Word goes around that Jesus has waved the Sabbath rule, allowing his disciples to pick grains of wheat from the field. The Pharisees lay a trap for him as Jesus and his companions proceed to the synagogue. A man with a withered hand is present in the gathering, and the Pharisees see him a perfect bait to see whether or not Jesus is going to heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus poses a question to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” (v 4). For Jesus, doing good is precisely to deliver the man from further suffering on that very moment. This has priority over the religious observance. But more importantly, he shows his empathy and mercy to the suffering man, in contrast to the Pharisees who see the man simply as an occasion to trap Jesus. Jesus is angry and grieves at the Pharisees’ hardness of heart (skelokardia). They do not share the point of Jesus. Worse, they take counsel with the Herodians whom they hate. They consort with the Herodians against their common “enemy”—Jesus. May the Lord deliver us from hardness of heart that prevents us from facing the truth.

“Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!”

Jesus entered the synagogue. There was a man there who had a withered hand. They watched Jesus closely to see if he would cure him on the sabbath so that they might accuse him. He said to the man with the withered hand, “Come up here before us.” Then he said to the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” But they remained silent. Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart, Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death.