Man with shrivelled hand

Matthew 12:9-13, Mark 3:1-6, Luke 6:6-10

The Sabbath day was kept religiously by the Israelites. So religiously that they did not even expect God to do anything on day.

Matthew's account of this story records Jesus using a parable of a man rescuing his sheep from a pit on the Sabbath day to illustrate the fact that God intends to heal man anytime because man is precious to God.

The hardness of heart of the Pharisees stop them from seeing the love of God. There minds were set on a particular belief and nothing Jesus said or did was going to change it. Nothing should be done on the Sabbath day and that was final!

God never made laws or things to hinder mankind but to help him. God loves us and everything he does is done out of a heart of love.

When Jesus challenged the people whether it was right to do good or evil on the Sabbath day they refused to reply Him. (Mark 3:4-5) with a shrivelled hand, standing in front them and desiring to be healed, could change their way of thinking.

Are you hardening your heart to God today. God is a good God and desires to bless, heal deliver and prosper us at all times. Are you standing against goodness of God in any way, maybe unknowingly

A hardened hard never pleases the Lord (Mark 3:5)

Questions

1. Why was the Sabbath day kept so religiously

2. What things do you hold religiously?

3. How can our hearts get hardened to the things of God?

4. How did Jesus deal with their hardness of heart?