Mark 3:24

3:24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom will not be able to stand.

Mark 10:26

10:26 They were even more astonished and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?”

Mark 2:7

2:7 “Why does this man speak this way? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Mark 3:23

3:23 So he called them and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan?

Mark 3:26

3:26 And if Satan rises against himself and is divided, he is not able to stand and his end has come.

Mark 9:29

9:29 He told them, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”

Mark 7:18

7:18 He said to them, “Are you so foolish? Don’t you understand that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him?

Mark 9:3

9:3 and his clothes became radiantly white, more so than any launderer in the world could bleach them.

Mark 15:31

15:31 In the same way even the chief priests – together with the experts in the law – were mocking him among themselves: 10  “He saved others, but he cannot save himself!

Mark 3:27

3:27 But no one is able to enter a strong man’s 11  house and steal his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can thoroughly plunder his house. 12 

Mark 7:15

7:15 There is nothing outside of a person that can defile him by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles him.”


sn The three conditional statements in vv. 24-26 express the logical result of the assumption that Jesus heals by Satan’s power, expressed by the religious leaders. The point is clear: If the leaders are correct, then Satan’s kingdom will not stand, so the suggestion makes no sense. Satan would not seek to heal.

tn Grk “But they were even more astonished, saying.” The participle λέγονες (legontes) has been translated here as a finite verb to emphasize the sequence of events: The disciples were astonished, then they spoke.

tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of thought.

sn The assumption is that the rich are blessed, so if they risk exclusion, who is left to be saved?

sn Blaspheming meant to say something that dishonored God. To claim divine prerogatives or claim to speak for God when one really does not would be such an act of offense. The remark raised directly the issue of the nature of Jesus’ ministry.

tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

sn Jesus spoke two parables to demonstrate the absurdity of the thinking of the religious leaders who maintained that he was in league with Satan and that he actually derived his power from the devil. The first parable (vv. 23-26) teaches that if Jesus cast out demons by the ruler of the demons, then in reality Satan is fighting against himself, with the result that his kingdom has come to an end. The second parable (v. 28) about tying up a strong man proves that Jesus does not need to align himself with the devil because Jesus is more powerful. Jesus defeated Satan at his temptation (1:12-13) and by his exorcisms he clearly demonstrated himself to be stronger than the devil. The passage reveals the desperate condition of the religious leaders, who in their hatred for Jesus end up attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan (a position for which they will be held accountable, 3:29-30). For an explanation of what a parable is, see the note on parables in 4:2.

tc Most witnesses, even early and excellent ones (Ì45vid א2 A C D L W Θ Ψ Ë1,13 33 Ï lat co), have “and fasting” (καὶ νηστείᾳ, kai nhsteia) after “prayer” here. But this seems to be a motivated reading, due to the early church’s emphasis on fasting (TCGNT 85; cf., e.g., 2 Clem. 16:4; Pol. Phil 7:2; Did. 1:3; 7:4). That the most important witnesses (א* B), as well as a few others (0274 2427 k), lack καὶ νηστείᾳ, when a good reason for the omission is difficult to find, argues strongly for the shorter reading.

tn Or “with the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22. Only “chief priests” is in the nominative case; this sentence structure attempts to capture this emphasis.

tn Grk “Mocking him, the chief priests…said among themselves.”

sn The strong man here pictures Satan.

sn Some see the imagery here as similar to Eph 4:7-10, although no opponents are explicitly named in that passage. Jesus has the victory over Satan. Jesus’ acts of healing mean that the war is being won and the kingdom is coming.