Mark

Healing on the Sabbath

Again, Jesus entered the synagogue. A man with a paralyzed hand was there;

and some people watched Jesus: would he heal the man on the Sabbath? If he did, they could accuse him.

Jesus said to the man with the paralyzed hand:

“Stand here, in the center.”

Then he asked them:

“What does the law allow us to do on the Sabbath, to do good or to do harm? To save life or to kill?”

But they were silent.

Then Jesus looked around at them with anger and deep sadness at their stubbornness. And he said to the man:

“Stretch out your hand.”

He stretched it out, and his hand was healed.

After the Pharisees left, they met with Herod’s supporters to find a way to destroy Jesus.

A Large Crowd Approaches Him

Jesus and his disciples went to the lakeside, and a large crowd from Galilee followed him. Many people also came from Judea,

Jerusalem, Idumea, Transjordan, and the regions of Tyre and Sidon because they heard about all that he was doing.

Because of the crowd, Jesus told his disciples to prepare a boat for him to prevent the people from crushing him. 

He healed so many that everyone with diseases kept pushing toward him to touch him. 

Even the people with evil spirits, whenever they saw him, would fall down before him and cry out: “You are the Son of God.” 

But he warned them firmly not to reveal his identity to anyone.

The Twelve

Then Jesus went up into the hill country and called those he wanted, and they came to him.

 He appointed twelve to be with him, and he called them ‘apostles.’ He wanted to send them out to preach, 

and he gave them authority to drive out demons.

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

 James, the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, to whom he gave the name Boanerges, which means ‘men of thunder’; 

Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alpheus, Thaddeus, Simon the Cananean, 

 and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.

Jesus and Satan

They went home, and as the crowd started to gather again, they couldn’t even have a meal.

Knowing what was happening, his relatives came to seize him. ‘He is out of his mind,’ they said. 

Meanwhile, the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem said:

“He is in the power of Beelzebul: the chief of the demons helps him to drive out demons.”

Jesus called them to him and began teaching them through stories or parables:

“How can Satan drive out Satan?

If a country faces a civil war, it cannot hold together. 

A family that splits into groups won’t last. 

 Similarly, if Satan has risen against himself and is divided, he will not stand; he is finished. 

No one can break into a strong man’s house to steal his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Only then can he plunder his house.

Really, I assure you, all sins and blasphemies spoken by people will be forgiven them. 

But whoever slanders the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. He carries the guilt of his sin forever.”

For they had said:

“He has an unclean spirit.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

Then his mother and brothers arrived. While they stood outside, they sent someone to call him.

The crowd sitting around Jesus told him:

“Your mother and your brothers are outside asking for you.”

He asked:

“Who are my mother and my brothers?”

And looking around at everyone seated there, he said:

“Here are my mother and my brothers.

Whoever does the will of God is my brother, sister, and mother.”