Old/New Testament

Healing of the man with the withered hand

3 Once more Jesus went to the synagogue. There was a man there with a withered hand. ² People were watching to see if Jesus would heal him on the sabbath, so that they could frame a charge against him.

³ “Stand up,” said Jesus to the man with the withered hand, “and come out here.” And he said to them, ⁴ “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath, or to do evil? To save life or to kill?” They stayed quiet.

⁵ He was deeply upset at their hard-heartedness, and looked round at them angrily. Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out—and his hand was restored. ⁶ The Pharisees went out right away and began to plot with the Herodians against Jesus, trying to find a way to destroy him.

The Twelve are appointed

⁷ Jesus went off towards the sea with his disciples, and a large crowd from Galilee followed him. A great company, too, from Judaea, ⁸ Jerusalem, Idumaea, Transjordan, and the region of Tyre and Sidon, heard what he was doing and came to him.

⁹ There was a real danger that he might be crushed by the crowd, so he told his disciples to get a boat ready for him. ¹⁰ He healed large numbers, and sick people were pushing towards him to touch him. ¹¹ Whenever unclean spirits saw him, they fell down in front of him and yelled out, “You are the son of God!” ¹² He gave them strict orders not to reveal his identity.

¹³ Jesus went up the mountain, and summoned the people he wanted, and they came to him. ¹⁴ He appointed twelve (naming them “apostles”) to be with him and to be sent out as heralds, ¹⁵ and to have authority to cast out demons. ¹⁶ In appointing the Twelve, he named Simon “Peter”; ¹⁷ James, son of Zebedee, and his brother John, he named “Boanerges,” which means “sons of thunder.” The others were ¹⁸ Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananaean, ¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot (the one who handed him over).