A Grace-Filled Heart

Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.” Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent. He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. (Mark 3:3-5)

In the story of Jesus’ healing the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath, He comes into conflict with the Pharisees and religious leaders in the synagogue because they strongly believed no one should perform any healing on the Sabbath. After all, the Sabbath was a day of rest.

But when this man seeking healing came to Jesus, the Lord had mercy on Him. He showed grace and compassion and was more than willing to do the work to give this man the healing he was looking for.

Sadly, the Pharisees did not have the same mentality. And knowing that, Jesus addresses the Pharisees by asking them a question. He says, “’Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?’ But they remained silent.”

In this moment, Jesus is asking them a question they either couldn’t answer or wouldn’t answer. In fact, I think they wouldn’t answer it, because they knew they couldn’t answer it. He knew deep down they already knew what the answer was. So get this picture. “He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored” (Mark 3:5).

Why does Jesus become angry with these religious leaders? It goes back to what God’s house and God’s day and God’s Word and God Himself is all about. He is all about grace. He is all about restoring those who have fallen, repairing that which is broken, and refilling that which is empty. The heartbreaking truth is that these religious leaders didn’t care about this withered hand because they had such withered hearts.

So let me ask you: what is your heart full of? Has your heart hardened so much that you’re only focused on the rules and rituals of your religion? Or is your heart full of compassion, grace, and mercy like Jesus was? These are questions we need to continue to ask ourselves on a regular basis so that we might continue to strive to be more like Christ and love others the way He loves us.

Dear Lord, I want to have a heart fully of compassion. I want to show grace and mercy to the people around me. I pray that your Holy Spirit would fill me with these things so that I might become more like you. In Jesus’ name, amen.