MARK Chapter 03

Healing a Withered Hand

3:1 Then Jesus entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand.

The miracles of Jesus caused Him to be a very popular speaker. He was speaking in synagogues all over Galilee and Judea. The Jewish religious leaders were wishing to destroy Jesus, so they planted a man with a withered hand into the local synagogue in which Jesus was to teach.

3:2 They watched Jesus closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they could accuse him.

It was not against the divine Mosaic Law to heal on the Sabbath. It was against the man-made rabbinic Oral Law to heal on the Sabbath.

3:3 So he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Stand up among all these people.”

Jesus was going to demonstrate to the Jewish leaders and the synagogue community that the Oral Law was superstition and not of divine origin.

3:4 Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath, or evil, to save a life or destroy it?” But they were silent.

Jesus was accusing the rabbi of creating evil laws for the Sabbath. When Jesus asked questions, the rabbi found it wise not to answer.

3:5 After looking around at them in anger, grieved by the hardness of their hearts, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.

Notice that Jesus was angry. Liberals teach that all anger is a sin. However, there is a righteous anger that is not sin. It is good for a believer to possess a righteous anger against things which are evil, but the believer must leave the revenge to God.

3:6 So the Pharisees went out immediately and began plotting with the Herodians, as to how they could assassinate him.

Jesus healed on the Sabbath, meaning that He intentionally broke the Oral Law in front of the Jewish leaders and their followers. At this time, the Pharisees joined with the Herodians. The Pharisees and Herodians were natural enemies. The Pharisees did not believe any Roman should rule in Jerusalem. The Herodians believed that only the Herod family should rule, since they were Edomites, who originated from Esau, who originated from Abraham. According to the Abrahamic Covenant, the Messianic King was to come from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, not Abraham, Isaac, and Esau.

Crowds by the Sea

3:7 Then Jesus went away with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him. And from Judea,

When Jesus and His disciples traveled, the crowds followed Him everywhere He went.

3:8 Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan River, and around Tyre and Sidon a great multitude came to him when they heard about the things he had done.

The message of Jesus spread outside of Jewish territory. It spread from Jerusalem, Judea, and Galilee, all the way to Idumea, Tyre, Sidon, and beyond the Jordan River. Idumea was former Edomite territory, but by the time of Jesus, many Jews were living in this area. Tyre and Sidon were two Phoenician cities on the Mediterranean coast North of Galilee.  The region East of the Jordan River was called Perea. It was ruled by Herod Antipas. Its population contained a large number of Jews. 

3:9 Because of the crowd, he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him so the crowd would not press toward him.

The crowds were so large, that Jesus would have to travel to the lake or sea, get into a boat, row out into the lake, and then teach from the boat. Otherwise, the crowds would press in upon Him, similar to that of a mob out of control.  

3:10 For he had healed many, so that all who were afflicted with diseases pressed toward him in order to touch him.

Jesus was a celebrity and needed celebrity security.

3:11 And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.”

All of the demons were converging upon the territories in which Jesus was teaching. They were possessing the people, so that they could disrupt the teachings of Jesus.

3:12 But he sternly ordered them not to make him known.

Jesus did not accept testimony from demons. If He accepted their testimony, then the Jewish leaders would teach others that Jesus was the Messiah of demons.

Appointing the Twelve Apostles

3:13 Now Jesus went up the mountain and called for those he wanted, and they came to him.

Jesus had many disciples. Disciples meant those who learn. The disciples would come and go, learning and serving Jesus in various duties. Notice that Jesus made the call.

3:14 He appointed twelve (whom he named apostles), so that they would be with him and he could send them to preach

Out of all of these many disciples, Jesus called out twelve of these disciples to become apostles. Apostles were those who were sent by God. Jesus called the apostles for three reasons. First, the apostles would be with Jesus all of the time. Second, Jesus would send the apostles out to teach.

3:15 and to have authority to cast out demons.

Third, Jesus sent out the apostles to cast out demons. Jesus wanted these demons cast out of the people before He visited their synagogues. The demons would often interrupt His teachings.

3:16 He appointed twelve: To Simon he gave the name Peter;

Simon possessed three different names. His Hebrew name was Simon. His Greek name was Peter. His Aramaic name was Cephas. Peter would become the leader of the apostles.

3:17 to James and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee, he gave the name Boanerges (that is, “sons of thunder”);

James was the Latinized name of the Hebrew Jacob. Jonathan was a Hebrew name, meaning "gift of God". They were called "sons of thunder", because they wanted Jesus to rain down fire and brimstone on some of the other cities which rejected Jesus.

3:18 and Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot,

Andrew was the brother of Peter.

Philip meant "lover of horses".

Nathaniel was the same person as Bartholomew, which was a hellinized title, meaning "son of Talmai".

Matthew was the Hebrew word Levi. Matthew was a tax collector.

Thomas was the Hebrew form. He had another Greek form, which was Didymus. Both names meant "twin", meaning that Thomas was most likely a twin. Thomas doubted the resurrection of Christ until he saw the risen Jesus himself.

The Hebrew name for James was "Jacob".

Thaddaeus meant "to die".

Simon was a zealot. A zealot was a Jewish Pharisee who wanted to actively oust Rome from power. They would sneak in crowds, pull out their daggers, and assassinate those who were favorable to Rome. They did kill tax collectors, so Simon and Matthew would have been natural enemies before their apostolic call.

3:19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Judas was a man who came from the city of Cariot. He was the one who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.

Jesus and Beelzebul

3:20 Now Jesus went home, and a crowd gathered so that they were not able to eat.

The crowds were so large, that Jesus and His disciples were not even allowed to eat.

3:21 When his family heard this they went out to restrain him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

Even the family of Jesus believed Him to be insane. They were not believers at this time.

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.”

The Jewish leaders had taught the people that only the Messiah could heal a leper or cast out a mute demon. Jesus had performed both of these messianic miracles. The Jewish leaders should have proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah. However, Jesus failed to buy into their Judaism, so they had to find a way to reject Jesus and explain how He was able to perform miracles. Their response was that Jesus was casting out demons by the power of Beelzubul. Beelzubul was the demon of cow dung. Instead of proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah, the Jewish leaders proclaimed Him to be possessed by the most filthy demon known to man.

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

Jesus informed them that Satan would not cast out his own demons, because he would be defeating himself.

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

The satanic kingdom cannot last if it commits civil war against itself.

3:25 If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.

The house of Satan cannot stand if Satan is fighting against himself.

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

If Satan is divided, then he cannot stand and his time is over.

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.

No one is able to steal Satan's kingdom away unless he first binds Satan. If Jesus was casting out demons, then it was because He had the power and authority to bind Satan, meaning that Satan does not have the power or authority to stop Jesus from casting out his demons.

3:28 I tell you the truth, people will be forgiven for all sins, even all the blasphemies they utter.

All sins can be forgiven, even that of blasphemy, except for one.

3:29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, but is guilty of an eternal sin”

Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit was observing first-hand messianic miracles of Jesus and calling Him demon possessed. This sin could only take place by those who were living in the day of Jesus and observing the miracles. All of those who saw the miracles of Jesus and called Him demon possessed had blasphemed against the Holy Spirit. The Jewish leadership was guilty of this sin.

This was a huge turning point in the ministry of Jesus. At this time, the nation of Israel had rejected the claims of Jesus being the Messiah. They had committed blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. The Messianic Kingdom offer was rejected. Therefore, Jesus would no longer offer the kingdom to the people. His miracles were at one time used to authenticate His message. Now, His miracles will be used to train His apostles. Jesus will prepare Himself and His apostles for the cross. Jesus will only talk to the people in parables. The people will not be able to understand the parables, but He will explain the parables to the apostles. The nation of Israel will be destroyed in 70 A.D. and scattered all over the world.

3:30 (because they said, “He has an unclean spirit”).

All of these events will happen because Israel claimed that Jesus was not the Messiah, but He was performing miracles by the power of 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.

At this time, the family of Jesus thinks that He is insane. They have come to save Him from the Pharisees. It is possible that they have been pressured by the Pharisees.

3:32 A crowd was sitting around him and they said to him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are outside looking for you.”

Jesus knows the reason for their visit.

3:33 He answered them and said, “Who are my mother and my brothers?”

The nation is guilty of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. This guilt extends even to the immediate family of Jesus.

3:34 And looking at those who were sitting around him in a circle, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!

Those who believe in Jesus will escape condemnation to the Lake of Fire. Those who believe are the real mother and brothers of Jesus. The real connection to Jesus is not physical, but spiritual.

3:35 For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

The will of God is to believe in the Son and follow Him. This is the true spiritual family of Jesus. His mother, brother, and sister will have to come to Jesus in this same way.