Mark 3:1-6
Chapter 3
1
Healing on the Sabbath
Again, Jesus entered the synagogue. A man with a paralyzed hand was there;2
and some people watched Jesus: would he heal the man on the Sabbath? If he did, they could accuse him.
3
Jesus said to the man with the paralyzed hand:
“Stand here, in the center.”
4
Then he asked them:
“What does the law allow us to do on the Sabbath, to do good or to do harm? To save life or to kill?”
But they were silent.
5
Then Jesus looked around at them with anger and deep sadness at their stubbornness. And he said to the man:
“Stretch out your hand.”
He stretched it out, and his hand was healed.
6
After the Pharisees left, they met with Herod’s supporters to find a way to destroy Jesus.
Commentaries
Healing on the Sabbath.
Jesus affirms to his opponents that those excluded by a false interpretation of the Law are now the focus of divine action. Therefore, despite the Sabbath, he acts with urgency, for the choice of life and caring for the poor cannot be delayed and must be taken even at the risk of losing one’s own life. Political power (Herodians) and religious authority (Pharisees) unite to plot Jesus’s death.