Chapter Text
Jesus Heals on the Sabbath
And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand.
2And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.
3And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth .
4And 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.
5And 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.
6And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.
7But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea,
8And 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.
9And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him.
10For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues.
11And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.
12And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.
The Appointing of the Twelve
13And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.
14And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,
15And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:
16And Simon he surnamed Peter;
17And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:
18And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite,
19And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house.
Jesus and Beelzebul
20And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.
21And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.
22And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.
23And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?
24And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
25And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
26And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.
27No 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.
28Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:
29But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:
30Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.
Jesus' Mother and Brothers
31There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him.
32And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.
33And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?
34And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
35For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.
Summary
Jesus enters a synagogue where a man with a withered hand is present. The Pharisees watch to see if He will heal on the Sabbath so they can accuse Him. Jesus heals the man and the Pharisees immediately conspire with the Herodians to destroy Him.
Great multitudes follow Jesus from many regions. He withdraws to the sea and heals many. He ascends a mountain and appoints the twelve apostles to be with Him, to preach, and to have authority over demons. The scribes from Jerusalem accuse Him of casting out demons by Beelzebub, and Jesus warns them about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
Meaning
The Sabbath healing reveals the hardness of the religious leaders' hearts. Jesus was grieved by their blindness, for they cared more about their rules than about a man's suffering. The alliance between Pharisees and Herodians shows how opposition to Christ can unite otherwise hostile factions.
The appointment of the twelve was a deliberate, prayerful act creating a community that would carry forward His mission. Their primary calling was to be with Him, establishing that relationship with Christ is the foundation of all ministry and mission.
Background
The Herodians were political supporters of the Herodian dynasty who normally had little in common with the religiously strict Pharisees. Their alliance against Jesus demonstrates that He threatened both the religious and political establishments.
Beelzebub, meaning lord of the flies, was a contemptuous name for the prince of demons. The accusation that Jesus worked by demonic power was the most serious charge the scribes could bring.
Chapter Outline
- vv. 1-6Healing the withered hand on the sabbath
- vv. 7-12Multitudes follow Jesus to the sea
- vv. 13-19The calling of the Twelve apostles
- vv. 20-21Jesus' family fears for him
- vv. 22-30The Beelzebub controversy and unpardonable sin
- vv. 31-35Jesus redefines his true family
Key Verses
“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.”— 3:5
One of the few verses to explicitly attribute anger to Jesus, paired with grief — revealing both his moral indignation at religious hypocrisy and his compassion for human suffering.
“But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:”— 3:29
The sobering 'unpardonable sin' passage that has provoked centuries of pastoral and theological reflection on the limits of divine forgiveness and the danger of attributing God's work to evil.
“For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.”— 3:35
Jesus radically redefines family around obedience to God rather than blood ties, establishing the spiritual kinship that would mark the new covenant community.
People & Places
People
- Jesus — The Son of God, healing on the sabbath and appointing the Twelve.
- The Pharisees — Religious leaders who plot with the Herodians to destroy Jesus.
- The Herodians — Political supporters of Herod who join the Pharisees against Jesus.
- Simon Peter — Chief of the Twelve, surnamed Peter (rock) by Jesus.
- James and John — Sons of Zebedee, surnamed Boanerges, 'sons of thunder.'
- Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas — Five of the appointed Twelve apostles.
- James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Canaanite — Three more of the Twelve, less prominent in the Gospel narratives.
- Judas Iscariot — The twelfth apostle, identified here as the one who would betray Jesus.
- The scribes — Jerusalem teachers who accuse Jesus of casting out devils by Beelzebub.
- Jesus' mother and brethren — His earthly family, who come seeking him amid concerns for his wellbeing.
Places
- The synagogue — Jewish house of worship in Galilee where Jesus heals the man with the withered hand.
- The sea (of Galilee) — Inland lake in northern Israel where Jesus withdraws and teaches the multitudes.
- Galilee — Northern region of Israel and the heart of Jesus' early ministry.
- Judaea — Southern region of Israel surrounding Jerusalem.
- Jerusalem — The holy city, source of both pilgrims and hostile scribes.
- Idumaea — Region south of Judaea, ancient Edom, from which crowds came to Jesus.
- Beyond Jordan — The territory east of the Jordan River, known as Perea.
- Tyre and Sidon — Phoenician coastal cities to the northwest, indicating Jesus' fame had reached Gentile lands.
- The mountain — Unnamed elevated place where Jesus calls and ordains the Twelve apostles.
Prophecy & Fulfillment
The appointing of twelve apostles (vv. 14-19) deliberately echoes the twelve tribes of Israel, signaling that Jesus is constituting a renewed people of God in fulfillment of prophetic hope. The unclean spirits' confession 'Thou art the Son of God' (v. 11) affirms the messianic identity foretold in Psalm 2:7. Jesus' parable of binding the strong man (v. 27) draws on Isaiah 49:24-25, presenting his exorcisms as the in-breaking of God's promised deliverance from the powers of darkness.
Devotional
Mark 3 confronts us with the cost of true allegiance. The man with the withered hand had to stretch out what was broken before healing came — an act of trust in the face of watching critics. Jesus still asks us to bring our weakness into the open rather than hide it.
The chapter also redraws the boundaries of belonging. Family, religion, and reputation can no longer define us; doing the will of God does. When voices around us say we are 'beside ourselves' for following Christ, we find our truest kinship in the circle that sits at his feet.
Literary Style
Narrative gospel prose in Mark's characteristic rapid, action-driven style, marked by the frequent use of 'straightway' and vivid detail. The chapter features dialogue, controversy stories, a list (the Twelve), and parabolic sayings, with a Markan 'sandwich' structure framing the Beelzebub dispute between two scenes involving Jesus' family.