‏ Mark 3

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

1 Once again [Jesus] entered the synagogue, and a man with a withered hand was there. 2 In order to accuse [Jesus] , they were watching {to see} if He would heal on the Sabbath. 3 Then [Jesus] said to the man with the withered hand, “Stand up among [us] .” 4 And He asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy [it] ?” But they were silent. 5 [Jesus] looked around at them with anger [and] sorrow at [their] hardness of heart. Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched [it] out, and [it] was restored. 6 At this, the Pharisees went out [and] plotted with the Herodians how they might kill [Jesus] .

Multitudes Follow Jesus

7 [So] Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea, accompanied by a large crowd from Galilee, Judea, 8 Jerusalem, Idumea, the region beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon. [The] large crowd came to Him when they heard what great things He was doing. 9 [Jesus] asked His disciples to {have} a boat ready for Him so that the crowd would not crush Him. 10 For He had healed so many that all who had diseases were pressing forward to touch Him. 11 And when the unclean spirits saw Him, they fell down before Him and cried out, “You are the Son of God!” 12 But He ordered them sternly not to make Him known.

The Twelve Apostles

13 Then [Jesus] went up on the mountain and called for those He wanted, and they came to Him. 14 He appointed twelve [of them] , [whom] He designated as apostles, to accompany Him, to be sent out to preach, 15 and to have authority to drive out demons. 16 [These are] the twelve He appointed: Simon (whom He named Peter) , 17 James [son] of Zebedee and his brother John ( [whom] He named Boanerges, meaning Sons of Thunder ), 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James [son] of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who later betrayed [Jesus] .

A House Divided

20 Then [Jesus] went home, and once again a crowd gathered, so that [He and His disciples] could not even eat. 21 [When] His family heard [about this] , they went out to take custody of Him, saying, “He is out of His mind.” 22 And the scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and, “By the prince of the demons He drives out demons.” 23 So [Jesus] called them together [and] began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, [it] cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, [it] cannot stand. 26 And if Satan is divided and rises against himself, he cannot stand; [his] end has come. 27 Indeed, no one can enter a strong man’s house to steal his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house.

The Unpardonable Sin

28 Truly I tell you, the sons of men will be forgiven all sins and blasphemies, as many as they utter. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit {will} never be forgiven; he is guilty [of] eternal sin.” 30 [ Jesus made this statement ] because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

Jesus' Mother and Brothers

31 Then [Jesus’] mother and brothers came and stood outside. They sent [someone] in to summon Him, 32 and a crowd was sitting around Him. “Look,” He was told, “Your mother and brothers ▼

▼NE and NA include and your sisters

are outside, asking for You.” 33 But [Jesus] replied, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” 34 Looking at those seated in a circle around Him, He said, “Here [are] My mother and My brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God is My brother and sister and mother.”