Seeing God Correctly: God Offers Restoration (Mark 3:1-6)

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.

Our Weakness

We should easily connect with the man with the withered hand. I talked about this in an earlier study in Mark, but his culture looked down upon disability. Many would have wondered if his hand was God's judgment on this man or his parents for sin. This flawed perspective, along with the normal human desire to avoid being gawked at, would've kept this man as private as possible. He would have felt a measure of shame and embarrassment over his withered hand. To him, it was a weakness.

But Jesus healed the man of his weakness. The word Mark used was restored (5). Jesus restored the man's withered hand. He brought it to health, back to what it was supposed to be in the first place. Restored.

Many of us sense personal brokenness within. We are embarrassed by bad habits, unreasonable emotions, broken relationships, and personal failures. We sense that we are not everything we are supposed to be or could have been, but what can we do about it? We have tried to self-improve and do better, but it never works. Like this man, we have wished we could be different, but to no avail.

But Jesus comes along, offering to help the man and offering to help you. He wants to restore and grow us. But how? Well, look at the man for an example.

1. Step Forward

First, Jesus called the man forward. He said, "Come here" (3). Some translate the phrase as stand up in the middle or stand up. It made the man go public. He was no longer anonymous.

I do not think for a moment that this felt good to the man. I think he wanted more than anything to go through the synagogue gatherings in private, escaping the notice of onlookers. But now, Jesus has called him to stand front and center.

This is important. You see, God wants you to squarely face your need. He wants you to come to terms with your place of weakness. He wants the blighting and impotent areas of your life to come front and center.

He calls you forward. It might be through confession. It might come through admitting your weakness or fears to another. It might come by setting down the facade that you have it all together. Jesus is interested in that area of weakness in your life. He wants to deal with the disabled parts of you. So he calls you to step forward to him in your place of need.

2. Believe Jesus

Second, the man had to believe in Jesus. He would never have interacted with Jesus if he had not believed that Jesus could do something about his condition.

You must know that Jesus can do something for you. You must believe he is the source of power and transformation you need for life. You must become convinced that he has the ability to help you in your place of need, your place of weakness.

3. Obey Jesus

Third, the man had to obey Jesus. Jesus said to the man, "Stretch out your hand" (5). This was impossible for the man. And one thing I love about the man is his refusal to argue with Jesus. He could have explained his withered hand to Jesus. He could have told Jesus how he'd tried to stretch out his hand a million times before.

But instead of arguing with Jesus, the man obeyed Jesus. And as he did, as he stretched out his hand, it was restored (5). The power of Jesus met him.

You see, the command of Christ includes the power of Christ. When Jesus tells us to do something, he is ready and willing to help us obey him. This man knew he could not obey Jesus in his own strength. He knew Jesus would have to help him. And with trust, he determined to obey Jesus' word. As he did, the power of Christ came upon him.

Paul told us to:

"Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." (Philippians 2:12–13, ESV).

Step out! Obey! And the power of God will work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

The truth is, we only have two options. Argue or obey. Rationalize or submit. We can tell the Lord how long we have struggled or how hard we have tried. Or we can end our arguing and set out, in his power, to obey. At that moment, when our hearts are soft and ready to obey, we will discover his new power, new life, and new abilities. Everything we need, he will provide.

So let's step forward to Jesus, believe Jesus, and obey Jesus. Only he can restore our places of brokenness.

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For the entire Mark series, go here. Thank you.