Jesus’ disciples picking the corn kernels on the Sabbath

The Lord of the Sabbath, and its Creator

DAY ONE:  Compassion and Conflict

Please carefully read Mark 3:1-6 and answer the following questions.

1.  As we mentioned last week, today’s passage is the fifth example of the growing conflict between Jesus and the hypocritical religious leaders that opposed Him.  We don’t know specifically when this took place, but what happened, and who else sought to be around Jesus on the Sabbath (v. 1, 2)?

NOTE:  The Greek word for Sabbath here is plural, Sabbaths, so it seems that they were spying on Jesus on a number of occasions, or watching him closely as the niv put it.  This is confirmed when we consider that the verb watching is in the imperfect tense, which means it was a continuous action of spying on Him.[i]

2.  What was Jesus’ reaction to the man’s plight, and how did He address the accusing thoughts of the Pharisees (v. 3, 4)?