Mark - Chapter 3

3:1-6

Healing a Withered Hand:

Jesus enters the synagogue again on the Sabbath and there sees a man whose hand is withered. The scribes and Pharisees are present in the scene and they watched Jesus closely to see whether He would bring a work of healing inside the place of worship, contrary to their perception of the Law. Jesus looked upon these men with anger and was most displeased by the hardness of their hearts. These men knew ABOUT Jesus, but the did not KNOW Jesus for if they had known Him they would have already been assured that he would address the need of suffering.

Jesus begins by asking a question which basically was whether there is a wrong day to do something right. According to Jewish traditional interpretation if one cuts his finger on the Sabbath, one could stop the bleeding but could not apply medicine, meaning one could stop an injury from getting worse, but one could do nothing to make it better. They were unwilling to respond and thereby clearly showed their rejection of the Lord. Jesus chose to use this moment to make His statement because He could surely have waited one more day to heal the man but decided not to wait. 

Jesus commanded the man to come forward in full sight of all within the synagogue and told the man to stretch out his hand. As the man made the effort to move the withered hand, it became healed. We should notice that Jesus could certainly heal the hand while it hung from the man's arm at his side but Jesus required the man to respond to His command in full sight so that all could see the event in full. We should also note that this was not a moment that Jesus commanded every eye closed or every head bowed for the work of God does not need hiding.

Now the religious men of power, the Pharisees and the Herodians, immediately began to plot to kill Jesus. (Herodians were not a formal group like the Pharisees but were several Jews who supported King Herod and his rule).

3:7-12

Multitudes Come to Jesus:

Crowds came to Jesus along the sea of Galilee from many different places in such numbers that Jesus asked for a boat to be made available so He could teach the crowd without them crushing around Him. Many healings were done. Very importantly, those demon possessed fell down before Jesus and announced that “...  you are the Son of God...”. But Jesus sternly warned them to not make that known. Here is the beginning of what is known as the Messianic Secret, meaning Jesus was unwilling to fully reveal Himself as to who He truly was because He knew His hour had not yet come.

By using the specific phrase, the demons hoped to gain mastery over Jesus as we see later in several exorcisms performed by Jesus and in these He demanded to demon speak it's name before it was cast out.

3:13-15

Jesus Chooses the Twelve:

Jesus retires to a mountain and spent the entire night in prayer. He also called to himself those He wanted to be His chosen disciples, appointing them and granting them power to heal as well as to cast away demons from those possessed. They were to be physicians both of the body and the soul.

3:16-19 The Twelve Are Named:

Simon Peter, James and John (sons of Zebedee to whom Jesus gave the Aramaic name of Boanerges, the “Sons of Thunder”), Andrew, Phillip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddeus, Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot.   

These were some brothers, some fishermen, some political opponents such as a tax collector, and last mentioned, a betrayer from Judea.

3:20-21

Jesus Accused By His Own Family:

His own family members came to see Jesus and to removed Him from these crowds who sought to be near Him. His family said He was out of His mind.

His own half brothers did not believe in him until after His resurrection (John 7:3-5), and while he ministered on earth, they challenged Him to prove Himself.

3:22

Jesus Accused By Religious Leaders:

The scribes from Jerusalem came to accuse Him and said that Jesus was filled with Beelzebub, a favorite name for Satan. They did not say Jesus was possessed by a demon but rather that he was filled with Satan himself. This was the first of several such accusations toward the Lord, especially seen in John 7-8-10.

3:23-27

Jesus Answers:

Jesus said that he was working constantly against the demons of Satan so if He was an agent of Satan, that must mean there was a civil war in Hell (He said a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand).

3:28-30

The Unforgivable Sin:

Jesus uses this moment to warn these religious leaders against conducting the unforgivable sin, which is blaspheming the Holy Ghost, which means denying the divinity of the Messiah God has sent. Jesus makes sure the lesson is made clear by saying those who sin in this way are subject to eternal condemnation. We notice Jesus does not yet feel these men had already committed this sin , for if they had, there would be no need for a warning not to do so.

It is worth saying that no saved person can commit such a sin. By definition when we are saved we accept Jesus as the Messiah and Savior sent by God.

3:31-35

Jesus Reveals His true Family:

Mary and children came looking for Jesus and they sent word in to where He was and some told Jesus that they were present and were asking for Him. At this moment Jesus broke the human family relations in favor of the relations to His new spiritual family by saying that those who do the will of God are now His primary family.

From this moment forward, Jesus treated His followers, disciples, and faithful believers as family. This one fact has not changed in 2,000 years as even now, all saved believers reside in the body of Christ and are His family for eternity.