“Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched Him closely to see if He would heal them on the Sabbath.” (Mark 3:2 NIV)
I’m still reading the gospel of Mark with a few students and it’s nice to step out of the Old Testament once a week and breathe in Jesus deeply. Today we discussed this interaction in the synagogue; Jesus and the Pharisees and the man with the withered hand. It occurred to me that there are exactly two approaches when it comes to God. Accusation or acceptance. It’s almost frustratingly simple. We’d feel a bit better if there was more middle ground, but we either accept God for who He is or we make accusations about who we believe Him to be. Our accusations can be all over the board: a fraudulent, impartial, uninvolved, unjust, unaware, or unreasonable.
All this doubt has a common source. We need only to glance back to the garden to uncover our enemy’s original intent. He successfully planted accusation in the hearts of man with on simple question.
“Did God really say?” (Genesis 3:1 NIV)
He’s been seeding humanity with doubt and criticism ever since, slipping seamlessly into the shadows of our story, whispering accusation with every breath. We often fail to recognize his hiss. We naively accept his questions as our own and analyze our Savior instead of simply accepting the lifeline He offers.
We see this very clearly in Mark 3. There are two types of people in this chapter; those that came near to Jesus with hope and those who came close enough to criticize. The Pharisees made a long journey to catch Him in the act of healing on Sabbath – at least a hundred hard miles lie between Jerusalem and any city on the Galilean seashore. These teachers of the law were heavily invested in disqualifying the popular preacher. Sadly, though, they weren’t the only folks in attendance with accusation in their hearts. Jesus’ own family; his mother and his brothers, thought He was out of His head. Only the man with the formerly withered hand and the crowd that pressed in for healing sought Jesus as a Savior.
I keep thinking about the two mountains standing in the heart of God’s country; Mount Gerizam and Mount Ebal. Gerizam is grim and dusty and desolate while Ebal is lush and fruitful, environmental reminders etched into the landscape of Israel. Who will you choose? God or yourself? Salvation or sinfulness? The Pharisees and Jesus’ family faced the same choice, the very one we still belabor today. Do we criticize or do we accept? Can we wrap our minds around who Jesus is and what He’s come to accomplish? Will we receive the salvation He freely offers?
I have such high hopes for God’s people, mainly because Jesus’ own family finally came around. Mary and the brothers were in the upper room when Holy Spirit baptism happened. Somewhere along the way His family stopped making accusations and started to really listen. At some point, they accepted the reality of their Jesus as Savior.
I keep telling my students, this is not the time to be on the fence about God. Indecision is a decision away from Christ, away from Kingdom. With the events taking place around the world and at home in our country, we need to be sure about who Jesus is. This is the time to staunchly plant our flag on the mountain of belief, to repent of our sins and surrender to the agenda of the living God. This is the time to live quite convinced of His love for His people.
“Now, choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him. For the Lord is your life…” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20 NIV)
Lord, this question is as old as our earth. Whom will we serve? Do we come close to accuse or to accept? It’s easy to criticize, but it’s life-giving to believe. Help us choose our mountain today. Give us the courage to take our stand with You forever and ever. Amen.