The Twelve Apostles
13 1And he went up on the mountain and called to him those
2whom he desired, and they came to him.
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3And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach
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4and have authority to cast out demons.
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He appointed the twelve:
5Simon (to whom
6he gave the name Peter);
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7James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder);
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Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and
8Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean,
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and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
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Then he went
9home, and the crowd gathered again,
10so that they could not even eat.
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11And when
12his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, "He
13is out of his mind."
Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit
22 And
14the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying,
15"He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "by the prince of demons he casts out the demons."
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16And he called them to him and said to them in parables,
"How can Satan cast out Satan?
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If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
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And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.
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And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end.
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But 17no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. 18Then indeed he may plunder his house.
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19"Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter,
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but whoever 20blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin"--
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for they were saying, "He has an unclean spirit."
Jesus' Mother and Brothers
31 21And his mother and his
22brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him.
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And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you."
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And he answered them,
"Who are my mother and my brothers?"
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And
23looking about at those who sat around him, he said,
"Here are my mother and my brothers!
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24For whoever 25does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother."