In Mark 3, Jesus is faced with a crowd of critics and haters watching Him interact with a man who has a shriveled hand. They are trying to catch Jesus in a quandary that would warrant a trial and sentence for potentially healing on the day of rest.
Long story, short, He heals the man on the Day of Rest, and they all go away plotting to kill Jesus.
Now, there is one verse in this telling that says something a little more pointed for me today. Verse 5 describes Jesus' emotions toward people in this moment, and that emotion is not compassionate and buddy-Jesus-like.
"He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts..."
We may have heard Jesus got angry, and most of us think of Him turning over the money-changers tables as the only angry moment Jesus ever had on this earth. We cannot miss this moment of anger and distress in the heart of Jesus, because I have to realize I am often the cause of this anger in the heart of Jesus.
When I hold on to a stubborn heart against the moments when Jesus could do a great action of restoration, healing, and compassion, I anger the heart of God. I have stood in moments when Jesus could do something restorative, and my heart was stubborn, resistant, and hurried to move on. I have sat with people who could have been restored or could have seen a broken piece of life healed, and I have been determined that this was not my moment.
"Jesus, I am off the clock. It is my time to rest. This is not the time."
I am grieved by the reality I have, in those moments, angered and distressed the heart of my Lord.
