The beginning of Mark 3 provoked some thoughts and questions as I read it.
“Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there.2 Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand,“Stand up in front of everyone.”
4 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.
5 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. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.”
It would appear the Jewish leaders had a tendency to hide behind the law as a reason for not going above and beyond what was required, & at times as an excuse for sweeping under the carpet even what was required.
This clearly frustrated & saddened Jesus!
Most of us probably like to think we don’t … but …
It is perhaps not only religious law that some choose to whitewash over doing good, the right thing or going beyond mere requirements.
The significant inference of this passage suggests that God is not looking for mere rule keepers, but a people who are enthused to search for God’s heart and act accordingly.
3 questions thrown up by this passage for me are; Have our concepts of “good” been tainted by our human nature? What does doing “good” look like from God’s perspective? & Does Jesus imply that by NOT doing good, we do evil?
With those in mind maybe Jesus could just as easily have asked:
* Does our reputation permit us doing “good”?
* Does our comfort permit us doing “good”?
* Do our preferences permit us doing “good”?
* Does our time permit us doing “good”?
* Do our finances permit us doing “good”?
* Does our theology permit us doing “good”?
To unpack it a little further:
* Does Jesus suggest we carry the solutions to many of our neighbours problems – in this instance the man’s physical problem of a hand that had not grown properly – & if we ignore their needs do we do evil no matter how we dress it up or try to sweep it under the carpet?
* What needs to shift for us to be the kind of people who do not harden our hearts but who seek to please Jesus and do “good” for those around us?