1Jesus entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a shriveled hand. 2In order to accuse him, they were watching him closely to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3He told the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand before us.” 4Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5After looking around at them with anger, he was grieved at the hardness of their hearts and told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6Immediately the Pharisees went out and started plotting with the Herodians against him, how they might kill him.
Ministering to the Multitude
7Jesus departed with his disciples to the sea, and a large crowd followed from Galilee, and a large crowd followed from Judea, 8Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and around Tyre and Sidon. The large crowd came to him because they heard about everything he was doing. 9Then he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, so that the crowd wouldn’t crush him. 10Since he had healed many, all who had diseases were pressing toward him to touch him. 11Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God!” 12And he would strongly warn them not to make him known.
The Twelve Apostles
13Jesus went up the mountain and summoned those he wanted, and they came to him. 14He appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, to send them out to preach, 15and to have authority to drive out demons. 16He appointed the Twelve: To Simon, he gave the name Peter; 17and to James the son of Zebedee, and to his brother John, he gave the name “Boanerges” (that is, “Sons of Thunder”); 18Andrew; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, 19and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
A House Divided
20Jesus entered a house, and the crowd gathered again so that they were not even able to eat. 21When his family heard this, they set out to restrain him, because they said, “He’s out of his mind.”
22The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and, “He drives out demons by the ruler of the demons.”
23So he summoned them and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is finished. 27But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house.
28“Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for all sins and whatever blasphemies they utter. 29But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” — 30because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
True Relationships
31His mother and his brothers came, and standing outside, they sent word to him and called him. 32A crowd was sitting around him and told him, “Look, your mother, your brothers, and your sisters are outside asking for you.”
33He replied to them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34Looking at those sitting in a circle around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”