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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mar_3:1-6
1He entered again into a synagogue; and a man was there whose hand was withered. 2They were watching Him to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. 3He said to the man with the withered hand, "Get up and come forward!" 4And 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. 5After 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. 6The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.
Mar_3:1 "into a synagogue" This event is paralleled in Mat_12:9-14 and Luk_6:6-11. The synagogue developed during the Babylonian Exile. It was primarily a place of education, prayer, worship, and fellowship. It was the local expression of Judaism as the Temple was the national focal point.
Jesus attended the synagogues regularly. He learned His Scriptures and traditions at synagogue school in Nazareth. He fully participated in first century Jewish worship.
It is also interesting that Jesus, apparently purposefully, acted in provocative ways on the Sabbath and in synagogue. He intentionally violated the Oral Traditions (i.e., Talmud) of the elders so as to enter into a theological confrontation/discussion with the religious leaders (both local and national; both Pharisees and Sadducees). The best extended discussion of His theology as it deviates from the traditional norms is the Sermon on the Mount (cf. Matthew 5-7, especially Mar_5:17-43).
▣ "hand was withered" This is a perfect passive participle. Luk_6:6 says it was his right hand, which would have affected his ability to work.
Mar_3:2 "They were watching Him" This is imperfect tense. It refers to the ever-watchful presence of the religious leaders.
▣ "if" This is a first class conditional sentence, which is assumed to be true. Jesus did heal on the Sabbath in the synagogue right before their eyes!
▣ "so that they might accuse Him" This is a hina, or purpose, clause. They were not interested in the crippled man. They wanted to catch Jesus in a technical violation so as to discredit and reject Him. Jesus acts out of compassion for the man, to continue to teach His disciples, and to confront the rule-oriented, tradition-bound, self-righteousness of the religious leaders.
Mar_3:3
NASB "Get up and come forward!"
NKJV "Step forward"
NRSV "Come forward"
TEV "Come up here to the front"
NJB "Get up and stand in the middle"
This is literally "Rise into the midst." This is a present active imperative. This was so that everyone could see.
Mar_3:4 The rabbis had a highly developed Oral Tradition (Talmud) which interpreted the Mosaic Law (cf. Mar_2:24). They made rigid pronouncements on what could legally be done or not be done on the Sabbath. One could stabilize an injured person in an emergency, but could not improve his condition. Jesus' question revealed the problem of the priority of their cherished traditions above human needs. This is always true of legalists!
▣ "save" This is the Greek term sôzô. It is used in two distinct ways in the NT: (1) it follows the OT usage of deliverance from physical problems and (2) it is used of spiritual salvation. In the Gospels it usually has the first meaning (cf. Mar_3:4; Mar_8:35 a; Mar_15:30-31; even heal, cf. Mar_5:23; Mar_5:28; Mar_5:34; Mar_6:56; Mar_10:52), but in Mar_8:35 b; Mar_10:26; Mar_13:13 it might refer to the second meaning. This same double usage is in James (#1 in Mar_5:15; Mar_5:20, but #2 in Mar_1:21; Mar_2:14; Mar_4:12).
▣ "life" This is the Greek word psuchç. It is so hard to define. It can speak of
1. our earthly physical life (cf. Mar_3:4; Mar_8:35; Mar_10:45)
2. our feelings and self-consciousness (cf. Mar_12:30; Mar_14:34)
3. our spiritual, eternal consciousness (cf. Mar_8:36-37)
The difficulty in translating this term comes from its Greek philosophical usage, humans having a soul, instead of the Hebrew concept of humans being a soul (cf. Gen_2:7).
Mar_3:5 "After looking around at them with anger" Mark's Gospel is the most transparent in recording Jesus' feelings (cf. Mar_1:40-43; Mar_3:1-5; Mar_10:13-22; Mar_14:33-34; Mar_15:34). The deafening silence and moral superiority of the self-righteous religious leaders angered Jesus! This event continues to clarify Mar_2:27-28.
▣ "grieved at their hardness of heart" This is an intensified form of the term grief (lupç) with the preposition sun. It is only used here in the NT. Jesus identified with this man's problem and need as He reacted negatively toward the religious leaders' intransigence. They were unwilling to see the truth because of their commitment to tradition (cf. Isa_29:13; Col_2:16-23). How often does this happen to us?
The term "hardness" means calcified (cf. Rom_11:25; Eph_4:18). See Special Topic: Heart at Mar_2:6.
▣ "restored" This term (i.e., to restore to its original state) implies that the withered hand was an accident, not a birth defect. The non-canonical Gospel of Hebrews records the tradition that he was a mason who had come to ask Jesus to restore his hand so that he could return to work.
Mar_3:6 "The Pharisees went out" Luk_6:11 says "in a rage." This is literally "out of the mind" (cf. 2Ti_3:9). See note on Pharisees at Mar_2:16.
▣ "immediately" See note at Mar_1:10.
▣ "began conspiring" This is an imperfect active indicative used in the sense of the beginning of an action in past time. In Mar_3:11 three imperfects are used to show repeated action in past time. These two usages are the major linguistic function of this tense.
▣ "with the Herodians" Normally the very conservative and nationalistic Pharisees would have nothing to do with the politically oriented Herodians who supported the reign of Herod and the Roman occupation.
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▣ "as to how they might destroy Him" These leaders were offended by healing on the Sabbath, but saw no problem in premeditated murder! They probably based this decision on Exo_31:13-17. Strange things have been rationalized in the name of God. This is surely a foreshadowing of Jesus' death at the hands of the Jewish leadership.
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