Growing up, I had an aunt who had a disability that affected her life and my uncle’s life. Aunt Lois went blind in her early adult years. When she went blind, it affected everything about her life. She had to learn to live with a new normal, meaning life without sight. As a young boy, watching her, I could imagine the difficulty she faced daily, but I never heard her complain. She just lived life! I know that she prayed to be healed, but that healing did not come on this side of heaven. In today’s encounter in the Word, we are going to meet a guy who is healed on this side of heaven. But what makes this healing unique is that it happened on the Sabbath and in a Synagogue. Let’s dive into the passage and see what God has for us today.
The Location and The Man:
Mark opens by describing the location of this miracle and the person who received it. Jesus had entered the synagogue to teach as he did every sabbath. We are not sure what town or city he is in at this time, but it is one that had a synagogue. As Jesus entered the synagogue, a man with a withered hand was there. It is unclear whether the man was there to draw Jesus’ attention or simply to worship at the synagogue.
We also discovered early on that some other men were there as well. The Pharisees are there to watch and see what Jesus will do. What is interesting is how the Pharisees used the man. Look at the phrasing of the verse: “And they watched Jesus to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him.” (Verse 2). They seemed to have no care for him, only that they could use him to trap Jesus.
I don’t want to read too much into the situation, but the Pharisees wanted to use this man and this situation to bring Jesus down. Whether man had any relationship to the Pharisees or the trap is not the point of the text. The point of these first couple of verses is to simply tell us the location and the situation. We are in a synagogue, and we have a man with a withered hand.
Jesus, the LORD of the Sabbath:
Jesus knew exactly what was going on. He knew they wanted to trap him and accuse him of breaking the law. What they didn’t know or understand was that Jesus is the LORD of the Sabbath. And that he is going to turn the situation on them, see how they would respond to his questioning, and even to his authority.
It is interesting that we see Jesus calling the man to come for healing, rather than the man coming to Jesus to ask for it. When the man came up, he didn’t address the man, but he addressed the Pharisees. He knew their heart and he wanted to show the intent of their heart. The question Jesus asked was not complex but one of compassion. “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” What does the law say about the Sabbath? Exodus 31:14-17; “14 You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15 Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. 16 Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. 17 It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.” The law is clear: work is prohibited on the day of the Sabbath. But what Jesus was doing is not work but compassion. “The Pharisees permitted healing on the Sabbath only for the sake of saving a life.” (Christ-Centered Commentary). It was clear that they had added one of their laws to this law. They expand the law to include healing as a form of work. The law itself does not give that indication at all; it was clearly expanded by the Pharisees.
The Pharisees remained silent because they knew the answer. The law clearly allows good to be done, whether it involves saving a life. The Pharisees clearly added to the law, and they knew it. They remained quiet because anything they said would be examined against what the law said in scripture. Their silence angered and grieved Jesus. The anger, I believe, came from their unwillingness to simply live by the law that God had given, not the expanded law they had. The grief came from the Pharisees’ unwillingness to see this man healed. They had no compassion! The silence of the Pharisees spoke volumes!
The Wicked Loves the Wicked:
The Pharisee left the synagogue in an angry mood! When they left, they conspired with the Herodians, whom they hated. The Herodians were secular Jews who had a close tie to Rome. “The Pharisees and Herodians hated each other. However, their common disdain for Jesus made them strange bedfellows as they made a pact to get rid of this Galilean troublemaker.” (Christ-Centered Commentary). The Religious Right and the Politicians getting together to get rid of Jesus.
Conclusion:
The hatred for Jesus is real! We not only see it in scripture, but also in everyday life. The disdain for anyone who is willing to walk as Christ calls is seen as enemies of both secular society and religious zealots. As a follower of Christ, we are to walk according to the words of scripture. Our words and actions are to be driven by the Words of Scripture. We are to seek the Wisdom and Direction of the Holy Spirit in everyday life.
One of our challenges is to view everything through the lens of scripture. We look at world events, laws, and politics through the lens of scripture. Unfortunately, too many times we view scripture through the lens of life. When we do that, we find ourselves more aligned with the Pharisees than with Jesus. We have no compassion, and we care more about our laws than His Law! Today make sure you are aligned with the law and word of Scripture and not the laws made by man.
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