Mark 3:1-6

Anger & Sorrow

Devotional 13 of 50 · Mark chapter 3

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After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled away the stone, and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards trembled in fear of him and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said! Come, see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.’ See, I have told you.” So they

Mark 3:1-6 · BSB

¹Once again Jesus entered the synagogue, and a man with a withered hand was there. ²In order to accuse Jesus, they were watching to see if He would heal on the Sabbath. ³Then Jesus said to the man with the withered hand, “Stand up among us.” ⁴And He asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” But they were silent. ⁵Jesus looked around at them with anger and sorrow at their hardness of heart. Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored. ⁶At this, the Pharisees went out and began plotting with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

Jesus

Jesus silences the Pharisees with one question, and, in doing so, exposes their evil intentions. Then by calling this crippled man to stretch out his hand, Jesus restores not only his hand, but also the true purpose of the Sabbath––doing good and giving life. And on top of all that, this scene is also jam packed with tension. When the Pharisees choose not to even answer Jesus’ question, Jesus looks at them anger and sadness for their hardness of heart. It’s hard to imagine how both anger and sadness are being conveyed in a single moment.

So, why would the Pharisees not answer Jesus’ question about doing good or evil on the Sabbath? By asking this question, Jesus invited them to see the true beauty and purpose in the Sabbath. Yet, the Pharisees were not seeking truth or the heart of God, and this becomes increasingly obvious with each interaction with Jesus. Jesus is in the way of what they are after— influence over the people and popularity.

The questions Jesus asks them exposes their selfishness and corners them. If they say the Sabbath is for doing good, then they must approve Jesus and His ministry. But if they say it is for evil, they expose their own heart. Either way, they lose the approval of people, the very thing they want. And this exposes that they want approval of others more than they want to honor and serve God.

His Desires

Jesus desires that good occur on the Sabbath and for lives to be saved. And He desires that the people are free from the burden placed on them by the distorted teachings about the Sabbath from the Pharisees. Also, he desires the Pharisees' hearts be soft towards Him and prioritize loving people and doing good over their additions to the law. Jesus looks at them with anger and sadness, revealing He cares about them and even desires them to see the true purpose of the Sabbath and His miracles. He wanted them to see that the Sabbath is made for life and good, and to see the purpose in His healings and His teachings. And instead, the hardening of their hearts gave way for plans to murder Jesus.

Jesus’ heart is to restore this man’s hand and the original purpose of the Sabbath: to do good. And He also reveals His desires for the Sabbath to not be filled with the ‘work’ of following the additional steps the Pharisees wrote, but to be a day of rest and life and good.

Follow Through

Seek the freedom that following His instructions brings.
Be on guard for the teachings of man usurping the instructions of God.
Maintain a soft heart by seeking God and not the approval of others.
Grieve and pray for those who reject Jesus.

Testimonies

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Devotional 13 of 50

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