Lenten Reader | Day 6

February 23rd, 2026

Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”

Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.

He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.

Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. When they heard about all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him. Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” But he gave them strict orders not to tell others about him.

Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons. These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Mark 3:1-19

To Do Good

Jesus entered the synagogue on the Sabbath facing both a man with a shriveled hand and the watching Pharisees who sought to accuse Him of breaking their law.  

Jesus challenged their legalism with a question that revealed the heart of the Sabbath: “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill?” The Pharisees remained silent, choosing tradition and pride over compassion.  

Seeing their moral failure, Jesus reacted with both anger—righteous indignation at their injustice—and grief—deep sorrow over their “hardness of heart.” This hardness was a spiritual insensitivity that valued self-righteousness over mercy.  

He commanded the man, “Stretch out your hand,” and the man was instantly healed. Doing good is always lawful.  Sometimes we get the letter of the law down to a T, and the intent of the law is lost.  We are created to serve and do so by keeping certain “laws.” If keeping the law also adds suffering, we are doing the opposite of the intent of the law.

I work with people in homelessness, and often on the way to “something important” I come across someone facing a serious problem or issue in their life. Sometimes on the way to church I am confronted with an issue that really needs immediate attention.  I have to ask myself, “Am I prioritizing my routines and traditions over alleviating suffering? Is my heart soft and moved by compassion?”  Now there are limits. We can’t mistake someone else's emergency for our emergency every time, or we will always be in an emergency. So the opposite can be true as well too: we can say yes too often and feel the pressure of doing it all. Jesus had to retreat. He felt the pressure of doing it all. “Jesus went up on the mountainside.”

My prayer is that we all will be in tune with the Spirit as He leads us in mercy.  

Let us pray for hearts quick to do good and prioritize mercy.

Austin Bonds