Scripture:
[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.”
Observation:
The Pharisees knew about Jesus and even believed WHAT He could do, but they didn’t really KNOW Him or believe IN Him.
Jesus showed righteous anger here – anger at the hardened hearts and that they could know about Him and believe He could perform miracles, but they refused to recognize Him for who He said He was.
Application:
I wonder.. even as much grace as Jesus gives us, are there times when He would be angry with us that we don’t trust Him, or.. we believe in Him and walk with Him but we think we have some problem too difficult for Him. Really? We know deep in our hearts there is no problem too difficult for Him. It may be that He is just building our character and hope –
“[3] ..we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; [4] perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (Rom 5:3-4, NIV)
Prayer:
Lord let us all remember at ALL times that You are here for us. Keep us in your Word and aligned to Your will. Remind us that while something may be too difficult for us to handle on our own, nothing is too difficult for You and that You will give us strength to handle all situations as we work within Your will for us. Our hope is in You.
Amen