THE SON OF MAN HEALS WHAT HAS WITHERED AND AGAIN REVEALS HIMSELF AS LORD OVER THE SABBATH (3:1-6). In this narrative the Pharisees are seen as now deliberately out to trap Jesus. They had made their assessment and now it was a question of gathering evidence against Him. We have already seen how thei... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he entered again into the Synagogue, and there was a man there who had a withered hand. And they watched him whether he will heal him on the Sabbath day, that they might accuse him.' We are not told who brought the man, or where he came from. But that he was seen by the Pharisees as a test case... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he said to the man who had his hand withered, “come and stand among us”.' Jesus was fully aware of the whole situation, and of the tension in the synagogue. We can imagine the long hall, and the Pharisees sitting there in the chief seats, and the pointed silence when Jesus came in, with eyes t... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he says to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath day to do good or to do harm, to save a life or to kill?” But they held their peace.' Then Jesus directed His attention to the Pharisees, and He could see the workings of their hearts. He knew exactly what they were thinking. And He knew that even... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when he had looked round on them with anger, being grieved at the hardening of their heart, he says to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out and his hand was restored.' ‘He -- looked round on them with anger.' Jesus was angry because these men, who considered themselve... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the Pharisees went out and immediately, with the officials of Herod, took counsel against him how they might destroy him.' We have observed the slow growth of their opposition. First they had come to observe and act as critics, judging whether this man deserved their support (Mark 2:6), and the... [ Continue Reading ]
FURTHER SUCCESS (3:7-12). ‘And Jesus with his disciples withdrew to the sea, and a huge crowd from Galilee followed. And from Judaea and from Jerusalem and from Idumaea and beyond Jordan and about Tyre and Sidon, a huge crowd, hearing what things he did, came to him.' Jesus' popularity and fame as... [ Continue Reading ]
AMAZING SUCCESS BRINGS FERVENT OPPOSITION FROM HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS (3:7-21). Jesus' success expands as He continues to build up His forces for the proclamation of the truth and against the powers of evil, although it is at some personal cost and results in those who have known Him from the past... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SECTION CONCLUDES WITH A SUMMARY OF THE CONTINUING MINISTRY (3:7-35). The first major section of Mark's Gospel (from Mark 1:1 to Mark 3:35) now concludes with: · A description of the continuing ministry of Jesus. 'b7 The appointing of the twelve. 'b7 The opposition of His family and acquaint... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he requested his disciples that a small boat should await on him because of the crowd lest they press in on him, for he had healed many with the result that as many as had diseases pressed in on him that they might touch him.' It soon became policy to make use of a small boat so that He could... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the unclean spirits, whenever they beheld him, fell down before him and cried out saying, “You are the Son of God”. And he strongly charged them that they should not make him known.' And as a result the ‘battle' with Satan continued. Whenever unclean spirits saw Him they could not help but cry... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he goes up into the mountain and calls to him those whom he himself would, and they went to him. And he appointed twelve that they might be with him, and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to cast out devils.' The going into the mountain was probably in order to escape... [ Continue Reading ]
THE APPOINTING OF THE TWELVE (3:13-19A). Having begun in Mark 1:16 with the calling of the Four, followed by His teaching, His dealings with unclean spirits and those who were diseased, and the gathering of the great crowds, Mark now in Mark 3:7 reverses the order. Here we have begun with the great... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he gave to Simon the name Peter.' This is a typical piece of Mark's literary roughness that later manuscripts have sought to improve on. Simon is assumed to have been appointed and in his appointment it is the description of his new name that is given, to indicate that he had become a new man.... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, and to them he gave another name, Boanerges, which is, Sons of Thunder.' Along with Peter, James and John formed the inner three (see above). They have already been introduced to us previously, along with Peter's brother Andrew (Mark 1:1... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholemew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot who also betrayed him.' Andrew was the brother of Peter (John 1:40). That they are not put together in the list demonstrates that this was not... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he comes into a house, and the great crowd comes together again so that they could not so much as eat food.' ‘He comes into a house.' The house may be that of Peter in Capernaum, or it may be the house of a follower in some other town. ‘The great crowd comes together again so that they could... [ Continue Reading ]
OPPOSITION FROM FAMILY AND FRIENDS FROM THE PAST (3:19-21). This rather enigmatic passage prepares the way for and explains the ‘rejection' by Jesus of His mother and brothers in Mark 3:31. Knowing Him too well (compare Mark 6:3) they were upset at what they saw as His unusual behaviour. They felt... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when His family and long time friends heard it they went out to lay hold on Him, for they said, “He is beside Himself”.' This is omitted by Matthew and Luke. They probably did not feel it suitable out of respect for the ‘family' who were by now believers. Possibly also they felt it slightly ir... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the Scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzeboul, and by the prince of the devils he casts out devils”.' Note the immediate parallel with what Jesus' family and friends were saying of Him. They said that He was mad. These said that He was possessed with a powerful devil. The w... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SCRIBES FROM JERUSALEM AND THE BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT (3:22-30). By now Jesus had attracted the attention not only of the local Scribes but of the great Doctors from Jerusalem. They had probably been called in because of the influence that He was having. And once they had considered... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he called them to him and said to 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 has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But no one can enter into the house of the strong man and spoil his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then he will spoil his house.' For it is evident that only one who is stronger than the strong man, the ‘stronger than he' (Luke 11:22), can enter his house and bind the strong man. He a... [ Continue Reading ]
“Truly I affirm to you, to the sons of men all their sins shall be forgiven, and their blasphemies in whatever way they shall blaspheme, but whoever shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.” Because they said “He has an unclean spirit”. There i... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And there come his mother and his brothers, and standing outside they sent to him, calling for him.' Earlier the crowds had come to Jesus (Mark 3:8). And now His relatives had come. But what a different reason there was for their coming. Mark probably intends us to see ‘standing outside' as signif... [ Continue Reading ]
MARY AND JESUS' BROTHERS ARE FIRMLY REMINDED OF THEIR TRUE POSITION. IN THEIR PRESENT STATE AND ATTITUDE THEY DO NOT COUNT AS MUCH AS GENUINE BELIEVERS FOR THEY ARE NOT PART OF THE KINGLY RULE OF GOD (3:31-35). The section began with the initial manifestation of the One sent from God to drench men... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And a crowd was sitting round him, and they say to him, ‘See, your mother and your brothers are outside looking for you.' The crowd were ‘sitting around Him'. Here were the ones for whom He was responsible now. They were on the inside. And they pass on the message that has come in to them, probabl... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he answers them, saying, “Who is my mother and my brothers?” And looking round on those who sat round him he says, “See, my mother and my brothers. For whoever will do the will of God, the same is my brother and my sister and my mother”.' So He looks round, and declares to all, that it is thos... [ Continue Reading ]