Mark 3:1-19

Mark 3:1-19

Jesus entered the synagogue and it was known that a man with a useless hand attended there. Jesus’ reputation for acts of kindness is such that His opponents are waiting to see if He will heal on the Sabbath. What an incredible reputation for kindness! Note that the opposition doesn't doubt the miracles or the power of Jesus to heal, they want to see if He will conform to their expectations and traditions. Jesus is angered by the hardness of their heart. It is not doubt that angers the Lord; but rather, hardness of hearts that is the problem. In this case, the hardness of heart was expressed in the attitude that the man with the withered hand was nothing to the religious elite but a tool, a pawn, or a test case. When we care more about how much people prove our theology than their condition, we have become like these religious elite. After the healing, they began to conspire to kill Jesus. Why? Not because of a Sabbath regulation, Jesus has already dealt with that issue, nor because of the healing itself. They want to kill Jesus because He represents a threat to their power structure. The common people are no longer minions and tools; but rather, objects of God's love and care.

Demons began to testify that Jesus is the Son of God. They were the wrong kinds of witnesses and it was the wrong time for such a testimony. Later, Jesus would be charged with being in league with Satan and that charge may have stemmed from this testimony of the demonic. It is sad that demons have a better understanding of who Jesus is than many liberal theologians.

We see also the calling of the twelve. First is to be with the Savior and the second is to be sent out by the Savior. In many cases, we today are a little weak in both of these callings. It is at this point that Simon becomes Peter and the two “Sons of Thunder” James and John are identified. These are the ones who want to call fire down on an unrepentant city. James was the first Apostle to be martyred, perhaps because the “Thunder” would not be silent. Jesus has a tendency to use passionate people. Passionate people are not always loud, but you can never doubt their passion.

"Lord, help me to be passionate about You and Your will. AMEN"