Do not sit silently by. Act!

Mk 3: 1-5

Mark 3:1 (biblehub.com)

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

What do you do when faced with judgement? Perhaps it is unfair judgement that you are anticipating, and therefore affects your confidence, what you actually do, and your mental-wellbeing itself?

The story of Jesus is one that makes us question ourselves: what would we have done in similar scenarios? Would we have just left our jobs to follow Jesus of Nazareth, as a number of the disciples did? Would we have kept following him even when we knew that he had powerful opposition? We are constantly invited to search within us our own values and willingness to stand tall in the face of repression and abuse.

In today's passage, Jesus enters the synagogue knowing that he is being closely watched by "they", likely scribes sent from Jerusalem to observe our Lord. Once inside, Jesus sees a man with a "withered hand", and therefore the stage is set. Jesus turns to the scribes and challenges them to tell him if it is a "Good" or "Evil" act to cure him, or to "save" or "destroy" a life. He then cures the man and the scribes exit to inform the appropriate authorities that Jesus had blasphemed by healing a man on the Sabbath.

There are a number of important take-aways from this scene. Firstly, Jesus does challenge those watching him. He shows that he is not afraid and will not just ignore those against him. This thought is echoed in him openly drawing a distinction between "Good and Evil" and also himself as a saviour versus those who destroy. Secondly, Jesus then commands the man to stand "in the centre" of the area. There is something theatrical about this. Jesus is ensuring that everyone present sees what he is about to do. For Jesus, there will be no hiding and skulking in corners. This very act is more of a direct challenge than what he says to the scribes.

Finally, there is a stark contrast between the "silent" scribes, who have no answer to Jesus' question, compared to the action that Jesus takes. We have seen already in Mark's Gospel that our Lord extols the virtue of the Sabbath, it being "for Man" rather than the other way around. Jesus is showing here in curing the man that the true faith in God is to take positive action in what we do, not to sit silently by and ignore the sufferings of our fellow man.