Mark 3:1-12
Jesus
Heals Again on the Sabbath
3:1
He entered again into a synagogue; and a man was
there whose hand was withered.
2 They were watching Him
to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that
they might accuse Him.
3 He said to the man with
the withered hand, "Get up and come forward!"
4 And He said to them, "Is
it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath,
to save a life or to kill?" But they kept silent.
5 After looking around at
them with anger, grieved at their hardness of
heart, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."
And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored.
6 The Pharisees went out
and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians
against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.
7 Jesus withdrew to the
sea with His disciples; and a great multitude from
Galilee followed; and also from Judea,
8 and from Jerusalem, and
from Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and the
vicinity of Tyre and Sidon, a great number of
people heard of all that He was doing and came to
Him.
9 And He told His
disciples that a boat should stand ready for Him
because of the crowd, so that they would not crowd
Him;
10 for He had healed many,
with the result that all those who had afflictions
pressed around Him in order to touch Him.
11 Whenever the unclean
spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him
and shout, "You are the Son of God!"
12 And He earnestly warned
them not to tell who He was.
-
This
is the Word of the Lord ... It is meant to
change the way that we think, and the way that
we live.
Commentary
by Bob Pardue
Jesus the
Messiah? Not to Some!
The man stretched out his
withered hand, and it was made completely well! A
miracle we would all agree.
Did the Pharisees see the
miracle? Yes. Did they recognize the Messiah after
all the healing and the authority He displayed when
He taught? No.
Religion and
Power
The Pharisees were the
authority of Scripture, before Jesus came. But,
they had more power than just a position as keepers
of the law allowed them. These religious leaders
controlled the wealth of the Synagogues and many
became rich from their positions.
These people were not willing
to give up their power, not even for the Messiah
who had finally come to save them.
Material Things and
Jealousy
We also have possessions,
attitude and power we are sometimes reluctant to
give up. Christ has real authority and can guide us
to make the right choices if we only put those
things into perspective and accept Him.
The sad part is that many
times we believe we have complete control over our
lives and the lives of others in our workplace, our
church, and our nation. But, in reality, we only
have power and control over what God allows. We can
rule temporarily but God rules for eternity.
Let's take a few minutes
today and reflect upon what we really own and from
where true authority comes. How can we use the
position and abilities God has given us in a
positive way that reflects the love of Christ.
He healed on the Sabbath
because someone was hurting without regard to His
position or His personal safety. Can't we at least
show some of that compassion and love to people we
know and meet?
Love in Christ
- Bob
If you have never made the
commitment to receive the love and life-changing
experience of Jesus Christ, please take a moment to
go
here and take the
first
steps to salvation.
Verses about power and control are from
American Standard Bible - Commentary ideas from
Life Application Study Bible: NIV
Another Study Lesson from
Mark
Mark
2:23-28
- The
Disciples Gather Wheat on the
Sabbath
|
