Jesus is in a synagogue on the Sabbath, wanting to bless all who were there by healing a man with a shriveled hand. Some of those present anticipated what was going to happen and were in their mind already criticizing Jesus for healing the man on the Sabbath. If you are intent on having a critical attitude about what, how and when Jesus decides to do something, even before it happens, you will rob yourself of a blessing, even though Jesus blesses others around you.

Jesus wants to bless you. I say this because of how He approached this situation. He asked a simple question. "Is it better to do good on the Sabbath, or evil? To save life or to kill?" Remember, he explained to them in Mark 2 that "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." When God gives a law, He is not trying to curtail you from enjoying life in its fullness. His laws express what fullness of life is all about.

Of course it is better to do good and save life on any day, than to do evil and kill. But everyone in the crowd remained silent. They knew Jesus was asking rhetorical questions, but they refused to agree with or affirm Jesus.

When Jesus saw the callousness in their hearts He became angry. To expose their critical spirit He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." As he did, his hand was completely restored. The rebellious left and planned to kill Jesus. The healed man obviously was blessed. So were those who stayed and witnessed the joy of the miracle. The critical robbed themselves of rejoicing with the healed man and those who appreciated the miracle.

Don't join the critical crowd.