Mark 2:27–3:5

2:27 Then56 he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for people,57 not people for the Sabbath. 2:28 For this reason the Son of Man is lord58 even of the Sabbath.”

Healing a Withered Hand

3:1 Then1 Jesus2 entered the synagogue3 again, and a man was there who had a withered4 hand. 3:2 They watched5 Jesus6 closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath,7 so that they could accuse him. 3:3 So he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Stand up among all these people.”8 3:4 Then9 he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath, or evil, to save a life or destroy it?” But they were silent. 3:5 After looking around10 at them in anger, grieved by the hardness of their hearts,11 he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.12

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56	tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
57	tn The Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used twice in this verse in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, thus “people.”
58	tn The term “lord” is in emphatic position in the Greek text. sn A second point in Jesus’ defense of his disciples’ actions was that his authority as Son of Man also allowed it, since as Son of Man he was lord of the Sabbath.
1	tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
2	tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3	sn See the note on synagogue in 1:21.
4	sn Withered means the man’s hand was shrunken and paralyzed.
5	sn The term translated watched … closely is emotive, since it carries negative connotations. It means they were watching him out of the corner of their eye or spying on him.
6	tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7	sn The background for this is the view that only if life was endangered should one attempt to heal on the Sabbath (see the Mishnah, m. Shabbat 6.3; 12.1; 18.3; 19.2; m. Yoma 8.6).
8	tn Grk “Stand up in the middle.” sn Most likely synagogues were arranged with benches along the walls and open space in the center for seating on the floor.
9	tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
10	tn The aorist participle περιβλεψάμενος (periblepsamenos) has been translated as antecedent (prior) to the action of the main verb. It could also be translated as contemporaneous (“Looking around … he said”).
11	tn This term is a collective singular in the Greek text.
12	sn The passive was restored points to healing by God. Now the question became: Would God exercise his power through Jesus, if what Jesus was doing were wrong? Note also Jesus’ “labor.” He simply spoke and it was so.

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