Mark 3:3

3 And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth *.

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 And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand.

2 And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.

3 And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth .

4 And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil ? to save life, or to kill ? But they held their peace .

5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out : and his hand was restored whole as the other.

Footnotes

• [a]. Stand forth: Gr. Arise, stand forth in the midst