Mark 3:1-6 - Jesus Confronts His Opposition

The narrative here at the beginning of chapter three closely follows that of the end of chapter two. While recognizing that Mark does not necessarily write in chronological order, the events in the last five pericopes are probably more or less chronological as the opposition to Jesus increases incrementally in each one. In a strictly chronological sense there may have been other incidents that took place in between these stories, but Mark has grouped these five to show us the steady increase in opposition to Jesus.

And if Jesus had wanted to he could have avoided much of this. He didn't have to, for example, provoke the scribes earlier in chapter two by saying to the paralyzed man, "Your sins are forgiven." He did it deliberately. He makes no attempt at secrecy when he reclines at table with tax collectors and "sinners." He had to have known they were being watched as they plucked grain and ate it in the field on the Sabbath.

And now in this incident Jesus once again deliberately provokes his opponents. There is nothing about this healing which couldn't have waited until the next day. There is nothing about this healing that couldn't have waited until later on, in private. In fact, this man hasn't even come to Jesus for healing, he just showed up to synagogue on the Sabbath. This entire incident is instigated by Jesus to provoke. But when I use that word 'provoke' I'm not trying to make the case that Jesus just has a mean streak or a chip on his shoulder. His provoking is an act of love. He is deliberately confronting their unbelief and if they were to truly listen to him right now they would embrace him and be saved. But in responding the way they do, with unbelief, they have turned his act of love into a furthering of their eventual judgment.

This is what happens when we are confronted with the truth about Jesus Christ. We either respond in faith or we respond in unbelief. If we respond in faith and embrace Christ we are saved. If we choose, rather, to reject Christ, as the scribes in this story do, we are only furthering the judgment that awaits us. Jesus is the polarizing figure in human history and how we respond to him matters more than anything else in life.

In Mark 3:1-6 we come face to face with men who have already made up their minds about Jesus. They have come to hear him preach on a Sabbath, and they are watching him closely, not because they are listening to his message, but because they want to see if he will say or do something wrong. In fact, because they know he has done many healings they are hoping to see one on this occasion, but not for the good of someone who needs healed, nor even for the simple thrill of seeing something special. No, Mark says this:

And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him.--Mark 3:2 (emphasis mine)

What will Jesus do? And what does his response teach us? To find out take a listen to the sermon I preached on this passage. You will find it linked below. My prayer is that your response to Jesus will be one of faith.




Click here: Mark 3:1-6 - Jesus Confronts His Opposition



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