Mark 3:1-6
3: Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. 2 And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” 4 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. 5 And he looked around at 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. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
Reflection
The religious leaders of the day had failed to understand the heart of God’s command to rest on the Sabbath day (Ex. 20:8–11). God’s intention was to do good to his people by providing a weekly day of rest for them in honor of the day of rest that he himself experienced following his work of creation (Ex. 20:11). The Pharisees, however, had become more concerned about rigid details and rule keeping than the good of human beings. Their hearts were so blind and hard that when Jesus miraculously healed this man, they began making plans to have him killed (Mark 3:6).
This passage serves as a reminder to us that God is not interested in heartless rule keeping. Jesus did not come to produce empty religious practice; he came to confront and destroy it. The gospel of Jesus Christ tells us that God has made a way for us to live forever in a relationship with him. We cannot earn his favor by completing a list of ritualistic duties. His favor is freely given to those who trust in Jesus —the only person who ever had a perfectly loving and obedient heart.
1 Corinthians 15:50-58
50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:“Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Reflection
Those who belong to Jesus will fully share in his victory over sin and death when our mortal bodies are shed and we “put on immortality” (1 Cor. 15:54– 57). Our future resurrection will enable us to stand with Christ and taunt death, whose victory and sting will be forever destroyed (vv. 54–55).
The victory that God has given us through Christ enables us to be “steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord” (vv. 57–58). We can combat hopelessness with this promise that our future resurrection brings meaning to our daily efforts: “In the Lord your labor is not in vain” (v. 58).
Psalm 86:11
11 Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.
It is easy to slip into heartless rule keeping if we are not regularly fueling our hearts with the gospel of grace. Don’t allow yourself to merely go through the motions. Pray for a tender heart that is awake to the reality of God’s love for you and others.