A Sabbath healing—the rejection

1Another time He went into the synagogue, and there was a man there with a withered hand.

2So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.

3Well, He says to the man with the withered hand, “Come out in the middle!”

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.

5After looking around at them with anger, being grieved at the hardness of their hearts, ⁵⁰He says to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” So he stretched, and his hand was restored as healthy as the other! ⁵¹

6Then the Pharisees went straight out, and with the Herodians ⁵²started hatching a plot against Him, how they might destroy Him.

Healings by the sea

7Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea; and a large crowd from Galilee followed Him—also from Judea,

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.

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.

10Because He had healed many, so that as many as had afflictions were pushing toward Him so as to touch Him.

11And the unclean spirits—whenever one saw Him, he would fall down before Him and cry out, saying, “You are the son of God!”

12And He kept giving them strict orders that they should not make Him known. ⁵³

The Twelve chosen

13He went up on the mountain and summoned those whom He wanted, and they came to Him.

14He appointed twelve, ⁵⁴that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach

15—also to have authority to heal sicknesses and ⁵⁵to cast out demons:

16namely Peter (a name He gave to Simon);

17James son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James (and a name He gave to them was Boanerges, that is, ‘Sons of thunder’);

18Andrew, Phillip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite;

19and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

20Then they went into a house; ⁵⁶and again a multitude gathered, so that they were not even able to eat bread.

21Well upon hearing this His family came to apprehend Him, because they were saying, “He is out of his mind!” ⁵⁷

Scribes blaspheme the Holy Spirit

22Then some scribes who had come down from Jerusalem ⁵⁸started saying, “He has Beelzebul,” ⁵⁹and “It is by the ruler of the demons that he casts out demons.”

23So summoning them He started saying to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan?

24If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

25And if a household is divided against itself, that household cannot stand.

26And if Satan has risen up against himself and become divided, he cannot stand, but is finished.

27No one can plunder the strong man's goods, ⁶⁰invading his house, unless he first binds the strong man—then he may plunder the house.

28“Assuredly I say to you: all the sins of the sons of men can be forgiven, including whatever blasphemies they may utter;

29but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation” ⁶¹

30—because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.” ⁶²

New relationships

31Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him.

32A crowd was sitting around Him; so they said to Him, “Look, your mother and your brothers and your sisters ⁶³are outside asking for you.”

33He answered them saying, “Who is my mother or my brothers?”

34And looking around at those seated in a circle around Him He said: “Behold my mother and my brothers!

35Because whoever does the will of God, the same is my brother, my sister, my mother.” ⁶⁴