Mark 3
The Message
Doing Good on the Sabbath
3 1-3 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 violation. He said to the man with the crippled hand, “Stand here where we can see you.”
4 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.
5-6 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
7-10 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.
11-12 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.
13-19 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:
Simon (Jesus later named him Peter, meaning “Rock”),
James, son of Zebedee,
John, brother of James (Jesus nicknamed the Zebedee brothers Boanerges, meaning “Sons of Thunder”),
Andrew,
Philip,
Bartholomew,
Matthew,
Thomas,
James, son of Alphaeus,
Thaddaeus,
Simon the Canaanite,
Judas Iscariot (who betrayed him).
Satan Fighting Satan?
20-21 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 believing his own press.
22-27 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.
28-30 “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
31-32 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.”
33-35 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.”
Mark 3
Lexham English Bible
A Man with a Withered Hand Healed
3 And he entered into the synagogue again, and a man who had a withered hand was there. 2 And they were watching him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath, in order that they could accuse him. 3 And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come into the middle.” 4 And he said to them, “Is it permitted on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 And looking around at them with anger, grieved at the hardness of their hearts, he said to the man, “Stretch out your[a] hand.” And he stretched it[b] out, and his hand was restored. 6 And the Pharisees went out immediately with the Herodians and began to conspire[c] against him with regard to how they could destroy him.
Jesus Heals Crowds by the Sea
7 And Jesus went away with his disciples to the sea,[d] and a great crowd from Galilee followed him.[e] And from Judea 8 and from Jerusalem and from Idumea and the other side of the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon a great crowd came to him because they[f] heard all that he was doing. 9 And he told his disciples that a small boat should stand ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not press upon him. 10 For he had healed many, so that all those who were suffering from diseases[g] pressed about him in order that they could touch him. 11 And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, were falling down before him and crying out, saying, “You are the Son of God!” 12 And he warned them strictly that they should not make him known.
The Selection of the Twelve Apostles
13 And he went up on the mountain and summoned those whom he wanted, and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve,[h] so that they would be with him and so that he could send them out to preach 15 and to have authority to expel demons. 16 And he appointed the twelve.[i] And to Simon he gave the name Peter, 17 and James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (and he gave to them the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”), 18 and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot,[j] 19 and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
A House Divided Cannot Stand
20 And he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they were not even able to eat a meal. 21 And when[k] his family[l] heard this,[m] they went out to restrain him, for they were saying, “He has lost his mind!”
22 And the scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul!” and “By the ruler of the demons he expels the demons!” 23 And he called them to himself and[n] was speaking to them in parables, “How can Satan expel Satan? 24 And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom is not able to 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 is not able to stand, but is at an end! 27 But no one is able to enter into the house of a strong man and[o] plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man, and then he can thoroughly plunder his house.
28 “Truly I say to you that all the sins and the blasphemies will be forgiven the sons of men, however much they blaspheme. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit does not have forgiveness forever,[p] but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
Jesus’ Mother and Brothers
31 And his mother and his brothers arrived, and standing outside, they sent word to him to summon him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Behold, your mother and your brothers[q] are outside looking for you.” 33 And he answered them and[r] said, “Who is my mother or[s] my brothers?” 34 And looking around at those who were sitting around him in a circle, he said, “Behold, my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, this person is my brother and sister and mother.”
Footnotes
- Mark 3:5 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Mark 3:5 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Mark 3:6 Literally “began to give counsel”; the imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive (“began to”)
- Mark 3:7 That is, the Sea of Galilee
- Mark 3:7 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Mark 3:8 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as causal
- Mark 3:10 Literally “had suffering”
- Mark 3:14 Some manuscripts add “whom he also named apostles”
- Mark 3:16 Most Greek manuscripts omit the phrase “and he appointed the twelve”
- Mark 3:18 Literally “the Cananean,” but according to BDAG 507 s.v., this term has no relation at all to the geographical terms for Cana or Canaan, but is derived from the Aramaic term for “enthusiast, zealot” (see Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13)
- Mark 3:21 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal
- Mark 3:21 Literally those “close to him”
- Mark 3:21 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Mark 3:23 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“called”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Mark 3:27 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“enter”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Mark 3:29 Literally “for the age”
- Mark 3:32 Some manuscripts add “and your sisters”
- Mark 3:33 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Mark 3:33 Some manuscripts have “and”
Mark 3
New King James Version
Healing on the Sabbath(A)
3 And (B)He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2 So they (C)watched Him closely, whether He would (D)heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might [a]accuse Him. 3 And He said to the man who had the withered hand, [b]“Step forward.” 4 Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent. 5 And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the (E)hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored [c]as whole as the other. 6 (F)Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with (G)the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.
A Great Multitude Follows Jesus(H)
7 But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, (I)and from Judea 8 and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how (J)many things He was doing, came to Him. 9 So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him. 10 For He healed (K)many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to (L)touch Him. 11 (M)And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, (N)“You are the Son of God.” 12 But (O)He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.
The Twelve Apostles(P)
13 (Q)And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. 14 Then He appointed twelve, [d]that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, 15 and to have [e]power [f]to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons: 16 [g]Simon, (R)to whom He gave the name Peter; 17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”; 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; 19 and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house.
A House Divided Cannot Stand(S)
20 Then the multitude came together again, (T)so that they could not so much as eat bread. 21 But when His (U)own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, (V)for they said, “He is out of His mind.”
22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, (W)“He has Beelzebub,” and, “By the (X)ruler of the demons He casts out demons.”
23 (Y)So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: “How can Satan cast 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 cannot stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. 27 (Z)No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.
The Unpardonable Sin(AA)
28 (AB)“Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; 29 but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”— 30 because they (AC)said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
Jesus’ Mother and Brothers Send for Him(AD)
31 (AE)Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. 32 And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers [h]are outside seeking You.”
33 But He answered them, saying, “Who is My mother, or My brothers?” 34 And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! 35 For whoever does the (AF)will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.”
Footnotes
- Mark 3:2 bring charges against
- Mark 3:3 Lit. Arise into the midst
- Mark 3:5 NU omits as whole as the other
- Mark 3:14 NU adds whom He also named apostles
- Mark 3:15 authority
- Mark 3:15 NU omits to heal sicknesses and
- Mark 3:16 NU and He appointed the twelve: Simon . . .
- Mark 3:32 NU, M add and Your sisters
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
