LEARNING DAILY

Mark 3: 4-5, Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent. And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.

The Pharisees and scribes, the religious leaders, were always angry and looking for ways to accuse Jesus. They watched him closely! The events of this man’s healed hand reveal the cause of their anger and grief – the hardness of their heart. The Pharisees could not answer the question Jesus asked without condemning themselves. Instead of answering His question they chose to remain silent; if they answered Him, they would have to open their hearts to Him and admit that their traditions were only traditions. They would have to admit they were wrong!

God had given Moses a written law to follow, to interact with Him. The scribes developed additional laws that further defined what it meant to follow and obey God. The strict adherence to the Sabbath was included in those laws. For the Pharisees a very strict interpretation of the Sabbath was meant to keep anyone from disrespecting God’s holy day! Jesus challenged their “religiousness” or piety continually, reminding them that the Sabbath was for doing good and not just for the disciplines they had added. Jesus was talking about work that had significance or was good. He even said the Pharisees would untie his ox or donkey on the Sabbath to lead it to water (Luke 13:15), for example. But their traditions and “the hardness of their hearts” had buried the spirit of the laws under the many laws they had added.

“The hardness of their hearts” is something Believers face in the world around them. Reread the verses above and pay attention to the words that Jesus was angered by this hardness of heart; it grieved Him! The Vines Expository Dictionary states the word “hard” comes from the Greek word porosis which means “a dulled spiritual perception, to be so callous as to be petrified or numb”. That means the Pharisees’ hardness of heart put a barrier between themselves and Jesus, so they had become inflexible and insensitive to Him doing good. That grieved Him greatly.

It is obvious to me that Believers must understand what causes a hardened heart. It will help them to avoid it in their own heart and to understand others. A hardened heart will prevent a person’s ability from seeing, understanding, hearing, or remembering what God is doing or has done in our life. When a new difficulty or situation comes up that cause Believers to have concern or to fear, our faith is challenged. Or unrepentant sin can cause the heart to become hardened; unconfessed sin will numb the conscience to where it is difficult to distinguish between right and wrong. It is too evident today for people to call evil good and good evil – even among Believers. One other cause is pride. There are many examples of man’s pride causing him to place more confidence in himself and push the Lord away. The results of that are never good.

No one is protected from trials and disappointments. Believers must be aware and careful of a hardened heart due to living life. Proverbs 4:23 tells Believers to “Guard your heart”. Psalm 139:23-24 tells Believers to pray, “Search me O God, and know my heart … see if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in everlasting life”. Psalm 119: 9-11 tells Believers to hide God’s Word in their heart so they will not sin against God. In return God will be faithful and just and keep Believers close to Him changing them into the image of Jesus Christ as they walk the narrow way into His kingdom for eternity!