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.

Restoration or Rebellion

Here we see the character of Christ. Mark is very good at showing us the emotions of Jesus. The Bible says, he looked round at them with anger, grieved for their hard hearts. This anger is not sinful nor is it inconsistent with the love and mercy of the Lord. It would be wrong for Jesus not to be angry when confronted with the wrong that would leave a man crippled when he could be healed.

Jesus looked around at every single Pharisee in that room, knowing they were daring Him to do what they said He couldn’t do according to the Law. Mark records there was anger written on His face. Mark 3:5 when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts.

There was anger that could be seen on Jesus’ face. Anger at their hardened hearts. The word here is πώρωσις pōrōsis; it means hardness, stupidity or callousness. We know this word when it comes to bones becoming hard and brittle. Jesus sees their calcified, impenetrable hearts, made that way by the misuse of the Law. And it angers Him, but Mark says it is an anger caused by grief. Grief at what sin does, and anger because He can cure sin and its effects, just as He can cure this man’s hand, but they would stop Him from doing both. And Jesus is righteously, rightly angry.

Now I’m going to challenge you with a simple question, exactly when was this man healed? Was it when he heard Jesus? Was it when he stood forth? No, the Bible clearly tells us when he was healed.

He was healed when he responded to the words of Christ to stretch out his hand. The man did as Jesus said, and He reached out toward the Lord. His belief in Jesus was shown when He acted upon what Jesus told him and he stretched forth his hand. The Bible tells us, “And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.”

Salvation or Damnation

Every person has two choices when they are confronted in their sin and weakness by Jesus. Harden your heart or Heed His call. You can, like the Pharisees, harden your heart and refuse to heed the calling of Jesus. You can refuse to look upon the Lamb of God sent to die for you. You can choose to not acknowledge the personal revelation that He came and died for you on Calvary.

You can ignore what it says in Isaiah 53:4-6 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Yes, you can like the Pharisees, harden your heart and reject the Lord, but understand that also, like them, you will know the wrath and judgment of God.

Romans 2:3-5 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

The two choices are so plainly laid out in just one verse, Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Someone has rightly said that if you are lost then this world right now is the only heaven you will ever know. This is as good as it gets. This life with it's sorrow and heartache, pain and suffering is your only paradise, if you are lost and reject Jesus. And the world which awaits you upon death is one in which there is no goodness of God. There is no light, there is no friendship, there is no hope, there is no comfort, there is no family, there are no dreams of a better future. All these things are blessings from God and Hell is devoid of all these. All that is left is the worst most inconsolable pain and suffering and torment that exists for those who reject God and choose not to have Him in their life. Hell is exactly that and it burns with that fiery torment and regret for all eternity.

But please listen, Hell was not meant for you. God fashioned it for the Devil and his angels, but God created you to have fellowship with Him. Even when that fellowship was broken back in the Garden, God had already planned to send His own Son so that it could be restored. Revelation 13:8 says that Jesus is “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

And so now He calls. Calls us to the cross, calls us to Jesus’ wounded side and pierced brow. Calls us to the foot of the cross so that He may be lifted up and we can find restoration, redemption, and righteousness in Jesus Christ.