I am once again glad to be able to post the message this week. I hope that all finds you well. I am doing a little better than I have been, and I thank the Lord for that.
For today, we are once again making our way through the Gospel of Mark. In our last message, we began to see that religious opposition was forming to the work of Jesus, and we will see that once again in our passage today.
One Sabbath day while Jesus was in the synagogue, a man with a withered hand was in the audience. Jesus saw him, and He told him to stand up. Jesus then asked if it was lawful to do good or evil on the Sabbath. The people and the religious leaders did not utter a word.
The reaction of the people made Jesus angry. He was distressed that they were so stubborn and uncaring. So, Jesus told the man to go ahead and stretch out his withered hand. The man did as Jesus asked, and he found that he was totally healed. After this, the religious authorities and the party of Herod began to plot how they could kill Jesus.
What can we learn from this encounter that Jesus had with the man with the withered hand? There are two main points in this that I want everyone to get. First of all, the religious leaders of Jesus' day were not doing what God wanted them to do. They said that they served God and had a lot of religious ritual, but they did not do what God expected. All they had was ritual and laws. They did not really care about people or the true ways of the Lord. That is why they cared more about not violating a rule they made in order to see someone made whole.
This is happening in our own day and age. There are those just like the religious leaders in Jesus' day who say they follow Jesus, they have big churches and they make a big show, but they do not do any of the things that Jesus said.
Jesus said that we are supposed to care for the poor and least among us. Yet many religious people don't care about the homeless and those who are impoverished. Instead, they spend all they have on entertainment and want more and more for themselves. They want more tax cuts and can't stand to see some poor person get a little bit of help.
Right now, many religious people clamor for war when Jesus called for peace and non-violence. Jesus said we are to love our neighbor as ourselves and to do unto others as we would have done to us. However, I have seen some cheer on the deportation of those who have done nothing wrong.
Just as in Jesus' day, today they are many who say one thing and do another. Just like then, Jesus now knows those who are His own.
Now, for the second thing I want us to really understand from this text. It is always the right time to do what is good. No matter if the church service is going on like when Jesus was with the man with the withered hand, now is always the right time to help someone and to do what needs to be done to try to make this world a better place.
There is a vast world of hurting and lonely people who need someone to care about them. It is our responsibility to be like Jesus in this world and to aid people in need. It is our job and our responsibility to tell others about the love of Jesus, and we need to not just tell, we need to demonstrate the love of Jesus through our lives.
In all things, let us follow Jesus. Let us do good as He did. Let us learn from Him and follow Him all the days of our lives. Amen.
Prayer Requests
Please keep praying in regard to my health, Thank you.
Right now, there are wars and conflicts going on everywhere. At least it seems like it. Please keep praying for peace. Pray for peace in this Middle East conflict where the US, Israel, Lebanon, Iran and many other nations are in the midst of conflict. I am really concerned about Lebanon. All of those people run out of their homes and nowhere to live. It is all so horrible. Also, please remember to keep praying for peace in Sudan, Myanmar and Haiti. And pray for the people of Cuba who are having a real mess right now.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Myanmar and Mali. Pray that many will come to know Jesus.
Next week, we will continue in Mark. I will post the verses on Tuesday and the next portion of the James commentary on Wednesday. May God bless you all.
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