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When Jesus Comes to Church—Mark 3:1-6
Growing up at
First Baptist Church
“Don’t run in God’s House”
Prompted
me to look for God; I always wondered why God never seemed to be at home
As I got older, I realized that
I was a bit naïve
God wasn’t physically there
Have you ever wondered,
though, what would happen if Jesus actually came to church?
Mark 3:1-6—Jesus goes to Synagogue (kind of like going to
church)—four things happen when Jesus comes to church
Jesus saw a
problem/need; Jesus issues a call; Jesus offers a command; Jesus expects a
response
Jesus saw a
need—First Problem: A Withered Hand—3:1-2: When Jesus comes to church, he looks for a
need to address
The withered hand (Luke
6 tells us it was the right hand that was withered
The man would be hindered
from doing business
He would be considered a sinner; obstacles (social and
religious) would be placed before this man
Put yourself in the man’s place
You
can’t hold a regular job, have normal relationships, etc.
Religious leaders think of you primarily as a sermon
example of how God judges sinners or they attack you for your “deformity”
You can’t even greet people normally without opening
yourself to rebuke or attack
How are we like this man?
What are our withered hands?
What obstacles (real or perceived) keep us from
doing what is right?)
A withered hand wasn’t the only problem/need Jesus
faced at this meeting
Jesus saw a
problem—Second Problem: Hard Hearts—3:5:
When Jesus comes to church, he addresses problems
The Pharisees were
watching to see if Jesus would break the law
They were more concerned for
their religious tradition than for the needs of others
More interested in
“outing” Jesus or catching him in a mistake than in doing the right thing
They had hard hearts,
but they were just as hindered as the man with the withered hand
Hard hearts
kept them from seeing the needs of others
Hard hearts kept them focused on
doctrinal correctness instead of obedience
Hard hearts kept them from doing
what was right
Hard hearts grieved Jesus
How are we like the Pharisees here?
Do
we focus on doctrine alone or do we put into practice what we know?
Do we
consider the needs of others as more important than our own standing or
reputation?
Do we look for opportunities to accuse instead of circumstances to
serve?
When Jesus comes to church, he looks for
needs to address—What need/problem stands in your way of
working with Jesus?
Jesus issued
a Call—3:3-4: When Jesus comes to church, he issues a call
to act
The man’s perspective
“Oh,
great! I get to be a sermon
illustration!”
“Here it comes, another lesson on how sinful I must be with my
hand as exhibit A.”
“Why is he picking on me?”
“Oh well, I might as well go
forward”
What has God called us to do?
Why are we hesitating?
Are we
afraid he might make an “example” out of us?
Jesus’ purpose
The
call was given to illicit a response:
faith responds to God’s Word
The call was given to do the right thing
Jesus intended to do good, not harm
He wanted to show the benefit of the
Sabbath, not the legality of it
The Pharisees’ response
They
were silent
Not all silence is golden—silence can sometimes kill (or at least
wound)
How does our silence wound others?
When Jesus comes to church,
he issues a call to act
Will we be silent? Or will we take a stand?
Jesus offers
a Command—3:5: Mark 3:5a:
When Jesus comes to church, he gives a command
Jesus’ anger and grief
Jesus
was angry at their silence
He was grieved at their lack of concern for doing
God’s works
The command: “Stretch out your hand”
Do
what seems impossible
The man’s perspective
Why
is everyone picking on me?
Why does he ask such impossible things?
How am I
supposed to do what I’ve never done?
Comparison time
How
are we like this man again?
What “impossible” task has God given you?
What has he called you to do that you are
sure you simply cannot do?
What should your response be?
Jesus’ expectation
He
intended to do good, to save a life
He expected something positive to happen
He
expected God to act in response to the man’s act of faith
When Jesus comes to church,
he gives a command to do the impossible
Jesus expects
a Response—3:5-6: When Jesus comes to church, he expects
people to respond to his commands
The man attempts the impossible
Against
all odds, the man attempted to stretch out his crippled and unusable hand
Against all odds, he did the impossible
By acting in faith on Jesus’ words,
the man was able to accomplish the command he was given
Faith responds to
God’s Word by acting on it
Faith says, “If God wants it done, he will give me
what I need to do it!”
Faith acts and God moves
The Pharisees conspire
When
things don’t turn out their way, they decide to attack Jesus
They missed a
great miracle!
They acted in disappointment or anger instead of faith
When Jesus comes to church,
he expects a response
Will we attempt the impossible?
Will we obey his
command?
Or will we conspire against God?
Conclusion—What
would you do if Jesus actually came to Rocky Mount Baptist and stood here?
How would you respond to his “impossible” command?
If we expect to be known as followers of Christ, as
his disciples, then we must be ready to ignore our obstacles (real or perceived)
to act in faith on his command
We must be ready to act on his commands and do the
“impossible”
Only by acting in faith can we see withered hands or
hard hearts changed
Some suggestions for this week:
Set aside time to get alone with God: Ask Jesus to give you guidance by the Spirit
of Truth into the commands God has given you, the call that God has offered
you. Look in God’s Word for direction.
Spend some time (10-15 minutes a day) asking God to
show you any areas where a withered hand or a hard heart has kept you from
obeying his command: Then, repent and do
it.
Set aside some time to act on what you know God has
called you to do: serve someone, share
your faith, offer a word of encouragement, go the extra mile, or simply love as
Jesus has loved you.
Stretch out your withered hand—attempt the
impossible at God’s command and see what happens.
When Jesus comes, be prepared to respond with
faithful obedience.
Only radical and abandoned faith will result in true
transformation.
Thanks for reading!
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