βAnd He saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.
βAnd when He had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, He saith unto the man. Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the otherβ (Mark 3:4,5).
Why did our Lord become angry when the Jewish leaders refused to answer His questions? He was βgrieved for the hardness of their hearts.β Their silence was not the silence of ignorance but of willfulness. They had βwatched Him whether He would healβ¦ on the sabbath day; that they might accuse Him,β but they could not tell Him what was wrong about it. Indeed, when He asked them what was wrong they refused to answer His questions.
How inconsistent! How unreasonable! How unjust! And, as we read the context, we are amazed to find that this sullen, stubborn opposition came not from the Sadducees but from the Pharisees, not the religious βliberalsβ but the βconservatives,β the Bible-believers of the day!
They were the orthodox group. Nevertheless, because of their pride and bigotry generations following have looked down upon them and have pronounced with contempt the name Pharisee.
Paul stood with them, doctrinally, against the Sadducees. He said: βMen and brethren, I am a Phariseeβ (Acts 23:6), nevertheless the Pharisees had joined the Sadducees in their opposition to him and to the glorious message he proclaimed. In this respect times have not changed, for those who stand boldly for Godβs message and program for our day will find themselves still opposed by Sadducees and Pharisees alike. source
