You knew they were looking for an excuse to accuse You. You knew this would give them that excuse. But You healed him, all the same. (Mark 3:1-6).
Because love demanded it.
But love also demanded that You deal with the Pharisees' insistence that they be lords of the Sabbath, not You, and their unwillingness to recognize and submit to love, and that You expose and heal the burden they placed on themselves...and on everyone.
It was right for You to deal with the man's physical infirmity on the Sabbath.
The Sabbath was made for man, after all, to serve men. And these men needed to be served.
When You told him to, the man with the shriveled hand stood up in front of everyone there (Mark 3:3). He responded to You. He did what You said (Mark 3:5). He stretched out his hand - and was healed. His shriveled hand was restored to its proper condition - able to do all that a hand is for.
But they were silent.
They could not say that it was lawful to do harm, and they would not say it was lawful to do good.
Their hearts were shriveled. To admit it was lawful to do good on the Sabbath would have been to stretch out their hearts toward You. If they had - their hearts would have been restored to their proper condition - able to do all that a heart is for.
But they clung to their...well, they clung to themselves. They began to plot to get rid of You - to kill You (Mark 3:6) - to preserve their own lordship over themselves and over others.
And missed this opportunity to receive healing for their hearts from the Lord of the Sabbath - from the Lord of All.
Share This:
Related Posts
You Might Be Interested In