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A Mitzvah on Shabbat

Yeshua entered the synagogue again, and a man with a withered hand was there. Now some were carefully watching Him, to see if He would heal him on Shabbat, so that they might accuse Him. He said to the man with the withered hand, “Stand up here in the center.” Then He said to them, “Is it permitted on Shabbat to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to kill?”[a] But they kept silent.

After looking around at them with anger, grieved by their hardness of heart, He says to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out right away with the Herodians and began plotting against Him, how they might destroy Him.

Crowds Clamor for Yeshua

Yeshua withdrew to the sea with His disciples, and a large crowd from the Galilee followed. From Judea, and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and around Tyre and Sidon, a great number, hearing all He was doing, came to Him. He told His disciples to have a small boat ready for Him because of the crowd, so that they wouldn’t mob Him.

10 For He had healed many, so that all those afflicted fell down before Him in order to touch Him. 11 And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, would fall down before Him and cry out, “You are Ben-Elohim!” 12 But Yeshua strictly ordered them not to make Him known.

Appointing the Twelve

13 Now He climbs up on the mountain and calls those He Himself wanted, and they came to Him. 14 He appointed twelve (whom He also named emissaries), so that they might be with Him and He might send them to proclaim the Good News, 15 and to have power to drive out demons. 16 And He appointed the Twelve: to Simon He gave the name Peter; 17 to Jacob and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee, He gave the name Boanerges, which is Sons of Thunder; 18 and Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, Jacob the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot; [b] 19 and Judah from Kriot, who also betrayed Him.

Binding the Strong Man

20 Then He comes into a house, and again a crowd gathers so they couldn’t even eat. 21 When His family heard about this, they went out to take hold of Him; for they were saying, “He’s out of His mind!”

22 The Torah scholars who came down from Jerusalem said, “He’s possessed by beelzebul,” and, “By the ruler of demons He drives out demons.”

23 He called them and began speaking 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 has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand but his end has come.

27 “But no one can enter a strong man’s house to ransack his property, unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he will thoroughly plunder his house. 28 Amen, I tell you, all things will be forgiven the sons of men, the sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29 but whoever slanders[c] the Ruach ha-Kodesh never has release, but is guilty of an eternal sin!” 30 For they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

A Spiritual Family Begins

31 Then His mother and brothers come. Standing outside, they sent word to Him, summoning Him. 32 A crowd was sitting around Him, and they tell Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You.” 33 Answering them, He said, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” 34 Looking at those sitting in a circle around Him, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

Storytelling Opens Hearts

Again Yeshua began to teach by the sea. A large crowd gathered around Him, so He got into a boat on the sea and sat down. And the crowd was by the sea on the land. He began teaching them many things by parables, and in His teaching, He said to them: “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to spread some seed. It happened that as he sowed, some fell beside the road; and the birds came and ate it up.

“Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it didn’t have much soil. It sprang up immediately, because the soil wasn’t deep. But when the sun came up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

“Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew and choked it, and it yielded no crop.

“And others fell into the good soil and were producing fruit, springing up and increasing. They yielded a crop, producing thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” And He said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

10 When Yeshua was alone, those around Him with the Twelve started asking Him about the parables. 11 And He told them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God. But for those who are outside, everything is in parables,[d] so that

12 ‘Seeing, they may se and not perceive,
and hearing, they may hear and not understand,
so they may not turn back and be forgiven.’”[e]

13 He said to them, “Don’t you grasp this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 These are the ones beside the road where the word is sown. Whenever they hear, satan comes quickly and takes away the word that has been sown in them.

16 “These are the ones sown on rocky ground. When they hear the word, immediately they receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves but last only a short while. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately they fall away.

18 “And others are the ones sown among the thorns. They have heard the word; 19 but the worries of the world, the seduction of wealth, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

20 “And those are the ones sown on the good soil. They hear the word and accept it and produce fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”

Reaping What You Sow

21 He also was saying to them, “Is a lamp put under a basket or a bed? No, shouldn’t it be placed on a lampstand? 22 For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, nor anything kept secret except that it would come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 Then He continued, “Pay attention to what you hear. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you; and more will be added to you. 25 For whoever has, to him more will be given. And whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

What Is the Kingdom of God Like?

26 And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like when a man spreads seed on the soil 27 and falls asleep at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows. He himself doesn’t know how. 28 Automatically, the earth brings forth a crop—first the blade, then the head, then the full grain in the head. 29 But when the grain is ready, at once he sends in the sickle, for the harvest has come.”

30 Yeshua also said, “How should we picture the kingdom of God? Or by what story shall we present it? 31 It is like a mustard seed when it’s planted in the ground. Though the smallest of all seeds in the earth, 32 yet when planted it grows up and becomes the largest of all the herbs. It puts forth big branches, so the birds of the air can nest in its shade.”[f]

33 With many such parables He used to tell them the word, as much as they were able to hear. 34 But apart from a parable, He wasn’t speaking to them. Yet when they were alone, to His own disciples He would explain everything.

Power Over Nature

35 Now on that same day in the evening, He says to them, “Let’s cross over to the other side.” 36 After leaving the crowd, they take Him along in the boat, just as He was. And other boats were with Him.

37 A great windstorm arises, and the waves were rushing into the boat. The boat was beginning to fill up. 38 But Yeshua was in the back of the boat, sleeping on a pillow. They wake Him up and say to Him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are perishing?”

39 So He woke up and rebuked the wind. And He said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind stopped, and it became totally calm. 40 And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Even now you have no faith?”

41 They were struck with awe and said to one another, “Who is this? Even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

Footnotes

  1. Mark 3:4 cf. Exod. 20:10; Lev. 23:12; Deut. 5:14.
  2. Mark 3:19 Lit. Cananean, Aramaic for zealot, enthusiast; perhaps formerly affiliated with the Jewish nationalistic Zealot party.
  3. Mark 3:29 Lit. blasphemes; cf. Mt. 12:31-32.
  4. Mark 4:11 cf. Prov. 1:6.
  5. Mark 4:12 Isa. 6:9-10.
  6. Mark 4:32 Dan. 2:34-35, 44-45.

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

Another time Jesus went into the synagogue,(A) and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely(B) to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath.(C) Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”

Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.

He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians(D) how they might kill Jesus.(E)

Crowds Follow Jesus(F)

Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed.(G) When they heard about all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon.(H) Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. 10 For he had healed many,(I) so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him.(J) 11 Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.”(K) 12 But he gave them strict orders not to tell others about him.(L)

Jesus Appoints the Twelve(M)

13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him.(N) 14 He appointed twelve[a](O) that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15 and to have authority to drive out demons.(P) 16 These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter),(Q) 17 James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Jesus Accused by His Family and by Teachers of the Law(R)(S)

20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered,(T) so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.(U) 21 When his family[b] heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”(V)

22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem(W) said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul!(X) By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”(Y)

23 So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables:(Z) “How can Satan(AA) drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house.(AB) 28 Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”(AC)

30 He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”

31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived.(AD) Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”

33 “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.

34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

The Parable of the Sower(AE)(AF)

Again Jesus began to teach by the lake.(AG) The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. He taught them many things by parables,(AH) and in his teaching said: “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.(AI) As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”(AJ)

Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”(AK)

10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God(AL) has been given to you. But to those on the outside(AM) everything is said in parables 12 so that,

“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
    and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’[c](AN)

13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word.(AO) 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan(AP) comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth(AQ) and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”

A Lamp on a Stand

21 He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand?(AR) 22 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.(AS) 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”(AT)

24 “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.(AU) 25 Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”(AV)

The Parable of the Growing Seed

26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like.(AW) A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”(AX)

The Parable of the Mustard Seed(AY)

30 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like,(AZ) or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand.(BA) 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable.(BB) But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

Jesus Calms the Storm(BC)

35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat.(BD) There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”(BE)

41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Footnotes

  1. Mark 3:14 Some manuscripts twelve—designating them apostles—
  2. Mark 3:21 Or his associates
  3. Mark 4:12 Isaiah 6:9,10