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Verse

Mark 3:3

ESV And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.”
NIV Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, 'Stand up in front of everyone.'
NASB He *said to the man with the withered hand, 'Get up and come forward!'
CSB He told the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand before us."
NLT Jesus said to the man with the deformed hand, 'Come and stand in front of everyone.'
KJV And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.

What does Mark 3:3 mean?

Jesus walks into the synagogue on the Sabbath and is immediately faced with a trap set by His critics. In here are a man with a withered hand and a group of Pharisees on a stakeout. The man's injury is not life-threatening. There would be no significant harm if it were healed one minute after the sun went down, and the Sabbath was over. But the Pharisees lie in wait to find out if Jesus will accept this. They seem to be testing the edges of Jesus' legalism, as compared to their own.

Jesus is in the business of sacrificing for us. He has no problem braving the hypocritical judgment of the Pharisees to heal this man where he is. He also has no reason to hide; He has authority over healing and the Sabbath, and no regard for the Pharisees' extra-biblical rules (Matthew 23:2–4). He knows that their pious lifestyles are not designed to show God's love, or even show their love for God, but to garner attention from other people (Matthew 23:5–7).

So, He calls up this wounded man, who needs a true expression of love. Jesus is making this into a very public, open display. He presents the man to the people in the synagogue. He exposes the man's need. In so doing, He exposes the Pharisees' hearts.

The word translated "rise" is from the Greek root word egeiro. This is not the only time Jesus will tell someone to rise up in the context of healing (Mark 2:11–12; 5:41; 9:27; 10:49). This is also the same phrase used for the resurrection (Mark 16:6, 14). In getting up and coming to Jesus we find healing and new life. As 1 Corinthians 6:14 says, "And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power."

Unlike the crowds who mob Jesus every chance they get, this man does not ask to be healed (Mark 3:7–10). He presumably goes to the synagogue to learn about God and how he should interact with God. He embodies the humble man in Luke 14:10, who sits at the lowest place at the table and is led by the host to a place of honor. His humility is a marked difference from the attention-grabbing Pharisees (Luke 18:10–14).
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