Mark 3

English ERV 2006 - Only For Website

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1Another time Jesus went into the synagogue. In the synagogue there was a man with a crippled hand.

2Some Jews there were watching Jesus closely. They were waiting to see if he would heal the man on a Sabbath day. They wanted to see Jesus do something wrong so that they could accuse him.

3Jesus said to the man with the crippled hand, "Stand up here so that everyone can see you."

4Then Jesus asked the people, "Which is the right thing to do on the Sabbath day: to do good or to do evil? Is it right to save a life or to destroy one?" The people said nothing to answer him.

5Jesus looked at the people. He was angry, but he felt very sad because they were so stubborn. He said to the man, "Hold out your hand." The man held out his hand, and it was healed.

6Then the Pharisees left and made plans with the Herodians about a way to kill Jesus.

7Jesus went away with his followers to the lake. A large crowd of people from Galilee followed them.

8Many also came from Judea, from Jerusalem, from Idumea, from the area across the Jordan River, and from the area around Tyre and Sidon. These people came because they heard about all that Jesus was doing.

9Jesus saw how many people there were, so he told his followers to get a small boat and make it ready for him. He wanted the boat so that the crowds of people could not push against him.

10He had healed many of them, so all the sick people were pushing toward him to touch him.

11Some people had evil spirits inside them. When the evil spirits saw Jesus, they bowed before him and shouted, "You are the Son of God!"

12But Jesus gave the spirits a strong warning not to tell anyone who he was.

13Then Jesus went up on a hill and invited those he wanted to go with him. So they joined him there.

14And he chose twelve men and called them apostles. He wanted these twelve men to be with him, and he wanted to send them to other places to tell people God's message.

15He also wanted them to have the power to force demons out of people.

16These are the names of the twelve men Jesus chose: Simon (the one Jesus named Peter),

17James and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee (the ones Jesus named Boanerges, which means "Sons of Thunder"),

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

19Judas Iscariot (the one who handed Jesus over to his enemies).

20Then Jesus went home, but again a large crowd gathered there. There were so many people that he and his followers could not eat.

21His family heard about all these things. They went to get him because people said he was crazy.

22And the teachers of the law from Jerusalem said, "Satan is living inside him! He uses power from the ruler of demons to force demons out of people."

23So Jesus called them together and talked to them using some stories. He said, "Satan will not force his own demons out of people.

24A kingdom that fights against itself will not survive.

25And a family that is divided will not survive.

26If Satan is against himself and is fighting against his own people, he will not survive. That would be the end of Satan.

27"Whoever wants to enter a strong man's house and steal his things must first tie him up. Then they can steal the things from his house.

28"I want you to know that people can be forgiven for all the sinful things they do. They can even be forgiven for the bad things they say against God.

29But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. They will always be guilty of that sin."

30Jesus said this because the teachers of the law had accused him of having an evil spirit inside him.

31Then Jesus' mother and brothers came. They stood outside and sent someone in to tell him to come out.

32Many people were sitting around Jesus. They said to him, "Your mother and brothers are waiting for you outside."

33Jesus asked, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?"

34Then he looked at the people sitting around him and said, "These people are my mother and my brothers!

35My true brother and sister and mother are those who do what God wants."

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