Mark 3:3

3 So he told the man with the paralyzed hand, "Stand in the center [of the synagogue]."

Mark 3:3 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 3:3

And he saith unto 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 12:10 Matthew 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.

Mark 3:3 In-Context

1 Jesus went into a synagogue again. A man who had a paralyzed hand was there.

2 The people were watching Jesus closely. They wanted to see whether he would heal the man on the day of worship so that they could accuse him of doing something wrong.

3 So he told the man with the paralyzed hand, "Stand in the center [of the synagogue]."

4 Then he asked them, "Is it right to do good or to do evil on the day of worship, to give a person back his health or to let him die?" But they were silent.

5 Jesus was angry as he looked around at them. He was deeply hurt because their minds were closed. Then he told the man, "Hold out your hand." The man held it out, and his hand became normal again.