Mark 3 · WEB
The Twelve Appointed and the Unpardonable Sin
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He entered again into the synagogue, and there was a man there who had his hand withered.
2They watched him, whether he would heal him on the Sabbath day, that they might accuse him.
3He said to the man who had his hand withered, "Stand up."
4He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath day to do good or to do harm? To save a life or to kill?" But they were silent.
5When he had looked around at them with anger, being grieved at the hardening of their hearts, he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was restored as healthy as the other.
6The Pharisees went out, and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.
7Jesus withdrew to the sea with his disciples; and a great multitude followed him from Galilee, from Judea,
8from Jerusalem, from Idumaea, beyond the Jordan, and those from around Tyre and Sidon. A great multitude, hearing what great things he did, came to him.
9He spoke to his disciples that a little boat should stay near him because of the crowd, so that they wouldn't press on him.
10For he had healed many, so that as many as had diseases pressed on him that they might touch him.
11The unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, "You are the Son of God!"
12He sternly warned them that they should not make him known.
13He went up into the mountain, and called to himself those whom he wanted, and they went 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 heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:
16Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter);
17James the son of Zebedee; and John, the brother of James, (whom he called Boanerges, which means, Sons of Thunder);
18Andrew; Philip; Bartholomew; Matthew; Thomas; James, the son of Alphaeus; Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot;
19and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. Then he came into a house.
20The multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.
21When his friends heard it, they went out to seize him; for they said, "He is insane."
22The scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebul," and, "By the prince of the demons he casts out the demons."
23He summoned them, and said to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan?
24If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
25If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
26If Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he can't stand, but has an end.
27But no one can enter into the house of the strong man to plunder, unless he first binds the strong man; and then he will plunder his house.
28Most certainly I tell you, all sins of the descendants of man will be forgiven, including their blasphemies with which they may blaspheme;
29but whoever may blaspheme against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation."
30—because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."
31His mother and his brothers came, and standing outside, they sent to him, calling him.
32A multitude was sitting around him, and they told him, "Behold, your mother, your brothers, and your sisters are outside looking for you."
33He answered them, "Who are my mother and my brothers?"
34Looking around at those who sat around him, he said, "Behold, my mother and my brothers!
35For whoever does the will of God is my brother, my sister, and mother."
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Summary
Jesus heals a man's withered hand on the Sabbath, prompting the Pharisees to plot with the Herodians to kill him. He withdraws to the sea, where vast crowds follow, and then ascends a mountain to appoint twelve apostles to be with him, preach, and cast out demons. When religious leaders accuse him of working by Beelzebul, Jesus warns of the unforgivable sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit, and redefines his true family as those who do the will of God.
Themes
- Sabbath healing and conflict with religious authorities
- Calling and commissioning of the Twelve
- Authority over demons and the kingdom of Satan
- Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit
- True family defined by obedience to God
Key verses
- Mark 3:14 — “He appointed twelve, that they might be with him, and that he might send them out to preach.”
- Mark 3:27 — “But no one can enter into the house of the strong man to plunder, unless he first binds the strong man.”
- Mark 3:35 — “For whoever does the will of God is my brother, my sister, and mother.”
- Mark 3:5 — “When he had looked around at them with anger, being grieved at the hardening of their hearts, he said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.'”
Context & background
Mark, writing for a Roman audience around AD 60-65, presents Jesus' rapid-fire ministry in Galilee (northern Israel) where opposition is already hardening. The Pharisees were strict religious teachers, while the Herodians supported Herod Antipas' political dynasty — natural enemies who unite against Jesus. Crowds come from Idumaea (south of Judea, in modern southern Israel/Negev), beyond the Jordan (modern Jordan), and Tyre and Sidon (Phoenician coast, modern Lebanon). Beelzebul was a name for Satan derived from a Philistine god, and accusing Jesus of demonic power was the gravest insult available.
Cross-references
- Exodus 20:8-11 — Sabbath law that Jesus reinterprets as "lawful to do good"
- Hebrews 10:26-29 — Warning about willfully rejecting the Spirit's witness
- John 15:14 — "You are my friends if you do whatever I command you"
- Luke 6:12-16 — Parallel listing of the twelve apostles
- Matthew 12:9-32 — Parallel account of the withered hand and Beelzebul controversy