Mark 3

Then he went back in the meeting place where he found a man with a crippled hand. The Pharisees had their eyes on Jesus to see if he would heal him, hoping to catch him in a Sabbath infraction. He said to the man with the crippled hand, “Stand here where we can see you.”

Again Jesus went into a synagogue; and a man was there whose hand was ^[a]withered.

The Pharisees were watching Jesus closely to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him [in the Jewish high court].

He said to the man whose hand was withered, “Get up and come forward!”

Then he spoke to the people: “What kind of action suits the Sabbath best? Doing good or doing evil? Helping people or leaving them helpless?” No one said a word.

He asked them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent.

He looked them in the eye, one after another, angry now, furious at their hard-nosed religion. He said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” He held it out—it was as good as new! The Pharisees got out as fast as they could, sputtering about how they would join forces with Herod’s followers and ruin him.

The Twelve Apostles

After looking around at them with anger, grieved at the hardness and arrogance of their hearts, He told the man, “Hold out your hand.” And he held it out, and his hand was [completely] restored.

Then the Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the ^[b]Herodians [to plot] against Him, as to how ^[c]they might [fabricate some legal grounds to] put Him to death.

Jesus went off with his disciples to the sea to get away. But a huge crowd from Galilee trailed after them—also from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, across the Jordan, and around Tyre and Sidon—swarms of people who had heard the reports and had come to see for themselves. He told his disciples to get a boat ready so he wouldn’t be trampled by the crowd. He had healed many people, and now everyone who had something wrong was pushing and shoving to get near and touch him.

Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and a large crowd from Galilee followed Him; and also people from Judea,

and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and [from the region] beyond the Jordan, and around Tyre and Sidon; a vast number of people came to Him because they were hearing about all [the things] that He was doing.

And He told His disciples to have a small boat stand ready for Him because of the many people, so that they would not crowd Him;

for He had healed many, and as a result all who had diseases pressed around Him to touch Him.

Evil spirits, when they recognized him, fell down and cried out, “You are the Son of God!” But Jesus would have none of it. He shut them up, forbidding them to identify him in public.

Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they fell down before Him and screamed out, “You are the Son of God!”

Jesus sternly warned them [again and again] not to tell who He was.

The Twelve Are Chosen

He climbed a mountain and invited those he wanted with him. They climbed together. He settled on twelve, and designated them apostles. The plan was that they would be with him, and he would send them out to proclaim the Word and give them authority to banish demons. These are the Twelve:

Satan Fighting Satan?

He went up on the hillside and called those whom He Himself wanted and chose; and they came to Him.

And He appointed ^[d]twelve [disciples], so that they would be with Him [for instruction] and so that He could send them out to preach [the gospel as apostles—that is, as His special messengers, personally chosen representatives],

and to have authority and power to cast out demons.

He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter),

and James, the son of ^[e]Zebedee, and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”);

and [He also appointed] Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew (Nathanael), and Matthew (Levi the tax collector), and Thomas, and ^[f]James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus (Judas the son of James), and Simon the Zealot;

and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.

Jesus came home and, as usual, a crowd gathered—so many making demands on him that there wasn’t even time to eat. His friends heard what was going on and went to rescue him, by force if necessary. They suspected he was getting carried away with himself.

Then He came to a ^[g]house [in Capernaum], and a crowd formed again, so [many people] that Jesus and His disciples could not even eat a meal [together].

When His own family heard this they went to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “He is out of His mind.”

The religion scholars from Jerusalem came down spreading rumors that he was working black magic, using devil tricks to impress them with spiritual power. Jesus confronted their slander with a story: “Does it make sense to send a devil to catch a devil, to use Satan to get rid of Satan? A constantly squabbling family disintegrates. If Satan were fighting Satan, there soon wouldn’t be any Satan left. Do you think it’s possible in broad daylight to enter the house of an awake, able-bodied man, and walk off with his possessions unless you tie him up first? Tie him up, though, and you can clean him out.

The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by ^[h]Beelzebul (Satan),” and “He is driving out the demons by the [power of the] ruler of the demons.”

So He called them to Himself and spoke to them in ^[i]parables, “How can Satan drive out Satan?

If a kingdom is divided [split into factions and rebelling] against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end.

But no one can go into a strong man’s house and steal his property unless he first overpowers and ties up the strong man, and then he will ransack and rob his house.

“Listen to this carefully. I’m warning you. There’s nothing done or said that can’t be forgiven. But if you persist in your slanders against God’s Holy Spirit, you are repudiating the very One who forgives, sawing off the branch on which you’re sitting, severing by your own perversity all connection with the One who forgives.” He gave this warning because they were accusing him of being in league with Evil.

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

“I assure you and most solemnly say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and all the abusive and blasphemous things they say;

but whoever ^[j]blasphemes against the Holy Spirit and His power [by attributing the miracles done by Me to Satan] never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin [a sin which is unforgivable in this present age as well as in the age to come]”—

[Jesus said this] because the scribes and Pharisees were [attributing His miracles to Satan by] saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

Just then his mother and brothers showed up. Standing outside, they relayed a message that they wanted a word with him. He was surrounded by the crowd when he was given the message, “Your mother and brothers and sisters are outside looking for you.”

Then His mother and His brothers arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called for Him.

A crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, “Look! Your mother and Your brothers are outside asking for You.”

Jesus responded, “Who do you think are my mother and brothers?” Looking around, taking in everyone seated around him, he said, “Right here, right in front of you—my mother and my brothers. Obedience is thicker than blood. The person who obeys God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

And He replied, “Who are My mother and My brothers?”

Looking at those who were sitting in a circle around Him, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!

For ^[k]whoever does the will of God [by believing in Me, and following Me], he is My brother and sister and mother.”