Healing on the Sabbath

1 He entered again into a synagogue; and a man was there whose hand was withered. 2 They were watching Him to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. 3 He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward!” 4 And He said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent. 5 After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

Jesus is the epitome of compassion

Throughout the Gospels we encounter countless instances where Jesus demonstrates unfathomable compassion toward sinners

We hear it in His words and see it in His actions

He had sympathy for the hurting as we see Him weeping with Mary at the death of her brother Lazarus (Jn.11:35) and as He healed “every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people” (Mat.5:23)

In our study of the Gospel of Mark, we already saw His compassion when He “rebuke[d]” an unclean spirit and commanded him to “Be quiet and come out” of a man when He was in the synagogue in Capernaum (Mk.1:25)

We saw it again with He healed Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever (Mk.1:31)

We also saw it when He cleansed a leper where we’re told in Mark 1:41 that He was “Moved with compassion” and He “stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.””

We saw it again when He healed a paralytic not only of His physical illness but also of his spiritual illness telling him, “Son, your sins are forgiven” (Mk.2:5)

And we saw it when He called Matthew and his fellow tax collectors to “follow Him” (Mk.2:14-15)

And now we see it in the healing of a man with a “withered hand” (Mk.3:1)

Verse 1 begins with…

I. Jesus Entering A Synagogue (vv.1-4)

This is the second time that we hear this in Mark

The first time was in Capernaum (1:21)

This was also on the Sabbath like the first time

Mark gives no indication of a chronological sequence with the previous verses that we looked at last time in verses 23-28

Luke notes that it was “on another sabbath” (6:6)

According to Luke 6:6, Jesus “was teaching” as He always did (Mark 1:21)

The crowds were continually amazed by His teaching (Mark 1:22)

This occasion was no different

He taught with authority, unlike the scribes and Pharisees who were more interested in citing the opinions of other rabbis than in clearly expounding the Word of God

The content of His message was unlike anything the people had ever heard

He emphasized repentance, humility, faith, and true righteousness

It is no wonder when He preached, “all the people were hanging on to every word He said” (Luke 19:48)

Mark says there was a man in the synagogue with a “withered hand” (v.1)

Luke says it was his “right hand” (6:6)

Given that most people are right handed, this condition would have been debilitating

The text does not explain what caused this man’s affliction

The Greek word translated “withered” (xeraino) is a term that was used of dead plants that have dried up and wasted away, suggesting his hand was neurologically lifeless or incapacitated (MacArthur)

The perfect tense indicates that something had happened to the hand, and that it was now in this pitiful condition (Lenski)

Hiebert says this was “an abiding condition and implies that the affliction was due not to a congenital defect but to an accidental injury or some disease”

Tradition says that the man was a stone mason and that the condition of his hand had forced him to beg for a living

Verse 2 says “they”

According to verse 6 “they” is referring to the “Pharisees”

“They were watching Him” Mark says

This was no casual observation

It was intensive, sinister scrutiny

Kenneth Wuest says “They kept on spying upon Him closely, as to whether He would on the Sabbath heal him, in order that they might bring a formal accusation against Him before a tribunal”

John MacArthur says…

Mark 1–8: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary The Context (3:1–2)

Perhaps they had even arranged for the injured man to be in attendance at the synagogue that day, hoping to trap Jesus in the act of violating the Sabbath. Outwardly, they pretended to protect the Sabbath. Inwardly, they desperately wanted Jesus to break their Sabbath traditions so that they could discredit Him.

It was the rabbis who prohibited the “practice of medicine” on the sabbath unless the person was on the verge of death

In the Talmud, there are discussions about different types of medical activities that may or may not be permitted on the Sabbath

Some rabbis held the view that any medical treatment that could have been performed before the Sabbath should not be done on the Sabbath itself

They believed that one should avoid actions that are considered to be destructive or healing on the Sabbath (Tractate Shabbath 129a)

For the Pharisees their legalistic proscriptions took precedence over the needs of a man with a withered hand

Talk about lack of compassion

They were motivated by “the true spirit of ecclesiastical bloodhounds” (Morison)

“One can see the commotion among the long-bearded hypocrites at this daring act of Jesus” (A.T. Roberton)

J.C. Ryal…

What a melancholy proof we have here of the wickedness of human nature! It was the Sabbath day, when these things happened. It was in the synagogue, where men were assembled to hear the word and worship God. Yet even on the day of God, and at the time of worshiping God, these wretched formalists were plotting mischief against our Lord. The very men who pretended to such strictness and, sanctity in little things, were full of malicious and angry thoughts in the midst of the congregation.

Verse 2 says they did all this “so that they might accuse Him”

The words “so that” is a hina purpose clause in Greek that means “for the purpose of”

They were closing watching Him “for the purpose of” accusing Him

This was all a plot to trap and destroy Jesus

Luke 6:8 says “He knew what they were thinking”

So Jesus initiated the showdown

He did not shy away or back down

He was in complete control of the situation

Mark 1–8: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary The Confrontation (3:3–5)

Not only was He the Lord of the Sabbath in a general sense (2:28), He was the Lord of that particular Sabbath and everything that would transpire that very day.

There is no record that the man initiated contact with Jesus

There’s no record of him saying anything to Jesus

There is no record of him asking to be healed

It was Jesus who called him out of the crowd

He said to the man, “Get up and come forward!”

As He finished His teaching, Jesus commanded the injured man to come to the front of the synagogue

The man, perhaps startled by the unexpected invitation, obeyed

According to Matthew’s account, it was the Pharisees who began asking Jesus about what He intended to do:

Matthew 12:10, “And they questioned Jesus, asking, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse Him.

Jesus responded in verses 11-12 by asking them, “What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 “How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.””

They would suspend their religious traditions to help an animal but they would not help a person in need

They were heartless and they had a serious problem with compassion

We are told in 1 John 3:17–18, “17 But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.”

They lacked compassion because they didn’t have “the love of God” abiding in them

And they were the ones guilty of actually breaking the Sabbath with their man-made traditions not Jesus

So Jesus asks in Mark 3:4, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?

After spending some time meditating on this verse, I believe it demonstrates very clearly what was in their hearts

They were intending to harm and kill on the Sabbath

Thats clear from verse 6

Jesus was doing “good” on the Sabbath by healing this man as we will see

So Jesus asks in Mark 3:4, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?

It says “But they kept silent”

They didn’t say a word

They were unwilling to respond

Jesus was not asking, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do what the rabbis permit?” but, “Is it okay to do good?”

His point was that good things may be done not just six days a week but seven days a week

Mark A Display of Authority

Is it lawful for a nurse or a doctor to treat people who are sick on the Sabbath day? Is it lawful for a farmer to feed his cattle? Is it lawful for ordinary Christians to travel about to visit shut-ins? Of course it is. All these things are good things.

We already heard Jesus’ question in Matthew 12:11–12, asking “11 “What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 “How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.””

They were ready to bring charges against Him for doing good on the Sabbath day even while they were plotting on that same Sabbath day to kill Him

Ancient Faith Study Bible (Chapter 3)

CHRYSOSTOM: Note the tender compassion of the Lord when he deliberately brought the man with the withered hand right into their presence [Lk 6:8]. He hoped that the mere sight of the misfortune might soften them, that they might become a little less spiteful by seeing the affliction, and perhaps out of sorrow mend their own ways. But they remained callous and unfeeling. They preferred to do harm to the name of Christ than to see this poor man made whole. They betrayed their wickedness not only by their hostility to Christ, but also by their doing so with such contentiousness that they treated with disdain his mercies to others. GOSPEL OF ST. MATTHEW, HOMILY 40.1.

The Sabbath was intended to be a day of rest and worship

It was not a day that would hinder acts of kindness or acts of mercy or healing

It’s obvious the man’s condition was not life threatening

It’s also obvious that Jesus could have waited until after the Sabbath to heal Him

But He demonstrated compassion and exposed their hypocrisy

Remember He already said in Matthew 12:7, “But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire compassion, and not a sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.”

The Pharisees refusal to answer Jesus’ question implied that their Sabbath views and practices were false

Therefore verse 5 says…

II. Jesus Healed the Man on the Sabbath (v.5)

Mark says in verse 5: “After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored.”

Mark first says Jesus was angry and grieved

Matthew nor Luke say this

Jesus’ righteous anger was just like in John 2 when they were “making [His] Father’s house a place of business” (2:16) and He took “a scourge of cords, and drove then all out of the temple” (v.15)

D. Edmond Hiebert says…

The Gospel of Mark: An Expositional Commentary 2) Healing of Man with the Withered Hand (3:1–6)

The aorist tense implies that the look in anger was momentary, but grieved is present tense, picturing a prolonged feeling of grief or distress at such men. The verb is a compound form, denoting His deep grief. He felt intense grief at the hardening of their heart, denoting a process. Their obstinate and willful resistance to the truth indicated that a process of hardening was taking place, rendering their heart, their inner moral being, more and more unresponsive.

John Philips said…

Exploring the Gospel of Mark: An Expository Commentary 3. Finding Fault with His Ministry (3:1–6)

Not one other person there had any sympathy or feeling for the crippled man. They were too wedded to their precious religious traditions. Their silence said that it was better for a man to lose his house, for a child to lose his limb, and for a drowning man to lose his life than for someone to break a rabbinical rule. No wonder Jesus was both angry and grieved. Their hardness was what moved His own heart so. He knew where that hardness would take them—to a lost eternity.

Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored” (v.6)

In other places where it records Jesus healing someone, we’re told He did it with “a word” (Lk.7:7) or “a touch” (Mat.8:3) but here He says to the man “stretch out your hand,” and when he did “his hand was restored”

Matthew says “it was restored to normal, like the other” (12:13)

The Greek word for “restored” (apokathistemi) signifies the complete healing or recovery of someone’s condition

It means “to restore to its former state” (GELNT:ALBA)

This word is also used in a spiritual sense of being transformed in Ephesians 4:24.

Verse 6 says, “The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him”

Luke says they “were filled with rage, and discussed together what they might do to Jesus” (v.11)

Their hard and callous hearts led them to…

III. The Desire to Kill Jesus (v.6)

Mark 1–8: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary The Conspiracy (3:6)

One would think that even the Pharisees would have responded in faith after witnessing a supernatural healing like that. At the very least, it should have given them pause. Instead, their fury against Jesus escalated.

They were unmoved

They refused to be convinced even though they witnessed this miracle healing

The evidence was right in front of them

A callous hard heart blinds the eyes to what is apparent

They shut their hearts to both the Word of God and the Son of God

And since they were unable to refute Jesus’ arguments or deny the reality of His healing power, they went out of the synagogue embarrassed and outraged

In all likelihood, they would have tried to kill Jesus on the spot were it not for His popularity with the people

Roman law also prohibited them from exercising capital punishment on their own

After Pilate told them to judge Jesus by their own law, they said in John 18:31, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death”

Nonetheless they were determined to find a way to eliminate Jesus

Mark says they found an interesting ally “in the Herodians”

Mark 1–8: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary The Conspiracy (3:6)

The Herodians were an irreligious and worldly political group that supported the dynasty of Herod the Great and, by extension, Rome. These secular Jews were viewed by their fellow countrymen as loyal to Greco-Roman culture and traitors to their own religious heritage. They could not have been more different than the Pharisees, whom they normally regarded as their archenemies. These two groups found a common enemy in Jesus. The Pharisees hated Jesus because He openly opposed their hypocritical system of works-righteousness. The Herodians hated Jesus because His popularity with the people made Him a potential threat to the power of Herod and of Rome (cf. John 6:15; 19:12), which they supported. Consequently, both rejected God’s Son.

The mercy and compassion of Jesus stands in stark contrast to the hatred they displayed toward their own Messiah

Their fury was so intense toward Him that they joined forces with their religious enemies in order to get rid of Jesus

According to Matthew 12:15, the Lord knew what they were plotting: “But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there.”

CONCLUSION

Hearing this story like this causes us to look deep in our hearts and question whether we are compassionate or not

It is eternally dangerous to demonstrate this kind of attitude toward Jesus

The Bible calls us to compassion

We are told in Colossians 3:12, “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience”

Paul says to the Ephesians in Ephesians 4:32, to “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

Peter said in 1 Peter 3:8, “…All of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit”

Their is no excuse for callousness or hatred or envy

We are to show the compassionate mercy of Christ just as we have been shown by Christ

What about you?

I remember after Samuel was born, he was in the NICU for 5 days

We were so burdened and broken over his injuries

But we were quickly reminded there were other kids in the NICU that we far worse than Samuel

You may be going through something difficult, remember you’re not alone

There are others in far worse condition

Show compassion

One of the ways we can do this is to pray

We are told in James 5:16, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”

That’s not so you can judge but so you can “pray” for their spiritual healing

We are to pray for spiritual and physical healing and be compassionate as we address both

Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:1–3, “1 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior”

None of this is possible without a relationship with Jesus Christ

If you have never received Him, come to Him now

Turn from your sin and embrace the Savior who loves you and proved that by dying in your place for your sins