Mark 3

A Man with a Withered Hand Healed

1 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 hand." And he stretched [it] out, and his hand was restored.

6 And the Pharisees went out immediately with the Herodians {and began to conspire} 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, and a great crowd from Galilee followed [him]. 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] 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} 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, 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. 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,

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] {his family} heard [this], 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] 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] 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}, 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 [are] outside looking for you."

33 And he answered them [and] said, "Who is my mother or 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."

Mark 3 Commentary

Chapter 3

The withered hand healed. (1-5) The people resort to Christ. (6-12) The apostles called. (13-21) The blasphemy of the scribes. (22-30) Christ's relatives. (31-35)

Verses 1-5 This man's case was piteous; he had a withered hand, which disabled him from working for his living; and those that are so, are the most proper objects of charity. Let those be helped that cannot help themselves. But stubborn infidels, when they can say nothing against the truth, yet will not yield. We hear what is said amiss, and see what is done amiss; but Christ looks at the root of bitterness in the heart, the blindness and hardness of that, and is grieved. Let hard-hearted sinners tremble to think of the anger with which he will look upon them shortly, when the day of his wrath comes. The great healing day now is the sabbath, and the healing place the house of prayer; but the healing power is of Christ. The gospel command is like that recorded here: though our hands are withered, yet, if we will not stretch them out, it is our own fault that we are not healed. But if we are healed, Christ, his power and grace, must have all the glory.

Verses 6-12 All our sicknesses and calamities spring from the anger of God against our sins. Their removal, or the making them blessings to us, was purchased to us by the blood of Christ. But the plagues and diseases of our souls, of our hearts, are chiefly to be dreaded; and He can heal them also by a word. May more and more press to Christ to be healed of these plagues, and to be delivered from the enemies of their souls.

Verses 13-21 Christ calls whom he will; for his grace is his own. He had called the apostles to separate themselves from the crowd, and they came unto him. He now gave them power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils. May the Lord send forth more and more of those who have been with him, and have learned of him to preach his gospel, to be instruments in his blessed work. Those whose hearts are enlarged in the work of God, can easily bear with what is inconvenient to themselves, and will rather lose a meal than an opportunity of doing good. Those who go on with zeal in the work of God, must expect hinderances, both from the hatred of enemies, and mistaken affections of friends, and need to guard against both.

Verses 22-30 It was plain that the doctrine of Christ had a direct tendency to break the devil's power; and it was as plain, that casting of him out of the bodies of people, confirmed that doctrine; therefore Satan could not support such a design. Christ gave an awful warning against speaking such dangerous words. It is true the gospel promises, because Christ has purchased, forgiveness for the greatest sins and sinners; but by this sin, they would oppose the gifts of the Holy Ghost after Christ's ascension. Such is the enmity of the heart, that unconverted men pretend believers are doing Satan's work, when sinners are brought to repentance and newness of life.

Verses 31-35 It is a great comfort to all true Christians, that they are dearer to Christ than mother, brother, or sister as such, merely as relations in the flesh would have been, even had they been holy. Blessed be God, this great and gracious privilege is ours even now; for though Christ's bodily presence cannot be enjoyed by us, his spiritual presence is not denied us.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "the"; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
• [b]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
• [c]. Literally "began to give counsel"; the imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive ("began to")
• [d]. That is, the Sea of Galilee
• [e]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
• [f]. *Here "[because]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("heard") which is understood as causal
• [g]. Literally "had suffering"
• [h]. Some manuscripts add "whom he also named apostles"
• [i]. Most Greek manuscripts omit the phrase "and he appointed the twelve"
• [j]. 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)
• [k]. *Here "[when]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("heard") which is understood as temporal
• [l]. Literally [those] "close to him"
• [m]. *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
• [n]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("called") has been translated as a finite verb
• [o]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("enter") has been translated as a finite verb
• [p]. Literally "for the age"
• [q]. Some manuscripts add "and your sisters"
• [r]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("answered") has been translated as a finite verb
• [s]. Some manuscripts have "and"