Passage
Before
healing the man, Jesus confronts the Jewish leaders. Jesus asks if it is lawful to do good or evil
on the Sabbath. He asks if it is lawful
to save life or to kill. They did not
reply. Jesus was furious with them and
grieved by the hardness of their heart.
Jesus commands the man to stretch out his hand. The man did, and his hand was restored to
full usefulness. The Jewish leaders went
out and immediately consulted with the Jewish political leaders to figure out a
way that they might utterly destroy Jesus.
Thoughts for Today
First Thought:
Jesus
confronts. Once more we do not see Jesus
shy away from confrontation. He is not
afraid to take on people standing on human understanding. Jesus is not afraid of human tradition. Of course, we do know that it is human
tradition that ultimately puts Jesus on the cross. So there is a consequence to His
confrontation. But the point is that He
is not afraid to stand up for God’s ways.
Why
is it hard to stand up? When can it be
hard to stand up? What can we do to help
make it easier to stand up for what we believe in?
Second Thought:
The
Pharisees do not reply to Jesus when He asks them a question. Jesus is furious. It isn’t that they don’t know; they don’t
want to state their position. They don’t
want to dialogue. They simply want to
watch Jesus and then nail Him when He does something they think it is
wrong. This tells us just how important
conversation and relationships are to the discipleship process. Jesus couldn’t do anything with the Pharisees
(or the scribes) because they wouldn’t dialogue with Him. They simply made up their mind and there was
no movement from that position. If we
are going to be disciples, we must be willing to dialogue and be open to the
possibility that we might be wrong or may need to grow.
Why
do many people not speak out when they have a question? Why do many people find it easier to look on
and judge than enter into a situation?
Can you understand why this would make Jesus absolutely furious?
Third Thought:
After
the man is healed, the Jewish leaders go out and immediately plan how they can
get rid of Jesus. They don’t celebrate
an incredible event; they plan how they can get rid of Jesus. Here we see confirmation that they weren’t
interested in dialogue, learning, or anything else. They are interested in having things their
way and removing any threats to their way.
I find it sad.
Have
you ever overlooked God doing something incredible in your midst? Why can it be easy to miss God at work? What eventually brought you being around to
seeing what God was at work? At what
point do we simply have to humble ourselves and admit we don’t know it all?
Passage
for Tomorrow: Mark 3:7-12
2 comments:
I think it's very hard to stand up at certain times. It's easy when we are surrounding ourselves with like minded people, but when we really put ourselves out there in the world, then it's hard.
For example - try explaining to a sibling and his teenage children why you don't let your own children listen to much secular music, when that sibling is very free with any type of music. Or, try standing up for marriage between a man and a woman when you are discussing that topic with two homosexual friends you have known for years. Then, things get a little more tricky.
I am always amazed in the floor how Jesus stood up for things so firmly and in love at the same time. Oh, how I strive for that.
Yeah, I hear you. And then you have to add to the discernment about "am I the one Jesus has called to stand up in this conversation."
It does get very tricky.
As for the secular music, that is one that I have walked. Well, I should say, I haven't walked it with my kids. But I have walked it with girlfriends. I actually can't tell you how many girlfriends I lost when they heard about the music I listen to. There isn't much that says, "Serious about Their Faith" than the whole, "I don't listen to music that isn't about God." I mean, you should see the looks I get when I say I've never heard a Justin Beiber song.
It is tough. But in the end, I'd have it no other way. My music has become a strength. So much of what I listen to is scripturally sound - if not quoted from scripture directly. I can't tell you how much scripture I've memorized just by listening to music. And that's a really cool thing to be able to say 20 years later.
Keep up the good work. These conversations may be tough, but they are absolutely worth it!
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