Whodunnit?

Mark 3:1-6

At the start of Mark 3 we read that Jesus went into a synagogue, and a man with a withered hand was there. Some people wanted grounds for accusing Jesus, so the watched him to see if He would heal on the Sabbath.

So let’s see how good you are at guessing: was the man healed, and who healed him?

You won’t be surprised that your guess of “Yes” for the first question is, in fact, correct. But if you answered “Jesus” to the question, “who healed him?” then you might want to go to the passage and read it carefully.

Jesus gave the man two instructions, both of which he obeyed. The first was “Stand up in front of everyone.”

Knowing perfectly well that some of the assembly were there to trap Him, Jesus used the man as a visual aid to pose a very simple (but deadly, to the religious mindset) question. “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?”

The congregation remained silent.

Jesus looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart. Why?

Not just because of the people in the synagogue and their attitude, I suspect; but because of this demonstration of how the covenant and law which had been given to ensure the safety and blessing of Israel had been weaponised to keep people in their places. The Sabbath was given to Israel as a taste of what was to come, once the curse of the Fall was dealt with; the recovery of all that was lost, including rest, health and provision with no sweat and hard labour. Now Jesus watches as it is used by people acting in bad faith who want to stop anyone from hearing a message that can set them free.

After which He gives the man a second instruction: “Stretch out your hand”. And he did so, and his hand was completely restored.

So who healed the man? The man did. In an incredibly hostile and negatively charged atmosphere, he did the two things Jesus told him to do. As Jesus said to the woman with the issue of blood (Matt 9, Mark 5 and Luke 8), ἡ πίστις σου σέσωκέν σε. “Your trust has saved you.”

If you don’t like the distinction I am making, ask instead, how did the man receive his healing? By obeying Jesus. If he hadn’t obeyed, would he have received his healing? Not as far as we are aware. So did Jesus heal him, or did the man himself?

Why do I translate πίστις as trust, rather than faith? Simply because in English, the word “faith” has taken on a life of its own, as something we have that is entirely about us – like having big muscles because we have been exercising (and drinking inadvised quantities of protein shake). “Trust” is however the fundamental meaning of πίστις, and what is more, it applies absolutely to anyone whether they have developed big spiritual muscles or not. Trust is about your relationship to another; I don’t need to know how the answer will come, but my heart is fully persuaded that what Jesus says is true.

From that position of trust, it follows that if He tells me to stand in front of a hostile crowd, I do so; and when He tells me to stretch out the hand I can’t stretch at all, I do so. And that’s how you receive from the Kingdom of God.

Of course the Pharisees and Sadducees went off to plot against Jesus, very angry. No wonder, since they knew He hadn’t broken their “strict” interpretation of the Law. He didn’t touch the man, He didn’t proclaim healing over him, He just told him to do something that was permitted even on the Sabbath – “stretch out your hand”.

And the wretched man did so.