3:1 And He entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there who had a withered hand. 2 And they were watching Him closely to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. 3 And He said to the man who had the withered hand, Rise and stand in the midst. 4 And He said to them, Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill? But they remained silent. 5 And looking around at them with anger and being greatly grieved with the hardness of their heart, He said to the man, Stretch out your hand. And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 And the Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against Him as to how they might destroy Him.
On this Sabbath He healed a man's withered hand. The hand is a member of the body. The Lord would do anything for the healing of His members. Sabbath or no Sabbath, the Lord is interested in healing the members of His Body who are in need, even healing the members who are dead. Regulations do not matter, but the healing of the members of His Body means everything to Him. The first instance of breaking the Sabbath took place in the grainfields; the second took place in a synagogue (3:1). The first breaking of the Sabbath was related to satisfaction, and the second was related to liberation. We may be satisfied, but we may not yet be liberated. We need not only satisfaction but also liberation. Have you been liberated? Are you fully free? You may be quite satisfied because you have learned to feed on the Lord Jesus. However, you may not have the assurance to say that you have been liberated. According to the sequence in the Gospel of Mark, liberation follows satisfaction. If we have not been satisfied, we shall not sense the need for liberation. Our immediate need is to have our hunger satisfied. First, the Lord satisfies our hunger, and then, as the divine Surgeon, He operates on us. Once we are satisfied, He brings us into the "operating room" where He heals us and we are liberated. (c) Living Stream Ministry.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Mark, pp. 93-94. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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