1Jesus went to the synagogue again. A man was there who had a crippled hand.
2Some of those there were watching Jesus to see if he would heal the man on the Sabbath, because they were looking for a reason to accuse him of breaking the law.
3Jesus told the man with the crippled hand, “Come and stand here in front of everyone.”
4“Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath, or to do evil? Should you save life, or should you kill?” he asked them. But they didn't say a word.
5He looked around at them in exasperation, very upset by their hard-hearted attitude. Then he told the man, “Hold out your hand.” The man held out his hand, and it was healed.
6The Pharisees left, and immediately began plotting with Herod's party as to how they might kill Jesus.
7Meanwhile Jesus returned to the Sea, and a large crowd followed him. They were from Galilee, Judea,
8Jerusalem, Idumea, Transjordan, and from the regions of Tyre and Sidon. So many people came to see him because they'd heard about all he was doing.
9Jesus told his disciples to have a small boat ready in case the crowd crushed him,
10because he had healed so many that all the sick people kept on pressing towards him so they could touch him.
11Whenever the evil spirits saw him they would fall down in front of him and shout out, “You are the Son of God!”
12But he commanded them not to reveal who he was.
13Then Jesus went away to the hill country. He called those he wanted to be with him, and they came to him.
14He chose twelve to be with him, and called them apostles. They were to be with him, and he would send them out to announce the good news,
15and with the authority to drive out demons.
16These are the twelve he chose: Simon (whom he called Peter),
17James the son of Zebedee and his brother John (who he called Boanerges, meaning “sons of thunder”),
18Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Revolutionary,
19and Judas Iscariot (who betrayed him).
20Jesus went home, but such a large crowd gathered again that he and his disciples didn't even have time to eat.
21When Jesus' family heard about it, they came to take him away, saying, “He's lost his senses!”
22But the religious leaders from Jerusalem said, “He's possessed by Beelzebub! It's by the ruler of demons that he's driving out demons!”
23But Jesus called them over to him. Using illustrations he asked them, “How can Satan throw out Satan?
24A kingdom fighting itself can't continue.
25A household that's divided is doomed.
26If Satan is divided and fights against himself, he won't last long—he'll soon come to an end.
27Clearly, if someone breaks into the house of a strong man and tries to take his things, he won't get far in his theft unless he ties up the strong man first.”
28“I tell you the truth: all sins and blasphemies can be forgiven,
29but if people blaspheme by rejecting the Holy Spirit they can never be forgiven, because they are guilty of an eternal sin.”
30(Jesus said this because they said, “He has an evil spirit.”)
31Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. They waited outside and sent him a message, asking him to come out.
32The crowd that was sitting around him told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside asking for you.”
33“Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” he responded.
34Looking around at all those sitting there in a circle, he said, “Here is my mother! Here are my brothers!
35Whoever does what God wants, they are my brother, and sister, and mother.”