Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man who had the withered hand, "Come forward." Then he said to them, "Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?" But they were silent. He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. Mark 3:1-6

Jesus was an itinerant preacher who had this extraordinary gift of healing. The gospel writers often use these events to establish Jesus' credentials as the Messiah. I am personally convinced that this was not what motivated Jesus. He truly had compassion on the sick and lame and healed them out of a heart of love. Moreover he did not allow religious laws and rituals to stand in the way of his healing ministry.

However, there is much more to this story than Jesus' violation of the Sabbath Laws so that this man might be healed. Isn't it ironic that Jesus' detractors thought it was wrong to heal the man on the Sabbath, yet it was alright to plot murder on the Sabbath.

What did Jesus mean with his reference to saving life? The Hebrew use of the word salvation is generally within a military context and refers to victory over evil or rescue from danger in life. To Jesus, salvation meant healing and restoration to the community.

A clue to the meaning of this story is the fact that Jesus was grieved at the hardness of heart of his accusers. It harkens back to the Exodus story, where the scriptures say that God hardened the heart of Pharaoh. The implied reason for this hardening was to prove that God is God through his superior power over Pharaoh's army. In turn, Jesus put the hardness of heart squarely where it belonged, not on God, but on the oppressive system that caused the Herodian's and Pharisee's hearts to harden.

Another clue to Jesus' concept of salvation is the root word for salvation, namely salvar, which means “to heal.” This is also the root for the English word “salve.” Similarly, salvation can be linked to restoration to the community. In Hebrew tradition, holiness usually meant separation from that which defiles. Jesus used another meaning of holiness, namely wholeness. Wholeness meant that the person could again participate in community life. This is particularly evident in his healing of lepers. Jesus was willing to defile himself so that the sick might be restored to wholeness and thus the community itself could be made whole. He was even willing to risk his life for that wholeness.

Prayer: Loving God, we are so grateful that Jesus came to give new meaning to the concept of salvation. Even though it made the cross loom larger, he was willing to take that risk so that a man with a withered hand could participate more fully in the social and religious life of his community. What greater love has anyone than to lay down his or her life for a friend? Teach us how to love, even when love is filled with risk. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.