Mark3

¹Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there.

²Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath.

³Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”

⁴Then 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.

⁵He 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.

⁶Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

⁷Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed.

⁸When 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.

⁹Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him.

¹⁰For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him.

¹¹Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.”

¹²But he gave them strict orders not to tell others about him.

¹³Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him.

¹⁴He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach

¹⁵and to have authority to drive out demons.

¹⁶These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter),

¹⁷James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”),

¹⁸Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot

¹⁹and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

²⁰Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.

²¹When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

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

²³So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan?

²⁴If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

²⁵If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

²⁶And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come.

²⁷In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house.

²⁸Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter,

²⁹but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”

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

³¹Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him.

³²A 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.

³⁴Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!

³⁵Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”