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Mark 3 - Devotion · The Five Minute Bible Podcast

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Welcome to Five Minute Bible in our journey through the New
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Testament. In each episode, we take just a
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few minutes to focus on one chapter of the New Testament,
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exploring the truths God is teaching us through His Word and
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expanding our view of who He is. Before you listen, make sure
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you've gone straight to the source, either by reading
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today's chapter of the Bible yourself or listening to today's
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read along episode in this podcast feed.
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If you haven't done that yet, feel free to pause and do that
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now. When you're ready, let's dive
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into God's Word together. In Mark chapter 3, we again see
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Jesus on the move. This time he is heading into the
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synagogue where he meets a man with a withered hand.
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Mark then tells us that there is a group of Pharisees keeping a
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close eye on Jesus. That is certainly a common
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occurrence in the Gospels, but look at the reason they're
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watching Jesus. Verse 2 says they were watching
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him to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath so that they
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might accuse him. Now understand what's happening
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here. These Pharisees have no doubts
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about Jesus ability to heal. They're confident that he has
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the power. But instead of listening to his
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teaching or trying to learn where that power came from, they
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instead watched to see if he might use that power in a way
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that did not align with their traditions or their
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understanding of God's law. And why did they care so much?
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What were they hoping to gain? They were trying to accuse Him.
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In the very next verse, Jesus calls forward the man with the
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withered hand. He sees the confrontation
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brewing. And he's going to use this
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opportunity not just to heal a handicapped man, but also to
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teach the Pharisees about God's way.
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He says in verse 4, Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the
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Sabbath? To save a life or to kill?
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At this, the Pharisees are silent, and Jesus proceeds to
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heal the man with the withered hand.
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The text tells us that Jesus looked at these Pharisees with
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anger and was grieved at their hardness of heart.
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Think about what's happening here.
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Here's a man in need, a man who has likely been unable to work,
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unable to function normally in society, and where does he go
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for help? He goes to the synagogue.
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But the very religious leaders who he would turn to for help,
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rather than see his need, rather than weep with him, rather than
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pray for him, use him as a chess piece in their plot to get rid
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of this threat to their power. Jesus, Jesus, God himself in
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human form, the very one who gave the law and instituted the
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Sabbath, keeps the Sabbath perfectly by healing this
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hurting, broken man. Meanwhile, the Pharisees have
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hearts so hard that they're unable to weep with a
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handicapped man, or even to rejoice when he's miraculously
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healed by Jesus. They cannot see past their own
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little Kingdom that they've built on the sand and as a
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result, they are missing the Kingdom of God breaking through
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in their midst. But friends, this mindset is not
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just limited to the Pharisees in Jesus day.
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It's so easy to draw dividing lines, to miss God's power
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poured out because we don't like the style or the format or the
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delivery. It's all too easy to build our
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own, even religious Kingdom and shut the gates so tightly that
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that we miss what God is doing in the world.
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Don't miss it today. Ask the Holy Spirit to root out
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cynicism and hardness of heart in your life today.
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Ask Him to help you. Weep with those who weep and
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rejoice with those who rejoice, even if it might make you
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uncomfortable.