^aHe ^bentered again into a synagogue; and a man was there whose hand was withered. 2 ^aThey were watching Him to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, ^bso that they might accuse Him. 3 He *said to the man with the withered hand, “¹Get up and come forward!” 4 And He *said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent. 5 After ^alooking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He *said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately began ¹conspiring with the ^aHerodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

7 ^aJesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and ^ba great multitude from Galilee followed; and also from Judea, 8 and from Jerusalem, and from ^aIdumea, and beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of ^bTyre and Sidon, a great number of people heard of all that He was doing and came to Him. 9 ^aAnd He told His disciples that a boat should stand ready for Him because of the crowd, so that they would not crowd Him; 10 for He had ^ahealed many, with the result that all those who had ^bafflictions pressed around Him in order to ^ctouch Him. 11 Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, “You are ^athe Son of God!” 12 And He ^aearnestly warned them not to ¹tell who He was.

13 And He *went up on ^athe mountain and *^bsummoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him. 14 And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach, 15 and to have authority to cast out the demons. 16 And He appointed the twelve: ^aSimon (to whom He gave the name Peter), 17 and ¹James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of ²James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, “Sons of Thunder”); 18 and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and ¹James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the ²Zealot; 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.

20 And He *came ^1ahome, and the ^bcrowd *gathered again, ^cto such an extent that they could not even eat ²a meal. 21 When ^aHis own ¹people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “^bHe has lost His senses.” 22 The scribes who came down ^afrom Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by ^1bBeelzebul,” and “^cHe casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.” 23 ^aAnd He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in ^bparables, “How can ^cSatan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 If ^aSatan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but ¹he is finished! 27 ^aBut no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.

28 “^aTruly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29 but ^awhoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

31 ^aThen His mother and His brothers *arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called Him. 32 A crowd was sitting around Him, and they *said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You.” 33 Answering them, He *said, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” 34 Looking about at those who were sitting around Him, He *said, “^aBehold My mother and My brothers! 35 For whoever ^adoes the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

^aAgain Jesus ^bwent into a synagogue; and a man was there whose hand was ¹withered. Matt 12:9-14; Luke 6:6-11 2 ^aThe Pharisees were watching Jesus closely to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, ^bso that they might accuse Him in the Jewish high court. 3 He said to the man whose hand was withered, “Get up and come forward!” 4 He asked them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent. 5 After ^alooking around at them with anger, grieved at the hardness and arrogance of their hearts, He told the man, “Hold out your hand.” And he held it out, and his hand was completely restored. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the ^1aHerodians to plot against Him, as to how ²they might fabricate some legal grounds to put Him to death.

7 ^aJesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and ^ba large crowd from Galilee followed Him; and also people from Judea, 8 and from Jerusalem, and from ^aIdumea, and from the region beyond the Jordan, and around ^bTyre and Sidon; a vast number of people came to Him because they were hearing about all the things that He was doing. 9 ^aAnd He told His disciples to have a small boat stand ready for Him because of the many people, so that they would not crowd Him; 10 for He had ^ahealed many, and as a result all who had ^bdiseases pressed around Him to ^ctouch Him. 11 Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they fell down before Him and screamed out, “You are ^athe Son of God!” 12 Jesus ^asternly warned them again and again not to tell who He was.

13 He went up on ^athe hillside and ^bcalled those whom He Himself wanted and chose; and they came to Him. 14 And He appointed ¹twelve disciples, so that they would be with Him for instruction and so that He could send them out to preach the gospel as apostles—that is, as His special messengers, personally chosen representatives, 15 and to have authority and power to cast out demons. 16 He appointed the twelve: ^aSimon (to whom He gave the name Peter), Matt 10:2-4; Luke 6:13-16 17 and James, the son of ¹Zebedee, and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”); 18 and He also appointed Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew (Nathanael) , and Matthew (Levi the tax collector) , and Thomas, and ¹James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus (Judas the son of James) , and Simon the Zealot; 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.

20 Then He came to a ^1ahouse in Capernaum, and a ^bcrowd formed again, ^cso many people that Jesus and His disciples could not even eat a meal together. 21 ^aWhen His own family heard this they went to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “^bHe is out of His mind.” 22 The scribes who came down ^afrom Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by ^1bBeelzebul (Satan) ,” and “^cHe is driving out the demons by the power of the ruler of the demons.” Matt 12:22-37; Luke 11:14-28 23 ^aSo He called them to Himself and spoke to them in ^1bparables, “How can ^cSatan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided split into factions and rebelling against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if ^aSatan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27 ^aBut no one can go into a strong man’s house and steal his property unless he first overpowers and ties up the strong man, and then he will ransack and rob his house. Is 49:24, 25; Matt 12:29

28 “^aI assure you and most solemnly say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and all the abusive and blasphemous things they say; 29 but ^awhoever ¹blasphemes against the Holy Spirit and His power by attributing the miracles done by Me to Satan never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin a sin which is unforgivable in this present age as well as in the age to come”— Matt 12:32; Luke 12:10 30 Jesus said this because the scribes and Pharisees were attributing His miracles to Satan by saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

31 ^aThen His mother and His brothers arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called for Him. Matt 12:46-50; Luke 8:19-21 32 A crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, “Look! Your mother and Your brothers are outside asking for You.” 33 And He replied, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” 34 Looking at those who were sitting in a circle around Him, He said, “^aHere are My mother and My brothers! 35 For ¹whoever ^adoes the will of God by believing in Me, and following Me, he is My brother and sister and mother.”