WHEN JESUS GOT ANGRY
MARK 3:1-6
MARK 3:1-6 NKJ
3 And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2 So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. 3 And He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward." 4 Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they kept silent. 5 And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.
We often look back at Jesus' life on earth and make assumptions. We assume everyone knew He was the Son of God. We assume everyone treated Jesus with the respect He deserved. We also assume Jesus kind of floated around speaking peace and love. That He was just oozing love and warmth. That everything was peace around Jesus. But these are not accurate assumptions.
Jesus made some people angry. He really bothered the Pharisees and religious leaders. He never adhered to their interpretations of God's words and law. Jesus never violated God's law, but he sure trounced the man-made ones.
In this case, the big issue was healing on the Sabbath. And it seems many of the miracles performed by Jesus were on the Sabbath. This absolutely infuriated the religious people. So much so that they wanted to kill Him. In this case they were watching to see if Jesus would heal this man on the Sabbath. Never mind that the guy had a withered hand. Their man-made rules were more important than someone getting helped.
And Jesus was angry at that. They were so hard in their hearts that they no longer were concerned about hurting humanity. And that grieved Jesus. God never intended for the Sabbath to be a problem for mankind but a blessing, a time of rest.
So Jesus healed him, and his hand was restored just as it had been before.
APPLICATION:
I am so glad that Jesus got angry at hard-hearted people. This clearly shows us what is important to God, people receiving help. I am constantly amazed at the people who are so opposed to the fact that God heals today. Why? Why would anyone be opposed to people getting help?
When Joy was so terribly sick, there were people angry that she was trusting God for healing. And that made me angry. So angry that I would not allow those people back into my house. But it looks as if I was in good company. Jesus was also angry at hard hearted people. Thank God the man with the withered hand was healed, and so was Joy.
PRAYER:
Father, thank You that Your heart is to see people healed and helped and free. It was that way with Jesus, and it still is today.