3Verse 1Another time He went into the synagogue, and there was a man there with a withered hand.Verse 2So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.Verse 3Well, He says to the man with the withered hand, “Come out in the middle!”Verse 4Then He said to them: “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.Verse 5After looking around at them with anger, being grieved at the hardness of their hearts,+He says to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” So he stretched, and his hand was restored as healthy as the other!+Verse 6Then the Pharisees went straight out, and with the Herodians+started hatching a plot against Him, how they might destroy Him.
Healings by the sea
Verse 7Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea; and a large crowd from Galilee followed Him—also from Judea,Verse 8from Jerusalem, from Idumea and beyond Jordan; even those around Tyre and Sidon. A huge crowd came to Him, having heard the sorts of things He kept doing.Verse 9So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the crowd, lest they should press in on Him.Verse 10Because He had healed many, so that as many as had afflictions were pushing toward Him so as to touch Him.Verse 11And the unclean spirits—whenever one saw Him, he would fall down before Him and cry out, saying, “You are the son of God!”Verse 12And He kept giving them strict orders that they should not make Him known.+
The Twelve chosen
Verse 13He went up on the mountain and summoned those whom He wanted, and they came to Him.Verse 14He appointed twelve,+that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preachVerse 15—also to have authority to heal sicknesses and+to cast out demons:Verse 16namely Peter (a name He gave to Simon);Verse 17James son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James (and a name He gave to them was Boanerges, that is, ‘Sons of thunder’);Verse 18Andrew, Phillip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite;Verse 19and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.Verse 20Then they went into a house;+and again a multitude gathered, so that they were not even able to eat bread.Verse 21Well upon hearing this His family came to apprehend Him, because they were saying, “He is out of his mind!”+
Scribes blaspheme the Holy Spirit
Verse 22Then some scribes who had come down from Jerusalem+started saying, “He has Beelzebul,”+and “It is by the ruler of the demons that he casts out demons.”Verse 23So summoning them He started saying to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan?Verse 24If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.Verse 25And if a household is divided against itself, that household cannot stand.Verse 26And if Satan has risen up against himself and become divided, he cannot stand, but is finished.Verse 27No one can plunder the strong man's goods,+invading his house, unless he first binds the strong man—then he may plunder the house.Verse 28“Assuredly I say to you: all the sins of the sons of men can be forgiven, including whatever blasphemies they may utter;Verse 29but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”+Verse 30—because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”+
New relationships
Verse 31Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him.Verse 32A crowd was sitting around Him; so they said to Him, “Look, your mother and your brothers and your sisters+are outside asking for you.”Verse 33He answered them saying, “Who is my mother or my brothers?”Verse 34And looking around at those seated in a circle around Him He said: “Behold my mother and my brothers!Verse 35Because whoever does the will of God, the same is my brother, my sister, my mother.”+