And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was there a man having his hand dried up.
Mark places Jesus back inside a synagogue, the meeting place of Israel. A man with a useless hand sits there among the worshippers. Everything turns on one question: what will God do with helplessness when religion is watching the clock?
One writer names who is in that room, and how different each one is:
The first incident tells us that the Lord "again entered the synagogue." This showed His presence in the middle of the Jewish nation, for the synagogue was the meeting place of those under law. What an arresting scene takes place in this synagogue at Capernaum! God's perfect Servant — the Lord of glory — is present with power to bless. He has grace in His heart to use that power for the needy. Man is there in all his deep need, but powerless to help himself, for his hand is withered. The religious man is there too. He has no sense of his need, no awareness of the glory of the Lord, and no care for the need of others.
A hand is what a person works with, and Scripture uses the right hand as a picture of ability:
That poor, helpless man had lost the use of what belongs so uniquely to man and marks his power. In Scripture the right hand constantly stands for power and ability, and for favour too. Christ Himself is now "at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens," "exalted by the right hand of God." That place speaks to us of the favour and power and might that has taken the Saviour from this world and set Him there before His God. And everyone could see that this man with the withered right hand was powerless in his own condition and circumstances.
One writer sees in the man a picture of Israel itself:
The man with the withered hand was like Israel, powerless to do anything rightly. What value was there in the outward keeping of the Sabbath when there was no power for God?
The next verse says they watched Him. Their expectation was a compliment they never meant to pay:
Of these Pharisees we read that "they watched Him." They did not watch to learn His ways and the grace of His heart. They watched in the hope that He would do good "on the sabbath day" by healing a poor needy man who was present. That would give them grounds to charge the Lord with working on the sabbath. What a witness to the perfection of Christ, that His enemies expect no evil from Him, but can count on His doing good! In our own day people of the world give the same unconscious witness to the truth of Christianity. They expect Christians to do good and to act differently from themselves.
One writer explains why grace was free to act on the Sabbath itself:
Grace had come (John 1:17), God Himself was present in grace; and this grace was free to do good on the sabbath. The Lord's true rest is the exercise of His love in the middle of evil. The Pharisees thought nothing of doing evil, as long as they kept their traditions. God held Himself free to do good. For this reason the Lord heals the withered hand, drawing the Jew's attention to this great principle in a formal way.
His question to them shifts the ground entirely — away from the argument they had prepared:
They had reasoned within themselves that, since the commandment of God forbade all work on the sabbath, Jesus, by healing the withered hand, would be working, and so breaking the sabbath. But the Lord's words put the matter on an entirely different plane. The question was not, as they supposed, between activity and passivity; it was between doing good and doing harm, between saving a life and destroying a life by refusing to save it. The law of God was given to hold back evil, not to hold back good.
What was true of that hand is true of anyone who tries to produce something for God out of their own resources:
Many of us suffer from withered hands at this hour. Sin has so paralysed us that we can do nothing for God. We cannot do any good works, however deeply we may feel the need of them. But there is salvation in what Christ has done. His precious atoning sacrifice is enough for all our need. The man who trusts in Him is blessed entirely apart from works of merit of any kind. His blessing has a result. The hand, once withered, becomes able to do something for Him in a burdened and suffering creation.
- Withered — the hand pictures lost power: a man who cannot work, and a nation keeping rules with no power for God.
- Watched — His enemies expected Him to do good; even their suspicion proved His perfection.
- Free — grace was not bound by the day, because God's rest is His love acting in the middle of evil.
- Restored — what the man could not do, Christ did; and the hand He heals becomes a hand that can serve Him.
And they watched him if he would heal him on the sabbath, that they might accuse him.
A man with a withered hand stands in the synagogue. Every eye is on Jesus, not on him. The watchers are not curious. They are building a case, and this verse tells us what they expect Him to do and what they plan to do with it.
Everything turns on why they watched. They were sure He would do good, and their certainty says something about Him.
Of these Pharisees, we read that "they watched Him." They did not watch to learn of His ways and the grace of His heart. They watched in the hope that He would do good "on the sabbath day" by healing a poor needy man who was present. That would give them occasion to bring a charge against the Lord of working on the sabbath. What a witness to the perfection of Christ, that His enemies do not expect any evil from Him, but can count on His doing good!
The words "so that they might accuse him" point to something formal, not gossip. They had a court in mind.
They did not reveal their feelings by look or sign, but kept their faces still. Jesus knew these thoughts of theirs. In their hearts these Jewish leaders expected the Lord to show His known compassion for the afflicted, and to use His power to relieve the sick on that day. If He did, they would have the occasion they sought. They would accuse Him before the Great Council in Jerusalem as a breaker of the law of Moses.
The charge sounds like a defence of God's law. It was not. They never produced a verse to back it.
Had the Lord broken the law by healing on that day? Certainly not. And they quoted no word from the law here, or on any similar occasion, to support their traditional teaching (Mark 2:23-24; 3:2; Luke 13:14; John 9:16). It may be easy to raise such objections, but what are they worth, unless they rest on the written Word of God? I wish traditional teaching of this kind had died out! But it has not, as many a person has had to find out.
Jesus knew they were watching, and He chose the most public route. A quiet, private healing would have removed the danger — and the point.
The scribes and Pharisees, zealous for their own laws, watched for an occasion to accuse the Lord. They watched all the more because the man was there with a withered hand… He could have avoided a confrontation by having the man meet Him in private to heal him. But the callous religious prejudice of the Pharisees had to be faced in the open.
Behind that refusal to hide lies a settled principle about what the day was for.
Grace had come (John 1:17), God Himself was present in grace; and this grace was free to do good on the sabbath. The Lord's true rest is the exercise of His love in the middle of evil. The Pharisees thought nothing of doing evil, as long as they kept their traditions. God held Himself free to do good. For this reason the Lord heals the withered hand, and draws the Jews' attention to this great principle in a formal way.
The same men who condemned a healing as work spent that day planning a death. Here is religion that guards forms while the heart stays untouched.
Nothing deceives the heart like religion without heart-conversion to God. Nothing else leads men into such glaring inconsistency. The men who quibbled about our Lord healing on the Sabbath day saw nothing wrong in plotting on that day to murder Him. Later on, the priests would not cross Pilate's threshold. They feared that such close contact with a Gentile would defile them and leave them unfit to eat the Passover. Yet it never occurred to their hardened consciences that shedding an innocent man's blood was infinitely more defiling!
This watching is not one more small clash. Placed beside the grainfields incident, it marks a decisive parting.
At this point the truth of the gospel broke away from Judaism… In this matter, as in others, the Jews had made the law of God ineffective by their traditions… Both events show the persistent zeal of the Lord's enemies to prove Him a sabbath-breaker. They also show how able the Lord was to defeat their schemes, and to discern the evil motives hidden beneath the cloak of piety.
- Watched. They studied Christ and learned nothing. They came for a charge, not for grace.
- Expected. Their plan only worked if He did good. Even His enemies counted on His goodness.
- Accused. They meant to take Him to the council in Jerusalem. Yet they never quoted one line of the law to back the charge.
- Exposed. He healed in the open, not in secret. His rest is love at work in a world of evil, and prejudice must be met in public.
- Hardened. Men who called a healing sabbath-breaking used that same day to plan a murder. That is religion without a converted heart.
And he says to the man who had his hand dried up, Rise up [and come] into the midst.
A man with a withered hand is in the synagogue on the Sabbath. Others there hope Jesus will heal him so they can accuse Him — but He calls the man out into the middle, and the real question surfaces: what is God free to do on His own day?
(Older translations say "Stand forth." That is the wording the writers below use.)
Three parties meet in this synagogue.
The first incident tells us that the Lord "again entered the synagogue." This showed His presence among the Jewish nation, for the synagogue was the meeting place of those under law. What an arresting scene takes place in this synagogue at Capernaum! God's perfect Servant — the Lord of glory — is present. He has power to bless, and grace in His heart to use that power for the needy. Man is there in all his deep need, but unable to help himself, for his hand is withered. The religious man is there too. He has no sense of his need, no awareness of the glory of the Lord, and no care for the need of others.
Caution would have avoided handing His enemies any evidence. The Lord did the opposite.
Our Lord knew what they thought about it. But faith and love are very different from human prudence. Mere prudence would have led a man not to give them the smallest excuse. Grace does not mind giving people something to take hold of, if they are ready to take it. Grace is bent on pleasing God, whether people like it or not. So Jesus says to the man with the withered hand, "Stand forth." He gives the act publicity. He stamps its character in the clearest possible way, and makes it a sign of what grace is before them all.
The Lord calls him forward so that no one can look past the man's condition.
First of all, He says to the man, "Stand forth." That is a very important word. The great thing is to put helplessness and need in plain view of every eye. I have no doubt that was the Saviour's purpose in bringing this man forward, so that every eye should rest on the helplessness. That poor, helpless, impoverished man had lost the use of the very thing that belongs to man and marks his power... Everyone was to see this man with the withered right hand as someone completely powerless in his own condition and circumstances. Every eye was to form its own idea of the dire need standing there before Christ.
Once the man is standing there, the Lord asks His question — and the reply is nothing at all.
He tells the man to "stand forth" before them all. His question gives these men a chance to say what their objection is to healing on the Sabbath day. But we read, "They were silent." This silence was not the humble grace that marked the Lord. When men insulted Him, He answered nothing. Their silence was mere policy, and it exposed the helpless hatred of their hearts more clearly than words could.
Behind the argument about the day lies a question about God's own character.
Grace had come (John 1:17), God Himself was present in grace; and this grace was free to do good on the sabbath. The Lord's true rest is the exercise of His love while evil is all around. The Pharisees thought nothing of doing evil, as long as people kept their traditions. God held Himself free to do good. For this reason the Lord heals the withered hand, and draws the Jews' attention to this great principle in a formal way.
One writer draws a line from the withered hand to paralysed service.
I believe it does point, in a very particular way, to service... I think it is striking that it should be the hand... And is it not true that some of God's people are completely paralysed when it comes to Christian service? Is it not true that there are withered hands among us? I wish to God there were more withered tongues! But oh, to have the hand untied. It speaks to me so loudly and clearly about positive acts of mercy and goodness for Christ. Labour for Christ, zeal for Christ, energy for Christ.
- Present. One synagogue holds three parties: a Servant with power and grace, a man who cannot help himself, and religious men with no sense of need.
- Public. The Lord calls the man out in the open. He gives the healing publicity, and makes it a sign of what grace is.
- Powerless. The Lord sets the man in the middle, so every eye rests on his helplessness before He acts.
- Provoked. The Lord's question gets no answer. Their silence is policy, and it exposes their hearts more than speech would.
- Practised. God's rest is love at work while evil surrounds it — so ask whether Christ has untied your hand for service.
And he says to them, Is it lawful on the sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill? But they were silent.
A man with a withered hand sits in the synagogue. The religious leaders watch to see if Jesus will heal him on the Sabbath. He does not slip past the trap. He puts a question to the room, and no one will answer it.
The leaders framed the issue as work versus no work. His question refuses that frame. He asks them something they cannot answer without condemning themselves.
They had reasoned like this. God's commandment forbade all work on the Sabbath. So if Jesus healed the withered hand, He would be working, and would be breaking the Sabbath. But the Lord's words moved the whole matter to a different level. The question was not, as they supposed, a choice between acting and doing nothing. It was a choice between doing good and doing harm. It was a choice between saving a life and destroying a life by holding back from saving it. God gave His law to hold back evil, not to hold back good.
He could have healed the man out of sight and given His critics nothing to use. He does the opposite: He calls the man out where everyone can see.
Simple caution would have kept a man from giving them the smallest excuse. But grace does not mind handing people something to grab hold of, if that is what they want to do. Grace is set on pleasing God, whether people like it or not. So Jesus says to the man with the withered hand, "Stand up." He makes the act public. He stamps its character in the plainest way, so that it stands before them all as a sign of what grace is.
Behind the question stands the character of the God who gave the Sabbath in the first place. If they had known Him, they would have known that a world full of misery gives Him no rest.
But they still had to face the test of doing good here. God made the Sabbath, and He made it out of kindness. He could have no rest while man was in sin and misery. If they had been like Him at all, they would have seen that this day was no Sabbath to Him. But they did not know God.
The same writer, on this same scene, shows why God's rest is not idleness.
Grace had come, God Himself was present in grace; and this grace was free to do good on the Sabbath. The Lord's true rest is the exercise of His love while evil is all around. The Pharisees thought nothing of doing evil, as long as people kept their traditions. God kept Himself free to do good, and this is why the Lord heals the withered hand, pointing the Jews to this great principle in a deliberate way.
The second half of the question is not a general principle. It describes what each side in that synagogue was doing.
The Lord even challenges them in public. They were doing evil; it was His to do good. They were seeking to destroy His life; He was willing to save theirs.
Their silence was not thoughtfulness. Every possible reply cost them something they were unwilling to give up.
So far as they were concerned, they would rather see a man die on the Sabbath than see him healed. They would not answer, for they knew that an answer either way would incriminate them, unless they gave up their foolish prejudice.
Another writer sets their silence beside the silence of Christ before His accusers. The two are opposites.
This silence was not the lowly grace that marked the Lord when He faced insults and answered not a word. It was the silence of mere policy. It spoke louder than words, and exposed the powerless hatred of their hearts.
- Good — the choice was never work against rest. It was doing good against doing harm. God gave His law to hold back evil, never to hold back good.
- God — He made the Sabbath out of kindness. He can find no rest while people are in misery. To refuse to do good is to look nothing like Him.
- Grace — grace does not hide to stay safe. Jesus calls the man out in front of them all, so that the healing becomes a public sign of what God is like.
- Guilt — the question exposed them. They were doing the evil and plotting the killing. He was doing the good and saving the life.
- Gone silent — their refusal to answer was policy, not humility. It said more about their hearts than any reply could.
And looking round upon them with anger, distressed at the hardening of their heart, he says to the man, Stretch out thy hand. And he stretched [it] out, and his hand was restored.
A man with a withered hand is in the synagogue on the Sabbath. Religious men watch to see if Jesus will heal him, since that would give them grounds to accuse Him.
One writer sets the two feelings side by side and says where they came from.
We read of His looking round in anger. Yet we soon learn that this was not the anger of one who has taken the seat of judgment. It was the anger of Him who was grieved at heart for the hardness and unbelief of men. It was the sensitiveness of the spirit of holiness.
Mark keeps a record of what the Lord felt while He worked.
Nor is this a solitary instance of Mark's carefulness in noting the feelings of the Lord. From him we learn how in the synagogue (3:5) He looked round on the Pharisees with anger, grieved at the hardness of their hearts. The disciples once rebuked those who wanted to bring young children to their Master for His touch. The same writer tells us what the Lord felt then: "He was much displeased" (10:14).
They answered Him with silence. One writer weighs what kind of silence it was.
This silence was not the lowly grace that marked the Lord when He met insults without a word. It was the silence of policy. It said more than words could, and it exposed the helpless hatred in their hearts. The Lord looked upon them with righteous anger. But behind the anger there was distress. He was grieved for the hardness of their hearts. That hardness left them completely indifferent to the man's need. It could do nothing to meet that need. And it set them fiercely against the One who had both the grace and the power to bless.
He could have healed quietly and given them nothing to use against Him. He did the opposite.
Mere prudence would have kept a man from giving them the smallest excuse. But grace does not mind handing people a handle if they want to take one. Grace is bent on pleasing God, whether people like it or not. So Jesus tells the man with the withered hand to step out where all can see. He gives the act publicity. He stamps its character in the plainest way, and makes it a sign of what grace is before them all… Jesus showed God's power and His love in that word, "Stretch out your hand," and by the hand's restoration proved that God, the Goodness of goodness, was there.
The command asked for something the man could not do.
He is a picture of Israel. The hand stands for the freshness of living power to serve God, and Israel had become withered and decayed. "Stretch out your hand." How could a man with a dead hand stretch it out? The living One who said the word gave the power. In front of the furious Pharisees, the man's hand became whole… They were on the line of murder, He in the way of mercy. They were mad, He was sad.
One writer uses this moment to test our own anger.
Some older Bibles end the verse with "whole as the other." One writer explains where those extra words came from.
One rich source of errors in the text is the habit of blending two separate accounts of the same event into one… So in Mark 3:5, "whole as the other" does not belong. In the parallel passages of Matthew or Luke you will find the words with no question over them.
- Hardness — their silence was policy, not humility. It showed hearts closed to a suffering man and set against the One who could help him.
- Anger — His was the sensitiveness of holiness, not the verdict of a judge.
- Grief — sorrow lay under the anger. That is what marks it off from the anger of the flesh, which nurses resentment and turns to bitterness.
- Power — a withered hand cannot obey, so the word that commanded also gave the strength. The man pictures a people with no living power to serve God.
- Openness — grace would not heal in secret to stay out of trouble. It acted in full view and let them take their handle.