Mark 3

3 ¹ Once again Jesus entered the synagogue, and a man with a withered hand was there. ² They watched him closely to see whether he would heal the man on the Sabbath, so they might bring a charge against him. ³ Jesus said to the man with the withered hand, "Stand up and come forward." ⁴ Then he asked them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?" But they stayed silent. ⁵ He looked around at them in anger, deeply grieved at the hardness of their hearts, and said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. ⁶ Then the Pharisees went out and immediately began plotting with the Herodians how they might destroy him.

Crowds Pursue the Healer

⁷ Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. People also came from Judea, ⁸ from Jerusalem, from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan, and from the region around Tyre and Sidon. When they heard all that he was doing, great numbers came to him. ⁹ Because of the crowd, he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, so the people would not crush him. ¹⁰ For he had healed so many that all who had diseases were pressing forward to touch him. ¹¹ Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of our Father!" ¹² But he sternly warned them not to make him known.

The Twelve Are Appointed

¹³ Then Jesus went up on the mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. ¹⁴ He appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, so they could be with him and he could send them out to preach, ¹⁵ and to have authority to drive out demons. ¹⁶ These are the twelve he appointed: Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter; ¹⁷ James son of Zebedee and his brother John, to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; ¹⁸ Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, ¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

A Kingdom That Cannot Fall

²⁰ Then he went home, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples could not even eat. ²¹ When his family heard about it, they went out to take charge of him, for they were 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 demons he drives out demons."

²³ So Jesus called them to him and spoke to them in parables: "How can Satan drive out Satan? ²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. ²⁶ And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. ²⁷ But no one can enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man; then he can plunder his house.

²⁸ Truly I tell you, all sins and blasphemies will be forgiven the children of mankind, whatever they may blaspheme; ²⁹ but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness; they are guilty of an eternal sin" ³⁰ —for they were saying, "He has an unclean spirit."

The Father's Family

³¹ Then his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent word to him, calling for him. ³² A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, "Look, your mother and your brothers are outside, asking for you."

³³ He answered them, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" ³⁴ Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers!" ³⁵ Whoever does the will of our Father is my brother and sister and mother."