The Gospel of Mark/Chapter 3:1-19/Commentary

The Gospel of Mark Chapter 3:1-19 3:1 “And He entered again into a synagogue; and a man was there with a withered hand” Luke specifies that it was his “right hand” (Luke 6:6). The word withered means “shrunk, wasted, incapable of motion”. Other translations describe this condition as “shriveled hand” (Wey) and “deformed hand” (Tay). This was especially serious in a society where so many occupations required manual labor and the full use of a man’s physical abilities. “A synagogue”: Luke says that this event happened on another Sabbath, that is, a Sabbath after the previous episode (2:23), and Matthew says that Jesus entered “their synagogue” (Matthew 12:9), that is, the synagogue that belonged to those who had been accusing Him. 3:2 “And they were watching Him to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, in order that they might accuse Him” The expression they were watching is in the imperfect tense, that is, they kept watching. The compound verb here means to watch carefully and closely, “as one who dogs another’s steps, keeping near or beside him” (Vincent p. 174). Today, some people are like these Pharisees, that is, they only read the Bible or listen to Bible preaching from the motivation of trying to find a supposed mistake, conflict, or contradiction, and thus declare themselves off the hook. They were hoping 1

that Jesus would cure this man so they could accuse Him of breaking their interpretation of what constituted work on the Sabbath Day. Jesus gave them abundant opportunity for such accusation, for we have seven recorded instances of cures on the Sabbath Day (Mark 1:21,29; John 5:9; 9:14; Luke 13:14; 14:2, and this case).

3:2 “If He would heal”: There was no doubt in their minds about His ability, they knew He could heal! They were just hoping He would heal on the Sabbath.

Rabbinnic law only allowed the attempt to help someone on the Sabbath if that person’s life was in danger. It takes a heart determined not to believe, to know that Jesus can heal and yet reject His claims.

Jesus will continue to heal on the Sabbath for it gives Jesus one more opportunity to present more arguments as to why this is right and the Pharisees are wrong.

3:3 “And He said to the man with the withered hand, ‘Rise and come forward!’”

Observe that Jesus expects this man to do something. The man could have caved into pressure and said—“No thanks”. The man probably knew what Jesus could do and what the Pharisees thought about this. Jesus was fully aware of the designs of the Pharisees, how they were trying to entrap Him, and instead of playing it safe, He commanded the man to come forward and stand in a place where everyone could see him.

3:4 “And He said to them, ‘Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save a life or to kill?’

Jesus is not saying that one can ignore the Sabbath or bend the rules if the situation is difficult. Rather, He is making the point that it has always been lawful to do good on the Sabbath. “To save a life or to kill?” This would indicate that God never had expected His people to roll over in the face of their enemies—if they were attacked on the Sabbath. It had always been lawful to defend oneself or one’s family—even on the Sabbath. Apparently the Jews had conceded that it was lawful to defend themselves on the Sabbath (1 Macc. 2:41; Josephus Ant. xii.

Vi.2), and in addition, at the present moment the Pharisees were spending their time on the Sabbath plotting how they might do away with Jesus. There might be 2

a little barb here to the Pharisees, for they were plotting to kill Jesus—was that lawful?

3:4 “But they kept silent”: Often this is what critic’s do. They are very good at asking questions or presenting “what if” situations, yet they often refuse to offer and solutions. Mark has a good deal to say about the “looks” of Jesus (3:34; 5:37; 10:23; 11:11). “Anger against wrong as wrong is a sign of moral health” (Robertson p. 276). If we are being dishonest, then God is angry with us as well.

“Grieved at their hardness of heart”: The expression being grieved is in the present tense. This term tells us that Jesus’ anger was not that of revenge, but it was anger over sin, He was grieving over the stubbornness that He saw in these men, stubbornness that would cause them to end up lost. One translation says, “Deeply distressed by their callousness” (Phi). We should not be surprised at the anger here, for God has often displayed His anger. What would really bother us is if Mark had said nothing about Jesus’ reaction. Godly people naturally feel anger in the presence of stark evil.

“The tenses of the verbs are important here. The looking ‘around at them in anger’ was momentary (aorist tense), but the being ‘deeply distressed’ was continuous (present tense)” (Gaebelein p. 640).

3:5 “Their hardness of heart”: “They are obstinate indeed, who, when they can say nothing against the truth, refuse to say anything for it” (P.P. Comm. p. 115).

We will find many times where the Jews were unable to answer Jesus’ arguments (Matthew 22:46; 21:27). The statement hardness of heart means stubbornness, obduracy, a dulled spiritual perception, and insensibility. Closed minds, unwillingness to listen to or admit the truth, unwillingness to admit one is wrong or in error, people in this type of condition need to be pitied.

3:5 “He said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand’. And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored” Even when surrounded by hard hearts, Jesus still healed! Once again, the healing was visible, instant and complete.

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3:6 “And the Pharisees went out and immediately began taking counsel with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him” Unbelief can make a person completely blind. They complained about Jesus healing on the Sabbath, but immediately they go out and go to work on the Sabbath—the working of plotting against Jesus. “Herodians”: The name designates those who were loyal to Herod the Great and his dynasty. Matthew and Mark only mention them, the Jewish historian Josephus does not mention them by name, but he does speak of “those of Herod’s party”. Unlike the Pharisees, they were not a religious party, but a political party concerned with the interested of the Herodian dynasty. Like the Pharisees, they would be interested in keeping the status quo. Apparently, they were supporters of a national Jewish state, ruled by the descendants of Herod the Great, rather than the Romans. For all practical purposes the Herodians and the Pharisees were completely opposite in their views about most things. For the Herodians were apostate Jews (even in the minds of the Pharisees), who supported the wicked house of Herod. It must have been indeed a fierce hatred of Jesus to move Pharisees, who were so concerned about ritual purity to unite forces with the Herodians who had compromised with all sorts of pagan practices. But opposition to the truth makes some strange bedfellows.

3:7 “And Jesus withdrew to the sea and with His disciples; and a great multitude from Galilee followed; and also from Judea” 3:8 “And from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude heard of all that He was doing and came to Him” Jesus knew that they were plotting to kill Him (Matthew 12:15), so since it was not His time to die yet, He withdrew. “The Sea of Galilee, with its boats and its shores touching different jurisdictions, formed a convenient and fairly safe retreat” (McGarvey p. 217).

Idumaea (id yoo MEE uh) was the land formerly inhabited by the Edomites. It is a Greek word from “Edom”, which was another word for Esau (Genesis 25:30), and means red. Tyre and Sidon were Phoenician cities on the Mediterranean Sea coast, westward from the Sea of Galilee. Their motive in following Jesus that they heard the great things that Jesus was doing. The fame of Jesus was not limited to 4

a narrow region. “They came at great expense of time and money” (McGarvey p.

279).

3:9 “And He told His disciples that a boat should stand ready for Him because of the multitude, in order that they might not crowd Him” This demonstrates the size of the crowds, which were following Jesus. This boat should be continually at hand (present tense), so that Jesus isn’t crushed. The small boat would enable Him to place a strip of water between Himself and the crowd.

3:10 “For He healed many, with the result that all those who had afflictions pressed about Him in order to touch Him” Jesus had healed so many people, and there had been absolutely no exceptions, that the people were so eager to get near Him that they were about to crush Him. The phrase pressed about Him, means literally, to fall upon, to rush or press upon.

“So that they knocked against Him, they hoped to obtain a cure by contact anyhow brought about, even by rude collision” (Gr. Ex. p. 358).

3:11 “And whenever the unclean spirits beheld Him, they would fall down before Him and cry out, saying, ‘You are the Son of God’” These evil spirits are not falling down to worship Jesus—for they are in rebellion, but they are compelled to bow before Him. Just like all unbelievers will be compelled to fall down before Jesus at the last day.

3:12 “And He earnestly warned them not to make Him known”: In light of the fact that the Pharisees would accuse Him of casting out demons by the power of Satan (3:22)—we can see why Jesus did not want their testimony. In addition, Jesus did not need their testimony—there was plenty of proof at hand. “Though the Master had specific goals to meet within the time limits of His earthly mission, yet here again we see a total absence of selfish ambition. There is not a foolish seeking after a greater notoriety so often found among leaders who would consolidate their popularity and support…Popular movements with their shallow, high-running enthusiasms have a way of trampling upon important truth, glossing 5

over significant distinctions and ignoring some people as unimportant” (Fowler pp. 640-641).

The Twelve are Chosen 3:13 “And He went up to the mountain and summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him” Luke (6:12) says that Jesus spent a night in prayer before choosing the twelve. The “mountain” would be the foothills that surround the Sea of Galilee.

3:14 “And He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him, and that He might send them out to preach” There must be a definite purpose as to why Jesus selected twelve apostles, just like there was a definite purpose behind Israel being divided into twelve tribes.

The purpose for this selection is clear, “that they might send them out to preach”.

3:15 “And to have authority to cast out the demons”: The twelve were to be men brought into very close relation to Jesus. They were to live and travel with Him. Much of Jesus’ time was spent training them. They were to preach—like He preached and cast out demons just as He had been casting them out.

Other lists of the apostles are found in Matthew 3:16-19, Luke 6:14-16 and Acts 1:13.

3:16 “And He appointed the twelve; Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter)” Even though Peter would deny Christ, this was the exception, much of Peter’s life he was “a rock”. He was the first to confess Christ (Matthew 16:16). There is no evidence that Peter had a higher authority or position over the over apostles, in fact, Jesus specifically placed them all on the same level (Matthew 23:8-11).

3:17 “And James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, Sons of Thunder” “This was probably descriptive of their disposition; it had something of the thunderstorm in it” (Gaebelein p. 643). Luke 9:51-56; Mark 9:38.

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3:18 “And Andrew and Philip”: Andrew was the brother of Peter, and brought Peter to Jesus (John 1:40-42). Philip brought Nathanael to Christ (John 1:44-45).

“Bartholomew”: Probably the same person who is named Nathanael in the Gospel of John. John always places Philip and Nathanael together, while Matthew, Mark and Luke name Philip and Bartholomew. “Matthew”: Mark has already introduced us to this disciple (2:14). “Thomas”: Who is also called “Didymus” (John 11:16). Both names mean the same thing, “twin”. “James, the son of Alphaeus”: Who is also called “James the less” (Mark 15:40), which distinguishes him from James the son of Zebedee. “Thaddaeus”: Is also called “Judas, son of James” in Luke and John. “He may have been known as Thaddaeus in the early days to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot” (Bible Study Textbook, p. 95). “Simon the Zealot”: Simon had been converted from a right-wing extremist group of assassins, called “The Zealots”. The expression “Simon the Cananaean” is just the Greek form for the Hebrew, “Simon the Zealot”. Matthew had come from the opposite point of view; he had been working for the Roman government. One writer noted the following: “One, Simon the Cananean, was a former guerrilla fighter, sworn to kill on sight any Jew who had dealings with the despised Romans.

One Jew whom Simon would have killed on sight was our author, Matthew!

Matthew reminds his readers that the disciples had nothing in common with each other except their common loyalty to Jesus Christ” (As Matthew Saw the Master, William P. Barker, p. 35).

3:19 “And Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him”: Even those some writers have sought to excuse Judas and find a good motive for his actions, the New Testament never justifies him. Writing some years after the events, Mark plainly says, “who also betrayed Him”.

“It was a strange group of men our Lord chose to be His disciples. Four of them were fishermen, one a hated tax collector, another a member of a radical and violent political party…All were laymen. There was not a preacher or an expert in the Scriptures in the lot. Yet it was with these men that Jesus established the church and disseminated His good news to the end of the earth” (Gaebelein p. 643).

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