Healing Withered Hands and Withered Hearts (Mark 2:23-3:6)
Preached by Pastor Jeff Hamling October 11, 2020
Mark 2:23-3:6
Healing Withered Hands and Withered Hearts
Introduction:
Several years ago, two psychologists did an interesting study on seminary students.
They told a group of seminary students to prepare a sermon on the parable of the Good Samaritan—Jesus’ parable about people who passed by a man who was robbed and beaten on the road.
Once the sermons were ready, the researchers told half the students that there were running late and needed to hurry to the chapel to give their message. To the other half, they said, you have some extra time, but you better head over the chapel early to give your message.
The researchers had placed a man who pretended to be hurt on the pathway to the chapel. When the students encountered him—he was hunched over, and he would moan and cough and act distressed.
Here’s what happened: 60% of the students didn’t offer to help the man in any way—as they walked to the chapel to give a sermon on the Good Samaritan. Many of the students literally stepped over him on the path in order to get to the chapel.
The researchers discovered 2 things: 1) The students determined that the instructions of the researchers, “the rule” about going to the chapel now—was more important that giving mercy. 2) The students who left chapel early—and who were therefore not in a hurry—were 6 Xs more likely to stop and help.
Each of us struggles with the hinderances (following the rules and being in and hurry in some way or another. We lose sight of a relationship with God because we are overly focused on the rules and making sure we check the boxes. And we are living our lives at a frantic pace—and not slowing down to rest.
Each of these hindrances is addressed in our passage this morning. There are two stories in this passage. And so my brilliant outline is this: Story #1 and Story #2.
Story #1
In the first story—in v.23—we are told that it’s the Sabbath. Meaning it was supposed to be a day of rest for Jewish people and NO work was to be done.
Jesus and his disciples walk through a grainfield and pick some grain and eat it.
In v.24 the Pharisees protest. Even through the OT doesn’t forbid picking some grain on the Sabbath, according to their rules—it’s work! And you’re not supposed to work on the Sabbath.
Jesus—because he is a good pastor—answers by making three points. Let me point out his three responses:
In v.25-26 Jesus recounts the story in 1 Samuel in the OT where David and his men are running for their lives from Saul. They come to the tabernacle and ask the priest for something to eat. The only thing on hand is the holy bread (called the showbread). Only priests are allowed to eat it. But the priest gives it to David and his men because they’re hungry. And because David is God’s anointed King.
Why does Jesus tell this story?
He’s comparing himself to David. David was anointed as King, but not yet on the throne. Jesus was anointed in his baptism, and he’s not yet on the throne.
And if David, Israel’s King, could eat unauthorized bread, how much more should Jesus be allowed to eat “unauthorized” grain! Jesus is the True King. The Greater David.
Then, in v.27, Jesus says, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”
In other words: the Sabbath was created to serve people. People were not created to serve the Sabbath as if they were slaves.