# 285 - Today's Living Word comes from Mark 3:5, “He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand,” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.”
Jesus had just reached out (stretched out) to the Pharisees, one by one, giving them an opportunity to see things His way. But instead of responding to Him with hearts eager to receive Him, they pulled back.
Now, Jesus turns to the man with the withered hand and asks him to “stretch” out his crippled hand. The man responded to the invitation of Jesus, stretched out his hand and it was restored.
The Greek word used here for restored is beyond my pronunciation skills, but it is a very interesting word. It means to “reconstitute.” In one sense the man's withered hand was “reconstituted,” restored to wholeness, but the word “reconstitute,” is also used to describe the ministry of John the Baptist!
Jesus said in Mt 17:11, Elijah (John the Baptist) is truly coming first, and will restore, (reconstitute) all things.”
How did John do this? Well, he preached repentance. As he preached the Law, the thoughts of many were “reordered, or reconstituted if you will. People were convinced of their sin and they saw their need for forgiveness.
Jesus desires to “reconstitute” to restore you to spiritual wholeness. He desires to forgive you of your sins. He invites you today to stretch out your withered soul to Him, a soul that has been paralyzed by sin. Will you respond in faith as the man with the withered hand did and be restored to the beauty that God intended for you or will you pull back as the Pharisees did and just wither away?
I’m Duane Matz and that’s today’s Living Word.
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