Mark 3:1-16 I wonder what the man with the withered hand expected when he went to the synagogue that Saturday? He would, at least technically, have not been permitted into the temple, into the very presence of God, because of his disability; but he could come to the synagogue and hear God’s laws and learn of God’s ways. And this Saturday, the visiting speaker was the rabbi from Nazareth. He was quite controversial. There had been a heated debate about some of the things that Jesus and his followers were doing on the Sabbath. And maybe Jesus was speaking about the Sabbath. Maybe he read from Exodus 20 , and he spoke of how God gave the Sabbath as a day to celebrate His creation and as a day to rest, a day for restoration. Maybe he read from Deuteronomy 5 : about how the Sabbath was a day to remember how the people of Israel, who had been slaves, were set free; and how it was to be a day when their servants, their slaves were set free from doing any work. Or maybe he spoke from Levitic...
It is cold, damp, dark and a bit depressing. And so it is good to be reminded that there is glory. Psalm 96 speaks of the glory of God 'Declare his glory among the nations ..' (v3) 'Ascribe to the Lord .. glory and strength; ascribe to the Lord the glory due to his name'. (vv7-8) If we allow Him, God opens our eyes and we see that glory: We see His glory in what He has done: His salvation and wonderful works (v2,3); in the creation of the heavens (v5) We see His glory in who He is: full of honour, majesty, strength and beauty (v6). Plato was right. There is absolute beauty. We see His glory in His name: the sacred name 'I am who I am'. It is a name that declares the absolute freedom of God, that He is beyond all limits or boundaries, beyond space, beyond time, bigger than our language and rationality - and yet in revealing to us His name, H e enables us to call to Him. (v8) We see his glory in what He will do: Psalm 96 speaks of how God will come, make an app...