Mark 3:1–6
1 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. 2 And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” 4 And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
The theme of this whole section (2:1-3:6) has been the growing tension between Jesus and the the Pharisees. Remember from Monday the Pharisaism was a sect of Jewish theology. We tend to talk a lot about the Pharisees but don't really know much of who they are. Most of our talk about them is extremely negative because of their opposition to Jesus, but we often don't point out that Jesus and the apostles theology aligns most closely with that of the Pharisees, when compared to other Jewish sects.
The Pharisees were staunchly committed to the Torah. They unapologetically built their life and theology on the foundation of the OT scriptures and the Law of Moses. They scrupulously read and interpreted the text and followed it with precision. This is what led to their opposition to Jesus. They simply couldn't stomach the areas in which Jesus' teaching diverged from the Torah (ie. fasting, Sabbath, cleanliness, sacrifice, etc). Yet their commitment to the Torah is admirable.
Some of their distinctive beliefs revolved around a belief in the sovereignty of God coupled with human accountability; the resurrection of the dead; angels and demons; and disdain and rejection of anyone who were ignorant, negligent or violators of the Torah.
Jesus never calls them out for their value given to the Torah, instead he calls them out for their adherence to oral tradition over the true intent of the laws prescribed in the Torah. This is most clearly seen in Mark 7:1-23.
Little is known about the Herodians. They are mentioned only a few times in biblical texts and extra-biblical texts from the era. Most likely they weren't distinct Jewish sects like the Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes. Instead they were most likely Jews who supported the political power of king Herod in Judea. It was a strange alliance between the Pharisees and the Herodians. The Pharisees being a religious isolationist group likely wouldn't take kindly to sympathizers of a Roman-pawn ruler. Yet here it seems the old adage holds true, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." The Herodians likely opposed Jesus because of his claims to be the Messiah and the King of the Jews—a position Herod currently held.