[Article written by Matt Nevins. Originally published in his email newsletter “The Lamp.”]
The Scriptures expressly states that “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 Jn. 1:5). The direct comparison between God and light is used to characterize God’s nature in practicing truth. Therefore those who want to have fellowship, or share in common, with God must also acquire this quality (1 Jn. 1:6-7). When people choose to practice truth and righteousness, people will fulfill the purpose of life-fear God and keep His commandments (Eccl. 12:13). In other words we were created for good works to glorify God (Eph. 2:10, Mt. 5:16, Tit. 2:14). Practicing truth like light has no need to be hidden, but can expose the evil deeds that are both openly and secretly practiced.
Even though the design of mankind is to glorify God, man has the gift of making a choice. God has allowed man to maintain a status of freewill. Therefore those who will glorify God do so by desire and choice, and conversely those who practice evil do so by desire and choice. Just as Adam and Eve had the choice to be obedient or disobedient to God in Genesis 3, we share the same choice today. Paul goes into great detail in Romans 6 the choice every individual has before God. Those who have chosen to be servants/slaves of righteousness choose to walk in newness of life, clothing themselves in Christ through baptism (Rom. 6:4, Gal. 3:27). Those who will continue in sin have chosen to be servants/slaves to unrighteousness (Rom. 6:20-21). The end result will be life eternal and death respectively (Rom. 6:23). The result is based on a choice.
All who will choose to have fellowship with God have Christ as the example of one who humbled himself in obedience and was exalted by God (Phil. 2:5-9). Jesus practiced truth and therefore displayed the perfect example of fellowship with the Father. Jesus referred to the fellowship that existed on several occasions (Jn. 10:32, 15:26, 16:27-28, 17:11). Evaluating the actions of the Savior will confirm the fellowship. An example of this is found in Mark 3:1-6. On this occasion Jesus healed a man who had a withered hand on the Sabbath. The Pharisees were present to watch Jesus as is indicated in verse 2. For the duration of this study we will evaluate the context and determine why the Pharisees watched Jesus in light of the fact practicing truth like light has no need to be hidden, but can expose the evil deeds that are both openly and secretly practiced.
The Pharisees watched Jesus because of His rising popularity
Throughout the gospel accounts, the Pharisees are portrayed and described as a group who loved to receive the praises of men. This is evident when Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for assuming a place of honor (Luke 11:43), uses a Pharisee to show the contrast of a pure and sincere heart (Luke 18:9-14), and also exposes the Pharisees seating themselves in a position of authority for instructing others but refused to follow the same guidelines (Mt. 23:1-4). The Pharisees were accustomed to be viewed as righteous and upright in their own special spotlight. However people began to divert their attention to Jesus for a time.
People took note of Jesus because of the deeds He was accomplishing. At the point in Mark 3, Jesus had begun preaching concerning the kingdom at hand, and heal those were ailing. The gospel of Christ demonstrates that no one person is greater than the other, but that all are welcome and able to serve God. Jesus both taught and practiced what it meant to be a servant of God. When Jesus dined with ‘tax collectors and sinners’ in Mark 2:15-17, the Pharisees criticized the Lord. Nonetheless, Jesus used the opportunity to show that just as those who are sick are in need of the assistance of a physician, so also are those plagued by sin.
The gospel taught the equivalence of all servants without partiality for one over another. A disciple would only be deemed great by the amount of service conducted to both the Lord and to others (Mt. 5:16, 20:26-28). Paul expresses this point when he said, “you are all one in Christ” (Gal. 3:28). The gospel makes no distinction in importance among the servants. Therefore the gospel would strip the Pharisees and other Jewish sects of the power and authority each group claimed. This would give motive and reason to be concerned with what Jesus would say and do because with His rising popularity, there is the potential for the Jews to reject the sect arrangement.
Furthermore Jesus spoke with authority. The people were amazed by the authority Jesus spoke (Mk. 1:22). The Jews could see the difference between the teaching Jesus taught and the teaching done by the scribes. We understand that Jesus is the Son of God, the creator and savior of men everywhere. The Jews would compare and equate Jesus as a prophet on the same platform with prophets like John the baptizer, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets (Mt. 16:14). The Jews then and previously had not put the whole picture together to realize that this Jesus was the Messiah. Peter boldly spoke in Acts 2:36 that Jesus is both Lord and Christ. Jesus has the authority and when He speaks people need to pay attention. The Jews could recognize the authority Jesus spoke even early in His ministry throughout the land of Israel.
Jesus not only was teaching, but also displaying His power by healing the sick. The Jews recognized the authenticity of the miracles being performed. In the early chapters of Mark we can read of Jesus healing Peter’s mother-in-law’s fever (Mk. 1:31), cure diseases (Mk. 1:34), cast out demons (Mk. 1:34), leprosy (Mk. 1:42), paralysis (Mk. 2:11-12), and restoring a man’s withered hand (Mk. 3:5). These were real people with real ailments. The Jews could easily see the before and after effects plainly without question. Moreover if you knew where you could be healed, would you not be inclined to seek out that place for the remedy? Jews in the first century were and it is recorded in Mark 1:45 that after Jesus healed a man’s leprosy, Jesus could no longer make an appearance in the cities and was forced to stay in deserted regions. Yet people came from everywhere because of the healing power Jesus possessed.
Jesus was performing miracles and teaching the masses concerning the will of God. Included in this was teaching on the meaning of discipleship, the coming of the kingdom at hand, and the need for repentance. The things Jesus spoke were confirmed by the miracles He did to show what Jesus spoke was truth. Nicodemus, a Pharisee, made the observation that Jesus would not have been able to perform these wonders if God was not with Him (Jn. 3:2). The Jews saw the righteous acts and in the end God was glorified (Mt. 5:16). With the people flocking to Jesus, the Pharisees would undoubtedly become concerned with what Jesus might be capable with a large following. Therefore the Pharisees had a motivation to note the things Jesus was doing.
The Pharisees watched Jesus to find and exploit a fault
To counteract the flooding of people to Jesus, the Pharisees concluded that they would need to find a fault in Jesus in order to deter Jews from following after Jesus. If a fault could be found, the Pharisees would be able to exploit the fault and destroy Jesus’ reputation (Mk. 3:2). However, no fault could be found. Yet this did not stop the Pharisees from creating false accusations and try to bind traditions as command.
In Mark 3 we find the Pharisees trying to point out fault because Jesus healed a man’s withered hand on the Sabbath. Going to the Law of Moses will show that no work was to be done on the Sabbath (Ex. 35:2-3). If anyone was found working, that guilty party would be killed for working on the day of rest that was sanctified as holy (Ex. 35:2). The design of the Sabbath was to remind the people of God’s glory. The Jews were to be reminded each Sabbath how the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt with a mighty hand (Deut. 5:15). We are also told that the Lord made the Sabbath holy because how God rested on the seventh day after the completion of creation in six days (Ex. 20:8-11). So when Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath, was work done? The Pharisees were waiting and watching to see if Jesus would heal the man. If Jesus did, then the Pharisees would accuse Jesus of not keeping the Sabbath.
Jesus, knowing the hardness of their hearts, used the opportunity to teach a lesson. Jesus makes the point in Mark 3:4 that righteous deeds are to be done on the Sabbath and saving a life would be lawful (Mk. 3:4). The Pharisees knew the answer and kept silent. Jesus justified the deed and then healed the man in front of the audience. Afterwards the Pharisees then plotted with the Herodians in order to destroy Jesus. The Pharisees already had tried to accuse the disciples of Jesus for not keeping the Sabbath in Mark 2. However Jesus put the Pharisees to shame by appealing to Scriptures and the example of David and his companions. The Pharisees watched in order to find fault and were willing to use anything, no matter how insignificant the charge.
The Pharisees watched Jesus because of envy
In pursuit of finding the coal speck in the perfect diamond, the Pharisees found defeat every time. In Mark 3:2-4, Jesus knew that the Pharisees were prepared to question the healing of a man on the Sabbath. The Lord knowing this was angered by the hardened hearts of the Pharisees. The Pharisees were not given the opportunity for a useless accusation because Jesus posed the question on the rightness of preserving life and doing good on the Sabbath in verse 4. The Pharisees kept silent. The Pharisees understood that Jesus was directing the question to them based upon their thoughts and motive on the occasion. Envy must have swelled because Jesus was right and was acting righteously. This envy and hatred of the Lord led the Pharisees to conspire with the Herodians. Some may think it strange, but the very same thing happens today.
Peter said, “For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps…” (1 Pet. 2:20-21). Being persecuted for doing what is right and standing for righteousness is not a new thing. Peter said that Jesus is our example therefore we ought to act as Christ and continue to be faithful to God. Consider the treatment of faithful individuals like Stephen (Acts 7:57-58), James who was the brother of John (Acts 12:2), Paul (2 Cor. 11:23-28), or the examples in the Old Testament (Heb. 11:32-40) which suffered for serving the God of heaven. People may think living righteously is strange, but the reward is much greater than anything on this plane.
In Conclusion
The Pharisees like many today ‘watch Jesus’ for the wrong purpose. The Pharisees were focused on destroying Jesus’ influence in order to promote their selfish ambitions. Despite their efforts, God was glorified in all things. As previously mentioned, Jesus is our example of one who was slandered and persecuted yet persevered to be obedient, even to the point of death on the cross (1 Pet. 2:21-23, Heb. 5:8). The spiritual are always persecuted by the carnally minded. Paul reminded the brethren in the region of Galatia that Ishmael who was born according to the flesh persecuted Isaac who was born according to the Spirit, and therefore even the spiritual today will be persecuted by the carnal (Gal. 4:29). Suffering for righteousness is not a new thing among mankind, but an old repeated theme.
Living righteously will cause others to note the lifestyle being led. The Pharisees took note of Jesus, granted they watched Jesus for the wrong reasons yet the reason was because of Jesus lived. Jesus did not keep the gospel hidden in a corner where no one would hear, nor were the miracles done privately but open for anyone to see. Practicing what is right and true has no reason to be hidden. Living spiritually through Christ demands for us to be zealous for good works (Eph. 2:10, Tit. 2:14). The servant is not greater than the master and so when the Godhead is light, we must also be as light (1Jn. 1:5-7).
God is ultimately and directly glorified, but this lifestyle will also expose the evil around us. The Pharisees were exposed as men pleasers and hypocrites throughout the gospel accounts in light of Jesus’ life and teaching. Mark 3:1-6 explicitly demonstrates how truth will expose the sincere at heart and the hardened hearts. The Pharisees were looking to destroy Jesus, while Jesus was seeking to restore man through His sacrifice. There will be those who will watch Jesus in the Scriptures to imitate while others will watch to discredit. Both groups will be judged and those of light will enjoy eternal fellowship with God.
