“Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” And he strictly ordered them not to make him known.
And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons. He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.“
Have you ever stepped into a room already knowing there was going to be conflict?
Jesus enters the synagogue again, and this time the tension is already there.
A man with a withered hand is present, and others are watching closely. Not because they care about the man, but because they are watching Jesus. They want to see if He will heal on the Sabbath. In their minds, this is a test.
Jesus brings the moment into the open. He asks a question:
“Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill?”
No one answers.
It is a revealing silence. They know the right response, but they are more concerned about protecting their interpretation of the rules than about the person in front of them. They are more concerned about busting Jesus, than helping someone in need.
Jesus looks around at them with anger and grief. Then He tells the man to stretch out his hand, and it is restored.
Here we see something important about Jesus. He is not neutral when it comes to suffering. He does not step back or wait for a better time. Mercy is not something He postpones. It is at the center of His work.
At the same time, this moment exposes a deeper problem.
Those opposing Jesus are not rejecting the idea of doing good. They are rejecting Him. Their understanding of God has become so rigid that they cannot recognize God at work right in front of them.
And the result is striking. Instead of celebrating a man being restored, they instantly begin to plan how to destroy Jesus.
The scene then shifts, and we see a very different response.
Large crowds follow Him. People come from many regions, bringing their needs with them. Jesus heals many, and even the unclean spirits recognize Him.
The temptation may be to say that crowds are no better. They only want Jesus for what He can do for them, heal them, but we’re not told their motivation. What we do know is they went to Jesus for help and healing.
It’s not unusual, even today, for a person to be drawn to meet Jesus by their need. Often, after meeting the one who can and does help, they see Jesus for who He truly is, “the Son of God.”
In the middle of all this, Jesus withdraws and appoints twelve men.
Mark gives a simple but important reason: He calls them
“so that they might be with Him, and He might send them out.”
Before anything else, they are called to be with Him.
These moments together give us a clearer picture of Jesus.
He shows mercy without hesitation. He is not bound by human attempts to control or limit what God can do. And He calls people not just to learn from Him, but to live in relationship with Him and then share the Gospel with others.
For us, that raises an honest question.
Is our understanding of God shaped by Jesus—or are we trying to shape Jesus to fit what we already think?
Because when we see Him clearly, we see a Savior who restores, who challenges what is broken, who calls us to be with Him, and then sends us to share the good news.
Let’s pray…
Lord Jesus,
You show mercy where it is needed and call me to be with You. Keep me from holding onto a shallow or rigid view of You. Shape my heart by Your Word, and help me to trust Your work in my life. Help me to see people as You see them and to love them as You love them.
Amen.
As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:
After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Kurt
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