A Man with a Withered Hand
(3:1-6)
1Again he
entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. 2And they
watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they
might accuse him. 3And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.”
4And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to
save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5And 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. 6The Pharisees went
out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy
him.
This passage is
a mixture of controversy, healing and biography – for it reveals Jesus’
character – manifesting righteous anger and compassion.[1] On
Jesus’ previous healing at the synagogue (1:21), there was no question of the
sabbath law because a command to a demon did not qualify as a work in the same
way as a physical healing. Nor was Jesus’ orthodoxy an issue. Now, it is, and here
the physical healing is overshadowed by the question of the Sabbath observance.[2]
There is no
clear reason why Jesus singled out this man. His disease is not
life-threatening. Yet, Jesus takes the initiative by telling him to stand up in
the middle of the synagogue[3] so
that all who are watching might get a good look at what is about to occur.
Now, to heal on
the Sabbath was not mentioned on the lists of prohibited acts.[4] In
fact, to heal on the Sabbath was supported because it was not something most
people could perform.[5]
So, by having the man rise up in the middle of the crowd was a confrontational
move on Jesus’ part. He is determined to force the issue through a public
display of his healing power, and the true attitudes of the hearts of his
adversaries.
Having set the
stage, Jesus asks them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm,
to save life or to kill?” His awkward question raises the issue to a higher
level on two points. First, Pharisees accepted the principle that permitted the
relief of animal suffering and to a greater degree, the relief of human
suffering. Jesus’ question was not one that the Pharisees were going to argue.
Their concern was the origin and nature of Jesus’ power. Where did he get the
power to heal?
Second, no one
thought the man should be killed. So, the discussion that Jesus introduced – to
save a life or to kill – moved the discussion from a man with the withered hand to what is about
to happen in verse 6 – when the Pharisees conspired with the Herodians (of all
people) to destroy Jesus. The irony could not be richer: the Pharisees are
worried about the life-restoring activity on the Sabbath, yet they begin plans
to actually kill someone – on that very Sabbath.[6]
Their silence
does not imply consent, but could be attributed to their unwillingness to be
drawn into an unprofitable argument.[7] To
this, Jesus looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of
heart. “With anger” is a strong emotion, which is typical of Mark’s portrayal
of Jesus as someone who is extremely human in appearance.[8]
The Pharisees are set in their ways and their insensitivity both hurts and
angers Jesus.[9]
The hardening of
their spiritual arteries, which also occurs in 6:52 (they did not understand
about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened), 8:17 (Are your hearts
hardened?) and 10:5 (Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this
commandment.), is something Jesus brought to the surface through provocation.
We also see that
Mark presented Jesus as one who forced the issues with quick citations of
Scripture, rather than engaging in long dialogues.
In regards to
his mission to announce the Kingdom of God, the amazing restoration of the
man’s hand anticipates the full implementation of what will occur when the
Kingdom is here in its fullness.
Finally, the
last verse of this passage reveals that the men plotting to destroy Jesus
intend not only to kill him, but to shame him – as evident by their behavior at
the foot of the cross. We read in 15:31-32, “The chief priests with the
scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save
himself. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that
we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.”
The Twelve Apostles (3:13-19)
13And he went
up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to
him. 14And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might
be with him and he might send them out to preach 15and have authority to cast
out demons. 16He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter);
17James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the
name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); 18Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew,
and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and
Simon the Zealot,b 19and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
If we examine
the call of the Twelve in the three synpotics, we notice differences –
geography, placement in the book, method, mission – and similarities – that
Jesus called them, twelve, and a particular ordering of the first group of four
(Peter, Andrew, James and John).
A mountain is a
place where God is encountered and instruction is given. The other mountain scene
occurs in chapter 9, the Transfiguration.
In his day and
age, Jewish students sought rabbis or Greek teachers enticed students. Jesus
alone chose these twelve. No politicking here.
Jesus refers to
the Twelve 10 times in Mark, and while they are the main group of disciples,
they are not the only ones. Others are not excluded.
In each list,
Peter is named first. In the early Church, we see him as a foundation for
witness, life and conduct. He is one who listens and counsels, and one to
imitate.
Verse 14 tells
us that “they might be with him.” The apostles are there for fellowship with
Jesus (again indicating his human need for a support group). And they are to
witness.
The number
chosen is deliberate and meant to allude to the twelve tribes of Israel, but
are they meant to be Israel or simply Jesus’ emissaries to Israel? They
certainly cannot be representatives of ancient Israel as there were only two
and a half tribes left, but they could symbolize the eschatological restoration
of Israel which was expected at the end.[10]
(Isa 49:6; Ezek 45:8; etc)
The appointment
of 12 should not be a limited vision of a restored Kingdom. The Kingdom of God
transcends a piece of property in the Middle East. God’s full focus was never
solely on a small group of people on a small strip of land on the eastern end
of the Mediterranean Sea. It had always been all people, and it has always been
throughout all the earth.[11]
The Parable of the Sower
1Again he
began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so
that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was
beside the sea on the land. 2And he was teaching them many things in parables,
and in his teaching he said to them: 3“Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow.
4And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and
devoured it. 5Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil,
and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6And when the sun
rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. 7Other seed
fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no
grain. 8And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and
increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” 9And he
said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
This
is the first significant block of Jesus’ teaching. Mark carefully constructed
this parable, employing both the rule of three and a doublet. Thus, we have two
sets of three seeds, three adverse conditions, and three degrees of
productivity.
Comparative
illustrations in the Greco-Roman world were used for rhetorical purposes for
the purpose of persuading someone about something. Here, Mark addresses his
audience which faces a world that is in large measure unreceptive to the
gospel.[12]
In spite of this, Mark exhorts his audience to continue to share the gospel …
those who have ears will hear and respond in a far more profound way than one
can expect.
Let
me tell you about Dave Gruseck …
The
effectiveness of the parable depends on how well it produces the desired
response in the audience. Though Jesus’ parables are unsettling, shocking and
disturbing, they may also tease one into seeing that the kingdom of God involves
a reversal of values.
The Purpose of the Parables
10And when he
was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11And
he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but
for those outside everything is in parables, 12so that “they may indeed see but
not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and
be forgiven.”
13And he said
to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all
the parables? 14The sower sows the word. 15And these are the ones along the
path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes
away the word that is sown in them. 16And these are the ones sown on rocky
ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy.
17And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when
tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall
away. 18And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the
word, 19but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the
desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
20But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and
accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
For the first time, we hear of the
secrecy motif, and we understand that the parables were to serve as stones of
stumbling deliberately placed in Israel’s path.[13]
Mark employs apocalyptic language not
to be mysterious but to communicate in a way that would elicit whether one was
responding in faith or not.[14]
When we read in v. 17 “they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while;
then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word,
immediately they fall away,” we are reminded that people stumble over their
commitment to the gospel when trouble or outside persecution arises.[15]
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30And he said,
“With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for
it? 31It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is
the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32yet when it is sown it grows up and
becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that
the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
Compare
this to Matthew and Luke
Jesus Calms a Storm
35On that day,
when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.”
36And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was.
And other boats were with him. 37And a great windstorm arose, and the waves
were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38But he was
in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him,
“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39And he awoke and rebuked
the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there
was a great calm. 40He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no
faith?” 41And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who
then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
Miracles
can unsettle a person’s worldview and prompt the raising of questions about
Jesus’ identity. Miracles do not always provide answers to questions.
This is the first time
that Jesus crosses over into a largely pagan area, but not the last.
The men in the boat
were veteran sailors, and so the storm must have been extraordinarily severe
for them to react in such a way.
The fact that Jesus is
sleeping makes it clear that he is a fully human character.
Apart from 1:37, these
are the first words addressed to Jesus by the disciples.
There is a strong sense
here of Jonah, chapter 1. In each case, the captain of the boat rouses the
person in question with a charge of dereliction of duty. But in the case of
Jonah, he sought to escape his mission. Here, Jesus is not. Unlike Jonah who is
encouraged to pray to God for help, Jesus simply acts in divine fashion – he
addresses the sea (a dwelling place for demons) in a personal way.
Instantaneously, he controls the sea. Not only does the wind drop; so do the
waves. This is indeed only something that only God could do.
However, the miracle
does not produce faith, but quite the opposite. Though the disciples do not
reject Jesus, they fail to understand him.
Discussion and Reflection Questions
On a Sabbath,
Jesus heals a man with a withered hand. Why does he perform this healing when
he knows people are watching for something to accuse him?
For what
purposes does Jesus call the Twelve?
What might
Jesus be saying about the past, present and future of Israel through the
parable of the Sower and the Seed?
Why are the
disciples still fearful after Jesus calms the sea?
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