Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. ² Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. ³ Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”

⁴ Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.

⁵ He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. ⁶ Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

Many people cannot believe Jesus is who he said he is, so they lapse into calling him names. Others take the soft approach: he was simply a good teacher, a good example of peace to the world.

1. S. Lewis had something to say to them: “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level of a man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: Or else He is a madman … or something worse” (Mere Christianity [New York; The Macmillan Company, 1952], pp. 40–41).

You see, the “soft approach” doesn’t work. Either we accept Jesus, or we accuse him—on some terribly serious charges. Several of the people we’ll meet in this chapter of Mark do just that. Others accept him and believe. Which will you choose?^[1]

In the Gospels there are several occasions when Jesus is criticized for healing on the sabbath (Mark 3:1–6=Matt 12:9–14=Luke 6:6–11; Luke 13:10–17; 14:1–6; John 5:1–18; 7:21–24; 9:13–16). Among the Jews of Jesus’ day there were differing opinions about what could be done on the sabbath with respect to the health of humans and animals. Luke 14:5 indicates that even Jesus’ opponents would rescue a son if he fell into a well on the sabbath. Other Gospel passages indicate that many of them would accept watering a domestic animal on the sabbath (Luke 13:15) or rescuing a domestic animal who fell into a ditch or well (Matt 12:11; Luke 14:5). On the other hand, at Qumran the Damascus Document even forbids helping an animal give birth or rescuing one that falls into a pit or cistern.¹ The disputed healings of Jesus involved non-life threatening problems. As might be expected, some witnesses agreed with his actions and others did not.

1–5. As in 1:21–27 this healing takes place in a synagogue, a common place for Jesus to teach (1:39). As in 2:1–12, the focus of this incident is not so much on another illustration of Jesus’ healing power as on other attendant circumstances. In this case the focus is on the conflict over healing on the sabbath. A withered hand is not life threatening and many would have agreed with the synagogue leader of Luke 13:14 who told the crowd “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” Jesus, however, considered it permissible to do good on the sabbath. There is irony in his alternatives “to do evil … to kill,” for v. 6 reveals that his opponents used the sabbath to plan his death.

6. This sentence is the climax of the five controversy stories that began at Mark 2:1. Jesus’ opponents are ready to kill him. This murderous intent lies behind every subsequent reference to the Pharisees. The Herodians are not a well known group. They only appear here, in Mark 12:13, and in one reference in Josephus.² In Josephus the Herodians are supporters of Herod the Great. In Mark they are presumably supporters of Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee. They would not seem to be natural allies of the Pharisees, but a common enemy often brings even former enemies together.
7. SUMMARY STATEMENT ABOUT THE CROWDS AND HEALINGS (3:7–12)

⁷ Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. ⁸ When they heard all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. ⁹ Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. ¹⁰ For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him. ¹¹ Whenever the evil^a spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” ¹² But he gave them strict orders not to tell who he was.

7–10. This time Jesus’ return to the lake (cf. 1:16; 2:13) seems to be motivated at least partially by the plot in 3:6. Mark’s emphasis in vv. 7–10 is on the extent of the crowds, a common theme in earlier statements (1:33, 45; 2:2, 13). The new factor is his description of the geographical regions the crowds were coming from. Brief examination of a map demonstrates that Jesus’ fame had spread remarkably.³

11–12. Exorcisms were a routine part of Jesus’ healing ministry. On the silencing of the demons see the comments on 1:25. At this point in the story Jesus’ identity as the Son of God is unknown to humans, but has been declared by Mark (1:1), God (1:11), and demons (1:24, 34; 3:11).

“Evangelism … is … the purest, truest, noblest, and most essential work the church will ever do. The work of fishing men and women out of the sea of sin, the work of rescuing people from the breakers of hell, is the greatest work the church is called by God to do. “Rescuing men from sin is God’s great concern. Evangelism has been called the job of God.… God sent His Son to earth—to preach, die, and be raised— for the very purpose of saving men from sin.” —John MacArthur^[2]

^[1] Chuck Christensen and Winnie Christensen, Fisherman – Mark: God in Action, Fisherman Guide Bible Book Study Workbook (Shaw, 1993).

¹ Damascus Document 11.13–14: “No man shall assist a beast to give birth on the Sabbath day. And if it should fall into a cistern or pit, he shall not lift it out on the Sabbath.” (Translation from Geza Vermes, The Dead Sea Scrolls in English [Middlesex, England: Penguin Books, 1962], p. 113.) During the second century b.c. Maccabean revolt a thousand Jewish men, women, and children allowed themselves to be slaughtered rather than fight a battle on the sabbath (1 Macc 2:29–38). Immediately afterward others resolved to defend themselves when attacked on the sabbath (1 Macc 2:39–41).

² Josephus, War 1.16.6.

^a Greek unclean; also in verse 30

³ “The regions across the Jordan” refers to regions on the east side of the Jordan river. On the map it is especially important to note the geographical extent represented by Sidon (to the northwest), the regions beyond the Jordan (to the east), and Idumea (to the south).

^[2] John MacArthur, Mark: The Humanity of Christ, MacArthur Bible Studies (Nashville, TN: W Publishing Group, 2000), 15.