Mar 3:2-6 | KingComments | STEP | The Lord enters the synagogue again ( ). The synagogue is the place where the people of God come together and the law is studied. He goes in there to look for a man who needs Him and whom He wants to make fit to enjoy the blessings. It is Sabbath and that is the opportunity to minister in the synagogue with the Word. Among those present is someone with a withered hand. He cannot pick ears and rub them fine and eat from them (cf. ), he cannot enjoy the good gifts of God. But now the good Gift comes to him. The opponents of the Lord are also present. They see both His goodness and the man who needs it. In their minds they combine them. They suppose the Sabbath will not hinder Him from healing the man. In their hearts, however, there is hatred for His goodness, while there is indifference to the needs of the man. Their only concern is that their precepts be kept. It is striking that satan instinctively senses what the Lord will do. In the same way the world knows what a child of God will do or should do. For example, the world is surprised when it finds a Christian in an environment where he does not belong. The Lord accepts the unspoken challenge and places the man in the front, so that everyone may witness this act of mercy. He publicizes the healing in an open way, showing to all what grace is. It is, as it were, an invitation to all to share in it. The man also has to do something. He must take the place that the Lord designates for him: he must come forward. In this way he becomes the visible proof to all of the grace that Christ will grant him. Before the Lord heals, He wants to address the consciences of His opponents with a question about the purpose of the Sabbath. How bad must a system be that makes it necessary to ask whether it is lawful to do good! His question is whether an act of mercy performed on the Sabbath becomes a violation of the law because that act is performed on the Sabbath. He has come to do good. There is a need for that here. That is why He does good. It would be a sin not to do it ( ). His act of goodness means to the man that he will be able to live. The law kills, but the Lord has come to give life. His opponents do not answer His question. They know what the right answer is, but do not want to give it. They hate Him and His goodness because He doesn’t accept their home-made laws. We clearly see how the old system, which is based on what man should be toward God, is being replaced by what God is to man. The old system comes from God, but it has been made by man into a system of hatred for the full revelation of God in Christ. Christ is not there to support the Pharisees in their thinking about the law, but to prove His own grace. God’s laws were never meant to block His goodness. The Lord responds to their silence with a penetrating look with which He looks all His adversaries around Him into the eyes. The expression that the Lord “looks around” is found five times in this Gospel ( ). The expression occurs a sixth time, but then it refers to the disciples ( ). His gaze is a gaze of anger. At the same time there is grief in His heart. He is angry at their sin of mercilessness, for which they will receive His full wrath once. He is grieved because He sees the hardening of their hearts, that they do not want to repent. God hates sin and loves the sinner. Both these feelings are perfectly present in Him at the same time. As He looks at His adversaries in this way, He addresses His words of healing to man. The man has to do something himself again. He must stretch out his hand. He does so and his hand is restored. Obedience to what God says always results in blessing. The man could have said: “I can’t, because my hand is withered.” But obedience to what the Lord says will always be accompanied by strength that He Himself grants to do what He says. The reaction of the zealots for the law is that they are plotting a murder. As if there was no command: “You shall not murder”! That is Phariseeism. They are planning to do evil and kill on the Sabbath, while He is planning to do good and save a life. What a stark contrast. What a grief to Him! They also don’t see it as a problem to connect with the ungodly Herodians, the people who for selfish reasons support Herod’s wicked politics. They, who are enemies by nature, find each other in their hatred of Christ. We find this later also with Pilate and Herod ( ). This deliberation of Pharisees and Herodians is the first deliberation against Christ to kill Him.

‏ Mark 3:2-6

A Withered Hand Healed

The Lord enters the synagogue again (Mk 1:21). The synagogue is the place where the people of God come together and the law is studied. He goes in there to look for a man who needs Him and whom He wants to make fit to enjoy the blessings. It is Sabbath and that is the opportunity to minister in the synagogue with the Word. Among those present is someone with a withered hand. He cannot pick ears and rub them fine and eat from them (cf. Mk 2:23), he cannot enjoy the good gifts of God. But now the good Gift comes to him.

The opponents of the Lord are also present. They see both His goodness and the man who needs it. In their minds they combine them. They suppose the Sabbath will not hinder Him from healing the man. In their hearts, however, there is hatred for His goodness, while there is indifference to the needs of the man. Their only concern is that their precepts be kept.

It is striking that satan instinctively senses what the Lord will do. In the same way the world knows what a child of God will do or should do. For example, the world is surprised when it finds a Christian in an environment where he does not belong.

The Lord accepts the unspoken challenge and places the man in the front, so that everyone may witness this act of mercy. He publicizes the healing in an open way, showing to all what grace is. It is, as it were, an invitation to all to share in it. The man also has to do something. He must take the place that the Lord designates for him: he must come forward. In this way he becomes the visible proof to all of the grace that Christ will grant him.

Before the Lord heals, He wants to address the consciences of His opponents with a question about the purpose of the Sabbath. How bad must a system be that makes it necessary to ask whether it is lawful to do good! His question is whether an act of mercy performed on the Sabbath becomes a violation of the law because that act is performed on the Sabbath. He has come to do good. There is a need for that here. That is why He does good. It would be a sin not to do it (Jam 4:17). His act of goodness means to the man that he will be able to live. The law kills, but the Lord has come to give life.

His opponents do not answer His question. They know what the right answer is, but do not want to give it. They hate Him and His goodness because He doesn’t accept their home-made laws.

We clearly see how the old system, which is based on what man should be toward God, is being replaced by what God is to man. The old system comes from God, but it has been made by man into a system of hatred for the full revelation of God in Christ. Christ is not there to support the Pharisees in their thinking about the law, but to prove His own grace. God’s laws were never meant to block His goodness.

The Lord responds to their silence with a penetrating look with which He looks all His adversaries around Him into the eyes. The expression that the Lord “looks around” is found five times in this Gospel (Mk 3:5 ; 34 ; Mk 5:32 ; Mk 10:23 ; Mk 11:11). The expression occurs a sixth time, but then it refers to the disciples (Mk 9:8). His gaze is a gaze of anger. At the same time there is grief in His heart. He is angry at their sin of mercilessness, for which they will receive His full wrath once. He is grieved because He sees the hardening of their hearts, that they do not want to repent. God hates sin and loves the sinner. Both these feelings are perfectly present in Him at the same time.

As He looks at His adversaries in this way, He addresses His words of healing to man. The man has to do something himself again. He must stretch out his hand. He does so and his hand is restored. Obedience to what God says always results in blessing. The man could have said: “I can’t, because my hand is withered.” But obedience to what the Lord says will always be accompanied by strength that He Himself grants to do what He says.

The reaction of the zealots for the law is that they are plotting a murder. As if there was no command: “You shall not murder”! That is Phariseeism. They are planning to do evil and kill on the Sabbath, while He is planning to do good and save a life. What a stark contrast. What a grief to Him!

They also don’t see it as a problem to connect with the ungodly Herodians, the people who for selfish reasons support Herod’s wicked politics. They, who are enemies by nature, find each other in their hatred of Christ. We find this later also with Pilate and Herod (Lk 23:12). This deliberation of Pharisees and Herodians is the first deliberation against Christ to kill Him.