Good or Evil                                                      Mark 3:1-6

As we continue to walk through Mark’s Gospel we see again today Jesus healing someone. These healings of the body are fact but they are used to represent Jesus healing the spirit.

This morning we read about Jesus healing a man’s hand. This shows us that Jesus pursued “good work” with the people he encountered. Jesus good work took the form of his healings as we see but also took the form of his teachings; his lessons of faith and God’s kingdom that he gives to mankind. As followers of Jesus we should also be in pursuit of good works with and for the people we encounter in our life. In fact we should pursue good works with and for people we don’t come in contact with.

 As Christians we may use different words to describe work with others; some call it service, others use the term outreach and still others say ministry. Whatever we as a fellowship call it we need to be as Jesus in this respect, reaching out and doing good work in his name both individually and collectively as a church.

We act individually when we are aware of those around us and helping them out or just offering encouragement. Institutionally we begin by making our churches welcoming and accepting and by using the gifts given by our congregants to support organizations that share our ideals and work for the betterment of others. Love God with your mind, heart and soul; following Jesus changes our relationship with God. Love your neighbor as yourself; following Jesus changes our relationship with others.

Verse 1, “Jesus went into the synagogue and a man with a shriveled hand was there.” Being in the synagogue with this deformity went against the law at the time so this man had courage to approach God in this way. Whether this man was born with this deformity or he had an accident doesn’t matter, this man represents for us how we are all deformed by sin. But this man also shows us that no matter what others may think about it, we can go right up to God in our deformity.

Over the years I’ve heard people tell me they’re afraid that they’ve done things they think will make God reject them. To them and to us I say that is not true. Pull yourself up and walk to God deliberately and courageously and request his love and grace for as we see over and over in scripture, you will not be refused.

Verse 2, “Some of (the Pharisees) were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus…” Could it be that this man with the withered hand was planted there to catch Jesus being hypocritical, to catch Jesus going against his own teachings?

You’ve heard me talk about my friend the devoted atheist. He likes to point out how Christians are hypocritical. Sadly in our lives there will always be people who are just waiting for us to make a mistake. If you’ve been a Christian all your life someone might say “You’re supposed to be a Christian but you got divorced; I saw you drunk at the party; you weren’t being very nice.” For those of us who came to Christ later in life we can hear things like “You’re a Christian, I remember when you did…”

We’re all human, Christian or not we all make mistakes. Sometimes our best intentions may not be enough. The glory of God is that as a Christian our sins; past, present and future have been forgiven by God. Hebrews 8:12, “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” Take peace and comfort in this; God not only forgives you, God doesn’t even remember what you did.

Back to our scripture. This man may have been planted there or maybe not, but either way it is Jesus who pushes a confrontation; Verse 4, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to kill?” If Jesus had simply asked, “Is it lawful to work on the Sabbath” it would have been an easy question to answer. Asking what he did Jesus is looking to expose their hearts.

Verse 4 again, “But they remained silent.” Their silence exposed the condition of their hearts. These men were there because they wanted to be seen in the synagogue not because they had any deep understanding of God and his commands. These men were there so as to be judged good by men and they had no understanding of the true power of God’s grace and mercy.

Have you ever walked into a church and made to feel unwelcome? I have, where were the love of God and the love of your neighbor? This church follows the way of the Congregational denomination and scripture, we are open and welcoming. We recognize everyone is on a different position in their walk with Christ and whether you’ve been a Christian for 20, 30 or 50 years or you’re here to learn and haven’t accepted Christ yet, you are welcome in fellowship and love.

There are those that teach you have to get your life in order before you can come to Christ. There are those who teach you can’t be a Christian if you live a certain way. Did you know that at one time if someone saw you acting in a way that they considered sinful and they reported it to the church deacons you could be refused entrance to the church. Where then is the love of God, where is the embrace of God’s grace and mercy?

As you contemplate these examples see what our scripture says is Jesus reaction, verse 5  “He looked around at them in anger, and deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts…” Yes there are things the Bible tells us not to do but Jesus our Lord and Savior himself gives us two great commandments; love God above all else, and love your neighbor above yourself. We are doing neither if we use scripture against people. We are doing neither if we keep others away from God. Paul writes in Ephesians 4:32-5:2 “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you. Follow God’s example…and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us…”

And now Jesus gives us an example of what he means in all his teachings, he heals this man’s hand. And through this healing Jesus gives us two lessons. First, no matter our deformity by sin, no matter the day or time; when we come to Jesus he reaches out and heals us. We see this again in Luke 23. Jesus is being crucified and the man on his right turns to him and asks “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He approaches Jesus unable to change, in the last minutes of life with no way to make amends for past actions, no way to help himself. He approaches Jesus as Jesus faces his own imminent death and Jesus responds “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Whenever we approach Jesus he will respond and he will respond with love and forgiveness.

Second, by healing this man Jesus is showing us our response as a individual when we come across someone in need. We are to reach out and offer help, we are to encourage each other. Paul writes in Colossians, “Bear with each other and forgive one another…Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” (Colossians 3:13)

By healing this man’s hand Jesus is showing us our response as a church. In his name we are to respond to someone who approaches our fellowship in need or with a desire to know Christ by grasping them with a true desire to help and with the love Jesus shows those who approach him.

This account today of Jesus healing the man with a withered hand gives us lessons as to our relationship with God; that no matter the time or day, no matter the deformity we have from sin, when we approach Jesus he will reach his hand out and heal us.

This account gives us lessons on how we are to reach out to mankind both as an individual and as a fellowship. How loving God above all else means we love our neighbors above ourselves and that means not ignoring or avoiding the needs of others.

And we see by the last verse, “Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot how they might kill Jesus.” (Mark 3:6) This account of Jesus healing this man and exposing the hardened hearts of those who claim to know God but in reality don’t understand nor embrace the Father’s grace and mercy sets in motion God’s ultimate plan of Jesus at the cross.

All of us should accept that we don’t come here because we are perfect or above others, we come here because we are not perfect and we are in the same situation as everyone else on earth. We are only saved through our faith in Christ and by the grace and mercy of God. We come here because we need Christ in our life and we come here to thank God for his grace and mercy and for our eternal place in heaven.

Amen.