Mark 3 is the third chapter of the
Gospel of Mark in the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...
of the
Christian Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...
. It relates a conflict over healing on the
Sabbath, the
commissioning of the Twelve Apostles
The commissioning of the Twelve Apostles is an episode in the ministry of Jesus that appears in all three Synoptic Gospels: Matthew 10:1–4, Mark 3:13–19 and Luke 6:12–16. It relates the initial selection of the Twelve Apostles ...
, a conflict with
scribes
A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing.
The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promin ...
and a meeting of
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
with
his own family.
Text
The original text was written in
Koine Greek
Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...
.
This chapter is divided into 35 verses.
Textual witnesses
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:
*
Codex Vaticanus
The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), designated by siglum B or 03 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1 ( von Soden), is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old ...
(325-350; complete)
*
Codex Sinaiticus
The Codex Sinaiticus ( Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscript ...
(330-360; complete)
*
Codex Bezae
The Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis, designated by siglum D or 05 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 5 (in the von Soden of New Testament manuscript), is a codex of the New Testament dating from the 5th century writ ...
(~400; complete)
*
Codex Alexandrinus
The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...
(400-440; complete)
*
Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (~450; complete).
Healings
Continuing the theme of the
Sabbath from
the previous chapter, Mark 3 begins with Jesus healing a man with a shriveled or withered hand on the Sabbath in the
Synagogue. The word εξηραμμενην (''exērammenēn'') is translated as "paralyzed" in the
International Standard Version
The ''International Standard Version'' or ISV is a new English translation of the Bible for which translation was complete and published electronically in 2011.
The texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls have been used to provide a textual apparatus for ...
. Mark uses the
adverb An adverb is a word or an expression that generally modifies a verb, adjective, another adverb, determiner, clause, preposition, or sentence. Adverbs typically express manner, place, time, frequency, degree, level of certainty, etc., answering ...
πάλιν (''palin'', again), indicating this is the synagogue in
Capernaum
Capernaum ( ; he, כְּפַר נַחוּם, Kfar Naḥum, Nahum's village; ar, كفر ناحوم, Kafr Nāḥūm) was a fishing village established during the time of the Hasmoneans, located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It ...
, the same as the one in ,
[Brown ''et al.'' 603] although the
New American Standard Bible
The New American Standard Bible (NASB) is an English translation of the Bible. Published by the Lockman Foundation, the complete NASB was released in 1971. The NASB relies on recently published critical editions of the original Hebrew and Gre ...
reads "a synagogue".
According to Mark, "some" people were there specifically waiting to see if Jesus would heal someone on the Sabbath so that they could accuse him of breaking it.
Rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
s of the time would allow healing on the Sabbath only if the person was in great danger, a situation his hand would not qualify for.
The
Jewish Encyclopedia article o
Jesusnotes: "... stricter rabbis allowed only the saving of life to excuse the slightest curtailment of the Sabbath rest (Shab. xxii. 6)."
He asks the people "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do
good
In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil and is of interest in the study of ethics, morality, ph ...
or to do
evil
Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is general ...
, to save life or to kill?" () They do not answer and he angrily looks around at the crowd and is "distressed at their stubborn hearts" ().
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
founder
John Wesley suggested that his adversaries were already seeking occasion to kill him. He tells the man to put out his hand which he does and then, seemingly instantaneously, it is healed. Many other stories of healing at the time involved the healer doing work in some way to effect a cure as compared to this quick almost effortless action here.
[Kilgallen 63] Mark could be highlighting how great he viewed Jesus' powers as being.
Jesus also equates not doing good with doing evil and says it is more important, even or perhaps especially, to not let evil and suffering occur through inaction.
According to Mark, this
miracle
A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...
is the spur which sets the
Pharisees, as well as the
Herodians
The Herodians (''Herodiani'') were a sect of Hellenistic Jews mentioned in the New Testament on two occasions — first in Galilee, and later in Jerusalem — being hostile to Jesus (, ; ; cf. also , , ). In each of these cases their name is co ...
, against Jesus, having them go out after this and plot to kill him. Thus the reaction of a substantial number of
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
has gone from being amazed to one of outright opposition. Mark has already begun to foreshadow Jesus' death, with this as well as the saying about the bridegroom and fasting in . Some find it improbable these two groups worked together, as the Pharisees opposed
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
and
Herod was backed by and supported Rome, see also
Iudaea Province
Judaea ( la, Iudaea ; grc, Ἰουδαία, translit=Ioudaíā ) was a Roman province which incorporated the regions of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea from 6 CE, extending over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms of ...
. Mark however may be highlighting the dual nature and seriousness of the opposition to Jesus.
This also occurs in
Matthewbr>
12:9-14 although Jesus asks about how one would save a sheep on the Sabbath and how helping a person is more important than helping a sheep.
Lukebr>
6:6-11is almost the same as this section of Mark although Luke does not state that they planned to kill him, only that they were "furious" and talked about what to do about Jesus.
Jesus then "withdraws", ἀνεχώρησεν (''anechōrēsen''), and goes down by a lake, presumably the
Sea of Galilee, and people follow him there. Some writers, such as the American commentator
Albert Barnes, see the word as meaning flight, as it comes after Mark talks about the plot against Jesus, "... to the lonely regions which surrounded the sea, where he might be in obscurity, and avoid their designs against his life", but it could just as easily mean leaving
Capernaum
Capernaum ( ; he, כְּפַר נַחוּם, Kfar Naḥum, Nahum's village; ar, كفر ناحوم, Kafr Nāḥūm) was a fishing village established during the time of the Hasmoneans, located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It ...
to go to the nearby sea.
Mark says the people had come from "...
Judea
Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous sou ...
,
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
,
Idumea
Edom (; Edomite: ; he, אֱדוֹם , lit.: "red"; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Egyptian: ) was an ancient kingdom in Transjordan, located between Moab to the northeast, the Arabah to the west, and the Arabian Desert to the south and east ...
, and the regions across the
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
and around
Tyre and
Sidon
Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...
". () Mark thus shows that people are coming from many areas, not just
Galilee. Whether these people were non-Jews is unclear as the non-Jewish areas listed also contained Jewish populations.
Another group of the time to consider is the Jewish
Proselytes
The biblical term "proselyte" is an anglicization of the Koine Greek term προσήλυτος (''proselytos''), as used in the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) for "stranger", i.e. a "newcomer to Israel"; a "sojourner in the land", and in the ...
.
Jesus has the
disciples prepare a boat for him to avoid "crowding", because "... he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him." () and then he heals many of the sick.
Evil (or unclean) spirits in the people brought before him fall down and call him the
Son of God, but he tells them not to tell people who he is, continuing the theme of the
Messianic Secret
The Messianic Secret is a motif in the Gospel of Mark, in which Jesus is portrayed as commanding his followers to maintain silence about his Messianic mission. Attention was first drawn to this motif in 1901 by William Wrede.
Part of Wrede's theo ...
.
Choosing of the Twelve Apostles
After highlighting the growing crowd following Jesus, Mark says Jesus went up a mountain and called
twelve, whom he appointed Apostles, with the power to
preach and "
drive out demons". Some manuscripts of Mark do not have Jesus call them Apostles in verse . Verse may be the only time he uses the word, which is most frequently (68 out of 79) used by
Luke the Evangelist
Luke the Evangelist (Latin: '' Lucas''; grc, Λουκᾶς, '' Loukâs''; he, לוקאס, ''Lūqās''; arc, /ܠܘܩܐ לוקא, ''Lūqā’; Ge'ez: ሉቃስ'') is one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of t ...
and
Paul of Tarsus
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
, se
Strong's G652 It is perhaps symbolic that this occurs on a mountain, a height where people can be met by God in the Jewish tradition,
[Kilgallen 71] such as
Moses talking to God on
Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai ( he , הר סיני ''Har Sinai''; Aramaic: ܛܘܪܐ ܕܣܝܢܝ ''Ṭūrāʾ Dsyny''), traditionally known as Jabal Musa ( ar, جَبَل مُوسَىٰ, translation: Mount Moses), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is ...
, see also the
Sermon on the Mount. Mark pictures Jesus as drawing large multitudes to his teaching, and shifts from mountains to lakes to houses at will, creating an evocative landscape that some find lacking plausibility, although the area contains such geographic features.
Verse 16
: ''And Simon he surnamed Peter;''
He appoints Simon, called
Peter
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
,
James
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguati ...
,
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
,
Andrew
Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...
,
Philip,
Bartholomew
Bartholomew (Aramaic: ; grc, Βαρθολομαῖος, translit=Bartholomaîos; la, Bartholomaeus; arm, Բարթողիմէոս; cop, ⲃⲁⲣⲑⲟⲗⲟⲙⲉⲟⲥ; he, בר-תולמי, translit=bar-Tôlmay; ar, بَرثُولَماو ...
,
Matthew,
Thomas
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the A ...
, a second
James
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguati ...
,
Thaddaeus,
Simon
Simon may refer to:
People
* Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon
* Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon
* Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...
whom Mark calls a
Zealot
The Zealots were a political movement in 1st-century Second Temple Judaism which sought to incite the people of Judea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy Land by force of arms, most notably during the First Je ...
, and lastly
Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas betraye ...
.
Luke's lists in Luke and
Acts
The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...
do not include a Thaddaeus, but instead list "Judas, son of James" or "
Judas the brother of James" in the
KJV
The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of K ...
, which some have asserted are two names for the same person,
Jude Thaddaeus. Luke also has the story of the
Seventy Disciples
The seventy disciples or seventy-two disciples, known in the Eastern Christian traditions as the seventy apostles or seventy-two apostles, were early emissaries of Jesus mentioned in the Gospel of Luke. The correct Greek terminology is evdomik ...
. Matthew's list is the same as Mark in , although a few
western manuscripts of Matthew have a
Lebbaeus.
[Brown 130] This might also indicate that by the time of the writing of the Gospels the exact recollection of the "minor" Apostles had become uncertain, and that there is no "Jude Thaddaeus", a creation of later
hagiography.
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
lists no Bartholomew, although John's
Nathanael
Nathanael is a biblical given name derived from the Hebrew נְתַנְאֵל (''Netan'el''), which means "God/ El has given" or "Gift of God/ El." Nathaniel is the variant form of this name and it stands to this day as the usual and most common s ...
is usually equated with him.
Mark says that the brothers James and John were given the title ''
Boanerges'', which Mark tells us means "Sons of Thunder", although many modern scholars disagree with this translation.
[Kilgallen 70] Many explanations have been given for this title but none commands a consensus.
[Brown ''et al.'' 604] Mark does not explain why Jesus gave Simon the name Peter, meaning rock. has his naming in connection with the church and has it relate to his character. It could also have an ironic meaning, as even Peter denies Jesus in the end.
[Miller 20]
Philip and Andrew are both
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
names, also Thaddaeus and Lebbaeus. Some Jews, especially from places like Galilee where there were substantial non-Jewish populations, did have a Greek name as well as a Jewish name.
The second Simon is called a ''kananaios'', probably derived from the
Aramaic
The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...
word ''qan'ānā'', meaning a
Zealot
The Zealots were a political movement in 1st-century Second Temple Judaism which sought to incite the people of Judea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy Land by force of arms, most notably during the First Je ...
, which might mean he belonged to a political movement in rebellion against
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, but might also mean he was religiously zealous.
Luke uses the Greek term ''zēlōtēs''.
Iscariot might be Judas' last name or might be a reference to where he came from, meaning "man of
Kerioth
Kerioth ( he, קְרִיּוֹת, ''Qǝrīyyōṯ'') is the name of two cities mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. The spelling Kirioth appears in the King James Version of Amos 2:2. The name means "cities," and is the plural of the Biblical Hebrew ק ...
"
It may also be derived from
sicarii
The Sicarii (Modern Hebrew: סיקריים ''siqariyim'') were a splinter group of the Jewish Zealots who, in the decades preceding Jerusalem's destruction in 70 CE, strongly opposed the Roman occupation of Judea and attempted to expel them and th ...
. The fact that there are twelve Apostles is seen as being related to the
Twelve tribes of Israel
The Twelve Tribes of Israel ( he, שִׁבְטֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל, translit=Šīḇṭēy Yīsrāʾēl, lit=Tribes of Israel) are, according to Hebrew scriptures, the descendants of the biblical patriarch Jacob, also known as Israel, thro ...
.
Jesus will "send them out", the Greek verb ''apostolien''
Strong's G649 meaning to send out, to do the work he has been doing but without him being present. Many churches interpret this as his founding of the church, as he creates a special group to work in his name without him.
See also the
Great Commission
In Christianity, the Great Commission is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples to spread the gospel to all the nations of the world. The Great Commission is outlined in Matthew 28:16– 20, where on a mountain ...
.
A house divided
Jesus goes to someone's house (or "the house", possibly Peter's house, verse 19 in some versions, verse 20 in others), and a large crowd follows him there. According to Mark, this prevented Jesus and his disciples from being able to eat. "When his family (''hoi par' autou'') heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, 'He is out of his mind'." (), or "beside himself", ''exestē''
Strong's G1839, which could be read as Jesus' family accusing him of being
crazy
Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or t ...
or describing what others had said about Jesus.
Either way they go to assert their control over him, perhaps to stop him from embarrassing the family.
Hearing Jesus is being followed by so many people does not seem to accord with their view of him.
[Kilgallen 72] Whether it was Jesus teaching and attracting large crowds or not eating that disturbs them so much is not clear. A few early manuscripts have "the scribes and the others" instead of his family, but these are usually seen as alterations perhaps designed to tone down the impression of Jesus' own family toward him.
![Beelzebub](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Beelzebub.png)
Scribes from
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, who Matthew says were Pharisees, come and accuse him of something worse than being crazy, using
Beelzebub
Beelzebub ( ; he, ''Baʿal-zəḇūḇ'') or Beelzebul is a name derived from a Philistine god, formerly worshipped in Ekron, and later adopted by some Abrahamic religions as a major demon. The name ''Beelzebub'' is associated with the Can ...
, and/or the "prince of demons" to drive out demons. His power over the demons, they assert, comes from evil power itself.
[Kilgallen 73] Beelzebub is thought to mean perhaps "lord of the flies" or "lord of dung" or "lord of the height or dwelling", but no certainty exists as to its exact meaning.
They do not dispute that he did in fact drive out the demons. They seem to believe Jesus' power is beyond human capabilities and must be
supernatural in origin.
The charge of Jesus using evil powers was probably made against him to his followers for quite some time after his death.
The
Jesus Seminar
The Jesus Seminar was a group of about 50 critical biblical scholars and 100 laymen founded in 1985 by Robert Funk that originated under the auspices of the Westar Institute.''Making Sense of the New Testament'' by Craig Blomberg (Mar 1, 200 ...
feels the version in is "red" ("authentic") and calls it "the Beelzebul controversy". is determined to be "pink" ("a close approximation of what Jesus did") and is called "Jesus' relatives come to get him" as are , , and the
Gospel of Thomas
The Gospel of Thomas (also known as the Coptic Gospel of Thomas) is an extra-canonical sayings gospel. It was discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in December 1945 among a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library. Scholars speculate ...
br>
99:1-3where they are called "True relatives".
Mark often has Jesus using
analogies
Analogy (from Greek ''analogia'', "proportion", from ''ana-'' "upon, according to" lso "against", "anew"+ ''logos'' "ratio" lso "word, speech, reckoning" is a cognitive process of transferring information or meaning from a particular subject ...
,
metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wi ...
s or
riddle
A riddle is a statement, question or phrase having a double or veiled meaning, put forth as a puzzle to be solved. Riddles are of two types: ''enigmas'', which are problems generally expressed in metaphorical or allegorical language that requ ...
s, called
parables by Mark.
Jesus replies:
:''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
sin
In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...
s shall be
forgiven unto the sons of men, and
blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the
Holy Ghost
For the majority of Christian denominations, the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, is believed to be the third person of the Trinity, a Triune God manifested as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, each entity itself being God.Gru ...
hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of
eternal
Eternal(s) or The Eternal may refer to:
* Eternity, an infinite amount of time, or a timeless state
* Immortality or eternal life
* God, the supreme being, creator deity, and principal object of faith in monotheism
Comics, film and television
* ...
damnation
Damnation (from Latin '':wikt:damnatio, damnatio'') is the concept of Divine judgment, divine punishment and torment in an afterlife for actions that were committed, or in some cases, not committed on Earth.
In Ancient Egyptian religion, Anci ...
''. ()
If Jesus is working against what is evil, such as the demons, then this cannot be the work of Satan, as Satan would be working against himself. Jesus then compares himself to a
thief
Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...
going into a "strong man's house", and binding him to "spoil his house", i.e. to rob him. The “strong man” is Satan.
[Maclear, G. F. (1893)]
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
on Mark 3, accessed 20 March 2020 Satan, says Jesus, is strong and must be restrained in order to be robbed. He is robbing Satan of the possession of the people,
[Kilgallen 74] or the house could be seen as the world itself.
[Brown 131] The
New Living Translation
The New Living Translation (NLT) is an English translation of the Bible. The origin of the NLT came from a project aiming to revise '' The Living Bible'' (TLB). This effort eventually led to the creation of the NLT—a new translation separat ...
adds the interpretation that there is "someone even stronger".
G. F. Maclear asserts that "the Stronger than the Strong is Christ".
Jesus thus implies what he has been doing is directly against Satan and that his motives are Satan's utmost ruin. His power, he asserts, is good and so must also come from a good source, God.
Jesus also makes the claim that ''all sins'' can be forgiven, except for an
eternal sin
In Christian hamartiology, eternal sin, the unforgivable sin, unpardonable sin, or ultimate sin is the sin which will not be forgiven by God. One eternal or unforgivable sin (blasphemy against the Holy Spirit), also known as the sin unto deat ...
, such as blasphemy against the
Holy Spirit (). Mark inserts his own explanation as to why Jesus said this, stating "He said this because they were saying, "He has an evil spirit." (), thus Jesus according to Mark is saying that accusing him of using Satan for his power is in effect calling the work of God evil and failing to see the work of God in Jesus' actions.
The parallels in and and the Gospel of Thomas 44 call this the unforgivable sin. Unforgivable sins are also listed in
Hebrews
The terms ''Hebrews'' (Hebrew: / , Modern: ' / ', Tiberian: ' / '; ISO 259-3: ' / ') and ''Hebrew people'' are mostly considered synonymous with the Semitic-speaking Israelites, especially in the pre-monarchic period when they were still ...
and as well as
1 John . There is also a possible link with
1 Corinthians .
His first answer to the charge, that a "house divided" cannot stand, has become a common piece of
wisdom
Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowle ...
, the most famous modern example is
Lincoln's use of this phrase during the 1858 senatorial election campaign against
Stephen Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. A senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party for president in the 1860 presidential election, which wa ...
. Lincoln used the metaphor of a "house divided" to describe the situation of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
on the eve of the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
.
Jesus' family
Jesus'
mother
]
A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...
and
Brothers of Jesus, brothers arrive and send someone in to get him. He replies, speaking to the crowd around him, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God's
will is my brother and sister and mother" ().
Jesus' answer to his family, that those who follow him are his family is, according to Kilgallen, Jesus' way of underlining "... the fact that his life has been changed to such a degree that family ties no longer come before those whom he teaches about the
kingdom of God".
[Kilgallen 75] Jesus puts loyalty to God above loyalty to family. Family ties were considered very important in the society of the time,
[Brown ''et al.'' 605] and some people even today are troubled by this seeming conflict between Jesus and his family.
Jesus however states that his ties, and his respect and love due to his family, will go to those who obey God.
Jesus' family is mentioned again in Mark . The story of Jesus and his family is also found in the Gospel of Thomas as saying 99. In Mark , Peter says they have left everything to follow Jesus and he lists the great rewards as well as persecutions they will get for following him.
These incidents occur in all the
Synoptic Gospels. In Matthew they occur i
12:22-50 and in Luke they are split up betwee
8:19-21an
11:14-28 Neither Matthew nor Luke though state that Jesus' family thought he was "... out of his mind." John, while mentioning none of these incidents, relates in chapte
7how "... even his own brothers did not believe in him" because he would not go to the
Feast of Tabernacles
or ("Booths, Tabernacles")
, observedby = Jews, Samaritans, a few Protestant denominations, Messianic Jews, Semitic Neopagans
, type = Jewish, Samaritan
, begins = 15th day of Tishrei
, ends = 21st day of Tishre ...
with them and perform miracles, although he later goes there in secret. says "many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him". The negative view of
Jesus' family may be related to the conflict between Paul and
Jewish Christians
Jewish Christians ( he, יהודים נוצרים, yehudim notzrim) were the followers of a Jewish religious sect that emerged in Judea during the late Second Temple period (first century AD). The Nazarene Jews integrated the belief of Jesus a ...
.
[ "Wilson (1992) ilson, A.N. Jesus: A life. 1992. New York: Norton & Co.has hypothesized that the negative relationship between Jesus and his family was placed in the Gospels (especially in the Gospel of Mark) to dissuade early Christians from following the Jesus cult that was administered by Jesus’ family. Wilson says: “... it would not be surprising if other parts of the church, particularly the Gentiles, liked telling stories about Jesus as a man who had no sympathy or support from his family (p. 86)”. Butz (2005) utz, Jeffrey. The brother of Jesus and the lost teachings of Christianity. 2005. Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditionsis more succinct: “... by the time Mark was writing in the late 60s, the Gentile churches outside of Israel were beginning to resent the authority wielded by Jerusalem where James and the apostles were leaders, thus providing the motive for Mark’s antifamily stance... (p. 44).” Other prominent scholars agree (e.g., Crosson, 1973 rosson, John Dominic. “Mark and the relatives of Jesus”. Novum Testamentum, 15, 1973 Mack, 1988 ack, Burton. A myth of innocence: Mark and Christian origins. 1988. Philadelphia: Fortress Painter. 1999 ainter, John. Just James: The brother of Jesus in history and tradition. 1999. Minneapolis: Fortress Press."]
There is much disagreement over whether these "brothers" referred to here are Jesus' actual brothers or merely stepbrothers or cousins. The official
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
and
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...
doctrine is that
Mary was a perpetual virgin, and so could not have had any other children besides Jesus, thus making these Jesus' half brothers, sons of Joseph from another, unrecorded, marriage, or cousins. Only
Tertullian
Tertullian (; la, Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus; 155 AD – 220 AD) was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of L ...
seems to have questioned this in the early Church.
Islam also holds that Mary was a perpetual virgin, as did many of the early
Protestants, although many Protestants today do not hold to the doctrine of perpetual virginity, and would thus believe that these are Jesus' full brothers. A few early manuscripts also have "and your sisters" in verse .
This section gives a clear example of Mark's sandwich technique, where one story is interspersed into the center of another. Mark has highlighted two reactions to Jesus and his teaching and acts: one of faith, such as that of his followers, and one of disbelief and hostility.
Jesus explains the nature of the effect of his teachings on others in the
Parable of the Sower in .
See also
*
John the Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
*
Mary the mother of Jesus
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
References
Sources
*
Brown, Raymond E., ''An Introduction to the New Testament'', Doubleday 1997
*Brown, Raymond E. ''et al.'', ''The New Jerome Biblical Commentary'', Prentice Hall 1990
*Kilgallen, John J., ''A Brief Commentary on the Gospel of Mark'', Paulist Press 1989
*Miller, Robert J. (Editor), ''The Complete Gospels'', Polebridge Press 1994
External links
* King James Bible - Wikisource
English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
Multiple bible versions at ''Bible Gateway''(NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mark 03
Gospel of Mark chapters
Beelzebub
Phoenicians in the New Testament
Jude, brother of Jesus