Chapter 3

And again he entered the synagogue. And a man with a withered hand was there.

And they were watching him, whether he cured on the Sabbath, that they might accuse him.

And he said to the man with the withered hand, "Stand forth in the midst."

And he said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good, or to do evil? to save a life, or to destroy it?" But they kept silence.

And looking round upon them with anger, and being grieved at the blindness of their hearts, he said to the man, "Stretch forth thy hand." And he stretched it forth, and his hand was restored.

But the Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might do away with him. The Mercy of Jesus

And Jesus with his disciples withdrew to the sea; and there followed him a large crowd from Galilee and Judea,

and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and from beyond the Jordan. And those about Tyre and Sidon, a large crowd, hearing what he was doing, came to him.

And he told his disciples to have a small boat in readiness for him, because of the crowd, lest they should throng him.

For he healed many, so that as many as had ailments were pressing upon him to touch him.

And the unclean spirits, when they beheld him, fell down before him and cried out, saying,

"Thou art the Son of God." And he charged them strictly not to make him known. The Choice of the Twelve

And going up a mountain, he called to him men of his own choosing, and they came to him.

And he appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them forth to preach.

To them he gave power to cure sicknesses and to cast out devils.

There were Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter;

and James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James (these he surnamed Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder);

and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alpheus, and Thaddeus, and Simon the Cananean,

and Judas Iscariot, he who betrayed him. Blasphemy of the Scribes

And they came to the house, and again a crowd gathered so that they could not so much as take their food.

But when his own people had heard it, they went out to lay hold of him, for they said, "He has gone mad."

And the Scribes who had come down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub," and "By the prince of devils he casts out devils."

And he called them together, and said to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan?

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

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

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

But no one can enter the strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then he will plunder his house.

"Amen I say to you, that all sins shall be forgiven to the sons of men, and the blasphemies wherewith they may blaspheme;

but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but will be guilty of an everlasting sin."

For they said, "He has an unclean spirit." Jesus and His Brethren

And his mother and his brethren came, and standing outside, they sent to him, calling him.

Now a crowd was sitting about him, and they said to him, "Behold, thy mother and thy brethren are outside, seeking thee."

And he answered and said to them, "Who are my mother and my brethren? "

And looking round on those who were sitting about him, he said, "Behold my mother and my brethren.

For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother."