Things Come to a Head. Mark 3:1-6.
Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.”And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
Dear Pilgrims and Sojourners,
It is clear from Mark’s account that some people chose to oppose Jesus irrespective of the circumstances. All they needed was a good excuse.
Anticipation (vv.1-2). It is the Sabbath again and there is a man with a withered hand in the synagogue. “They” refers to the Pharisees, who had challenged Jesus in the previous account. They were hoping for a miracle for the wrong reason – so that they could accuse Jesus of breaking the Sabbath.
Attitude (vv. 3-5a). Jesus challenges the Pharisees, asking them whether doing good on the Sabbath was permissible, or unlawful. They kept quiet, thus betraying their “hardness of heart.” They did not want to engage in conversation with Jesus if he convinced them that he was right. The tragedy of unbelief is that it is a choice, the choice to shut the door to anything that might convince one to believe. Doubt is healthy because it is open to reason and conviction. But unbelief is a decision to not believe, no matter the evidence.
Action (vv. 5b-6). Jesus goes ahead and restores the man’s hand. In so doing, he gives the Pharisees the reason they were seeking. But they do more than just accuse Jesus. They go and join forces with the Herodians to destroy Jesus. The Pharisees and Herodians were enemies. The Herodians supported the rule of Herod and by extension, the Roman colonizers. The Pharisees on the other hand rejected Herod because he was not Jewish, and the Romans because they “defiled” the holy land with their presence. But both the Herodians and the Pharisees were against Jesus – the Herodians because he was a political threat, the Pharisees because he was a threat to their stranglehold on the people by their religion. They set aside their differences and united, to rid themselves of a common enemy – Jesus.
Your Loving Pastor Chris.