Mark 3:5, 35 (CJB) “Then, looking them over and feeling both anger with them and sympathy for them at the stoniness of their hearts, he said to the man, ‘Hold out your hand.’ As he held it out, it became restored…Whoever does what God wants is my brother, sister and mother!”

There are few moments in the Gospels that reveal the heart of God as clearly as Mark 3.

Jesus looks at the religious leaders—and the text tells us something stunning. He feels anger and sympathy at the same time. Anger because of their hardened hearts. Sympathy because of what that hardness is doing to them.

God is not emotionally detached from our sin.

His anger is real because He is holy. He is our Creator, our Sustainer, the Lover of our souls. Every act of rebellion—every moment we ignore Him, disobey Him, or dishonor His Name—is a direct assault against the One who gives us breath. God is just and right to judge sin.

But His sorrow is just as real.

God grieves over the hardness of heart that leads us into shame, fear, broken relationships, sickness, and death. He sees the damage our thoughts and actions produce long before we do. What we often excuse, God mourns—because He knows where it ends.

The clearest revelation of God’s anger and sorrow is the cross of Jesus Christ.

God’s anger toward sin demanded judgment. Sin could not be ignored. Justice had to be satisfied. And so the Son—who alone lived in perfect obedience, honor, and love toward the Father—was sacrificed.

At the same time, God’s sympathy moved Him to become that sacrifice.

Jesus did not merely punish sin; He absorbed it. He became the offering so that rebels could be restored. The cross declares that God takes sin seriously—and that He loves sinners relentlessly.

Those who look to Christ for pardon are not merely forgiven. They are received. They are welcomed as sons and daughters into the Kingdom of God, freed from the final consequences of human rebellion.

Jesus ends this scene with a statement that should sober every man who claims to follow Him:

“Whoever does what God wants is my brother, sister and mother.”

Spiritual family is not defined by proximity to Jesus, religious knowledge, or good intentions. It is defined by obedience.

Repentance is not simply feeling bad about sin. It is deciding—today—to end rebellion against God and live under His authority. Those who repent now find forgiveness, restoration, and life. Those who continue to resist Him will meet Him one day—not as Savior, but as Judge.

The choice is not neutral.

God has already shown how far He is willing to go to save us. The only question is whether we will soften our hearts and respond.

Hardened hearts delay healing. Obedient hearts experience restoration.

1. Name the resistance. Ask honestly: Where am I resisting God right now—in my priorities, habits, leadership, or obedience?

2. Hold out your hand. Like the man Jesus healed, bring the weak, withered, or guarded part of your life into the open before Christ.

3. Do what God wants. Don’t wait for clarity—walk in obedience with what God has already made clear in His Word.

Jesus restores what we surrender. But He confronts what we protect.

Run today’s play. Soften your heart. Obey God.
That’s what real sons do.