Mark 3

1 He entered again into the synagogue, and there was a man there whose hand was withered.

2 They watched him, whether he would heal him on the Sabbath day, that they might accuse him.

3 He said to the man whose hand was withered, “Stand up.”

4 He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath day to do good or to do harm? To save a life or to kill?” But they were silent.

5 When he had looked around at them with anger, being grieved at the hardening of their hearts, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored as healthy as the other.

6 The Pharisees went out, and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.

7 Jesus withdrew to the sea with his disciples; and a great multitude followed him from Galilee, from Judea,

8 from Jerusalem, from Idumaea, beyond the Jordan, and those from around Tyre and Sidon. A great multitude, hearing what great things he did, came to him.

9 He spoke to his disciples that a little boat should stay near him because of the crowd, so that they wouldn’t press on him.

10 For he had healed many, so that as many as had diseases pressed on him that they might touch him.

11 The unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, fell down before him and cried, “You are the Son of God!”

12 He sternly warned them that they should not make him known.

13 He went up into the mountain and called to himself those whom he wanted, and they went to him.

14 He appointed twelve, that they might be with him, and that he might send them out to preach

15 and to have authority to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:

16 Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter);

17 James the son of Zebedee; and John, the brother of James, (whom he called Boanerges, which means, Sons of Thunder);

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

19 and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. Then he came into a house.

20 The multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.

21 When his friends heard it, they went out to seize him; for they said, “He is insane.”

22 The scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul,” and, “By the prince of the demons he casts out the demons.”

23 He summoned them and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan?

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

25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

26 If Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he can’t stand, but has an end.

27 But no one can enter into the house of the strong man to plunder unless he first binds the strong man; then he will plunder his house.

28 “Most certainly I tell you, all sins of the descendants of man will be forgiven, including their blasphemies with which they may blaspheme;

29 but whoever may blaspheme against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation.”

30 —because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

31 His mother and his brothers came, and standing outside, they sent to him, calling him.

32 A multitude was sitting around him, and they told him, “Behold, your mother, your brothers, and your sisters are outside looking for you.”

33 He answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?”

34 Looking around at those who sat around him, he said, “Behold, my mother and my brothers!

35 For whoever does the will of God is my brother, my sister, and mother.”

Around Mark 3

Book context

MarkEditorial draft

Mark opens with “The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (1:1) and moves quickly from scene to scene, starting with Jesus announcing that God’s Kingdom is at hand (1:14 to 15). It explains Jewish terms such as “Corban” for its readers (7:11), which suggests an audience not all familiar with Jewish practice. A central saying is that the Son of Man came “to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (10:45). The text does not name its author; early tradition links it to John Mark and the preaching of Peter, and Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897) places it in Rome around AD 63. Many scholars today regard Mark as the earliest Gospel.

Why we say this

HisFullGlory editorial · common interpretation · not yet reviewed by a theological reader

From the text itself

Sources

Notes summarise their sources in our own words. Where Christians or scholars disagree, the note says so. Notes are not original-language evidence and do not replace the text.

AI explanation

Mark 3 · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this chapter says

In the synagogue there is a man with a withered hand, and people are watching Jesus to see whether he will heal on the Sabbath, so they can accuse him. Jesus tells the man to stand up, then asks the room: is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save a life or to kill? Nobody answers. He looks around at them with anger, grieved at their hard hearts, and tells the man to stretch out his hand. It is restored. The Pharisees walk out and begin plotting with the Herodians to destroy him.

Crowds follow him to the sea, and unclean spirits cry out that he is the Son of God. He warns them not to make him known. On a mountain he appoints twelve.

At home his family come to seize him, saying he is insane. Scribes from Jerusalem say he has Beelzebul. He answers that a divided kingdom cannot stand. When his mother and brothers wait outside, he says that whoever does the will of God is his brother, sister and mother.

Background

The Herodians were supporters of the ruling family of Herod, so an alliance with Pharisees against Jesus was unusual. Mark often places two stories together so that one explains the other. Here the family's concern frames the scribes' accusation. The list of the twelve differs a little from the lists in Matthew and Luke. The warning about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is read in different ways, but Mark links it directly to the charge that Jesus had an unclean spirit. Christians have long said that those troubled by the passage should not take it as a sentence on themselves.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 25 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes