Jesus Versus the Religious Establishment.
Today, Pastor Michael is talking on how Jesus did not come to offer more religion to folks, but to give a true connection to God. We find Jesus at a synagogue and he meets a man with a shriveled hand. The Pharisees had their eyes on this man, not only because of what he represented, but they wanted an opportunity to accuse Jesus. The Pharisees were wanting to see if Jesus would heal on the Sabbath; regardless that the healing was good, it would break the religious traditions of the Pharisees.
Jesus asked a question, in two parts. First, about doing good or evil, referring to the man with the shriveled hand. The second, about saving life or killing, which cannot refer to the man, since a shriveled hand isn’t fatal. The second part refers to the intentions of the Jewish religious leaders in regard to Jesus!
Jesus looked at the Pharisees with anger, for the hardness of their hearts brought Him continual grief. Jesus told the man to “Stretch out your hand” and he did and was healed and Jesus’ authority was clearly shown.
The religious establishment hated Jesus. But the folks that didn’t associate with the "establishment" loved Him. People who were nothing like Jesus, liked Jesus!
Verses can be found today in Mark 3: 1-12.
Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.