Mark 3:2

2 Some people watched Jesus closely to see if he would heal the man on the Sabbath day so they could accuse him.

Mark 3:2 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 3:2

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).

Mark 3:2 In-Context

1 Another time when Jesus went into a synagogue, a man with a crippled hand was there.

2 Some people watched Jesus closely to see if he would heal the man on the Sabbath day so they could accuse him.

3 Jesus said to the man with the crippled hand, "Stand up here in the middle of everyone."

4 Then Jesus asked the people, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath day: to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to kill?" But they said nothing to answer him.

5 Jesus was angry as he looked at the people, and he felt very sad because they were stubborn. Then he said to the man, "Hold out your hand." The man held out his hand and it was healed.