People's New Testament And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. 3:1 Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit
SUMMARY OF MARK 3: The Man with the Withered Hand. The Pharisees and Herodians in Council. The Great Physician Healing. The Twelve Apostles Appointed. The Blasphemy of Ascribing His Divine Power to Beelzebub. The Sin That Hath No Forgiveness. Christ's Mother and Brethren. He entered again into the synagogue. Of Capernaum. Compare Mt 12:9-14 Lu 6:6-11. For fuller notes, see Matthew. And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. 3:2 They watched him. The same critics who had found fault in the preceding chapter. There was present a man whose right hand was withered, and they watched to see whether the Lord would heal him on the Sabbath.
And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. 3:3 Stand forth. He read their thoughts and determined to give prominence to the good work. He would heal him on the Sabbath, heal him in the synagogue, heal him before all.
And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. 3:4 Is it lawful... to save life, or to kill? A home thrust at the fault-finders. They were harboring murderous thoughts; he was seeking to save life. Which was breaking the Sabbath?
And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. 3:5 Looked round about on them with anger. Indignation.
Hardness of their hearts. Shown by their fault finding, evil thoughts, and silence by his questions. And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him. 3:6 Pharisees. See PNT Mt 3:7.
Herodians. See PNT Mt 22:16. Took counsel. Already these inveterate enemies were resolved to destroy Jesus. They took counsel how it might be done. As they went to the partisans of Herod, who ruled in Galilee, they probably sought to persuade them to have Herod put him to death. But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea, 3:7 Jesus withdrew himself. See fuller notes on the popularity described in Mr 3:7-12 under Mt 12:15-21.
The sea. Of Galilee. Also consult map for the localities named. And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him. 3:8 Idumaea. More anciently called Edom. Southeast of the Jordan, and south of the Dead Sea. That country was occupied by the descendants of Esau. Herod the Great was, on his father's side, an Idumaean.
Tyre and Sidon. See PNT Mt 11:21. And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him. 3:9 A small ship. A fishing boat.
For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues.
And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. 3:11 Unclean spirits. See PNT Mt 8:28.
And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.
And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. 3:13 Goeth up upon a mountain. Compare Mt 10:1-4 Lu 6:12-16. The selection of the apostles occurred before the Sermon on the Mount (Lu 6:13). Matthew gives it out of order. See notes on Mt 10:1-4.
And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, 3:14 Ordained twelve, that they should be with him. They were to attend him into order to be specially prepared to preach Christ.
And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:
And Simon he surnamed Peter; 3:16 Simon he surnamed Peter. He did this previously (Joh 1:42).
And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder: 3:17 Boanerges. Why this title was bestowed on James and John we are not told. Possibly from their power as preachers.
And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite,
And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house. 3:19 They went into an house. On the return to Capernaum.
And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. 3:20 Could not so much as eat bread. The multitudes were so eager to hear, or be healed, and Jesus so ready to bless them, that there was no time for meals.
And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself. 3:21 His friends. Probably his relatives. See Mr 3:31. His brethren were not yet counted among his disciples.
He is beside himself. Carried away by an unwise enthusiasm. And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. 3:22 The scribes... said. For notes on the charge of the scribes, Beelzebub, and the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, see Mt 12:22-37. Compare Lu 11:14-23.
From Jerusalem. The men who were leaders in this effort to destroy the influence of Jesus were a delegation from the very religious bodies at Jerusalem that finally sent him to death. And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?
And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.
No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.
Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: 3:28 Verily I say unto you. See PNT Mt 5:18. This emphatic expression occurs fourteen times in Mark.
But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:
Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit. 3:30 Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit. This was a sin against the Holy Spirit because Jesus did mighty works in the power of the Holy Spirit, and they ascribed the power to an unclean spirit.
There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him. 3:31 There came then his brethren and his mother. See notes on Mt 12:46-50. Compare Lu 8:19. The natural inference is that the brethren were the sons of Mary and the half-brothers of Jesus. No other idea would ever have been maintained had it not been that the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary arose some centuries after the apostles.
And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.
And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?
And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother. The People's New Testament by B.W. Johnson [1891] Bible Hub |
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