Mark 1-3

The Pharisees kill me. What were they thinking? Time and time and time again they witnessed the wonder and complete power of a man that was God and their responses are laughable. Jesus heals a man that has been confined to a mat and paralyzed for his whole life and post-miracle the Pharisees reply, “Why does this fellow talk like that?” That’s right. There is no record of any of them saying, “Whoa, how did he do that?” Or, “Where’s the body double…that was a good trick?” I don’t think it ever says in the Bible that the Pharisees didn’t believe that Jesus was healing people. It wasn’t that they thought He was a fraud and He was pulling the wool over their eyes. They were so caught up in the legalities and the fine print that they somehow missed the beauty and reality of what had just happened before their eyes.

The next time that Mark records the Pharisees unintentional humor [maybe I’m the only one that thinks it’s funny] is on the Sabbath. The scene opens in a synagogue and Mark writes that “a man was there with a shriveled hand.” Sorry, but I must also note the succinctness with which Mark reveals the holy adventures of Jesus…the man wastes no time. So like Mark said, there was a man there with a shriveled hand and the Pharisees were waiting with bated breath to see if Jesus would dare heal someone on the beloved day of rest. Again, not waiting to see if He could actually do it—it was almost like they already knew He was the real deal and He had the power of God living in Him but they thought if they could catch Him accidentally being Godly on the wrong day then they could convince God not to use such a rule-breaking bum to save the world. Jesus sets them straight with a little verbal punishment, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" Silence set in. The Pharisees cowardly demonstrated their immovable position by sitting in silence. I feel Jesus’ pain here--well I’m sure I have no idea of Jesus’ pain…that’s a little sacrilegious; but I understand why he looked at them in ANGER. If you're ever looking for a way push me over the edge, just ignore me. It irritates me like nobodies business...and Jesus too. No one would even acknowledge his question…and he was distressed by their stubborn hearts.

When I read the word anger, I was convicted. I read and re-read this chunk of scripture knowing that Jesus and anger are not usually in the same sentence. Initially, I was creating a protest scene in my head...Jesus and I grabbed our oversized picket signs, threw them over our shoulders and started marching in circles shouting "down with the Pharisees." I was mad that the Pharisees were being so stuck up and that they didn't understand the heart of the matter. I'm always mad at the Pharisees. I have this little compartment in my head for the stubborn, close-minded men that tried to disprove Jesus and because they were always opposing Jesus, I feel like God has given me permission to judge them and deem their sin unforgivable. But, then God grabbed my picket sign and yanked me back to reality. Silence set in yet again and I felt God laying words on my heart, "you're a stubborn sinner."

We are all stubborn sinners. Maybe our sin doesn't look as pretentious as the Pharisees, or maybe it does, but Jesus died for those men. He died for you. He died for me. None of us deserve it…we don’t deserve to daily bask in the freedom and joy of His mercy. I thank God for reminding me that the Pharisees are in good company, as my ignorance is no different than theirs. In her book Traveling Mercies, Anne Lammot writes, “Grace is the light or electricity or juice that takes you from that isolated place and puts you with others who are as startled and embarrassed and eventually grateful as you are to be there.”


Jenna Trapasso
February 27