Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Mark 3:1
A man there which had a withered hand - See this explained on Matthew 12:10 ; (note), etc., and on Luke 6:6 , Luke 6:10 ; (note). read more
A man there which had a withered hand - See this explained on Matthew 12:10 ; (note), etc., and on Luke 6:6 , Luke 6:10 ; (note). read more
They watched him - Παρετηρουν αυτον , they maliciously watched him. See on Luke 14:1 ; (note). read more
To do good - or - evil? to save life, or to kill? - It was a maxim with the Jews, as it should be with all men, that he who neglected to preserve life when it was in his power, was to be reputed a murderer. Every principle of sound justice requires that he should be considered in this light. But, if this be the case, how many murderers are there against whom there is no law but the law of God! To kill - but instead of αποκτειναι , several MSS. and versions have απολεσαι to destroy.... read more
With anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts - These words are not found in any of the other evangelists. For πωρωσει hardness, or rather callousness, the Codex Bezae, and four of the Itala, read νεκρωσει , deadness; the Vulgate and some of the Itala, caecitate , blindness. Join all these together, and they will scarcely express the fullness of this people's wretchedness. By a long resistance to the grace and Spirit of God, their hearts had become callous; they were past... read more
Herodians - For an account of these, see the note on Matthew 16:1 ; Matthew 22:16 . read more
Galilee - See Matthew 4:13 , Matthew 4:15 . read more
Tyre - Sidon, etc. - See Matthew 11:21 . When they had heard what great things he did, came unto him - So, if Christ be persecuted and abandoned by the wicked, there are a multitude of pious souls who earnestly seek and follow him. He who labors for God will always find more than he loses, in the midst of all his contradictions and persecutions. read more
Verse 5 Mark 3:5.And when he had looked around upon them with indignation To convince us that this was a just and holy anger, Mark explains the reason of it to be, that he was grieved on account of the blindness of their hearts. First, then, Christ is grieved, because men who have been instructed in the Law of God are so grossly blind; but as it was malice that blinded them, his grief is accompanied by indignation. This is the true moderation of zeal, to be distressed about the destruction of... read more
Verse 6 Mark 3:6.The Pharisees took counsel with the Herodians. Now they regarded the Herodians with the fiercest hatred; for their eagerness to be considered the guardians and protectors of public liberty made it necessary for them to make an open profession of mortal hatred to the ministers of that tyrant. And yet this aversion is counteracted by their hatred and fury against Christ, (88) which makes them not only enter into a conspiracy with foreigners, but insinuate themselves into the good... read more
John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Mark 3:8
And from Jerusalem ,.... The metropolis of the country of Judea; and from Idumea , or Edom, as the Syriac version reads it; a country that lay on the south of Judea, formerly inhabited by the sons of Edom, but now by Jews; or at least the inhabitants of it were proselytes to the Jewish religion. Mention is made of the plains of Idumea, along with Gazera, Azotus, and Jamnia, as in 1Maccabees: "Howbeit all the hindmost of them were slain with the sword: for they pursued them unto Gazera,... read more