John Gill Commentary Mark 3

And he entered again into the synagogue
Perhaps in Capernaum, where he had before cast out the unclean spirit; but not on the same day, nor on that day he had had the debate with the Pharisees, about his disciples plucking the ears of corn on the sabbath day; but on another sabbath, perhaps the next; see (Luke 6:6) .

And there was a man there which had a withered hand ;
who came there either for a cure, knowing Christ to be in the synagogue, or for the sake of worship; (See Gill on Matthew 12:10).

And they watched him The ruler of the synagogue, and the principal men in it; particularly the Scribes and Pharisees, who followed him wherever he went; they observed him diligently, and kept their eyes upon him; this lame man being in the synagogue, to see

whether he would heal him on the sabbath day ; which, knowing his readiness to do good, they might expect he would:

that they might accuse him ; as they had accused his disciples before, of the violation of the sabbath: according to the Evangelist Matthew, they put a question to him, whether it was lawful to heal on the sabbath day? with this view, that they might, one way or another, have something to accuse him of, either to the people, or to the sanhedrim; (See Gill on Matthew 12:10).

And he says to the man which had the withered hand
After he had reasoned with them from the lesser to the greater, upon their own principles and practices, in relieving and taking out a sheep fallen into a ditch, on a sabbath day, (Matthew 12:10Matthew 12:11) , and knowing "their thoughts", as Luke says, (Luke 6:8) , their reasonings and designs; and as the Persic version here, from thence "understanding their conspiracy", turns himself to the lame man, and bids him

stand forth :
or, as in Luke, "rise up and stand forth in the midst", (Luke 6:8) . He bid him rise up from his seat, and stand forth in the midst of the synagogue:

this he said, partly to raise the attention of the people to the following miracle; and partly to move commiseration upon the sight of the object; and to aggravate the hard heartedness of the Pharisees; as also, that it might be manifest to all, that the man's hand was really withered; and that there was no fraud in the following cure.

And he says to them
Either to the whole multitude, to all the assembly in the synagogue; and so the Persic version renders it,"again he said to the multitude"; or rather, to the Scribes and Pharisees, who were watching him, and has puta question to him, which he answers by another:

is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil, to
save life, or to kill ?
The Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Persic versions read, or "to destroy", as in (Luke 6:9) , To doevil, kill, or destroy, are not lawful at any time; and to do good, and to save life, must be right at alltimes: our Lord has a particular view to the Scribes and Pharisees, and the question is put home to their ownconsciences; whose hearts and thoughts, designs and views, were all open to Christ; and who were now watchingto do evil to him, and even to destroy and take away his life:

for the violation of the sabbath was death by the law, and this was what they sought to accuse him of: now he puts the question to them, and makes themjudges which must appear most right and just in the sight of God and men, for him to heal this poor man ofhis withered hand, though on the sabbath day; which would be doing a good and beneficent action to him,whereby his life would be saved, and preserved with comfort and usefulness, and he would be in a capacity ofgetting his livelihood; or for them to cherish an evil intention against him, to seek to bring mischief onhim; and not only destroy his character and usefulness as much as in them lay, but even take away his verylife also: he leaves it with them to consider of which was most agreeable to the law of God, the nature of asabbath, and the good of mankind;

but they held their peace ;
or "were silent", not being able to return an answer, but what must have been in his favour, and to their ownconfusion, and therefore chose to say nothing.

And when he had looked round about on them In the several parts of the synagogue; for there were many of them on every side of him; which he might do, to observe their countenances, which might justly fall, upon such a close question put to them, and what answer they would return to him: and his look upon them was

with anger, with a stern countenance, which showed indignation at them, though without sin, or any desire of revenge, for the evil they were meditating against him; for at the same time he had pity and compassion for them,

being grieved for the hardness of their hearts: or "the blindness of their hearts", as the Vulgate Latin, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions render it; being troubled in his human soul, both at their inhumanity and cruelty to a miserable object, whose cure, in their opinion, would have been a breach of the sabbath; and to himself, having a malicious design against him, should he perform it; and at their stupidity and ignorance of the law of God, the nature and design of the sabbath, and of their duty to God, and their fellow creatures: wherefore as one not to be intimidated by their evil designs against him, or prevented thereby from doing good,

he saith unto the man, stretch forth your hand; that is, the lame one; and such power went along with his words, as at once effected a cure:

and he stretched it out, and his hand was restored whole as the other. This last clause, "whole as the other", is not in the Vulgate Latin, nor in the Syriac, Arabic, Persic, and Ethiopic versions; and may be added from (Matthew 12:13); see the note there; since it is wanting in the Alexandrian copy, and in Beza's most ancient copy, and in others.