Tuesday after the First Sunday after the Epiphany
Posted on January 10, 2023 by under
Scripture: St. Mark 3:1-6 (NKJV)
3:1 And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2 So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. 3 And He said to the man who had the withered hand, 2 “Step forward.” 4 Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent. 5 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.
6 Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.
Devotion
He looked around with anger. True justice is angry with wickedness. Psalm 7 says, “God is angry with the wicked every day” (v. 11). Anger is not sinful of itself. Anger can be sinfully misused. But, if in faith, one is angry against wickedness and does not harm the innocent in his anger, that anger is a good thing. The season of Epiphany is about our Lord revealing Himself to the world as God in the flesh. In this text, He reveals Himself to be true Justice.
The Lord Jesus Christ is angry because of the hatred which the Pharisees have for their fellow man. Here in their synagogue is a man in need of help, who has only one good hand. But, instead of helping him, the Pharisees use him as a tool for blaspheming the Christ. The Large Catechism explains that to refuse help is the same as causing injury. Thus: “if you see one suffer hunger and do not give him food, you have caused him to starve” (LC, 5th Commandment). The justice of our Lord’s anger is that it comes from compassion—compassion for the helpless.
All men must repent of anger which proceeds from selfish and impure motives. Then, all must console themselves in that forgiveness which comes by our Lord’s compassion for poor sinners, who cannot save themselves.
Prayer: O Lord, we beseech Thee mercifully to receive the prayers of Thy people who call upon Thee; and grant that they may both perceive and know what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfill the same; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
