Devo: Mark 3:1-6

“So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.” V. 2

They knew that Jesus would heal the man with the withered hand so they watched Him closely. They had faith that Jesus could heal the man. They believed that Jesus had that power but that wasn’t enough for them to believe in Jesus.

It’s possible to know about Jesus, to know everything written in the Bible, and not have a personal relationship with Him. Knowing about God is different from knowing Him. God does not want us to have head knowledge only. He wants to have a deep and intimate relationship with Him. He wants us to be connected to Him moment by moment.

The religious leaders watched Jesus closely and knew what Jesus could do but they did not have love for Him. Their purpose for watching what He would do was to accuse Him. A normal person would be excited to witness Jesus’ miracles. The religious leaders, on the other hand, were jealous of Him. They were enraged. They could not stand the fact that Jesus had power.

They were also angry because for them, Jesus was defying the law. People shouldn’t work on Sabbath. Jesus emphasized that to meet the needs of people are more important than religious rituals.

“Then He said to them, ‘Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?'” V. 4

He said the same thing in the previous chapter when the Pharisees criticized His disciples for doing what was not lawful on the Sabbath.

“And He said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.'” Ch. 2 vv. 27-28

“…He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts…” V. 5

Jesus was angry because their hearts were so hard. They refused to believe despite knowing that Jesus is God. It’s sad that there are many who, after witnessing the power of God, still choose to reject Jesus. The hardness of their heart blinds them spiritually.

“He said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.” V. 5

The man obeyed Jesus. He stretched out his hand when Jesus told him to. He could have complained and asked Jesus to heal him first but he didn’t. He stretched out his hand just as Jesus told him to. The result is complete restoration of his hand. Amazing!!!

It might seem to easy to do, right? However, not many would obey Jesus. Some would refuse to stretch out their hand when Jesus commands them to. However, the man obeyed and he was blessed because of his obedience. Jesus only asked him to stretch out his hand but He restored his hand’s function. God did the rest after he stretched out his hand. God is good! When He tells us to do something, He will help us finish it. He will not leave us alone in the task He gives us.

“Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.” V. 6

They were filled with hate. Jesus didn’t do anything wrong to them. What Jesus did was a good and wonderful thing. He healed the man and yet, the people hated him.