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The Man With the Withered Hand - Part 2

"... 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. - Mark 3:3b-5

The Pharisees were trying to catch Jesus in a trap again. Was He going to break the Sabbath?! Jesus always confounded them with astonishing answers. He posed to them a rhetorical question: 'Well what do you guys think? Is it OK to do good on the Sabbath'. I guess they hadn't expected this kind of a question... if they had expected it, I imagine they would have responded. But they were silent. They weren't just 'outsmarted', they were caught in their own trap - by the One who already knew what they were thinking. He was grieved at the hardness of their heart.

It is both a comforting thing AND a scary thing... that, if Jesus knew these wicked Pharisees hard hearts and evil thoughts, then he certainly knows mine. Comforting, because He knows when I hurt, when I fear, when I lack faith... but also scary, because He knows those same wicked and evil thoughts that entertain my mind. This is incentive for me to seek purity of heart. It is incentive for me to take every thought captive. It is incentive for me to be on the lookout against the enemy who seeks to destroy me by using my own thoughts and imaginations. It is incentive for me to be vigilant to protect my mind from becoming dull and... withered.

The Man With the Withered Hand - Part 1

The account of the man with the withered hand in Mark 3 always intrigued me. I always wondered what a withered hand really looked like. What ever a withered hand is or looks like, Jesus Christ, the healer, fixed it. This is a passage loaded with many things.

"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..."

These people were 'watching' Jesus. It doesn't appear like they are 'watching' because they have been impressed by him. They are watching because they were looking to accuse him. In fact, not only did they want to accuse him, but even worse... they wanted to destroy him (verse 6). They kept their eyes peeled. They couldn't afford to blink. They didn't want to miss anything. And so they were watching intently, hoping he'd mess up.

"If they hate you, know that they hated me first", Jesus says in another place. In this passage in Mark, know that if they watched Jesus intently, know that 'they' are watching you too. This should be motivation for every Christian - every true believer - to live an exemplary life. We ought to be shining examples of the highest integrity and honor. Truthfulness and honesty should characterize our lives. We ought not to give anyone an occasion to speak poorly of us. We ought to be as blameless as is humanly possible and always run to Christ and His Word for help.

People watched Jesus. People are watching us.

Powerful...

People Never Crumble in a Day

Heidelberg Catechism Questions #60 - #65

May these questions and answers from the Heidelberg Catachism make it clear that our justification is not only making a legal declarations that we are counted 'just as though we never sinned'. While that is true, that is only part of it. The other part is the fact that the Christian is clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Our sins are put to His account, and His righteousness is imputed to us! Jerry Bridges calls it 'The Great Exchange'... What a great description of what God, through Christ, has done for us.

60. Q. How are you righteous before God?

A. Only by true faith in Jesus Christ.[1] Although my conscience accuses me that I have grievously sinned against all God's commandments, have never kept any of them,[2] and am still inclined to all evil,[3] yet God, without any merit of my own,[4] out of mere grace,[5] imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ.[6] He grants these to me as if I had never had nor committed any sin, and as if I myself had accomplished all the obedience which Christ has rendered for me,[7] if only I accept this gift with a believing heart.[8]

[1] Rom. 3:21-28; Gal. 2:16; Eph. 2:8, 9; Phil. 3:8-11. [2] Rom. 3:9, 10. [3] Rom. 7:23. [4] Deut. 9:6; Ezek. 36:22; Tit. 3:4, 5. [5] Rom. 3:24; Eph. 2:8. [6] Rom. 4:3-5; II Cor. 5:17-19; I John 2:1, 2. [7] Rom. 4:24, 25; II Cor. 5:21. [8] John 3:18; Acts 16:30, 31; Rom. 3:22.

61. Q. Why do you say that you are righteous only by faith?

A. Not that I am acceptable to God on account of the worthiness of my faith, for only the satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ is my righteousness before God.[1] I can receive this righteousness and make it mine my own by faith only.[2]

[1] I Cor. 1:30, 31; 2:2. [2] Rom. 10:10; I John 5:10-12.

62. Q. But why can our good works not be our righteousness before God, or at least a part of it?

A. Because the righteousness which can stand before God's judgment must be absolutely perfect and in complete agreement with the law of God,[1] whereas even our best works in this life are all imperfect and defiled with sin.[2]

[1] Deut. 27:26; Gal. 3:10. [2] Is. 64:6.

63. Q. But do our good works earn nothing, even though God promises to reward them in this life and the next?

A. This reward is not earned[1]; it is a gift of grace.[2]

[1] Matt. 5:12; Heb. 11:6. [2] Luke 17:10; II Tim. 4:7, 8.

64. Q. Does this teaching not make people careless and wicked?

A. No. It is impossible that those grafted into Christ by true faith should not bring forth fruits of thankfulness.[1]

[1] Matt. 7:18; Luke 6:43-45; John 15:5.

65. Q. Since then faith alone makes us share in Christ and all His benefits, where does this faith come from?

A. From the Holy Spirit,[1] who works it in our hearts by the preaching of the gospel,[2] and strengthens it by the use of the sacraments.[3]

[1] John 3:5; I Cor. 2:10-14; Eph. 2:8; Phil. 1:29. [2] Rom. 10:17; I Pet. 1:23-25. [3] Matt. 28:19, 20; I Cor. 10:16.

I Have Never Seen Anything Like This...

I don’t know what time it was… must have been around noon. The sun was beating down and it was hotter than blazes. I don’t usually spend much time down there in Capernaum, but I did notice that the crowds were unusually large that day. And then these lunatics came pushing their way through the busy street and then up the sidewalk to the run down home. What on earth was going on there? They couldn’t possibly be trying to get into that house – it was already full of sick people. It looked like the town clinic; people moaning in pain, others appeared to be in some sort of seizures or demon-possessed, blind people groping around tripping over the ones lying on the floor. It was mass chaos from my point of view.

I thought I’d leave and go back home, until I saw the four men carrying the paraplegic on a makeshift stretcher trying desperately but unsuccessfully to get in the front door… somehow ended up on the roof. They grabbed a crude shovel and started digging. Dirt and thatch was being thrown everywhere. “Watch what you’re doing!”, I yelled, rubbing the dust out of my eyes. After I removed the specks from my eyes, I didn’t see the paraplegic anymore. “Out of my way… c’mon, move it…”. I rushed to the door of the run-down home undoubtedly knocking a few bystanders aside. The one everyone was talking about was standing inside the dirt clay house. I had heard about the healings taking place in town. And now the crippled man lay helpless at the healer’s feet. “My son, your sins are forgiven”, I heard him say. What in the world? What kind of statement is that?!, I thought. What blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins… even I knew that – and besides, this man needed his legs fixed, not his sins forgiven. At that moment, the healer turned and gave me a piercing look. There were so many people in the room, he could have been looking at anyone, but I knew he was looking at me. “Why do you think this way in your heart?”, he asked me directly. My face went flush and I started to sweat. “What do you think is the easier thing, to say ‘your sins are forgiven’, or to say ‘get up and walk’. I didn’t even have time to process the question as I felt every eye in the place on me. “Pick up your make-shift stretcher and go home”, he said to the crippled man. Without hesitation, the lame man was instantly able to walk, and he left.

Nobody said a word for a minute or two. We all stood there in amazement looking at one another. We had never seen anything like this. This was amazing. So much so, that some people were praising the Hebrew God. Amid all the activity, I lost sight of the healer. Where did he go? Someone needs to keep an eye on him, the way he talks… but then again, he might be worth finding and following…

Who Has the Moral Clarity?

Tomorrow marks the anniversary of the death sentence to millions upon millions of Americans - the Roe v. Wade decision. The following is a conversation I had with my seven-year-old in the car yesterday. He brought up the topic, out of the blue. You tell me who has the moral clarity, your new president or my seven-year-old...

Son: Why does our new president kill babies?
Dad: Well, he doesn’t personally kill them, but he doesn’t have a problem if someone else does it.
Son: So, he thinks its OK to murder?
Dad: He says he isn’t sure if a baby in the womb is really a baby.
Son: He’s not sure?! What else could it be? He’s the president, and he doesn’t know?
Dad: Well, what do you think about this? Is a baby really a baby when it’s two weeks old?
Son: Yes...
Dad: Do you think that a baby is a baby two weeks before birth?
Son: Yes!!
Dad: What about two months before birth?
Son: YES!!!!!! But why doesn’t the president know this? Isn’t he a smart person?
Dad: I don’t know, son.
Son: [... silent... staring out the window...]

An Open Letter to the President

Dear Mr. President;

I did not vote for you. I disagree strongly with you on many fronts. However, that does not mean you aren't MY president. You are just as much MY president as you are some liberal whacko from California or New York, and I will learn to respect that fact. You are not just the president of those who voted for you, but you are also the president of those who didn't. You represent 'all of us' here in the United States, including me. Whether you like it or not, you also are the president of those who will be born tomorrow, next week and next month. Like I said, you are the president of ALL of us that live in this country and that includes those in the womb right now.

Unfortunately, you have taken a position against those in the womb. I ask, how can you claim to be the president of 'all of us' and yet actively seek to promote extinguishing the lives of 'some of us'? You are in a perilous position if you expect to stand before God someday to offer an explanation as to why you took such a position. I would not want to be you when God asks you why you didn't defend the lives of innocent children. The very hand you use to sign into law the radical views you have on abortion will be stained with the blood of countless babies. I ask you to reconsider your position on 'life' as it relates to the pre-born.

If your daughters 'made a mistake' and got pregnant, I would have a hard time knowing how you'd label your grandchildren as 'punishment', as you stated in the campaign. Children, according to the Bible, are a blessing not a punishment. That may come as a surprise to you, but you should already know that, you have two beautiful children! In practice, you are pro-life - at least with your own family. Quit hiding behind the woman's choice argument. Don't cave in to the political pro-abortion pressure. Be a real man... no, be a real human... and use your office to protect our little babies.

Your conservative, pro-life, pro-family constituent,
Mark

Outrageous Disguise

Human rights groups are outraged over the accusations that soldiers in Thailand are taking hundreds of people out to sea on unmotorized boats and leaving them out there to starve, dehydrate and die. If it is true, it should be an outrage.

Why is it not an outrage in America when we are doing the same thing under the disguise of a woman's right to choose? It IS an outrage - and the human rights groups, the United Nations, your Congressman, your Senator, your new President and sadly many of your brothers and sisters in Christ are silent in their outrage... if they have any at all. Maybe the most outrageous disguise of all is the pro-lifer that never says or does anything in the defense of the pre-born...