Persisting in Faith
Another time he went into a synagogue, and a man with a shrivelled hand was there … Jesus said to the man with the shrivelled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”… He looked around … and … said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Mark 3:1,3,4,5
There is a very old tradition that this man with the shrivelled hand was a plasterer (Jerome’s Commentary written in late 4th century). We know nothing else of him.
Clearly the disability was from birth. He probably came to the synagogue frequently. Praying for the sick doesn’t seem to have been part of synagogue practice. The man probably passively accepted he would be like he was all his life.
God’s sovereignty and the personal exercise of faith needn’t be opposing forces. Unfortunately they’ve become so in the thinking of many Christians.
When William Carey approached other ministers of his Baptist denomination in 1786 about the responsibility of all Christians to share the gospel, he was told, “Young man, sit down. When God pleases to convert the heathen, he will do it without your help or mine.” Thankfully Carey refused to “sit down.”
The gospels constantly link healing with faith. To the woman with unstoppable bleeding Jesus said ‘Your faith has healed you’ (Matthew 9:22); to the blind ‘According to your faith will it be done to you’ (Matthew 9:29); and to His disciples ‘If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move’ (Matthew 17:20).
The man had to stretch his hand out. He could have refused. “Jesus you don’t understand. I was born this way. I’ll be like this until I die.” No, he stretched it out. He did what Jesus told him to do. And the result was a miracle. ‘He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.’
Think of the man at the Pool of Bethesda. Jesus asked him very specifically ‘Do you want to get well?’ (John 5:6). It was a valid question. It’s still a valid question. We’ve all met people who are very comfortable being sick.
Are you too passive? Even Paul pleaded with God three times to lift his ‘thorn’ (2 Corinthians 12:8). He kept pressing into God until He heard God’s voice. Shouldn’t we be doing the same?
‘From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it’ (Matthew 11:2). The benefits of the kingdom of heaven are particularly enjoyed by those who press into God for them.
Will you do that?
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