Shriveled Hand and Hearts – Mark 3:1-6
Shriveled Hand and Hearts – Mark 3:1-6
By Pastor Lee Hemen
October 11, 2009 AM
Have you ever met someone who suffers from a “shriveled” personality? I have. They have become mentally “shriveled” because they are so into themselves that they do not allow anyone or anything to affect their lives. Shriveled personalities can be displayed by those who are angry at the world because of some emotional or physical hurt; those who are emotionally or materially selfish and self-centered; those who only think they have the correct answers for everyone else; or by those who are so spiritually blinded they do not see their saintly shallowness. I knew a man who was so shriveled up inside, because he had lost his first wife to cancer, that he found very little emotional time or empathy for his second wife. And, of course, like many do who are emotionally shriveled up inside, he blamed God for his predicament. People can indeed have shriveled hearts.
Jesus saw this disease around him daily but one day he ministers to a man whose hand was physically shriveled. It was through no fault of his own that this man suffered from his deformity. His hand was probably malformed from birth although the text does not specifically say so. Sadly, there were those in Jesus’ day who actually thought that a physical condition like this was God’s judgment on either the man or his family or both! In trying to minister to this man’s physical abnormality Jesus was confronted by those who suffered from shriveled hearts. How did Jesus handle the situation and can we in our day suffer from shriveled hands and hearts? Let’s find out together…
READ: Mark 3:1-6
Bad things happen to good people just as good things happen to bad people. That is the way of the universe. When we get caught up in judging all of creation by what does or does not happen to us, we are walking on faulty ground. It is the same convoluted thinking that goes something like this: “God must not love me because this bad thing happened to me!” We would do well to remember that sin exists and everything in all of creation is tainted by its stain. From the sweetest newborn baby to the gnarled old walnut tree out by our parking lot. The Pharisees, here in these verses, and some of us this morning, suffer from this kind of odd theology. In fact…
I. We discover that shriveled hearts come from faulty thinking!
1. Faulty thinking about God leads to a false belief about Jesus! We find Jesus going to worship in a local synagogue. We often find Jesus headed off to “church,” because that’s what godly men do, they go to worship with other godly men. Jesus knew that it is in worship where we as his people find community, encouragement, and strength to be the men of God we are supposed to be. So, as a real man, Jesus is headed to worship, “and a man with a shriveled hand was there.” However, “Some of them” who were there at the local synagogue were there for the wrong reasons. Instead of worshiping God, as real men should, they “were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath.” Now, isn’t that simply manly? Sadly, a lot of folks go to worship for the wrong reasons, even today! These men came in order to trap Jesus! Can you imagine doing this? They came with preconceived notions about who Jesus was and were only there in order to get the goods on Jesus in some way. Their whole thought process about God was completely wrong! God to them was a “law-giver” and not full of compassion. So, instead of coming to praise God and worship him for who he is and to see if Jesus was who he said he was, they came instead so they could watch “him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath!” How ungodly is that? A lot of men today have faulty thinking concerning God. Some think that Jesus is everybody’s buddy, kind of like He is the “good old boy” of heaven. Others think that God is some kind of genie in a bottle that grants wishes if you are on his good side, or that he will grant you something if he likes you enough. Then there are those who think that they can dictate how God can relate to them, as if they were in charge! Wow, kind of mind boggling isn’t it? And, we see the same thing occurring here with Jesus! We discover that shriveled hearts come from faulty thinking!
EXAMPLE: Many people get mad at God or deny his existence simply because at some time someone hurt them or they did not get from God what they expected in life. I’ve heard the excuses before, perhaps you have as well: “I used to go to church, but they did this to me!” “God never did anything for me, so why should I believe in him!” “If there really was a God why did he let so-and-so die?” “If God is a good God, why does he allow all this evil in the world?” People get these convoluted views of God because they begin to view God from their perspective of the world instead of from what is true about God. On the surface, these excuses may sound good to us, however, if we will step back and look at them from heaven’s perspective, they sound, well, kind of spiritually stupid. These Pharisees permitted healing on the Sabbath only if a person’s life was in danger. They had taken the commandments to remember the Sabbath day, not work on the Sabbath, and had adjusted and tweaked them to their own idea of what God should be like! You see, to their way of thinking this man’s problem was not life-threatening and could wait until tomorrow; so if Jesus healed him on the Sabbath, they could accuse Jesus of being a “Sabbath-violator!” An offense punishable by death! God, in Jesus, was standing right there in front of them but their hearts were so spiritually shriveled because of their own preconceived notions about God, they could not see him! We discover that shriveled hearts come from faulty thinking! How about you this morning? How do you view God?
The Apostle Paul, having come out of this kind of thinking in his own life, understood deeply the grace of God in our lives. He would reflect, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) He would go on to relate, “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.” (1 Timothy 1:15-16) And, in fact as Jesus ministers…
II. We discover that Jesus is willing to heal shriveled hearts and hands!
1. We are “shriveled” when we dismiss the love of God in our lives! I find it humorous that there are folks who actually think Jesus never got angry, nor used sarcasm to teach narrow-minded people the truth. Right here in these verse we see Jesus doing both! In fact, Jesus does an in-your-face kind of example to those who were “watching” his every move! “Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, ‘Stand up in front of everyone.’” (v. 3) Jesus was going to show these shriveled hearts how God could heal a shriveled hand, because God was the God of compassion and not the God of narrow-minded thinking. Jesus bluntly, and rather sarcastically, asks them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” Notice that “they remained silent.” Now they were caught in their convoluted thinking. Now they were exposed for who they were and what they actually believed about God! Now they had to face their stupid spirituality concerning God and their view of Jesus! Would they change? No. Why? They were blind legalists with shriveled hearts that wanted God placed in their own bottle to work the way they wanted him to work. This is why Jesus “looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.” These men were so hardened to the human misery around them, they were willing to justify their own ungodliness by trying to trap Jesus who was showing the compassion and mercy of God. Jesus’ look was penetrating, it was full of deep sorrow and indignation, at their shriveled spirituality. I believe that if these Pharisees had praised God instead of seeking to trap Jesus, he would have forgiven them as well. Jesus desired to. He desired his people, especially those who claimed spiritual leadership, to heal their shriveled hearts. He heals the man because he is willing but can do nothing with those who were blinded by their own ignorance. We discover that Jesus is willing to heal shriveled hearts and hands.
EXAMPLE: We find Jesus almost beside himself when later he is speaking to the people. He cries out, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” Literally: “You would have none of it!” (Matthew 23:37) Can you imagine? Here is the Savior of the world, who has come to show the Jewish people God in human flesh, to die for their sins, and to show the power of God through his resurrection, and they would not believe. Not even those who claimed spiritual authority would accept him. They had shriveled hearts. I remember speaking to a man about the love of God and he responded, “You have no idea what God has done to me.” So I asked him to explain. He related that he had cried out day and night to God for an answer to his predicament but got no answer. “Why?,” he asked, “Why would God do that?” I related that in the midst of our pain we often do not see God at work because we are so blinded by the hurt involved. As we spoke he admitted that even his children had found comfort in his wife’s faith but he had not. All he could see was the problem. He soon realized that his heart had become shriveled because of the hurt he experienced and that it had clouded his view of God. It was then he wept openly and confessed his sin and returned to the Lord. He confessed that he had wasted too many years to his hurt rather than seeking how God could have used him. I have always found that Jesus is willing to heal shriveled hearts and hands.
Conclusion:
Now, what about you? Is a physical or spiritual deformity keeping you from coming to faith in Christ? We discover that shriveled hearts come from faulty thinking! We discover that Jesus is willing to heal shriveled hearts and hands! He is willing that you be healed today. Will you?
---
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2009 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my written permission.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
October 11, 2009 AM
Have you ever met someone who suffers from a “shriveled” personality? I have. They have become mentally “shriveled” because they are so into themselves that they do not allow anyone or anything to affect their lives. Shriveled personalities can be displayed by those who are angry at the world because of some emotional or physical hurt; those who are emotionally or materially selfish and self-centered; those who only think they have the correct answers for everyone else; or by those who are so spiritually blinded they do not see their saintly shallowness. I knew a man who was so shriveled up inside, because he had lost his first wife to cancer, that he found very little emotional time or empathy for his second wife. And, of course, like many do who are emotionally shriveled up inside, he blamed God for his predicament. People can indeed have shriveled hearts.
Jesus saw this disease around him daily but one day he ministers to a man whose hand was physically shriveled. It was through no fault of his own that this man suffered from his deformity. His hand was probably malformed from birth although the text does not specifically say so. Sadly, there were those in Jesus’ day who actually thought that a physical condition like this was God’s judgment on either the man or his family or both! In trying to minister to this man’s physical abnormality Jesus was confronted by those who suffered from shriveled hearts. How did Jesus handle the situation and can we in our day suffer from shriveled hands and hearts? Let’s find out together…
READ: Mark 3:1-6
Bad things happen to good people just as good things happen to bad people. That is the way of the universe. When we get caught up in judging all of creation by what does or does not happen to us, we are walking on faulty ground. It is the same convoluted thinking that goes something like this: “God must not love me because this bad thing happened to me!” We would do well to remember that sin exists and everything in all of creation is tainted by its stain. From the sweetest newborn baby to the gnarled old walnut tree out by our parking lot. The Pharisees, here in these verses, and some of us this morning, suffer from this kind of odd theology. In fact…
I. We discover that shriveled hearts come from faulty thinking!
1. Faulty thinking about God leads to a false belief about Jesus! We find Jesus going to worship in a local synagogue. We often find Jesus headed off to “church,” because that’s what godly men do, they go to worship with other godly men. Jesus knew that it is in worship where we as his people find community, encouragement, and strength to be the men of God we are supposed to be. So, as a real man, Jesus is headed to worship, “and a man with a shriveled hand was there.” However, “Some of them” who were there at the local synagogue were there for the wrong reasons. Instead of worshiping God, as real men should, they “were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath.” Now, isn’t that simply manly? Sadly, a lot of folks go to worship for the wrong reasons, even today! These men came in order to trap Jesus! Can you imagine doing this? They came with preconceived notions about who Jesus was and were only there in order to get the goods on Jesus in some way. Their whole thought process about God was completely wrong! God to them was a “law-giver” and not full of compassion. So, instead of coming to praise God and worship him for who he is and to see if Jesus was who he said he was, they came instead so they could watch “him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath!” How ungodly is that? A lot of men today have faulty thinking concerning God. Some think that Jesus is everybody’s buddy, kind of like He is the “good old boy” of heaven. Others think that God is some kind of genie in a bottle that grants wishes if you are on his good side, or that he will grant you something if he likes you enough. Then there are those who think that they can dictate how God can relate to them, as if they were in charge! Wow, kind of mind boggling isn’t it? And, we see the same thing occurring here with Jesus! We discover that shriveled hearts come from faulty thinking!
EXAMPLE: Many people get mad at God or deny his existence simply because at some time someone hurt them or they did not get from God what they expected in life. I’ve heard the excuses before, perhaps you have as well: “I used to go to church, but they did this to me!” “God never did anything for me, so why should I believe in him!” “If there really was a God why did he let so-and-so die?” “If God is a good God, why does he allow all this evil in the world?” People get these convoluted views of God because they begin to view God from their perspective of the world instead of from what is true about God. On the surface, these excuses may sound good to us, however, if we will step back and look at them from heaven’s perspective, they sound, well, kind of spiritually stupid. These Pharisees permitted healing on the Sabbath only if a person’s life was in danger. They had taken the commandments to remember the Sabbath day, not work on the Sabbath, and had adjusted and tweaked them to their own idea of what God should be like! You see, to their way of thinking this man’s problem was not life-threatening and could wait until tomorrow; so if Jesus healed him on the Sabbath, they could accuse Jesus of being a “Sabbath-violator!” An offense punishable by death! God, in Jesus, was standing right there in front of them but their hearts were so spiritually shriveled because of their own preconceived notions about God, they could not see him! We discover that shriveled hearts come from faulty thinking! How about you this morning? How do you view God?
The Apostle Paul, having come out of this kind of thinking in his own life, understood deeply the grace of God in our lives. He would reflect, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) He would go on to relate, “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.” (1 Timothy 1:15-16) And, in fact as Jesus ministers…
II. We discover that Jesus is willing to heal shriveled hearts and hands!
1. We are “shriveled” when we dismiss the love of God in our lives! I find it humorous that there are folks who actually think Jesus never got angry, nor used sarcasm to teach narrow-minded people the truth. Right here in these verse we see Jesus doing both! In fact, Jesus does an in-your-face kind of example to those who were “watching” his every move! “Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, ‘Stand up in front of everyone.’” (v. 3) Jesus was going to show these shriveled hearts how God could heal a shriveled hand, because God was the God of compassion and not the God of narrow-minded thinking. Jesus bluntly, and rather sarcastically, asks them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” Notice that “they remained silent.” Now they were caught in their convoluted thinking. Now they were exposed for who they were and what they actually believed about God! Now they had to face their stupid spirituality concerning God and their view of Jesus! Would they change? No. Why? They were blind legalists with shriveled hearts that wanted God placed in their own bottle to work the way they wanted him to work. This is why Jesus “looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.” These men were so hardened to the human misery around them, they were willing to justify their own ungodliness by trying to trap Jesus who was showing the compassion and mercy of God. Jesus’ look was penetrating, it was full of deep sorrow and indignation, at their shriveled spirituality. I believe that if these Pharisees had praised God instead of seeking to trap Jesus, he would have forgiven them as well. Jesus desired to. He desired his people, especially those who claimed spiritual leadership, to heal their shriveled hearts. He heals the man because he is willing but can do nothing with those who were blinded by their own ignorance. We discover that Jesus is willing to heal shriveled hearts and hands.
EXAMPLE: We find Jesus almost beside himself when later he is speaking to the people. He cries out, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” Literally: “You would have none of it!” (Matthew 23:37) Can you imagine? Here is the Savior of the world, who has come to show the Jewish people God in human flesh, to die for their sins, and to show the power of God through his resurrection, and they would not believe. Not even those who claimed spiritual authority would accept him. They had shriveled hearts. I remember speaking to a man about the love of God and he responded, “You have no idea what God has done to me.” So I asked him to explain. He related that he had cried out day and night to God for an answer to his predicament but got no answer. “Why?,” he asked, “Why would God do that?” I related that in the midst of our pain we often do not see God at work because we are so blinded by the hurt involved. As we spoke he admitted that even his children had found comfort in his wife’s faith but he had not. All he could see was the problem. He soon realized that his heart had become shriveled because of the hurt he experienced and that it had clouded his view of God. It was then he wept openly and confessed his sin and returned to the Lord. He confessed that he had wasted too many years to his hurt rather than seeking how God could have used him. I have always found that Jesus is willing to heal shriveled hearts and hands.
Conclusion:
Now, what about you? Is a physical or spiritual deformity keeping you from coming to faith in Christ? We discover that shriveled hearts come from faulty thinking! We discover that Jesus is willing to heal shriveled hearts and hands! He is willing that you be healed today. Will you?
---
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2009 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my written permission.
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