Mark Chapter 3

Intro

Week 3 of the book of Mark!

I’m excited to keep trucking through the book of mark!

There is a lot of things that are happening in the book of Mark so I hope you have been following along!

We hit Mark 2:1-12 last week, well here is everything that happened in the rest of chapter 2

VS. 13-17: Jesus calls Levi and eats with the tax collectors

VS. 18-22: Jesus is challenged on fasting

VS. 23-28: Jesus is questioned about the Sabbath

Well today we are picking up in the beginning of chapter 3

Notice the needs of others

Mark 3:1 ESV

1 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand.

Chapter 3 starts out with Jesus in the synagogue — a place where Jesus typically is

While in the synagogue there is a man with a withered hand that comes up to Jesus

The idea of a withered hand isn’t necessarily explained other than that it is a issue / illness

That the man had a problem that needed healing

We know that anyone who is considered sick is considered unclean in Jewish terms

That means just like the leper, just like the paralyzed man he wouldn’t be allowed in the synagogue

He would be isolated away from his family

Because the belief is that anyone with any issue was an issue of sin — that God struck them because of their sin, so you must stay away from them so that God doesn’t strike us down

That was the belief at the time

This leads to our first point

Everyone needs Jesus

Everyone needs Jesus

There is people all around that are in need and hurting and desperately need Jesus to save them

This is a common theme of the book of Mark — and a common theme in each of our messages

But people are in desperate need of Jesus

I remember being one of those people

When I was in middle school and high school my sister attempted suicide multiple times, she got put in a mental hospital, and required constant care and attention

For me that meant I was left completely and utterly alone

My parents left me alone to bear the burden of what was happening

Another one of my sisters ended up getting arrested and going to jail where we had to bail her out

Again I was left to pick up the pieces

I never once told anyone that I was in need — that I was desperate

But inside I was hurting

I masked the pain with sports and parties and friends

But my soul was hurting

I needed someone to show me the answer

It wasn’t until I finally found Jesus that I realized that I was broken and needed someone

There is people all around us that need Jesus

They need Him to pick up the broken pieces and heal the hurting in their life

Transition

Here’s the thing though — what are you going to do with the need

We see the need, we recognize it, but what are we going to do with it?

That is the dilemma that we are facing every single day

We know people that are doing drugs, people sleeping around, people that are arguing and fighting and terrible

So what are we going to do about it?

How do we react?

That is what the rest of this passage is focusing on

Jesus is put in a similar situation

Which side of the fence

Mark 3:2 ESV

2 And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him.

Jesus in this passage is faced with the dilemma

Either:

A) Heal the man despite others rejecting Him

B) Ignore the man and go against what he said he was here to do:

Mark 2:17 ESV

17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

The dilemma is simple but something that I believe we face every single day

The religious leaders looked at Jesus testing Him

It was unlawful to work on the Sabbath, so from the Pharisees perspective to heal the man was going to be sinful

Thats where the story continues:

Mark 3:3–4 ESV

3 And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” 4 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.

Jesus poses a question to the religious leaders: the question is simple:

Is it okay to do good and save a life on the Sabbath, or to do harm and kill on the Sabbath?

The question seems obvious: Do good and save a life

Yet the Pharisee’s couldn’t answer that because it goes against what they believe

They believe that it is unlawful to do any “work” on the Sabbath

So the Bible says they remained silent

Mark A. The Priority of Humanity (3:1–6)

The word used here is esiopon.

It has the sense of a determined, continuing silence.

This was not the silence of one who had nothing to say, but the rebellion of one who refused to be touched

They stayed quiet out of rebellion — that they disliked what was happening and stayed silent

This is where we find ourselves and the question that we must ask ourselves

Where do we fall?

Where do we fall when it comes to those that are hurting and broken

Where do we fall when it comes to those who are in desperate need of Jesus?

Do we act like Jesus where we step up for those in need? Break traditions to save and help?

Or do we act like the Pharisees?

Where we keep tradition over everything?

Where we refuse to help and “esiopon” so as to attempt to save face around people?

It took someone to step up like Jesus did for this man for me to be standing in front of you today

My brother-in-law Brad continued to invite me to church, beg me to come, hound me about it

To the detriment of our relationship — we used to be close, and I started cutting him off

I stopped working with him, stopped going to their house, ignored him, everything

Yet he continued to hound me until I came to church and found Jesus

He did this because He knew I needed Jesus

But what about us?

Can we honestly say we are like Jesus?

Or are we like the Pharisees that ignore the hurting because:

it’s embarrassing

what would other people think if I’m around them

they aren’t like me

they cuss

they’ve done drugs

they’re the bad kids

they seem like they have it all together

Students Jesus is asking the Pharisee’s this question, but I believe it extends beyond them to us

Where do we fall?

Are we willing to save a life?

Follow Jesus

Here’s the end of the story:

Mark 3:5–6 ESV

5 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. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

Jesus is filled with anger and grieving over the Pharisees

Because of their hardness of heart:

Mark A. The Priority of Humanity (3:1–6)

Hardness of heart is a sin of attitude.

It is a settled disposition against God.

It is the sin that says, “I’ve already made up my mind.”

Jesus is grieved and upset at the Pharisees because they made up their mind and were unwilling to change

They wouldn’t see it any other way because of their past beliefs

They refused for the man to be helped

Here’s the final challenge for us:

Follow Jesus

We need to follow Jesus

Here’s what I mean by that

If you have accepted Jesus as your savior you are a new creation, with a new heart, a new attitude, a new outlook

So we need to follow Jesus’ example

Don’t let our past beliefs stop us from reaching someone who needs Jesus

Don’t let our misconceptions stop us from reaching someone for Jesus

Don’t let our concerns about them stop us from reaching them for Jesus

Don’t let our hearts be hardened towards those who need Jesus — instead follow Jesus’ example!

Go and reach them

There is nothing else that matters in life

Imagine if someone looked at you and said

“they are too far gone”

“they don’t need it”

“they can’t handle it”

“they aren’t worth it”

“they don’t look like us”

“I can’t reach them because what would my friends think”

Don’t be like the Pharisees — where we miss the point

Our mission in life is to reach everyone who is far from God with the Gospel message of Jesus Christ!

Conclusion

Jesus poses a question for us

Which side of the fence will we sit on

Will we be like the Pharisees holding our values, others thoughts, traditions ahead of those who need saving

OR

Will we be like Jesus and seek those who are lost and in need of saving?

Discussion Questions

What questions do you have?

What dilemma does Jesus face in chapter 3 regarding the healing of the man on the Sabbath?

What was the response of the Pharisees when Jesus asked if it was lawful to do good on the Sabbath?

How does recognizing our own need for Jesus influence the way we view others who are struggling?

Reflecting on your life, how can you actively seek to help those around you who are in need of Jesus?

In what ways can you ensure that your heart remains open and compassionate towards others, as Jesus demonstrated?