"So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they may accuse Him." Mark 3:1-6 NKJV
When you think about it, the Pharisees and scribes were a very sad bunch of people. Jesus wanted to offer them the Kingdom of God but, all they did was reject Him, refuse His offer and find a reason to accuse Him. Very sad.
Here, Jesus has entered the synagogue and a man with a withered hand was before Him. The Pharisees said nothing but they, 'watched Him closely'. It was the Sabbath and the Law said that no one should work on this day. So if a person was in dreadful pain - possibly dying, no one could pray with him or her; they had to suffer until the next day, that's if they were still alive. Straightaway, we know this was not God; He loves us all and wants us well. This was what Jesus was reflecting but, they couldn't care less. They were selfish people.
It's possible that Jesus healed the man anyway, just to prove a point. Just by His words we can see this, 'Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill' Mark 3:4. However, they refused to answer Him because, the answer was obvious. This made Jesus angry.
This is the type of thing that Christians are up against in these present times. In North Korea, it has been reported that some Christians are being executed because of their faith. Others are being sent to hard labour camps, possibly never to return. Parts of China too, is very harsh towards the Christian faith and they suffer the same kind of fate. This is only two country's that are hostile towards Christians. There are many others.
Even in our own country, things are being made difficult for the believer. Authorities are making it hard for people to even mention the name of Jesus. I suffered this fate in a work place. I was forbidden to talk about Jesus. So therefore, I became an undercover agent for Him and still got the message out.
A few years ago, a well-known Irish pastor was arrested for preaching on the streets of Belfast. He was taken to court but after a lengthy court case, He won. He made a stand for Jesus and had some great evangelistic press coverage too.
Families and marriages are splitting because one partner is a believer and the others are not. There is a time coming, and it is close, when we will be limited in what we are allowed to do. People are watching us right now. As time goes on, it will be much worse. Have you ever read up about the end times and the tribulation? It's not something script writers have made up, it is very true. Read up about it in your bibles and then decide, if you would be able to live through all of this. If you believe in Jesus and what He is going to do, you'll be ok because He will come and whisk us away - the Rapture. The lead up though, will still be difficult for each of us, so we need to cling to Him and each other.
From today, begin making a stand for Jesus and walking with Him every day.
Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.
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