The Pharisees were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus and brought a man with a withered hand for Jesus to heal on the Sabbath. Jesus intentionally broke their Sabbath tradition and they sought to destroy him. But Jesus went his way and “a great crowd followed him” and he healed them all. Then Jesus appoints twelve apostles to be with him, to go and preach, and he gave them authority over demons. The crowds are so large that Jesus teaches them on the mountain side.
Jesus Heals on the Sabbath
Mark 3:1-6
Matthew 12:9-14
Luke 6:6-11
They Were Watching Him Closely to See
Mark 3:1–6
In Mark 3:1 “he entered the synagogue again”. Jesus had been teaching in the synagogues and in the house in Capernaum. He had cast the devil out in the synagogue. He healed the paralytic in the House. And, now he is healing the mans withered hand. Since he returned from Jerusalem, the scribes and Pharisees had been paying attention to his actions and in Luke 5:17 they “had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem”. Now, back in the synagogue, on the sabbath, in
Mark 3:2 (LEB) And they were watching him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath, in order that they could accuse him.
Is it Permitted to Heal on the Sabbath?
Matthew 12:9–14
In the account from Matthew 12:10 we find that this is not just a man that happened to be in the synagogue that needed healing. They staged this man to be able to accuse Jesus of breaking the Sabbath and “He (Jesus) deliberately and publicly broke the Sabbath law; and the result was a conference of the orthodox leaders to search out a way to eliminate him”.1 As we see in
Matthew 12:14 (LEB) But the Pharisees went out ⌊and plotted⌋ against him in order that they could destroy him.
No matter to them that this man was made whole in
Matthew 12:13 (LEB) Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand,” and he stretched it* out, and it was restored as healthy as the other one.
They Were Filled With Fury
Luke 6:6–11
Luke gives us very much the same account as we find in Mark and Matthew but in this account we find that Jesus made a little more of a public spectacle in Luke 6:8-10 by placing the man with the withered hand “in the middle” so all could see, and “his hand was restored”.
A Great Crowd Followed Him
A Great Crowd Came to Him
Mark 3:7–12
Mark 3:7-8 tells us the crowd was not just local people from Galilee but they were also “And from Judea and from Jerusalem and from Idumea and the other side of the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon … because they heard all that he was doing”. And again in Mark 3:9 they prepared “a small boat … so that they would not press upon him”. This was all because in
Mark 3:10–11 (LEB) For he had healed many, so that all those who ⌊were suffering from diseases⌋ pressed about him in order that they could touch him. 11 And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, were falling down before him and crying out, saying, “You are the Son of God!”
In His Name the Gentiles Will Hope
Matthew 12:15–21
Mark tells us that Jesus went away after healing the withered hand in the synagogue, but here in Matthew 12:15 we learn that Jesus left because he learned of the plot against him by the Pharisees in Matthew 12:14. Matthews account simply tells us “many followed” Mark gives more detail about the crowd. Matthew is very brief about the crowds and the healings but goes on to give us a prophetic word from Isaiah 42:1-4.
He (Jesus) Appointed Twelve
Mark 3:13-19
Luke 6:12-16
Mark 3:14 says that Jesus did this “so that they would be with him” and there are accounts where Jesus needed their assistance in dealing with the crowds of people. This appointment came with delegation of authority and mission.
So That He Could Send Them Out To Preach
Mark 3:13–19
Jesus appointed them so, in Mark 14-15 “he could sent them out to preach and to have authority to expel demons”. Also note in Mark 3:19 that Judas was among them and received the same appointment.
These short verses give us great insight into Jesus method of development for these men. He didn’t pre-judge them but gave them full access, even Judas. He was clear about the purpose they were appointed to “Jesus called them to him for two purposes. First, he called them to be with him. He called them to be his steady and consistent companions … Second, he called them to send them out. He wanted them to be his representatives”.2
And, they were equipped with what they needed to accomplish the task “Jesus equipped them with two things. First, he gave them a message. They were to be his heralds … Second, he gave them a power. They were also to cast out demons”.3
Whom He Also Named Apostles
Luke 6:12–16
Luke 6:12 tells us that Jesus “was spending the whole night in prayer to God” and then in Luke 6:13 “he summoned his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he also named apostles”. Jesus made these selections after prayer as these would become his ambassadors. But Luke does not describe their role or function. This is a new term for the Church but not a foreign concept for Jesus and the disciples. They understood that “The Greek word apostolos means someone who is sent out. It can be used for an envoy or an ambassador. They were to be his ambassadors”.4
See “Ezra 7:14; Dan 5:24; 2 Chr 17:7–9 … Christianity, therefore, appears to have picked a secular term and made it into a specific office and title.”5
Teaching, Preaching, and Healing Every Disease
Matthew 4:23–25
Jesus was, in Matthew 4:23 “teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and every sickness among the people”. And in Matthew 4:24 “a report about him went out … they brought to him all those who were sick … and he healed them”. Then in Matthew 4:25 again, “large crowds followed him” and now they are also from Decapolis and “from the other side of the Jordan”.
The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 5:1–12
This famous passage begins when in Matthew 5:1 “he saw the crowds”. Jesus had been teaching, preaching and healing in the synagogue, but the word of healing was spreading and more and more people came. Jesus realized they could not be accommodated in the synagogue so “he went up the mountain”.
Then, Jesus did not begin healing, instead, he began teaching. But his teaching wasn’t about some future blessing, a prize that would be awarded later. The significance of the form of the beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-12 is lost on us because “Jesus did not speak the beatitudes in Greek; he spoke them in Aramaic, which was the kind of Hebrew people spoke in his day. Aramaic and Hebrew have a very common kind of expression, which is in fact an exclamation … The beatitudes are not simple statements; they are exclamations: ‘O the blessedness of the poor in spirit!’”6
Study Verses
- Matthew 12:9–14 Is it Permitted to Heal on the Sabbath?
- Mark 3:7–12 A Great Crowd Came to Him
- Mark 3:13-19 He (Jesus) Appointed Twelve
Today’s Reading
- Matthew 4:23-25
- Matthew 5:1-12
- Matthew 12:9-21
- Mark 3:1–19
- Luke 6:6-16
The Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ – The Gospels
This series follows the order of readings from the Tyndale One Year Chronological Bible. Covering these events chronologically as they happened, gives a much different context and helps us understand the move of God as He is introducing the Saviour, the Light of the world, Jesus Christ. This series begins with Return To Me And I Will Return To You at the end of Malachi and introduces the “Witnesses” writing the Gospels.
Operation Exodus
is helping Jewish people return to their homeland. You might fund one that desires to go home. http://operationexodususa.org/Overview
References
- 1. Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of Matthew (Third Ed., p. 32). Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press.
- 2. Barclay, W. (2001). The New Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Mark (p. 85). Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press.
- 3. Barclay, W. (2001). The New Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Mark (p. 86). Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press.
- 4. Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of Luke (p. 89). Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press.
- 5. Betz, H. D. (1992). Apostle. In D. N. Freedman (Ed.), The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (Vol. 1, p. 309). New York: Doubleday.
- 6. Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of Matthew (Third Ed.). Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press.