Spiritual Atrophy

 

Again he [Jesus] entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” 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. 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. The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. (Mark 3:1-6 ESV).

 

Off and on illness has caused an inconsistent schedule of physical activity for me over the last five years. That coupled with the natural aging process produces a weaker body. When you don’t use a muscle for some time, it weakens. While it is a common truth for most people, it is also very common spiritually. When our spiritual muscles atrophy, it affects the rest of our lives also. That’s the basis of today’s reading. Something had happened to this man’s hand so that he could not use it, and it had become virtually useless to him. For all practical purposes, the man’s hand had died.

 

One Sabbath day, however, while the people of the town were in the synagogue (their place of worship), Jesus called this man to stand up in front of everyone. This was an invitation to be at the center of the crowd’s attention. Jesus wanted to make sure that everyone could see what would happen.

 

Some of the people there were looking to cause trouble for Jesus. Their dependence on the law had weakened their hearts, and that Jesus distressed. So, Jesus used a resurrection word, inviting the man to “arise” in front of the whole crowd. And then, with all eyes on the man’s dead hand, it was suddenly and completely restored to life.

 

In this story Jesus shows that the purpose of the Sabbath, the law, and the Messiah is to bring life to what is dead. That’s what is on display, for everyone to see, at the center of this story. Jesus is not just doing nice things; he is demonstrating and announcing the new life he is bringing. I pray you will rejoice in the ways he restores all the parts of our lives that we may have thought were dead.