And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.
The Bible says that when Jesus entered the synagogue, “they watched Him.” This chapter does not say who “they” were. Perhaps they were the Pharisees of the previous chapter and the Pharisees who “straightway took counsel with the Herodians.” I think it is significant that the Bible does not actually pinpoint who “they” are.
What I do know is what “they” did.
- They watched Him
- They would have accused Him
- They would not answer Him
It is reasonable to place ourselves into this scene. We have often enough been in the “they” crowd. We, who claim to be Christians:
Often come to services just to watch
We are there. We are faithful. We give our time, talents, and treasures. But in our hearts, we know we’re just watching. We are not moved. We are not changed. We are not surrendered.
Too often we are accusers
Watching as we do, we see. We see those who are not faithful like we are. We see those who did not come to services like we did. We see those who did not give as much of themselves as we believe we did of ourselves. We accuse them sometimes in our comparison of them next to us.
We often answer nothing
Because we’re watching and because we’ve judged ourselves better than many, we see little reason to respond to the Lord. We are seldom to the altar, and if we do come it is to ask for something we want rather than to surrender to Him something God wants.
And Jesus was grieved
The Bible says that Jesus looked around, grew angered and was grieved. At what? At the hardness of their hearts. That thing that is most grievous to God and those who love Him, is the hardness so many demonstrate toward the things that really matter to God.
- The Word of God and obedience to it
- The church of God and commitment to it
- The souls of men and the rescue of it
To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.
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