If You Could Only See... | The Way of Jesus | Mark 3:1–6

Prayer over VBS : Recognize all that are volunteering

Introduction

Good morning, church family.

Let’s open the Word of God to Mark 3:1-6

As we've journeyed together through the Gospel of Mark, one truth has become increasingly clear.

Mark is not merely recording miracles.

He is revealing a Person.

Every chapter, every miracle, every confrontation asks the same question:

Who is Jesus?

In chapter one He demonstrated authority over demons.

He touched the leper no one else would touch.

He forgave sins that only God can forgive.

He called sinners to His table.

Last week we discovered that He is Lord of the Sabbath.

Now Mark brings us into another synagogue.

At first glance this appears to be another Sabbath controversy.

A man with a crippled hand.

A miracle.

Another argument with the Pharisees.

But I want us to look deeper.

Because this passage isn't primarily about a withered hand.

It is about spiritual blindness.

One man had a withered hand.

An entire room had withered hearts.

The man's condition was obvious.

The Pharisees' condition was hidden.

The man needed healing.

The Pharisees needed sight.

That's why I've titled today's message,

"If You Could Only See..."

Because the greatest tragedy in this story is not a crippled hand.

The greatest tragedy is that religious people stood face to face with the Son of God...

…and never truly saw Him.

Church...

That ought to frighten every one of us.

Because it is possible to know Scripture...

To attend church faithfully...

To defend tradition...

To sing the hymns...

To teach Sunday School...

And still fail to see Jesus.

Let's read God's Word together.

(Read Mark 3:1–6

Mark 3:1–6 ESV

1 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. 2 And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 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. 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 continually collides with the religious system. Not because He is opposed to God’s Word, but because the system claiming to represent God has forgotten what God is like. It knows the rules but has lost mercy. It knows the Scriptures but cannot see the Savior. It protects the Sabbath but rejects the Lord of the Sabbath. It waits for the Messiah, yet begins plotting to kill Him when He appears.”

I. They Saw a Rule Instead of a Person

(vv. 1–2)

Mark says,

Mark 3:1 ESV

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

Immediately Mark introduces two groups.

A broken man.

And religious leaders.

The man came needing mercy.

The Pharisees came looking for a mistake.

Verse 2 says,

Mark 3:2 ESV

2 And they watched Jesus...

That word means they watched Him carefully.

They scrutinized Him.

They studied Him.

Not because they wanted to know Him.

Not because they wanted to worship Him.

They were gathering evidence.

Imagine that.

The Creator of the universe walks into church...

…and instead of worshipping Him...

…they begin investigating Him.

Mark then tells us about the man.

His hand was withered, The word literally means dried up, Shriveled, Without strength.

Perhaps he had been born that way.

Perhaps it had happened through an accident.

Either way...

Every day of his life was affected.

He couldn't work normally.

He couldn't provide as others did.

Everywhere he went...

People saw his weakness.

But here's what strikes me.

The Pharisees never saw him.

They saw a legal issue.

They saw an opportunity to accuse Jesus.

Religion often stops seeing people.

It begins seeing interruptions.

Problems.

Programs.

Policies.

Violations.

But Jesus always saw people.

Where religion saw a case...

Jesus saw a soul.

Church...

May we never become so concerned with protecting our traditions...That we stop seeing broken people sitting beside us.

Because that's exactly what happened here.

The Pharisees were looking directly at Jesus...

Yet they never truly saw Him.

II. Jesus Saw What They Could Not See

(vv. 3–5)

Jesus calls the man forward.

"Come here."

Can you imagine the silence?

Every eye in the synagogue is fixed upon this man.

Then Jesus asks one simple question.

"Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?"

It's brilliant.

There is only one right answer.

Doing good is always lawful.

Showing mercy is always right.

Reflecting God's heart is never wrong.

Yet Mark says...

"They were silent."

Why?

Because tradition had trapped them.

Their system mattered more than the suffering man.

Then Mark gives us one of the most remarkable verses in his Gospel.

"He looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart."

Don't miss that.

Jesus is angry.

But His anger isn't selfish.

It is holy.

At the very same time...

He is grieved.

His heart is broken.

Why?

Because they cannot see.

The Messiah...

The One Moses wrote about...

The One Isaiah prophesied...

The One every sacrifice pointed toward...

The One every feast anticipated...

Is standing only a few feet away.

And they're arguing about Sabbath regulations.

They know the Scriptures...

But they've missed the Savior.

Church...

Can I ask us something?

Can we become so busy defending our preferences...

That we miss what Jesus is doing?

Can we become so concerned with our routines...

That we fail to celebrate lives being changed?

Can we become so committed to our traditions...

That we fail to recognize the presence of Christ among us?

That's exactly what happened in this synagogue.

III. They Witnessed the Miracle...

But Missed the Messiah

(vv. 5–6)

Then Jesus speaks.

"Stretch out your hand."

Think about that.

He commands the man to do the very thing he cannot do.

That hand has no strength.

No life.

No ability.

Yet the man obeys.

As he responds in faith...

Christ supplies the power.

His hand is completely restored.

What a moment!

Surely the room erupts in praise.

Surely everyone glorifies God.

Surely the Pharisees rejoice.

But instead Mark says,

"The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against Him, how to destroy Him."

Did you catch Mark's irony?

Jesus had just asked,

"Is it lawful to save life...

...or kill?"

They refused to answer.

Jesus saved a life.

They left planning murder.

Who was actually violating God's Law?

Not Jesus.

Not the healed man.

The religious leaders.

The greatest tragedy wasn't the man's withered hand.

The greatest tragedy was a room full of religious people...

Standing before God Himself...

Unable to recognize Him.

The Tragedy Continues Today

May I show you something heartbreaking?

Even today, in Jerusalem, thousands of Jewish people gather to pray at the Western Wall.

Many pray faithfully every day.

Many pray for the coming of the Messiah.

Many pray for the restoration of Israel.

Their devotion is undeniable.

Their sincerity is genuine.

Their love for God is evident.

And yet...

It breaks my heart.

Because the Messiah they long for has already come.

The One Isaiah described.

The One Micah said would be born in Bethlehem.

The One Zechariah said would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey.

The One David called Lord.

He came.

He walked their streets.

He taught in their synagogues.

He healed their sick.

He opened blind eyes.

He raised the dead.

He stretched out His hands on a cross.

He rose again.

And many are still waiting.

Church...

That should never make us proud.

It should make us pray.

The Apostle Paul said in Romans that he had "great sorrow and continual grief" for his own people because they had not recognized their Messiah.

That ought to be our heart too.

Not criticism.

Compassion.

Not arrogance.

Prayer.

But before we're tempted to point toward Jerusalem...

Let's look in the mirror.

Spiritual blindness isn't only a Jewish problem.

It isn't only a Pharisee problem.

It is a human problem.

It can happen anywhere.

It can happen in Baptist churches.

It can happen in this church.

It can happen in my heart.

It can happen in yours.

Application

Some of you are carrying something withered today.

Not your hand.

Your heart.

Your marriage.

Your peace.

Your joy.

Your hope.

Your future.

Some of you are trying to control everything.

You're trying to control your children.

Control your finances.

Control your health.

Control your marriage.

Control tomorrow.

Control the outcome.

Can I tell you something?

The man never healed himself.

Jesus didn't say,

"Fix your hand and then come."

He simply said,

"Stretch it out."

The miracle happened when the man trusted Christ with the very thing he could not fix.

Church...

What are you still trying to control?

What are you refusing to place into the hands of Jesus?

If you could only see...

You would stop staring at your problem...

…and start looking at your Savior.

Because the answer has never been greater effort.

The answer has always been Christ.

Invitation

Church...

May I ask you one question?

Do you truly see Jesus?

Not...

Do you know about Him?

Not...

Do you attend church?

Not...

Can you quote Bible verses?

The Pharisees could do all of that.

They stood only a few feet away from the Son of God...

…and never truly saw Him.

Maybe this morning you've been looking everywhere except Jesus.

You've looked to yourself.

To money.

To success.

To religion.

To control.

To your own strength.

And all the while...

Jesus has been standing before you.

The man with the withered hand obeyed one command.

He trusted Christ.

And Jesus did what only Jesus could do.

Today He can still do what only He can do.

He can forgive sin.

He can soften hardened hearts.

He can restore broken lives.

He can bring peace where there has been fear.

He can bring hope where there has been despair.

He can save.

He can restore.

He can make all things new.

So as we stand to sing...

Don't miss the greatest miracle in this room.

Don't leave talking about religion.

Don't leave talking about tradition.

Leave knowing Jesus.

Because the greatest tragedy is not standing before Christ with a broken life.

The greatest tragedy is standing before Christ... and never truly seeing Him.

If you could only see...

John 5:39–40 ESV

39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

They knew the scriptures but not the one that scriptures was pointing to

Jesus knows this, he quotes Isaiah

Isaiah 53:2–3 ESV

2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

People look right past Him.

Lets get personal a moment..

Revelation 3:20 ESV

20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock...

Revelation 3:20 ESV

If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Jesus is waiting right now, today.

Everything would change.