Withered Hands/Withered Hearts

Aim: To appreciate the truth of God; and expose the error of man.

Exegesis: God wants us to be loving, not legalistic. We have needs that must be met (v. 1), and we have foes that must be overcome (v. 2). God wants us to be compassionate, not critical. Favor and faith go hand-in-hand (v. 3), and (God's) law and love go hand-in-hand (v. 4). God wants us to be merciful, not malicious. God will overwhelm our infirmities (v. 5) and our iniquities (v. 6).

Key verse: v. 5 ''And when [Jesus] had looked around at them in anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.''