1 J esus went into the Jewish place of worship again. A man was there with a dried-up hand.

And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand.

2 T he proud religious law-keepers watched Jesus to see if He would heal the man on the Day of Rest. They wanted to have something to say against Jesus.

So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.

3 J esus said to the man with the dried-up hand, “Stand up.”

And He said to the man who had the withered hand, “Step forward.”

4 T hen Jesus said to the proud religious law-keepers, “Does the Law say to do good on the Day of Rest or to do bad, to save life or to kill?” But they said nothing.

Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent.

5 J esus looked around at them with anger. He was sad because of their hard hearts. Then He said to the man, “Put out your hand.” He put it out and his hand was healed. It was as good as the other.

And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.

6 T he proud religious law-keepers went out and made plans with the followers of King Herod how they might kill Jesus. Jesus Heals by the Sea-Shore

Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him. A Great Multitude Follows Jesus

7 J esus went with His followers to the sea. Many people followed Him from the countries of Galilee and Judea.

But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea

8 T hey followed from Jerusalem and from the country of Idumea. They came from the other side of the Jordan River and from the cities of Tyre and Sidon. Many people heard all that Jesus was doing and came to Him.

and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him.

9 H e told His followers to have a small boat ready for Him because so many people might push Him down.

So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him.

10 H e had healed so many that the sick people were pushing in on Him. They were trying to put their hands on Him.

For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him.

11 W hen demons saw Him, they got down at His feet and cried out, “You are the Son of God!”

And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, “You are the Son of God.”

12 H e spoke strong words that the demons should tell no one Who He was. Jesus Calls His Twelve Followers

But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known. The Twelve Apostles

13 H e went up on a mountain and called those He wanted. They followed Him.

And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him.

14 H e picked out twelve followers to be with Him so He might send them out to preach.

Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach,

15 T hey would have the right and the power to heal diseases and to put out demons.

and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:

16 J esus gave Simon another name, Peter.

Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter;

17 J ames and John were brothers. They were the sons of Zebedee. He named them Boanerges, which means, The Sons of Thunder.

James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”;

18 T he others were Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Canaanite,

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

19 a nd Judas Iscariot. Judas was the one who handed Jesus over to be killed. The Family of Jesus Holds Him Back

and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house. A House Divided Cannot Stand

20 W hen Jesus came into a house, many people gathered around Him again. Jesus and His followers could not even eat.

Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.

21 W hen His family heard of it, they went to take Him. They said, “He must be crazy.” A Nation That Cannot Stand

But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, “He is out of His mind.”

22 T eachers of the Law came down from Jerusalem. They said, “Jesus has Satan in Him. This Man puts out demons by the king of demons.”

And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebub,” and, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.”

23 J esus called them to Him and spoke to them in picture-stories. He said, “How can the devil put out the devil?

So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan?

24 A nation cannot last if it is divided against itself.

If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

25 A family cannot last if it is divided against itself.

And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

26 I f the devil fights against himself and is divided, he cannot last. He will come to an end.

And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.

27 N o man can go into a strong man’s house and take away his things, unless he ties up the strong man first. Only then can he take things from his house.

No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house. The Unpardonable Sin

28 F or sure, I tell you, all sins will be forgiven people, and bad things they speak against God.

“Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter;

29 B ut if anyone speaks bad things against the Holy Spirit, he will never be forgiven. He is guilty of a sin that lasts forever.”

but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation” —

30 J esus told them this because they said, “He has a demon.” The New Kind of Family

because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.” Jesus’ Mother and Brothers Send for Him

31 T hen His mother and brothers came and stood outside. They sent for Jesus.

Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him.

32 M any people were sitting around Him. They said, “See! Your mother and brothers are outside looking for You.”

And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You.”

33 H e said to them, “Who is My mother or My brothers?”

But He answered them, saying, “Who is My mother, or My brothers?”

34 H e turned to those sitting around Him and said, “See! My mother and My brothers!

And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!

35 W hoever does what My Father wants is My brother and My sister and My mother.”

For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.”