Mark 3: 1 - 12; Jesus Heals on the Sabbath: Part 2

In our last study, Jesus' healing a man with a withered hand causes some commotion. You may wonder how healing someone could cause a problem if you missed that study. I would encourage you to go back and check out the study for the full context. The accusation arises because the healing occurred on the Sabbath; however, legalism and self-righteousness are the real problems. Christ's unwillingness to "go along to get along" is a problem for the Pharisees. His unwillingness to validate their way of life by aligning with their views, coupled with a willful hardening of their heart towards the thought that they could be wrong, sent them out to begin conspiring with people they hate to kill Christ. In this case, the people the Pharisees align with are the government officials of their time; in our time, it works the same way. No group of anti-Christian people alone can move the needle against the church; they must join forces with those in power by conspiracy and persuasion and make laws that deem the church's actions against the "greater good" of society. The next thing that must occur is the church herself must bow to the laws of men rather than stand on the laws of God.
Our last study also highlighted the hardness of the Pharisee's hearts. This is an important phrase to understand as it arises two more times in this gospel, not about the Pharisees but the disciples of Christ. They will either be charged with having a hard heart or asked if their heart is being hardened. What is a hard heart? I'll answer this by first defining the heart. In Hebrew, the heart was considered the seat of the mind and emotions. It has nothing to do with the actual physical heart except its proximity to all the body's other organs. The heart is central to our body, and so is our mind and emotions to our being. Therefore, aptly named the heart. According to the commentary, the Hebrew idiom of having a hard or stubborn heart means spiritual blindness or active resistance to God's purpose and will. This is caused by failure or unwillingness to comprehend His Word. We should be aware that a hardened heart leads to massive relationship shifts and the possibility of an exodus, just like it did when Pharoah refused to comply with God's commands to release His people. Look around us at the carnage of hard hearts. Families have been torn to pieces over who they voted for or whether or not they took a shot. People who have been lifelong friends have fallen out of friendships because the T.V. says black and white people can't be friends. A hard heart will divide the tightest families and the closest of friends; other relationships don't stand a chance against it. Sacrifice is never one-sided.
Today, we will continue with Part 2 of "Jesus Heals on the Sabbath." We will pick up in verses 7 - 12.
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