1Once again Jesus entered the synagogue, and a man with a withered hand was there.
2In order to accuse Jesus, they were watching to see if He would heal on the Sabbath.
3Then Jesus said to the man with the withered hand, “Stand up among us.”
Choosing the Twelve
Once again Jesus entered the synagogue, and a man with a withered hand was there. Mark 3:1 · Berean Standard Bible
Jesus went into the synagogue again, and a man with a shriveled hand was there.
Another Sabbath, another synagogue, another person in need. And once again, Jesus was about to show that compassion doesn't take a day off.
Mark sets the scene for another Sabbath healing, introducing the man with the disabled hand.
This man had probably been sitting in that synagogue for years with his withered hand, unnoticed. But the day Jesus walked in, everything changed.
Jesus entered a synagogue again, where a man with a withered (exērammenēn) hand was present. The stage was set for another Sabbath confrontation.
The withered hand (likely muscular atrophy or paralysis) was a chronic, non-life-threatening condition, making this a test case: would Jesus heal when there was no medical emergency justifying Sabbath work?
Mark narrates the scene, introducing both the setting and the man whose condition would trigger the next conflict.
The synagogue setting and the presence of a disabled man created the perfect conditions for a showdown between Jesus' compassion-driven ethic and the Pharisees' rule-driven one.
1Once again Jesus entered the synagogue, and a man with a withered hand was there.
2In order to accuse Jesus, they were watching to see if He would heal on the Sabbath.
3Then Jesus said to the man with the withered hand, “Stand up among us.”
Read all of Mark 3 — A man with a withered hand, a crowd pressing in from every side, and twelve unlikely men called to change the world.
This page covers one. BibleKey does all 31,102 — tap any verse for its meaning, any word for its Hebrew or Greek root, and keep reading without leaving the chapter.
Not just the famous ones. BibleKey is free on iPhone and iPad.
Download on the App StoreFree on iPhone & iPad