Move

2/18/2022

Mark 3: 1-6 "Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, 'Come here.' And he said to them, 'Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?' But they were silent. And he looked around them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately held council with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him."

This morning, we read about the man with the withered hand. Would a healing take place in the synagogue on the Sabbath? As the Pharisees followed the scene before them, they were lying in wait to level accusations at Jesus for breaking Jewish law. They did not understand that Jesus was not there to break the law, but to fulfill it. 

This is such a powerful piece of scripture. The healing that took place required action on the part of the man with the withered hand. Jesus didn't go over to him and lean in to heal him, He told the man to stretch out his hand. The man had to make that move in faith. Jesus requires the same of us. We cannot just ask for something to happen, then sit back and wait; action is required. If I want a better job, I cannot just pray and think it will fall into my lap. I have to pray and then seek out a new position. Then Jesus will lead me to where I need to be, even if it is where I already am. If my desire is to be bold in spreading the Gospel, He will give me strength and opportunity, but I must also act. This is true for anything done in faith. Move and the blessing will come. Maybe not in the way I desire, but if I am seeking God's in all things, it will come. 

The other part of this powerful section is how Jesus acted. He knew the Pharisees were just waiting for Him to slip up, for He was Jewish and should have kept the Sabbath the way they understood it. They did not understand the truth of who He was, and that He was actually the fulfillment of the law they clung so dearly to. They were, after all, the leaders, and not to be challenged by this young upstart. They were in the presence of God, but were so blinded by rite and ritual, the way they thought things should be, that they could not see Him. This is so evident in our world today as well; people are so blind to the presence of God that they willfully turn away from Him. 

So, what am I called to do? I am called to act. My son, who does very analytical YouTube videos, recently said, "I would rather be proactive than inactive." That statement hit me right between the eyes. Yes, I am called to be proactive and move in the direction God is leading me. When Jesus says move, I will move. Then I thought, I would also rather be proactive than reactive. This is exactly how the Pharisees behaved, and is how so many people, especially the ones in power, behave today. Think about how non-believers lie in wait for the Christians to mess up so they can claim that our faith is a lie. This is something we must always be on our guard about. We must never let our sin reflect poorly on the Gospel message. We must always remind those around us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and that Jesus, being the only one without sin, loves anyway. He loves every sinner and gave His life for us, all we need to do stretch our our hand when He asks us to act.