Whenever you consider the meaning of a Bible text, it is always good to look at the context. As we consider the meaning of Jesus' words to the man with a shriveled hand, we need to look at what happened before he spoke these words. The context of Jesus' words to the man with the shriveled-up hand in Mark 3:5 is conflict with the Pharisees in the areas of fasting, the Sabbath, and worship. The reason for this conflict was the Pharisees' closed minds, hard hearts, and clenched fists.

The Context

In some respects the Pharisees have gotten a bum rap. In many sermons over the years they have appeared as the bad guys, when actually they were very good people in many ways. As a matter of fact, in at least three important ways they were very close to Jesus.

First, the Pharisees, like Jesus, wer…