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Read Mark Chapter 3

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1And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand.

2And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.

3And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.

4And 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.

5And 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 other.

6And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.

7But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea,

8And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him.

9And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him.

10For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues.

11And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.

12And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.

13And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.

14And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,

15And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:

16And Simon he surnamed Peter;

17And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:

18And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite,

19And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house.

20And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.

21And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.

22And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.

23And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?

24And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

25And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

26And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.

27No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.

28Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:

29But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:

30Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.

31There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him.

32And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.

33And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?

34And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!

35For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.

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Explanation

Mark 3

In short

Jesus heals a man's hand on the Sabbath, which angers religious leaders and puts them against Him. He then chooses twelve followers to be His apostles, and later defends His power against accusations that He works for Satan. He teaches that anyone who does God's will belongs to His true family.

What the text says

Verses 1-5: In a synagogue, Jesus sees a man with a withered hand. Religious leaders watch to see if Jesus will heal him on the Sabbath, hoping to accuse Him. Jesus asks the man to stand forth, then challenges the leaders: is it lawful "to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill?" They stay silent. Jesus, angry at their hardness of heart, tells the man to stretch out his hand, and it is restored whole.

Verses 6-12: The Pharisees and Herodians plot to destroy Jesus. He withdraws to the sea with His disciples. Large crowds from many regions follow Him because of His healing works. People press upon Him to touch Him. Unclean spirits fall down before Him, crying that He is "the Son of God," but He charges them not to make Him known.

Verses 13-19: Jesus goes to a mountain and calls twelve men to be with Him, to preach, heal sicknesses, and cast out devils. The text names them: Simon (surnamed Peter), James and John (surnamed Boanerges, meaning "sons of thunder"), Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who "also betrayed him."

Verses 20-26: Crowds gather so thickly that the apostles cannot eat. Jesus' friends say He is "beside himself." Scribes from Jerusalem accuse Him: "He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils." Jesus responds that Satan cannot cast out Satan, for "if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand." A house or Satan himself divided cannot endure.

Verses 27-30: Jesus teaches that one must bind a strong man before spoiling his house. He says all sins and blasphemies will be forgiven, but "he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation," because they said He has "an unclean spirit."

Verses 31-35: Jesus' mother and brothers come calling for Him. He asks, "Who is my mother, or my brethren?" Looking at those sitting about Him, He says, "Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother."

Takeaways

  • Jesus acts to heal and help even when it breaks rules that the religious leaders hold sacred, and they respond by turning against Him.
  • The twelve apostles are chosen and given power to heal and cast out demons, but one of them will betray Him.
  • Jesus teaches that belonging to His family is not about blood relation, but about doing God's will.

Explanation written with the help of AI. The Bible text above is not changed. Context and interpretation are flagged as such; always come back to the text itself.