Mark 3:1 says, And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. Jesus was in the synagogue when He met a man with a withered hand. Jesus met many people with physical problems, and even though He healed many, He came to restore people to a right relationship with God spiritually. Verse two adds, And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. Since it was the Sabbath, the religious leaders were watching to see what Jesus would do. They really weren't concerned about the man with the withered hand but were concerned about what Jesus would do for Him on the Sabbath, when there were restrictions on what could be done. We need to make sure that we are more concerned about people in need than we are about religious rules. Verse three continues, And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. Jesus told the man with the withered hand to stand forth, Verse four concludes, 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. He then asked the religious leaders if it was lawful to do good on Sabbath days or to do evil, or to save a life or kill. Those watching Jesus held their peace or were unable to make their accusations against Him without saying doing evil or allowing someone to die was better than healing someone. We should never allow religious rules or rituals to come between us and helping those in need. As already stated, Jesus came to restore people to a right relationship with God, and that should be our priority today. Verse five states, 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. Jesus looked on the religious leaders with anger at their attitude and actions toward Him. It is possible to be angry at the attitude and actions of people because of their attitude and actions toward Jesus Christ without sinning. If it were not, then Jesus would have been guilty of sin at this time, and we know that He lived without sin. Jesus was grieved because of the hardness of their hearts, since they were more concerned with following the law than they were with helping people. We need to make sure that we don't become so caught up in religious practices that we forget about the needs of people. Jesus told the man to stretch forth his hand, and when he did, he was healed. The man had to believe in and obey Jesus to be healed, and so must everyone believe in Jesus Christ to be healed of their sins. Verse six adds, And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him. The Pharisees took counsel with the Herodians, those who didn't even worship God, to figure out how they might destroy Jesus. As Christians, we should never be guilty of looking to non-Christians to justify anything, especially if it means counteracting something being done for God. Verse seven says, But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea, With the religious leaders looking for a way to destroy Jesus, he withdrew with the disciples to the sea. It was not yet time for Him to fulfill the task that His Father had sent Him to do. We may sometimes need to withdraw from a situation if it is not God's timing for us to stay in it. Verse eight adds, And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him. The religious leaders may have been looking to destroy Jesus, but the ordinary people were looking to Him for healing, though they were mostly looking for physical healing instead of spiritual healing, so they followed Him from many different places. Sometimes today people may come to Jesus for the wrong reasons, but if they truly meet Him and put their faith in Him as their personal Savior and Lord, then nothing else is of importance. Verse nine continues, And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him. Jesus told the disciples to get a small ship ready, because the crowds were nearly overpowering Him. Wouldn't it be nice if people today swarmed to Jesus and overflowed the church buildings? Verse ten states, For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues. Jesus healed many, and they wanted to simply touch Him to be healed. Even if they did not truly know Who Jesus was, and not even the disciples did yet, they had faith in His healing power. As Christians, we need that same type of faith today, especially since we do know Who Jesus is. Verse eleven states, And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. The unclean spirits knew Who Jesus was, the Son of God, even if the religious leaders didn’t. They fell down before Him, and one day everyone will. Verse twelve adds, And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known. Jesus told the unclean spirits to not make it known Who He was. We today as Christians have the opposite command, and that is to tell everyone that we can about Jesus Christ, the only way to salvation.
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