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Mark 3

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Healing on the Sabbath Day 1–6

1
And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. ​
2
And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. ​
3
And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.
4
And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.
5
And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. ​
6
And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him. ​

Jesus Ministered to Great Crowds 7–12

7
But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea, ​
8
And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him. ​
9
And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him.
10
For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues.
11
And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. ​
12
And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.

The Appointment of the Twelve Apostles 13–19

13
And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. ​
14
And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, ​
15
And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:
16
And Simon he surnamed Peter;
17
And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder: ​
18
And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite,
19
And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house. ​

The Beelzebul Accusation 20–30

20
And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.
21
And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.
22
And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. ​
23
And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?
24
And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
25
And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
26
And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.
27
No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.
28
Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:
29
But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: ​
30
Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit. ​

Jesus Defines His True Family 31–35

31
There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him.
32
And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.
33
And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?
34
And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
35
For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Mark 3

Verse 1

a withered hand — Xeraino is to dry up. Luke 6:6 says it was ‘his right hand’ and that this was ‘on another sabbath’, after the cornfield question of Mark 2:23–28. Matt 12:10 gives the question that was put to him in the synagogue: ‘Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days?’

Verse 2

they watched him — Paratereo, to watch closely, is the verb used of the same watchers in Luke 6:7 and 14:1, and of the spies in Luke 20:20. The stated aim is to ‘accuse’ (kategoreo) him, which Luke 6:7 words ‘that they might find an accusation against him’. Ps 37:32 says ‘The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.’

Verse 5

being grieved for the hardness of their hearts — Orge, ‘anger’, is said of Christ nowhere else in the Gospels, and syllypeo, ‘grieved with’, occurs only here. Luke 6:10 has the same look ‘round about upon them all’. Porosis, ‘hardness’, is ‘blindness’ in Rom 11:25 and Eph 4:18. ‘Restored’ (apokathistemi) is also the verb of Matt 12:13.

Verse 6

the Herodians — Herodianoi, followers of Herod, are named in the New Testament only here, in Mark 12:13 and in Matt 22:16. Matt 12:14 records the same plot: they ‘held a council against him, how they might destroy him’. ‘Took counsel’ is symboulion, and ‘destroy’ is apollymi, to cause to perish.

Verse 7

withdrew himself — Anachoreo is to retire, the verb of Matt 12:15, ‘when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all’. The plot of v.6 comes first, and the crowd that follows him to the sea comes from Galilee and Judaea, and in v.8 from farther afield.

Verse 8

Idumaea — The Greek form of Edom, the land of Esau, ‘who is Edom’ (Gen 36:1); Isa 34:5 has ‘Idumea’ in the KJV, and Idoumaia occurs in the New Testament only here. ‘Beyond Jordan’ is peran, as in Matt 19:1. Tyre and Sidon are the Gentile cities of Matt 11:21. The crowd had ‘heard what great things he did’.

Verse 11

Thou art the Son of God — The unclean spirits (akatharta pneumata) ‘fell down before him’ and cried the title. Luke 4:41 records the same and adds that he ‘suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ’; Mark 3:12 says ‘he straitly charged them that they should not make him known’. James 2:19: ‘the devils also believe, and tremble.’

Verse 13

calleth unto him whom he would — The choice is his own: ‘whom he would’ (thelo), and Luke 6:13 says ‘of them he chose twelve’. Luke 6:12 places it after a night ‘in prayer to God’ on a mountain. John 15:16 states the principle, ‘Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you’.

Verse 14

he ordained twelve — The Greek is poieo, to make or appoint. There are two purposes, ‘that they should be with him’ and ‘that he might send them forth’ (apostello) to preach (kerysso, to proclaim as a herald). Luke 6:13 adds ‘whom also he named apostles’, and Matt 19:28 sets the twelve over ‘the twelve tribes of Israel’.

Verse 17

Boanerges — Mark alone gives this name, which occurs nowhere else; he supplies its meaning, ‘The sons of thunder’ (bronte, thunder). It was put on both brothers, who are with Peter at 5:37, 9:2 and 14:33. In Luke 9:54 James and John ask ‘wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven’.

Verse 19

which also betrayed him — Paradidomi, to hand over, is the verb of Matt 26:15, ‘I will deliver him unto you’. Matt 10:4 also lists him last with ‘who also betrayed him’. John 6:64 says Jesus ‘knew from the beginning… who should betray him’, and John 13:18 applies Ps 41:9, ‘He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me’.

Verse 22

He hath Beelzebub — Beelzeboul echoes Baalzebub, the god of Ekron of 2 Kings 1:2, whom Ahaziah sent to enquire of. The scribes call him ‘the prince of the devils’ (archon), as the Pharisees do in Matt 12:24, and Christ had said they would call ‘the master of the house Beelzebub’ (Matt 10:25). These scribes ‘came down from Jerusalem’.

Verse 29

hath never forgiveness — Enochos, ‘in danger of’, is liable to; it is the word of ‘guilty of death’ in Matt 26:66 and ‘guilty of the body and blood of the Lord’ in 1 Cor 11:27. Matt 12:31–32 gives the saying with ‘neither in this world, neither in the world to come’. The reason is stated in v.30.

Verse 30

He hath an unclean spirit — Mark gives the charge that lies behind v.29. Akatharton pneuma is the term used of the spirits that Christ cast out (v.11; 1:23). The same charge is made in John 10:20, ‘He hath a devil, and is mad’, and Matt 12:24–32 sets the Beelzebub charge directly before the same warning.

Verse 35

do the will of God — Thelema, what God wills. Matt 12:50 has the saying with ‘the will of my Father which is in heaven’, and Luke 8:21 with ‘hear the word of God, and do it’. John 7:17 says ‘If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine’. Verse 34 sets the scene: he ‘looked round about on them which sat about him’.