Mark 3:14-35
3:14 He
appointed twelve (whom he named apostles
),
so that they would be with him and he could send them to preach
3:15 and to have authority to cast out demons.
3:16 He appointed twelve:
To Simon
he gave the name Peter;
3:17 to James and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee,
he gave the name Boanerges (that is, “sons of thunder”);
3:18 and Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew,
Matthew, Thomas,
James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus,
Simon the Zealot,
3:19 and Judas Iscariot,
who betrayed him.
Jesus and Beelzebul
3:20 Now Jesus went home, and a crowd gathered so that they were not able to eat.
3:21 When his family heard this they went out to restrain him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
3:22 The experts in the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and, “By the ruler of demons he casts out demons.”
3:23 So he called them and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan?
3:24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom will not be able to stand.
3:25 If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.
3:26 And if Satan rises against himself and is divided, he is not able to stand and his end has come.
3:27 But no one is able to enter a strong man’s house and steal his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can thoroughly plunder his house.
3:28 I tell you the truth, people will be forgiven for all sins, even all the blasphemies they utter.
3:29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, but is guilty of an eternal sin”
3:30 (because they said, “He has an unclean spirit”).
Jesus’ True Family
3:31 Then Jesus’ mother and his brothers came. Standing outside, they sent word to him, to summon him.
3:32 A crowd was sitting around him and they said to him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are outside looking for you.”
3:33 He answered them and said, “Who are my mother and my brothers?”
3:34 And looking at those who were sitting around him in a circle, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!
3:35 For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”