Mark 3

Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shrivelled hand was there.

Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he'd heal him on the Sabbath.

And Jesus said to the man with the shrivelled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”

Then he said to them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath — to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they stayed silent.

He looked round at them in anger, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.

Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed.

When they heard about everything he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, the regions across the Jordan, and around Tyre and Sidon.

Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him.

He'd healed so many that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him.

And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down in front of him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.”

But he gave them strict orders not to tell anyone who he was.

Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him.

He appointed twelve, so they'd be with him and he could send them out to preach

and to have authority to drive out demons.

These are the twelve he appointed: Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter;

James son of Zebedee and his brother John, to whom he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder;

Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot,

and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Then Jesus went home, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples couldn't even eat.

When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, because they said, “He's out of his mind.”

And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He's possessed by Beelzebul. It's by the prince of demons that he's driving out demons.”

So Jesus called them over and spoke to them in parables. “How can Satan drive out Satan?

If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom can't stand.

If a household is divided against itself, that household can't stand.

And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he can't stand — his end has come.

In fact, nobody can go into a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob the house.

I'm telling you straight: people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter,

but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. They're guilty of an eternal sin.”

He said this because they were saying, “He's got an unclean spirit.”

Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him.

A crowd was sitting round him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”

And he asked, “Who are my mother and my brothers?”

Then he looked at those sitting in a circle round him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers.

Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother.”