STUBBORN HEARTS

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.
In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Going on from that place, He went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other.

But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.

Matthew 12:9-14

Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched Him closely to see if He would heal Him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”

Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.

He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.

Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

Mark 3:1-6

On another Sabbath, He went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched Him closely to see if He would heal on the Sabbath. But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there.

Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”

He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored.

But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.

Luke 6:6-11

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Jesus had told the Pharisees this about Himself after being questioned as to why His disciples were eating wheat from the grain fields on the Sabbath:

“The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” Matthew 12:8

In other words, Jesus was Lord over all things, granted authority over everything including the day that God the Father designated as holy.

You would have thought this would have been enough for the Pharisees to stop their incessant badgering and policing of Jesus but it wasn’t.

Why?

Because the Jewish religious leaders had stubborn (and even hardened) hearts, hearts that refused to accept or believe anything outside of what they wanted to.

We see these stubborn hearts on full display as Jesus moves from the grain fields to the synagogue where He encounters a man in need of His healing power. Look again at this story as told by three of the four Gospel authors:

Going on from that place, He went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other.

But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.  Matthew 12:9-14

Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched Him closely to see if He would heal Him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”

Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.

He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.

Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.  Mark 3:1-6

On another Sabbath, He went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched Him closely to see if He would heal on the Sabbath. But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there.

Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”

He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored.

But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.  Luke 6:6-11

As was His custom, Jesus went to the synagogue where He spent a lot of time teaching and we read where the Pharisees and teachers of the law were among those in attendance. Also, there was a man who the scriptures tell us had a shriveled right hand. We aren’t told how long he had been disabled but that is really not as important as the fact that he was in the right place at the right time and in the company of the right person who could change his life forever.

Note here that the Pharisees and the teachers of the law weren’t in the synagogue to bring their worship to the God they professed to follow and serve. Their hearts weren’t centered on the scriptures and growing spiritually. Rather, they were only interested in watching Jesus to see if He would heal on the Sabbath so they could bring accusations against Him.

Well, as we have seen before during this journey through the Gospels, Jesus could read the minds and thoughts of people around Him. He could examine the hearts of others to see where they were coming from. Nothing was hidden from Him. It was true in the days of the Gospel accounts and it’s true today.

So when Jesus looked into the stubborn hearts of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, He knew what they were up to and posed the following question to them before He took any action:

“Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?”

It was a simple question, one that no one should have hesitated to answer. Evil is never acceptable, no matter what the day, and one should always be ready to save the life of another if it came down to it, on the Sabbath or otherwise.

But the Pharisees and teachers of the law chose to remain silent, even in the midst of Jews who were hoping to hear their guidance in regard to the posed question. Jesus was looking for some response as well and when none came, the scriptures tell us He was angered and deeply distressed at their decision to stay quiet.

And so Jesus provided His own reply to the question, not by saying but rather by doing. He commanded the man to stretch out his hand and as soon as the man complied, he found his hand instantly healed and restored to normal. It was an occasion that should have been celebrated and I’m sure it was by everyone in the synagogue except for the Jewish religious authorities as their hearts were so inclined toward evil on that Sabbath day that all they could think about was how they could rid themselves of Jesus for good. And so the scriptures tell us that they went away from the synagogue and partnered with the Herodians, Jews who supported the Romans and their leader Herod, to look for a way to kill Jesus.

Today, people all over the world today are unwilling to accept Jesus or anyone associated with Him. We seem to read of the persecution and even execution of Christians that takes place in other nations every day, all because those accosting Christians have stubborn hearts that refuse Jesus and instead allow Satan to enter in instead. And since Jesus is not here in the flesh to kill again, those with hearts driven by Satan look to kill His disciples, not just on the Sabbath but any day they choose. It’s a sad truth that I’m afraid we are going to always put up with until that day when Jesus comes and judges the world once and for all. It will be a day when those who are dead and alive in Christ will be taken to the everlasting life He has promised, an eternal life shared with Him and God. As for all the others, those who opted to have stubborn hearts and reject Jesus, they will find themselves sent into eternal damnation where they can spend an eternity in hell to regret inclining their hearts against a Savior and anyone who followed Him, those who were only trying to save and deliver them.

Today and every day, please join me in prayer for those who are stubborn in heart, hoping that they would change their attitude, accept Jesus, and receive the salvation He offers.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com