Key Verse: “After looking around at them with anger, he was grieved at the hardness of their hearts and told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. Immediately the Pharisees went out and started plotting with the Herodians against him, how they might kill him.” (Mark 3:5-6 CSB)
The tension was already high between Jesus and the Pharisees. In just a short time, large crowds began seeking out and following Him, as He continued to drive out demons and heal people of various diseases. Jesus also had the audacity to share meals with tax collectors and sinners, who in the minds of the Pharisees should be shunned and avoided. Perhaps most significantly, Jesus had gone as far as putting himself in the place of God by granting forgiveness to a man (Mark 2:5-6).
So as Jesus entered the synagogue on this particular occasion, the Pharisees “were watching him closely to see whether or not he would heal” a man on the Sabbath. They were looking for a reason to accuse Him and bring charges against Him, so they could get rid of Him.
As Jesus entered the synagogue, he encountered a man with a shriveled hand who needed to be healed. Jesus, of course, had the power to do so. So after a short and intense encounter with the Pharisees, He told the man to stretch out his hand. “So he stretched it out, and his hand was restored” (v.5). This infuriated the Pharisees even more and they immediately “went out and started plotting with the Herodians against him, how they might kill him” (v.6).
Why were the Pharisees responding this way to Jesus? Why were they so bent out of shape with Him? What was behind their anger and hostility? As Jesus looked at them, what angered and grieved Him most was the “hardness of their hearts.” Their hearts had become stubborn and cold. They were more concerned about religious rule keeping than they were about mercy and compassion. They had failed to understand and apply what God had said, “For I desire faithful love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings” (Hosea 6:6).
The experience of the Pharisees serves as a warning to us about the importance of guarding our hearts before God. What God is most concerned about in us is a heart that loves Him fully and is overflowing with love for others. While our external obedience is important to God, it falls short if it doesn’t flow from a heart that is surrendered to Him.
What are some of the warning signs of a heart that is becoming hardened and cold toward God? In my experience, it is when my worship or prayer life has grown stale and cold. It’s when I’m so busy doing ministry that I have failed to delight myself in the Lord. It’s when my compassion for the hurting or the lost has dwindled. It’s when I’m quicker to criticize than I am to be thankful and show grace.
How is your heart before God right now? Are there signs that it has begun to grow stubborn and cold? Turn to God and invite Him today to flood your heart again with His mercy and love. Ask Him to ignite in you a fresh passion and love for Him.
Prayer: God, please root out of my heart any hardness that has developed. Give me a pure and humble heart before you. Ignite a fresh love and passion for you, Jesus. Help it to overflow in compassion and mercy toward others. Amen.
Author: Jonathan Miller has served in pastoral roles for more than 13 years in churches in Barrie, Oakville and Burlington, Ontario. He currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Prison Fellowship Canada, a ministry that mobilizes and equips local churches to engage in the restorative work of prisoners, ex-prisoners, their families, and victims across Canada. Jon holds degrees from McMaster University and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He and his wife Adrienne have been married since 2004, and live in Burlington, Ontario with their 4 children. Jon’s greatest passion is to know Jesus and to see lives transformed by Him and for Him.
