The Gospel of Mark
The man with the withered hand: Mk 3,1-6
Both the first and last stories in the sequence we have been following (2,1-3,6) are healings. The differences between the two are striking. The time and place are different, the first took place in a house, now we are in the synagogue on the sabbath. In the first story, it is the faith of the four carriers (2,5) which is commended and they act as agents for the paralytic. The man with the withered hand in this story barely enters it except to do as he was told (3,3 & 3,5). The conclusions of the two stories are also quite different, with God being glorified in the first (2,12) while this story ends with plotting against Jesus (3,6).
Taking place on the sabbath as it does (3,2), this story becomes an illustration of the statement in the previous story that Jesus the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath (2,27-28).
The setting this time is the synagogue. In 1,21, Jesus entered the synagogue and taught. There was no tension, no conflict in that story. This time we may or may not be in the same synagogue but we are told that there was a man there with a withered hand (3,1).
The evangelist immediately tells us in verse 2 that they (not specified) were watching Jesus closely. And the issue will be Jesus curing on the sabbath. Nothing is said.
In verse 3 Jesus takes the initiative and provokes the confrontation. The withered hand would have hardly been a life threatening matter, Jesus could have told the man to come back the next day. Jesus tells the man to "Rise into the middle", resurrection and new life overtones once again (1,31).
Jesus asks in verse 4 asks "them" about life and death on the sabbath. Those present may well have known of the story of the Maccabees when they agreed to defend themselves on the sabbath in order to preserve their lives (1 Macc 2,39-41). "They" in verse 4 just remain silent. That there is no response means that Jesus has gained his point.
In verse 5, we hear of Jesus' anger (as possibly in 1,41). References to Jesus' emotions are rare and for this incident they are omitted by Matthew (Mt 12,13). "Hardness of heart" whether from Pharoah (Ex 4,21) or from the people is a refusal to do God's will (Ps 95).
For the healing, all that the man does is to stretch out his hand. Only in verse 6 are we told that Pharisees are involved. It is an emphasis by Mark that they go out immediately with the Herodians. These are not mentioned in Matthew's version (Mt 12,14). The Pharisees as we have seen would have been the extreme religious party. The Herodians as supporters of Herod Agrippa would have been the extreme secular party. It is this unlikely combination of religious and secular groups which underlines the serious threat posed by Jesus to the establishment. This threat and their response to it will now drive the Gospel story forward. The unlikely combination anticipates the Passion when Jewish leaders and Roman occupiers combine to condemn Jesus.Here we must note the irony. It is on the sabbath of all days that the Pharisees do their plotting to detroy Jesus. They accept that Jesus is a healer but they refuse to see beyond that. Their hearts were indeed hardened. Their way leads to death, Jesus promises life (3,4).
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