Mark 3:1-6

Jesus makes a man well

1 Another time, Jesus went into the Jewish meeting place. A man was there. His hand was very small and weak, so he could not use it. 2 Some Pharisees were watching Jesus carefully. They wanted to find a reason to say that Jesus was doing wrong things. It was the Jewish day of rest. So the Pharisees watched Jesus to see if he would make the man well on this day. 3 Jesus said to the man, ‘Stand here in front of everyone.’

4 Then Jesus said to the Pharisees, ‘Is it right for us to do good things on our day of rest? Or should we do bad things? Should we save a person's life? Or should we kill people?’

Nobody said anything.

5 Jesus looked round at everybody. He felt angry with them. He also felt sad because they did not want to learn. Then he said to the man, ‘Lift up your hand.’ The man lifted his hand and it became well. He could use it again. 6 The Pharisees left the meeting place immediately. They went to meet with some other people who were friends with the ruler, Herod. The Pharisees talked with them about how they could kill Jesus.

3:6The people who were friends with Herod were important Jews. Herod ruled part of Israel on behalf of the Romans. His friends were happy because the Romans had authority in Israel. They did not like Jesus. They thought that he would cause problems for Herod.