Sunday, March 15, 2009

Withered Hands and Shriveled Hearts

There once was a guy with an artificial hand. It was not one of those prosthetic devices that could be functionally used to do many things but it was one that was flesh-colored and rubbery, useless, except in appearance. Some right-handed people who have disabled hands will often shake hands with their left one. But this guy delighted in taking this lifeless right hand and placing in someone else’s hand as he introduced himself. He wanted to study how people reacted to the experience. Some recoiled immediately, laughing nervously about being the butt of some sick joke. Some people got angry at being caught off guard and embarrassed. They cursed him or threatened him with bodily harm. But the strangest reactions of all were those who acted as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. They smiled with pasted on expressions, all the while continuing to shake the hand. It was as if the man’s affliction was not a reality and they chose to ignore it altogether. How can that be possible? Weren’t they aware of his affliction?
Our passage today in Mark’s Gospel reveals how Jesus encountered a man with a disabled hand and solicited a response from the religious authorities of the day. Let’s look at the passage before us today and see how the responses differed between the man with the withered hand, the religious elite, and the Lord Jesus. Our hope is to learn how His truth can lead us into our own responses to His word today. Hear the word of the Lord.

He entered again into a synagogue; and a man was there whose hand was withered. They were watching Him to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward!” And He said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent. After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him. (Mark 3:1-6)

GODLY SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY ALWAYS PROMOTES LIFE.
I. PEOPLE CAN FOCUS SO MUCH ON NOT DOING WRONG THAT THEY WON’T DO RIGHT. (V. 1-4a)

Is it lawful to do good...?

When God asks a question, He already knows the answer. The first dialogue we have recorded between God and the fallen man Adam is the question, Where are you? To Adam’s son Cain, He asks, Where is your brother Abel? To Moses, the reluctant leader, Who has made man’s mouth? Consider God’s servant Job. How did he answer questions like, Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? or Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? God does not ask questions to gain information. He asks questions to expose the truth. These questions are found all throughout the biblical story. In the text before us today, we come to the fifth question that Jesus asks in the Gospel of Mark. All five were directed to the religious leaders of the day. All five have to do with revealing the authority of God in Christ Jesus. In the synagogue that day Jesus asked a timeless question of religious people. Is it lawful… to do good…to do harm…to save…to kill…on the Sabbath? God already knew the answer. How would they respond?
Fearful and fallen men would rather do nothing than do the wrong thing. We can be mystified by stories we hear where people are assaulted by hoodlums and good people stand by and watch it happen and do not intervene. We hear of stories where people are injured in accidents and other people stand back and watch but dare not get involved. They justify it by saying it is none of their business. After all, they reason, they may get sued! It’s not against the law for them not to help, is it? I would argue that some things that are legal are not always moral. When you are so afraid of being seen doing wrong, you will miss the opportunity to do right.
Christ not only came to do the right thing, He came to be the right thing.
This second Sabbath day confrontation took place in the synagogue. Jesus had cast out a demon in the synagogue and discussion had ensued about His authority. This conflict is all about the authority of Christ over the authority of religious standards. The problem with the religious standard of the day was that it was open to Pharisaical additions and interpretations. The standard kept moving. And it kept moving people away from the worship of God. Christ came to intervene in this restrictive religious system of deadness with a new standard of life. Without Christ as the standard of righteousness, religious standards will become our master. Without Christ as our Master, we are never truly free.
Be discerning in the ways we exercise our freedom in Christ. Our freedom in Christ is not freedom from His moral law. It is freedom to do good, freedom to save life, freedom to worship God. The world is not impressed with Christians who profess to be followers of Christ while living habitually sinful lifestyles. They can see right through that hypocrisy. So can Christ. The Pharisees had an opportunity to respond rightly to the question God was asking. But they were too afraid. The man who was afflicted was not even an issue with them. Their fear rendered them ineffective in the religious community.
Fear breeds mistrust that creates a culture of impotence. In our lives together as a congregation, we will be faced with questions God is asking. He already knows the answer. We can remain in a safe place in the synagogue of the Pharisees, relying on our personal interpretation of our cultural religious tradition, and remain impotent. Religion can have a form of godliness, but lack power because of fear. Fear causes people to build walls between themselves, even if they are on the same side. Do we trust Christ with His church? Or are we afraid of the new things He can do and only He can do. Christ breaks down walls of division. If we will ask God to help us be right, He will also help us tell others how to do so.

II. PEOPLE BOUND IN IDOLATRY STOP TELLING OTHERS HOW TO DO RIGHT. (V. 4b)

...But they kept silent...

Man’s ideas for worship leads to man-centered culture. Consider the people of God as recorded in Exodus. They had been slaves in Egypt for hundreds of years. During this time they had retained their identity as a people. The Exodus is the account of God’s people coming out of the Land of Bondage and moving toward the Land of Promise under the authority of God. His Presence had led them and provided for them while in the wilderness. When Moses went up to God on Mount Sinai, he left his brother Aaron in charge. In just a matter of days, the desire to be led by a god other than Yahweh infected even the leadership. Aaron was approached by the people who implored him to make another god (or gods) to lead them. They had waited on Moses long enough. You would think Aaron would be quick to defend the God of Israel as the One True God. But he told them to bring him the gold and he made them their god. Isn’t that what sinful man really desires to be? A god-maker? He shaped it into the form of a calf and the people began to behave as sinful people do without any restraint. Depravity always spirals downward. It leads to destruction. Listen to what God told Moses:
Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and have sacrificed to it and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’” The LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people. Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation.” (Exodus 32:7-10)
This is the God of Salvation History. He is always at war with idolatry. He is always revealing His authority. He was willing to destroy them all, even Aaron, the brother of Moses, and start all over with Moses. God is still intent on making a people for Himself just as He did with Abraham, just as He did with Noah, just as He did with Adam. This God is serious about there are no other gods among His people. Idolatry is deadly. When leaders are caught up in idolatry, they lose their ability to speak for God. They stop telling others how to do right. The next step is teaching them to do wrong.
Humanistic philosophies will lead to anything other than God-centered ideology. The interpretation and addition to the law of God gave the religious elite of the day a power base. The religious, political, social, and economic lives of the people were controlled by the ones who made the rules. They cared more about the appearance of being godly than being godly. They were “good” people. This is the danger of the position that people find themselves in today. They think they are good because they aren’t as bad as some and somehow God grades on a sliding scale. They believe that they are relatively good because they have a relative truth. This is man-centered thinking. The cross of Christ is at the center of a God-centered lifestyle. And the “best” among us is judged by God according to His standard. Let the humanist ponder that for awhile.
Christ challenges the religious institutions of all ages with a standard of righteousness. How often has the church been silent when speaking God’s word would have been appropriate? How many times have you heard people say that the church does really well at telling people how they are doing wrong without telling them how to do right? For example, the church very vocal about the sin of homosexuality while silent to people in their midst about immoral hetero-sexual relationships. When a man and a woman used to live together without being married, it used to be called “living in sin”. Asked lately by someone who wanted to know if “living together” as Christians was sinful, I replied, “If you really say what it is, you will have your answer.” Any and all sexual relationship with anyone other than a marital partner is immoral and sinful. This is the standard of righteousness that Christ brings to the church. People who “live together” are actually dying together.
We can know differences of what it is to be culturally acceptable, traditionally desirable, and biblically non-negotiable. As Christians, we must decide if our lives can be described as Christ-followers. Not all who think of themselves as Christians follow Christ. Some things that are acceptable in our culture today are anti-biblical. Some things that seem right are so wrong. Some things that have been handed down for generations and have more power over us than our desire to please God need to be rejected. For a greater understanding of what are the non-negotiables, we must have a greater understanding of the biblical Christ. He continuously pressed against all that would mold Him into man’s image. We must push back against that as well. Learn what it means to live like God. Learn about Christ.
Humility in our corporate life will leave little room for hypocrisy. When we get the opportunity to speak truth into the lives of others it is always wise to consider our own lives before God. Consider how we would be impacted when people come to us and confront us in our sin. Consider how hard it is to be restored to God’s place. Consider how God’s word says to do that in Galatians 6:
Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:1-2)
Too much pride and too little humility leads to hypocrisy. Silence can result because we really don’t care about others. Humility frees the hypocrite from idolatrous bondage. Christ is the fulfillment of the Law. Let’s be real with God and with one another. Speak Christ. He is humble in heart. Let us in the church be seen in our culture with humble and not hardened hearts.

III. IT IS BETTER TO GO THROUGH LIFE WITH A WITHERED HAND THAN A HARDENED HEART. (V. 5)

...looking at them with anger...He was grieved at their hardness of heart...

Historically speaking, a hardened heart is a life-threatening condition. Both the Old and New Testaments give us God’s timeless counsel. If you can hear His voice, do not harden your hearts. When the first man Adam listened to the voice of another, his heart was hardened against God. His loss of spiritual hearing resulted in his loss of his spiritual life. The hardness of heart is a genetic spiritual and fatal flaw. It is in the DNA of every human. We are spiritually stillborn, until we are born by the Spirit of God. In this synagogue, the Word of God was in the midst of men with hardened hearts. This is the one passage in Scripture where it is very clear that Jesus was angry with those who by their silence and their treachery were intent on putting Jesus on trial. They watched to see what the God-man would do. And if He did the right thing, which was to heal this man with a withered hand, they would have grounds for condemnation. The healing of the man was insignificant to them. Maintaining their grip on their own authority was the issue. They would not concede that the right thing to do was the right thing to do. Hardness of heart affects spiritual understanding. They were in grave danger.
Unwillingness to respond to the voice of God leaves one exposed to the wrath of God. To the one today who is not following Christ but has a desire to do so there is hope. The reason you are here today is the same reason this man with the withered hand was in the synagogue. He was there to hear the word of a sovereign God. The gospel of Luke tells us the withered hand was the right hand. His hand of power was impotent. God in Christ came to restore that which was lost. If you have no relationship with the Christ and have not confessed your condition as a sinner against God, you are in grave danger. For until there is confession there is no repentance or a turning from sin to God. Without repentance, there can be no forgiveness. Without forgiveness, you are exposed to the wrath of God. When Christ calls you, you can respond and seek His forgiveness. This man came to Christ, in response to the call to come forward, while the enemies of Christ remained nonresponsive. When Christ calls, our part is to come to Him. Then Christ asked the man to do the impossible. Stretch out your hand. He could not do this apart from the power of God. Respond to Christ as He calls you. Then Christ will do for you that which you can never do for yourself. This is the gospel.
Christ restored the hand that was withered and grieved over the heart that was shriveled. Both the withered hand and the hardened heart get God’s attention. To the hand, He is merciful, to the heart, He is angry. A hard heart is a lifeless heart, shriveled up, uncaring, dead, putrefied, and petrified. For it to be purified, it must be quickened with life...born again. But see the two things here that are coupled together. Anger and grief. He was angry because those with hardened hearts were not compassionate. And He grieved over what they would lose by being hard. I can only soak a raisin in water long enough to produce a plumper raisin. But without the power of God, it will never be a grape again.
Apathetic indifference to people’s afflictions speaks volumes about our spiritual heart condition as disciples. Do we care about the suffering that we see? Do we care about their lives? Do we see people as God sees them? Or do we see them at all? The danger is that we as believers can harden our hearts to the voice of the Lord. The progression of this will lead believers to unbelief. Unbelief will cause us to fall away from the Living God according to Hebrews 3. Apostasy follows apathy in God’s people. We will forget that it took the penalty of the cross and the power of the resurrection to give us a heart that lives and feels and sees what God sees. And we will revert back to our indifference to the God who makes a difference.
The gospel message is our constant reminder of our own withered hands and hardened hearts. We in the church are made up of many testimonies. Different as to when and where we came to Christ. But we are all alike as to how. Just as this man could not stretch out his hand under his own power, we can never claim to be born again apart from a work of God. Some formulaic sinner’s prayer could not do it alone. Some ritual baptism without an inward conversion holds no promise that we are children of God. We all came to God helpless to save ourselves. We all suffer from hardness of heart that must be guarded against. Come to the altar today and confess your condition to God. Whether it is a withered hand or hardened heart, God offers His gospel of grace.

IV. HARD HEARTS FORM UNHOLY ALLIANCES OF DESTRUCTION. (V. 6)

...the Pharisees...began taking counsel with the Herodians...as to how they might destroy Him...

The story of the Bible is the story of God’s battle with His enemy. Humanity is only the supporting cast. God is the protagonist of the biblical story. Satan is the antagonist. God is the main character in the drama. He is the one the story is about. Satan is the one who once supported the protagonist, but now opposes. The stories of the Bible tell us how the supporting cast relates to the story. We all too often get caught up with trying to live like some of the biblical models. But as you can see, the Bible never hides the humanity of humanity. Then we are introduced to Christ, the God-man. All God. All man. There is none like Him. He is the restoring agent of creation and re-creation. He is the victor in this battle. Satan is the real loser. And he wants company in his misery.
The non-Christian has God as an enemy and God has never lost a battle. If you are not following Christ you are following the wrong person. Satan is a personal devil and there are only two sides. Which group of supporting actors would you find yourself in today if you really took a close look? What do you think Jesus would say?
Christ came to be the center of God’s plan and the center of Satan’s target on the cross. The natural progression of an unregenerate heart is death and not life, hurting not helping, destruction not restoration, tearing down and not building up. Christ came for a heart break. He came to mend the broken hearted and break the hard hearted. He died of heart break on the cross for the sin of all humanity for all of time. To a person who never knew sin, that is mighty destructive. He came to give life. He came to save men from themselves and the wrath of God. He died for those who destroyed Him. He died for those who degraded Him. He died for those who dishonored Him. He died for those who shamed Him. He certainly died for me and you. We have all played a part. How should we respond when we are treated like Him as one of His supporting cast?
Rejoice when you are conspired against, lied about, and become a target for the sake of Christ. Blessed are you, Christ said, when you are treated this way. How many of us know that sometimes God’s blessings are painful? Some days I feel more blessed than others. We live in a day when the reproach of being a Christian is often fashionable in our culture. Wear this as the clothing that Christ provides for us. His righteousness is enough. His grace is sufficient. Stay close to Christ these days. He has much to say to us. Stop trying to justify your position. Live like Christ told us to live. As wise as a serpent and innocent as a dove.
Repent from attitudes of apathy toward what Christ has done in our midst, even if you did not understand. God is alive and well in the church where His word is held in high regard. Sometimes we are witness to different ways that Christ is at work around us in the church. And it is all too often a ho-hum experience for us. When we look for the grace of God in our midst we will find it. And it is as much a miracle as the raising of the dead. When God gives us a heart for those who are dying a slow death from living a fast life, we can be energetic and not apathetic for the cause of Christ.

What is our So What? for today?

Worldly authority found in dead religious tradition prefers an unchanging standard of lifelessness.
It is never a wrong time to do the right thing.
Hardness of heart grieves our Lord.
When the Lord asks a question, we need to answer.


What will be your response to Him?

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