“And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.” Mark 3:6
Once my daddy got saved we began going to church EVERY time the doors were open. If there was a church service, prayer meeting, Bible study, revival service, church fellowship, church cleaning or whatever we were there.
We would have revivals in the fall that would start on a Sunday night and go through Friday. We had school the next day but that did NOT matter. We went every night. I loved those revival meetings growing up. My parents made Jesus a priority for our family and I am grateful.
After the first night of one of our many revivals I stood in the parking lot talking to a friend about the service and the Christ-centered preaching. Everything had been so good that night! I asked my friend if he would be coming back the next night. He said no because of school. He would have homework and would need to study. Bottom line: his parents would not let him.
A wave of compassion and sorrow came over me. At the same time I found myself angry with his parents. He would miss the revival!
In our passage there is no doubt the Sabbath was a significant day for the Pharisees, but NOT for the reason it should have been. You might could say the Sabbath had become their god. They got all bent out of shape because Jesus healed a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath Day. They were utterly unaware that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27-28).
Their hearts were hard. Since their focus was to destroy Jesus, they never considered the man with the withered hand. They never considered what he would miss by being completely healed!
Center your life on anything but Christ - work, family, school, or religion - and eventually your heart will harden. Any semblance of Christ in your life will be destroyed. This is the high cost of idolatry. A hard loss that is caused by the hardness of our heart.
A Christ-centered life will be a life of compassion for others. A life willing to lose the hardness of our heart for Christ’s sake and the gospel’s.
Theme Verse:
“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.” Mark 8:35
“Lose” from the Greek word “Apollymi” means “to destroy fully.” It is translated “destroyed” in Mark 3:6, our verse for today.
“And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.” Mark 3:6
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