Text: Mark 3
How many times are we involved in a situation? In Mark 3, Jesus wants to heal a man with a withered hand, but it's the Sabbath. The Pharisees had a rule (not a Biblical one) that you could only heal on the Sabbath if it was a matter of life and death. They watched Jesus to see what He would do. They expected Him to heal the man.
Jesus tells the man to "step forward." He then speaks to the Pharisees and everyone else in the synagogue. He challenges their premise that healing on the Sabbath (except for life and death situations) constitutes work.
The crowd is made up of people with hard hearts and soft ones. Some will receive His words and some will not. He does not let their heart condition stop what He plans to do. Neither does He expect the Pharisee to change their minds. So why speak to them at all? Jesus wants to expose their:
1) False premise
2) False teaching
3) False intentions
Why? He wants those present to have the opportunity to follow the light. The power of the false is in the illusion that most follow or believe. the power of the light is the truth.
After Jesus healed the man, the Pharisees left the synagogue and met with the Herodians to plot murdering Jesus. How ironic that they didn't want the man to be healed on the Sabbath, but they would conspire to kill someone on the Sabbath.
Jesus did not run after the Pharisees or try to persuade them. He let them go on their way. You can't stop people from believing a lie. Don't let it have an effect on you.
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