Mark 3:3

3 And he said to the man who had the withered hand, "Come forward."

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 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand.

2 They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him.

3 And he said to the man who had the withered hand, "Come forward."

4 Then he said to them, "Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?" But they were silent.

5 He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.