February 13 - Mark 3: Hard-Nosed, Hard-Hearted

He looked them in the eye, one after another, angry now, furious at their hard-nosed religion. (3:5-6)

I don't often picture Jesus as furious. But, he looked these Pharisees in the eye and what He saw infuriated Him. What did He see?

"Why does Jesus become angry with the religious leaders? Because the Sabbath is about restoring the diminished. It's about replenishing the drained. It's about repairing the broken. To heal the man's shriveled hand is to do exactly what the Sabbath is all about. Yet because the leaders are so concerned that Sabbath regulations be observed, they don't want Jesus to heal this man.... Their hearts are as shriveled as the man's hand. They're insecure and anxious about the regulations. They're tribal, judgmental, and self-obsessed instead of caring about the man. Why? Religion....

In religion the purpose of obeying the law is to assure you that you're all right with God. As a result, when you come to the law, what you're most concerned about is detail. You want to know exactly what you've got to do, because you have to push all the right buttons... But in the life of Christians the law of God - though still binding on them - functions in a completely different way. It shows you the life of love you want to live before the God who has done so much for you. God's law takes you out of yourself; it shows you how to serve God and others instead of being asorbed with yourself. (Tim Keller, King's Cross) 

In moments of insecurity and doubt, my nature is to choose religion - to seek assurances that I have value and to strive for a sense of well-being.  This is my shriveled, hardened heart.  Thankfully, that's not the end of my story.  As He promised long ago, God is creating a new, soft heart in me that seeks to obey Him,

You'll come back and clean house, throw out all the rotten images and obscene idols. I'll give you a new heart. I'll put a new spirit in you. I'll cut out your stone heart and replace it with a red-blooded, firm-muscled heart. Then you'll obey my statutes and be careful to obey my commands. You'll be my people! I'll be your God! (Ezekiel 11:17, Msg)