOR: Did he chant, or massage the man’s limb or stick needles in it?
PHARISEE: No, you see he...
INQUISITOR: Then what man? Give me something to go on here!
PHARISEE: He told the man to stand up, and he looked straight at me, and asked, “Is it legal on the sabbath to do good or to do evil? To save a life or to destroy it?” Well, the question seemed absurd to me, but just as I was coming up with a snappy reply, he told the man to stretch out his hand, and the man did.
(There is a long silence while the Pharisee grins triumphantly and the Inquisitor stares back as though waiting for more. He finally breaks the silence.)
INQUISITOR: Is that it?
PHARISEE: Is it not enough? He healed on the sabbath!
INQUISITOR: Prove it.
PHARISEE: (Voice rising) But I’ve just told you the story!
INQUISITOR: You’ve told me that he instructed the man to stretch out his hand.
PHARISEE: Yes...
INQUISITOR: Did he touch the man in any way?
PHARISEE: No, but...
INQUISITOR: I’ve had a long day. Come back when you have something to tell me.
PHARISEE: (In utter frustration) But I tell you, HE HEALED THE MAN!
INQUISITOR: How do you know, if he didn’t even touch him?
PHARISEE: (Yelling) WHO ELSE COULD HAVE DONE SUCH A THING?
At the back of the group, Rapha looks thoughtful, and mutters to himself,
“Yes. Who else, indeed...?
