Mark 3:1-6

Mark 3:1–6 KJV (WS)

1 And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. 2 And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. 3 And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. 4 And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. 5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. 6 And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.

Introduction

In our last passage from the book of Mark, we examined the controversy that took place when the disciples plucked grain from a field on the Sabbath day.

Tonight we are going to look at another controversy that occurs on the Sabbath day.

This one pertains to the healing of a man with a withered hand in the synagogue.

All 3 synoptics list these 2 Sabbath controversies in succession.

Both deal with the misuse of the law by the spiritual rulers of Jesus day.

This one, however, is much more personal as an unnamed man finds himself literally at the center of the debate between Jesus and the pharisees.

Let’s work our way together through the passage to see how this will go.

The chapter begins with Jesus is in the Synagogue. vss 1-2

We are given no indication where this synagogue was located, but it’s probably Capernaum.

In addition to Jesus and his disciples there are a few other people that we know are present.

Regular attenders that serve as the audience for this clash.

The pharisees, who are, of course the antagonists.

Then there is this man that is present who has a withered hand.

There would be no mistaking this man.

What I have to wonder, is that if this is Capernaum, why hasn’t this man been healed by Jesus already.

We have read of mass healing events around Capernaum how was this man not included?

Now if this is not Capernaum, then this may have been the first time for the man to be in Jesus’ presence.

Either way, there is another question that stick out.

Was this man at the synagogue organically?

Or, had he been lured here by the pharisees?

The scribes and pharisees knew enough Of Jesus’ tenderness and power that they expected him to heal this man.

The passage is clear that they were watching him to see what he would do.

Either by chance or by plot, Jesus is in the same room as the man with a withered hand.

Real quick, let’s talk about some things regarding this man.

Early traditions say that this man was a plasterer.

His job required him to use both hands for work.

The greek tense of the phrase tells us that this man’s hand was not always withered.

Something had happened to cause it to wither.

I think there is a good possibility that this man knew of Jesus.

The pharisees were not the only ones waiting to see if this man would be healed.

In a departure from their typical tactics, Jesus’ opponents do not speak, instead they watch with intent to accuse.

They did not see this man’s need only an opportunity to accuse Jesus.

Therein lies their great fault.

They were totally lacking in mercy.

But not Jesus…

Jesus speaks. vss 3-5

He first directs his attention to the man with the withered hand.

Jesus commands this man to step forward into, I would assume, the center of the room.

This immediately requires obedience, humility, and faith on the part of this man.

Surely, he had grown accustomed to attempting to minimize people’s attention on him and his apparent disability.

Now Jesus calls him to stand in front of the entire local religious community.

Perhaps he hoped that this would lead to some miracle on his behalf.

Jesus does not at once heal him, however.

Instead, Jesus poses a question to the audience.

Jesus often answered not the question that was asked but what should have been asked.

Here, his question is a leading one meant to expose the hypocrisy of the pharisees.

Mark 3:4 “4 Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill?”

Not to do good when we could is to do harm.

Not to save a life when it is in our power to save a life is to kill.

Jesus’ question asks that mercy take precedence over the Sabbath.

If the pharisees have no mercy to save a life, they indict themselves as killers on the Sabbath day.

The pharisees are left with the choice of which is more important to them, their Sabbath traditions or showing mercy to this man.

They know the right answer is to show mercy, but if they say that then they are admitting that Jesus has the power to show this man mercy.

If they say the Sabbath day is more important then they come across as heartless.

So they say nothing.

All they could think of was, is it lawful.

They never considered, is it merciful.

In their silence, Jesus takes the time to look at each of them.

Jesus could literally see their hearts hardening.

The sight of the good news bouncing off of their hardened hearts caused Jesus to be angry with them.

Hard-heartedness to us means calloused or cruel, to them it meant stubborn resistance.

Hardness of heart is obstinate stupidity.

Their eyes were open, but their hearts were shut.

Rejecting Jesus always leads to hardness of heart.

Jesus is never preached to you even though it is as imperfect as I do it, but that you either gather yourselves into an attitude of resistance or at least indifference till the flow of the sermons words is done, or else you open your hearts to his mercy and grace.

-Alexander Maclaren

Hardened hearts are frustrating to Jesus.

Jesus is not impassive towards sin; wickedness stirs him deeply.

This should should be the case for all of us.

The man that cannot be angry at evil lacks enthusiasm for good.

Christ’s wrath was blended with compassion and sympathetic sorrow.

He simultaneously felt angry and grievous.

Jesus tells the man to stretch out his hand.

By simply asking the man to stretch out his hand, Jesus breaks none of their labor laws.

The man obeys Jesus and immediately his hand is healed.

The passage says his hand was brought back to its former condition.

The pharisees respond. vs 6

As soon as the service was over, the Pharisee rush out as fast as they could.

They are outraged over Jesus’ actions.

Their reaction is just despicable.

The pharisees would rather this man had gone out of the synagogue still crippled.

They would rather protect their traditions than see this man healed.

The pharisees flee the synagogue to ask the Herodians for advice on how to get rid of Jesus.

Typically, there wouldn’t have been a more hated group by the pharisees than the Herodians.

Herodians were not a religious party.

They were Jews who supported Herod.

They were supportive of the Roman authority over them.

Their anxiety over Jesus was purely political.

The pharisees prove their zeal for the sanctifying of the Sabbath day by hatching a plot on it the murder of Jesus.

Vs 6 is the first mention in the book of Mark regarding the death of Jesus.

To heal? Criminal.

To plot to kill? Lawful

Application

This passage exists as a warning that it is possible for us to become so distracted by our religion that we fail to see the needs of those around us.

The pharisees cared more about their traditions and regulations than the man that had a need.

Jesus saw a different side and so should we.

It’s fine for us to have traditions and regulations.

It’s fine for us to have preferences.

There is a problem if our love is stronger for our traditions is stronger than our love for the lost.

There is a problem if we would rather protect our traditions over reaching the lost.

Jesus chose mercy; the pharisees chose legalism.

Which side would you like to be on?

Conclusion

Is it possible that we are in such a rut without traditions or we could say routines, that we pass right by people in need without even noticing them.

Would Jesus look at us today and wonder why our hearts are so hardened?

Let’s be careful to maintain tender hearts to the needs others around us.