Mark 3:1-6 THE HARDENED HEART

Mark 3:1–6 (KJV 1900)

And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. 2 And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. 3 And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. 4 And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. 5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. 6 And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.

INTRODUCTION

Chapter 3 opens with the 5th and final challenge of the Pharisees in this sequence

1st was Jesus forgiving the sin pf the paralytic

2nd was eating with sinners and tax collectors

3rd was the disciples not fasting

4th was eating on the sabbath, picking a few heads of grain

In the 1st four confrontations the pharisees initiate it

This time it is Jesus who starts the confrontation

The pharisees are watching Him closely now

With ill intent because they see Jesus as a threat to be eliminated

They look for a reason and a opportunity to charge Him with a crime

Jesus knowing this calls them out in front of everybody

He ask them “is it lawful to good on the sabbath? What about doing evil?

We are told that they off no response because their hearts are hardened or hardening

“Hardness” is the translation of pōrōsis (πωρωσις). The verbal form means “to cover with a thick skin, to harden by covering with a callus,” the noun pōros (πωρος) meaning, “hard skin, a hardening.” The word Mark uses means “obtuseness of mental discernment, dulled perception.” Here the obtuseness is not mental but moral and spiritual. The word “hearts” is singular in the Greek text, “the hardness of their heart.” Expositors, commenting on this says; “singular, as if the whole class had but one heart, which was a fact so far as the type of heart (hardened) was concerned.” Vincent suggests that the word “hardening” gives the thought of the Greek better than the word “hardness.” It hints at the process going on.

Notice how Jesus the Son of God reacts to the hard hearts

First with anger (temporary or not forever)

2nd with grief , a broken heart

Let us not give out Lord cause for anger or grief

Let us look at warning signs that your heart is hardening

A hardened heart will:

Suppress the truth

Be self centered

Seek to hate rather than heal

Suppress the truth

Mark 3:1–2 (KJV 1900)

And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. 2 And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.

These men were not looking for truth

These men were looking to feed their own egos, their own desires

These men are more than willing to reject the truth

The truth for the unrepentant brings conviction

It is inconvenient, uncomfortable condemning

John 14:6 (KJV 1900)

6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

THE TRUTH stand before them in the flesh and they miss it !

With the overwhelming amount of proof offered in just the 1st three chapters of Mark

There is more than enough evidence to reasonably come to the conclusion

That Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah

It is not that they can’t see the truth, it is that they won’t see the truth

What they have is a heart issue not a head issue

Self centered

They are not focused on Jesus as God nor the man with the with hand

Matthew 22:37–40 (KJV 1900)

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

They have set themselves up to be in direct opposition of the 2 greatest commandments

They demonstrate a lack of love for God

And alack of love for others

They love themselves above all else

They care more for their own needs, desires and plans

They have no room in their hearts or their lives for God or other people

Here Jesus is both God and a person standing before them

The hard heart is self centered

The transformed heart is Christ centered

Seeks to hate instead of heal

Mark 3:2 (KJV 1900)

2 And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.

(3:2) And they watched Him. “They” were the Pharisees who had dogged our Lord’s footsteps on a previous Sabbath. The verb is in the imperfect tense, speaking of continuous action. They kept on watching Him, bent on finding our Lord at fault with reference to the Sabbath.

That they might accuse Him. The distinctive word for “accuse” katēgoreō (κατηγορεω) means “to accuse formally and before a tribunal, to bring a charge publicly.” The prefixed preposition kata (κατα) suggests animosity.

Their intention were hostile not holy

They were looking to do Him harm because they believed it would bene fit them

Mark 3:6 (KJV 1900)

6 And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.

They literally left synagogue and went straight to their enemies to plot Jesus’ demise!

The enemy of enemy is my firend

John the Baptist imprisoned by Herod because of too many followers

Like John, Jesus would also be viewed as a threat

In direct opposition to Jesus’ question

Mark 3:4 (KJV 1900)

4 And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.

In direct opposition to the greatest commandment

Conclusion

The harden heart can show itself in a variety of ways

From apathy to aggression

Apathy is to simply not do what you know is the right thing to do

To not come to church

Not tithe

Not pray or read your Bible

To see a need you can meet and just ignore it

To be callous unfeeling

Cold

Apathy could also be not taking a stand because it will cost you

Telling others about Jesus

Abortion

Bullies

Voting

Not lend a hand, giving aid

A hard heart may also be aggressive

Angry

Looking to inflict pain

To tear down instead of build up

Hostile toward God

Hostile toward others

Aloof (hatred from a distance)

Renouncing and denouncing Christ and His followers

Wanting to see Christians silenced, punished or even killed

Could be a Christian who is caught up in sin

Rationalizing to themselves that it is not wrong

Again this is a moral dilemma not a rational one

There is no lack of evidence, the verdict is clear and concise

It is heart issue not a head issue