Discovery BoxMark 3:8-35
Context3:8 Jerusalem, 1 Idumea, beyond the Jordan River, 2 and around Tyre 3 and Sidon 4 a great multitude came to him when they heard about the things he had done. 3:9 Because of the crowd, he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him so the crowd 5 would not press toward him. 3:10 For he had healed many, so that all who were afflicted with diseases pressed toward him in order to touch him. 3:11 And whenever the unclean spirits 6 saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” 3:12 But 7 he sternly ordered them not to make him known. 8
3:13 Now 9 Jesus went up the mountain 10 and called for those he wanted, and they came to him. 3:14 He 11 appointed twelve (whom he named apostles 12 ), 13 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: 14 To Simon 15 he gave the name Peter; 3:17 to James and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee, 16 he gave the name Boanerges (that is, “sons of thunder”); 3:18 and Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, 17 Matthew, Thomas, 18 James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, 19 Simon the Zealot, 20 3:19 and Judas Iscariot, 21 who betrayed him. 22
3:20 Now 23 Jesus 24 went home, and a crowd gathered so that they were not able to eat. 3:21 When his family 25 heard this they went out to restrain him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” 3:22 The experts in the law 26 who came down from Jerusalem 27 said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” 28 and, “By the ruler 29 of demons he casts out demons.” 3:23 So 30 he called them and spoke to them in parables: 31 “How can Satan cast out Satan? 3:24 If 32 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 33 house and steal his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can thoroughly plunder his house. 34 3:28 I tell you the truth, 35 people will be forgiven for all sins, even all the blasphemies they utter. 36 3:29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, but is guilty of an eternal sin” 37 3:30 (because they said, “He has an unclean spirit” 38 ).
3:31 Then 39 Jesus’ 40 mother and his brothers 41 came. Standing 42 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 43 are outside looking for you.” 3:33 He answered them and said, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 44 3:34 And looking at those who were sitting around him in a circle, he said, “Here 45 are my mother and my brothers! 3:35 For whoever does the will of God is 46 my brother and sister and mother.”
[3:8] 1 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[3:8] 2 tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity. The region referred to here is sometimes known as Transjordan (i.e., “across the Jordan”).
[3:8] 3 map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[3:8] 4 sn These last two locations, Tyre and Sidon, represented an expansion outside of traditional Jewish territory. Jesus’ reputation continued to expand into new regions.
[3:9] 5 tn Grk “they”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[3:11] 6 sn Unclean spirits refers to evil spirits.
[3:12] 7 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
[3:12] 8 sn Jesus did not permit the demons to make him known because the time for such disclosure was not yet at hand, and such a revelation would have certainly been misunderstood by the people. In all likelihood, if the people had understood him early on to be the Son of God, or Messiah, they would have reduced his mission to one of political deliverance from Roman oppression (cf. John 6:15). Jesus wanted to avoid, as much as possible, any premature misunderstanding about who he was and what he was doing. However, at the end of his ministry, he did not deny such a title when the high priest asked him (14:61-62).
[3:13] 9 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
[3:13] 10 tn Or “up a mountain” (εἰς τὸ ὅρος, eis to Joro").
[3:14] 12 sn The term apostles is rare in the gospels, found only here and Mark 6:30, Matt 10:2, and six more times in Luke (6:13; 9:10; 11:49; 17:5; 22:14; 24:10).
[3:14] 13 tc The phrase “whom he named apostles” is lacking in the majority of
[3:16] 14 tc The phrase “he appointed twelve” is lacking in the majority of manuscripts (A C2 D L Θ Ë1 33 2427 Ï lat sy bo). Some important witnesses include the phrase (א B C* Δ 565 579 pc), but perhaps the best explanation for the omission of the clause in the majority of witnesses is haplography in combination with homoioarcton: The first word of the clause in question is καί (kai), and the first word after the clause in question is also καί. And the first two letters of the second word, in each instance, are επ (ep). Early scribes most likely jumped accidentally from the first καί to the second, omitting the intervening material. Thus the clause was most likely in the original text. (See 3:14 above for a related textual problem.)
[3:16] 15 sn In the various lists of the twelve, Simon (that is, Peter) is always mentioned first (see also Matt 10:1-4; Luke 6:13-16; Acts 1:13) and the first four are always the same, though not in the same order after Peter.
[3:17] 16 tn Grk “to James, the son of Zebedee, and John, the brother of James.”
[3:18] 17 sn Bartholomew (meaning “son of Tolmai” in Aramaic) could be another name for Nathanael mentioned in John 1:45.
[3:18] 18 sn This is the “doubting Thomas” of John 20:24-29.
[3:18] 19 tc This disciple is called Λεββαῖον (Lebbaion, “Lebbaeus”) in D it; see the discussion of the parallel text in Matt 10:3 where conflation occurs among other witnesses as well.
[3:18] 20 tn Grk “the Cananean,” but according to both BDAG 507 s.v. Καναναῖος and L&N 11.88, this term has no relation at all to the geographical terms for Cana or Canaan, but is derived from the Aramaic term for “enthusiast, zealot” (see Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13), possibly because of an earlier affiliation with the party of the Zealots. He may not have been technically a member of the particular Jewish nationalistic party known as “Zealots” (since according to some scholars this party had not been organized at that time), but simply someone who was zealous for Jewish independence from Rome, in which case the term would refer to his temperament.
[3:19] 21 sn There is some debate about what the name Iscariot means. It probably alludes to a region in Judea and thus might make Judas the only non-Galilean in the group. Several explanations for the name Iscariot have been proposed, but it is probably transliterated Hebrew with the meaning “man of Kerioth” (there are at least two villages that had that name). For further discussion see D. L. Bock, Luke (BECNT), 1:546; also D. A. Carson, John, 304.
[3:19] 22 tn Grk “who even betrayed him.”
[3:20] 23 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
[3:20] 24 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[3:21] 25 tc Western witnesses D W it, instead of reading οἱ παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ (Joi par’ aujtou, here translated “family”), have περὶ αὐτοῦ οἱ γραμματεῖς καὶ οἱ λοιποί (peri autou Joi grammatei" kai Joi loipoi, “[when] the scribes and others [heard] about him”). But this reading is obviously motivated, for it removes the embarrassing statement about Jesus’ family’s opinion of him as “out of his mind” and transfers this view to the Lord’s opponents. The fact that virtually all other witnesses have οἱ παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ here, coupled with the strong internal evidence for the shorter reading, shows this Western reading to be secondary.
[3:22] 26 tn Or “The scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.
[3:22] 27 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[3:22] 28 tn Grk “He has Beelzebul.”
[3:23] 30 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
[3:23] 31 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.
[3:24] 32 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.
[3:27] 33 sn The strong man here pictures Satan.
[3:27] 34 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.
[3:28] 35 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
[3:28] 36 tn Grk “all the sins and blasphemies they may speak will be forgiven the sons of men.”
[3:29] 37 sn Is guilty of an eternal sin. This passage has troubled many people, who have wondered whether or not they have committed this eternal sin. Three things must be kept in mind: (1) the nature of the sin is to ascribe what is the obvious work of the Holy Spirit (e.g., releasing people from Satan’s power) to Satan himself; (2) it is not simply a momentary doubt or sinful attitude, but is indeed a settled condition which opposes the Spirit’s work, as typified by the religious leaders who opposed Jesus; and (3) a person who is concerned about it has probably never committed this sin, for those who commit it here (i.e., the religious leaders) are not in the least concerned about Jesus’ warning. On this last point see W. W. Wessel, “Mark,” EBC 8:645-46.
[3:30] 38 sn Unclean spirit refers to an evil spirit.
[3:31] 39 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
[3:31] 40 tn Grk “his”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[3:31] 41 sn The issue of whether Jesus had brothers (siblings) has had a long history in the church. Epiphanius, in the 4th century, argued that Mary was a perpetual virgin and had no offspring other than Jesus. Others argued that these brothers were really cousins. Nothing in the text suggests any of this. See also John 7:3.
[3:31] 42 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
[3:32] 43 tc ‡ Many
[3:33] 44 tn Grk “Who is my mother and my brothers?” The use of the singular verb ἐστιν (estin) here singles out Mary above Jesus’ brothers, giving her special prominence (see ExSyn 401-2). This is slightly unnatural in English since the predicate nominative is plural, though, so a plural verb was used in the translation.
[3:34] 45 tn Grk “Behold my mother and my brothers.”
[3:35] 46 tn The pleonastic pronoun οὗτος (Jouto", “this one”) which precedes this verb has not been translated.
