Mark 3: 1 – 6
All Hands On Deck
And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2 So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. 3 And He said to the man who had the withered hand, “Step forward.” 4 Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent. 5 And when He had looked around at them with 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. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.
Now, as you know there were two other documents in circulation and they were the Gospels of Luke and Matthew. As you know, Matthew was an apostle who was with our Lord Jesus Christ for over three years and was an eye witness to all that our Lord said and did. Luke, on the other hand was a friend and fellow traveler with the apostle Paul. He later came back to Israel and interviewed the eye witnesses to this event.
So, to get a full picture let us take a quick look at both Gospels and see if there is any other information that would bless us.
Matthew 12: 9 – 14, “9 Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue. 10 And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—that they might accuse Him. 11 Then He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other. 14 Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.”
Luke 6: 6 – 11, “6 Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him. 8 But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And he arose and stood. 9 Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?” 10 And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. 11 But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
It is good to take a look at every version of the same event to get a clearer picture of what happened. Have you noticed any differences or additional information?
Well I noticed that Luke was the only one to mention that the guy’s right hand was withered. Matthew and Mark just said the guy had a withered hand. You might say, ‘So?’
Remember that Luke was a physician. The gospels of Matthew and Mark were written before Luke’s version. As a doctor, he was interested in which hand was withered. Was it the man’s strong hand or the weak hand? We would say today, was it his writing hand or throwing hand?
In the Gospel of Mark, which was in effect Peter’s version of what happened, he notes that after the miracle the Pharisees joined with the Herodians to plot the death of our Precious Lord. There were groups who wanted His death.
And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2 So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.
The Lord’s home base was the town of Capernaum. It was a beautiful little town situated by the Sea of Galilee. This is where Peter, Andrew, James, and John lived and were fishermen by trade. Today you can visit the ruins and actually sit in the very Synagogue that we are reading about today. In addition, you could take a stone and throw and hit the remains of Peter’s house which is right near this Synagogue.
After healing the man born blind from birth a week has gone by. As was any good Jew’s custom would go to the local Synagogue during the Sabbath. The Pharisees and other groups apparently had meetings regarding what had just taken place with the healing of the blind man on the Sabbath. So, it seems that they plotted to catch the Lord violating the law on the next Sabbath. They placed the man with the withered hand up in the front where he would be noticed by our Messiah, Adoni Yeshua.
What is noticeable to me about these religious men is that they knew that our Lord Jesus Christ was Compassionate regarding those who hurt both physically and spiritually. And that they knew that our Lord would heal all those who He came in contact with. Can you see how religious trappings can blind and hardened one’s heart to miss out the most important things in life?
3 And He said to the man who had the withered hand, “Step forward.”
Now here is a scary thought. Our Holy Master knows every thought that we think. Look at these convicting passages;
Genesis 6: 5, “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
Job 21: 27, “Look, I know your thoughts, And the schemes with which you would wrong me.”
Psalm 10:4, “The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts.”
Psalm 56: 5, “All day they twist my words; All their thoughts are against me for evil.”
Ezekiel 38: 10, “‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “On that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan.”
The Lord knew what these evil people were up to, and so, that no one can miss His resolute purpose to do good, He instructed the man to stand where every one could see what He was about to do.
The religious leaders made up strict rules regarding what you could or could not do on the Sabbath. Healing in their opinion was practicing medicine and they declared that a person could not practice his or her profession on the Sabbath. They would allow treatment if it was a matter of life or death. It was kind of what we will see soon with the government’s control of health care. There will be a group of people who decide what Americans will need or not need - Whether you are worth keeping alive or not. Why spend the money to treat you if you are not worthwhile or beneficial to society as a whole.
So, our Great King points out the truth to all. The issue He highlighted is the correct interpretation of God’s Divine Law which is good.
4 Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent.
You can just picture the scene. Here you have the local parishioners keening looking on and the sneering bitter religious men who would not comment to the Lord’s penetrating question.
This is a good question for us to consider. The religious men would not answer. Their position was to do nothing. Do you see the problem with that position? Doing nothing when you have the opportunity to do good is worse than doing nothing.
We have presently in our laws the ‘Good Samaritan’. If you stop to help someone, you cannot be sued by the person you tried to help. It sounds bizarre but there are a lot of evil ignorant people who would be quick to take you to court.
Anyway, since these religious phonies refused to answer the Lord’s question, He just goes ahead and heals the hurting man.
5 And when He had looked around at them with 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.
Everyone in the room, including the Pharisees, witnessed a miracle performed before their very eyes. Should not this have stopped them in their tracks, and in response, all fell on their feet before the Holy One - Who was in their midst? No, notice what happened.
6 Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.
They became furious. They were filled with rage. Rage is irrational and mindless anger. Not only had He read their minds, but He also committed the most heinous crime that anyone could commit – He did not agree with their rules and said so by His words and actions.
Lord please have Mercy on us. Please forgive us for our sins.
