And when he had looked around at them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he said unto the man,
Stretch forth your hand.
And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.
All Commentaries on Mark 3:5 Go To Mark 3
Athanasius the Apostolic
AD 373
But Jesus, deeply grieved in heart at the hardness of their hearts, said in effect: “Let the ones who see continue to see. Let the ones who refuse to hear do what they want to do. Let the ones who are hard in heart become stone. But let your right hand become full and tender. Rise, beg no longer.” … In effect Jesus was saying: “Do not continue to beg because of having a withered hand, but after you finally have received it healthy and whole and have begun to work, stretch out your hand to the poor. Rise up and stand in their midst. Become a marvel to those who see. In you the struggle concerning the sabbath is finally being contested. Stand in their midst, so that the ones who are lame in their legs might stand…. Stretch out your hand. I am not touching you so that they may not bring a charge against me. I am speaking with a speech so that they may not think that touching is an act of work. God did not say, ‘Do not speak on the sabbath.’ But if speech becomes an act of work, let the one who has spoken be an object of amazement. Stretch out your hand.” … While the withered hand was restored, the withered minds of the onlookers were not. For they went out and immediately, according to the reading, were debating what they would do to Jesus. Are you debating what you will do? Worship him as God. Worship the wonder worker. Worship one who worked good things on behalf of another. He did not add plasters; he was not tenderizing with lotions. He did not apply medical ointments. He did this work openly, standing in their midst, and not in a hidden way, so that some might retort: “He applied a plant; he added a plaster.”
