Mark, 3

1. Again Jesus entered the synagogue. A man who had a paralyzed hand was there

2. and some people watched Jesus: Would he heal the man on the sabbath? If he did they could accuse him.

3. Jesus said to the man with the paralyzed hand, "Stand here in the center."

4. Then he asked them, "What does the Law allow us to do on the sabbath? To do good or to do harm? To save life or to kill?" But they were silent.

5. Then Jesus looked around at them with anger and deep sadness because they had closed their minds. And he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out and his hand was healed.

6. But as soon as the Pharisees left, they met with Herod's supporters, looking for a way to destroy Jesus.

7. Jesus and his disciples withdrew to the lakeside and a large crowd from Galilee followed him. A great number of people also came from Judea,

8. Jerusalem, Idumea, Transjordan and from the region of Tyre and Sidon, for they had heard of all that he was doing.

9. Because of the crowd, Jesus told his disciples to have a boat ready for him, to prevent the people from crushing him.

10. He healed so many that all who had diseases kept pressing towards him to touch him.

11. Even the people who had evil spirits, whenever they saw him, would fall down before him and cry out, "You are the Son of God."

12. But he warned them sternly not to tell anyone who he was.

13. Then Jesus went up into the hill country and called those he wanted and they came to him.

14. So he appointed twelve to be with him; and he called them apostles. He wanted to send them out to preach,

15. and he gave them authority to drive out demons.

16. These are the Twelve: Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter;

17. James, son of Zebedee, and John his brother, to whom he gave the name Boanerges, which means "men of thunder";

18. Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alpheus, Thaddeus, Simon the Cananean

19. and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.

20. They went home. The crowd began to gather again and they couldn't even have a meal.

21. Knowing what was happening his relatives came to take charge of him: "He is out of his mind," they said.

22. Meanwhile, the teachers of the Law who had come from Jerusalem said, "He is in the power of Beelzebul: the chief of the demons helps him to drive out demons."

23. Jesus called them to him and began teaching them by means of stories or parables, "How can Satan drive out Satan?

24. If a nation is divided by civil war, that nation cannot stand.

25. If a family divides itself into groups, that family will not survive.

26. In the same way, if Satan has risen against himself and is divided, he will not stand; he is finished.

27. No one can break into the house of the Strong one in order to plunder his goods, unless he first ties up the Strong one. Then indeed, he can plunder his house.

28. Truly, I say to you, every sin will be forgiven humankind, even insults to God, however numerous.

29. But whoever slanders the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven: he carries the guilt of his sin forever.

30. "This was their sin when they said, 'He has an evil spirit in him.'"

31. Then his mother and his brothers came. As they stood outside, they sent someone to call him.

32. The crowd sitting around Jesus told him, "Your mother and your brothers are outside asking for you."

33. He replied, "Who are my mother and my brothers?"

34. And looking around at those who sat there he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers.

35. Whoever does the will of God is brother and sister and mother to me."