TEXT [Commentary]

5. The fifth controversy: Jesus heals on the Sabbath (3:1-6; cf. Matt 12:9-14; Luke 6:6-11)

1 Jesus went into the synagogue again and noticed a man with a deformed hand. 2 Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus’ enemies watched him closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath.

3 Jesus said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” 4 Then he turned to his critics and asked, “Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” But they wouldn’t answer him.

5 He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! 6 At once the Pharisees went away and met with the supporters of Herod to plot how to kill Jesus.

NOTES

3:1 deformed. The man’s hand was withered (exērammenēn [TG3583A, ZG3830]), like a plant desiccated by drought (BDAG 684). The result was paralysis.

3:2 If he healed. This remark suggests that Jesus’ “enemies” (in Gr., a vague “they”) fully expected him to heal the man with the deformed hand. They had the sense that Jesus would respond compassionately to the man in this way.

3:4 to save life or to destroy it? Jesus posed the ironic dilemma of the scene. Those who accused Jesus of violating the Sabbath were faulting him for doing something good and were trying to destroy him. Mark 3:2 makes it clear that they were searching for such an opening. Their hope was that he would discredit himself as a divine agent. Meanwhile, by healing, Jesus was doing good and improving the quality of someone’s life. Jesus raised the question of who was really honoring God and blessing his creation—the point of the Sabbath rest—by what they were doing.

3:5 angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Mark often notes Jesus’ emotions. He does so here by showing the mixture of anger and sadness Jesus experienced at their refusal to understand what he had been saying to them. A hard heart meant that their perception had become rigid and stubborn (Hooker 1991:107). The term for “hard” (pōrōsei [TG4457, ZG4801]) refers to something hardened or dulled (BDAG 900). One might refer to a callous understanding that both angered and saddened Jesus. His only Sabbath work was a command for the man to stretch out his hand. The man’s obedience made the healing evident.

3:6 plot how to kill Jesus. Pharisees and Herodians joined in a commitment to stop Jesus. The Herodians were Jewish supporters of Herod, so religious (Pharisees) and political (Herodians) Jews were united in wanting to kill Jesus. Jesus’ challenge to a variety of practices and sacred days motivated their decision. The rest of the Gospel explains how the plot was carried out. Note the contrast between this and the positive response to Jesus’ ministry in 1:45.

COMMENTARY [Text]

This unit rounds out and concludes the controversy section of Mark. Cases of paralysis bookend the unit. Jesus’ ministry caused controversy because of his unique authority to offer forgiveness, his association with sinners, his disciples’ not fasting, and his Sabbath activities. In each case, a pronouncement by Jesus makes the case for his action. In each case, he claims to have the authority to determine the most appropriate action and to perform it. Each step accelerated the opposition’s reaction against Jesus. By the time he acted to “save life” and “do good” on the Sabbath, his opponents, while trying to defend the sacred day, ironically ended up doing evil and being destructive on the Sabbath. Jesus’ actions turned everything upside down. In their defense of the law, they violated it by plotting murder against one who understood that the law existed to serve people, not to unduly confine them.