Healing Our "Withered Hand"

Scripture Reference Mark 3:1-5

Jesus comes to the synagogue, and finds a man with a withered hand.  A man with a withered hand in the bible times could not work, could not support himself, nor make means to feed his family.  It would make it difficult for him to go into battle, slay his enemies, and come out victoriously in any fight.

If we look at this story from a metaphoric view, the synagogue represents the church, the place of worship.  While we are able to make it to the place of worship, we often sit on the sidelines, with a withered hand. We know he was sitting because Jesus instructed him to “Stand forth.” vs 3. Are we sitting in the place of worship, with a withered hand?

Look at the comparison to the modern day saints of God.  We have the power of the resurrection and the life of Jesus Christ, who died once, for all men to have a right to the life and life more abundantly. We have available to us the power of the Holy Spirit, who was sent to us. (Luke 24:49) So why don’t we ask for this power, and when we do why don’t we receive it?

The man in our text is probably sitting on the side, maybe even back in a corner somewhere. Given the very nature of a man, with a handicap or hindrance, we often relegate ourselves to the sidelines, with a false sense of inadequacy. We assume the notion we are no go to anybody for anything.  What is your withered hand? Is it self-condemnation, or maybe judgment from others? Maybe its the haunting of a past mistake, relationship, or offense against society? We all are have a "withered hand" somewhere in our lives. And yet there is a healing for our what's withered.

Most of the time we don't even ask God for help with it. For the few who do ask God for help, we often times ask for purposes other than kingdom building.  Matthew 6:33 clearly instructs us on what to do. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, then all things will be added unto you.” Check your asking.  Is it for personal gain, or to further advance the Kingdom of God?

What Jesus set in motion here was the healing of the church’s “withered hand”.  It may be the inability to hang on to things well within its grasp. Or the hindrance of placing bricks in an effort to build what He has given us to do. Maybe it is purely psychological, paralyzing us from standing up and being counted on, due to feeling unable to complete the task at hand. After Jesus instructed the man to rise up, he then said, “Stretch forth thine hand” (vs 5).

No matter your hindrances, shortcomings, or obstacles, God is instructing us to first stand up, in whatever capacity we are.  Then we are to stretch forth, even the withered part of us, in an effort to forward the Kingdom of God. In so doing, we will find our healing, restoration of ability, and our power to help others.  When this is done, He promises us, “all things will be added unto us.”

It is time we stop sitting in the corner and on the sidelines with our withered hand.  We must rise up in the power of the Holy Ghost and stretch forth our hand towards the work of the Kingdom.  Its time to make the Church the fully able body, God intended it to be!