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MARK 3:1-5

"DOING THE IMPOSSIBLE"

I. "AND THEY WATCHED HIM."
        A. Mark has set the scene.
                1. It's the Sabbath day.
                2. You are in the synagogue in Capernaum.
                3. Among the worshipers is a man with a withe        .
                4. Suddenly Jesus enters, and the watch Him."
        B. They want to see if He will heal him on the Sabbath that they
           might  accuse Him.
                1. The "they" is the Pharisees, vs. 6.
                        a. They were self-appointed enforcers of the law.
                        b. They sought to keep the law meticulously.
                2. According to their interpretation, it was not lawful to
                   heal on the  Sabbath.
                        a. You could take action to save a life, such as
                           applying a  tourniquet.
                        b. But you could do nothing toward healing.
        C. The enemies of Christ sometimes knew Him better than His own
                followers.
                1. They knew He would be drawn to this man's need.
                2. They knew when He entered a crowd He was always
                   interested in  helping the most needy one there.
                3. They knew that He could not stand in the face of human
                   blight  without helping.
                4. We often feel the opposite.
                        a. We look at our failures, our weakness, the
                           blighted area of  our life and we feel surely
                           God is not interested in me.
                        b. Sometimes as we look around in the sanctuary we
                           feel, "I'm  worse off than anyone here. Jesus
                           isn't interested in me."
                5. Wrong!  You are the one He is most interested in.

II. "AND HE SAID TO THE MAN...STAND FORTH."
        A. They were wondering what He would do.
                1. He did not make them wait to find out.
                2. He faced the issue immediately. "Stand up."
        B. He asked them two questions that immediately revealed the folly
           of their  tradition.
                1. Is it lawful to do good or evil on the Sabbath.
                        a. Never lawful to do evil.
                        b. It would be evil to leave this man in his
                           helpless condition if  you could heal.
                2. Is it lawful to save a life or destroy it?
                        a. Never lawful to destroy a life.
                        b. It is always lawful to save.
        C. "And He looked on them with anger."
                1. An emotion rarely displayed by Jesus.
                        a. Never was this said concerning helpless sinner.
                                1. Woman of Samaria.
                                2. Woman taken in adultery.
                        b. Only for those who through a religious guise
                           seek to hinder  or stop His work on needy
                           lives.
                                1. You can't pray for the sick.
                                2. Our tradition says that miracles
                                   stopped with the  apostles.

III. "AND HE SAID TO THE MAN, STRETCH FORTH THY HAND"
        A. Suddenly, the bigoted crowd is forgotten as attention is drawn
           to the  need.
                1. Notice how Jesus faces the blight squarely.
                2. He doesn't beat around the bush.
        B. The command He gives is impossible for the man to obey.
                1. The man has now one of two choices.
                        a. Argue with command.
        1. Give all excuses.
        2. Tell of past failures.
                        b. Will to obey the command.
                2. He chose to obey.
        C. His discovery, when He chose to obey the impossible command,
           all He  needed was immediately given to Him to obey it.
D Jesus is interested in the blighted area of your life.
                1. He is commanding you to do the impossible. 
                        a. Some of you are arguing.
                        b. Will to obey.