Mark's Gospel: Chapter 3
How can Satan cast out Satan?
Key words
- Accuse: to say that someone has done something wrong or illegal
She accused me of lying.
- Grieved: made to feel sad and angry
The entire community is grieving for the loss of the four children.
- Conspire: to plan secretly with other people to do something bad, illegal, or against someone's wishes
They conspired to rob the bank.
- Possessed: Someone who is possessed is controlled by an evil spirit
He was possessed by a demon.
- Parable: a short, simple story that teaches or explains an idea, especially a moral or religious idea
The parable of the Good Samaritan is well known.
Read the article to find the answers
- What did Jesus's enemies in the synagogue want to accuse Him of?
- What did they conspire to do?
- What did they accuse Jesus of after He healed more people?
- Who did Jesus say His brothers, sisters, and mother are?
Jesus returns to the synagogue
Jesus went back into the synagogue, and there was a man with a withered hand.
The religious scholars were watching Jesus to see if He would heal the man. They wanted to accuse Him of breaking the laws about working on the Sabbath. He told the man with the withered hand to stand up. Then He turned to the crowd and asked:
"Is it lawful on the Sabbath days to do good or to do evil? To save life or to kill?"
They remained silent, and because of the hardness of their hearts He felt grieved and looked at them with anger. He told the man to stretch out his hand. The man stretched it out, and his hand was completely healed.
The teachers of the law immediately went and conspired with others on how to destroy Jesus, but Jesus went with His disciples to the seashore, and a large crowd followed Him.
Jesus is almost crushed
People came to Him from Jerusalem, and even from across the Jordan. Even people from Tyre and Sidon joined the overwhelming crowd, because they had heard about the remarkable things He was doing.
He had healed so many people that the remaining sick people were trying desperately to touch Him and be healed too. Even unclean spirits fell before Him and cried out:
"You are the Son of God!"
He sternly commanded them not to reveal His identity, and instructed His disciples to prepare a small boat for Him to prevent the crowd from crushing Him.
Jesus ordains twelve apostles
Jesus went up a mountain and called those He wanted to be with Him. He chose twelve of them to be his companions and gave them authority to preach, heal the sick and cast out demons.
When the news spread that they were all in one house, the crowd gathered again. The crowd was so large that Jesus and His apostles couldn't even eat. When Jesus's friends heard this, they tried to take Him home, thinking He had lost His mind.
Jesus is accused of being evil
The religious scholars from Jerusalem accused Jesus of being possessed by Beelzebub. They said that His power to heal came from an evil spirit.
Jesus called them over and spoke to them in parables before warning them not to blaspheme the Holy Ghost. He told them that all sins and blasphemies will be forgiven, but blaspheming the Holy Ghost is unforgivable. Those that do blaspheme the Holy Ghost are in danger of eternal damnation.
The crowd that was gathered around Him told Him that His brothers and mother were outside looking for Him. He looked around at the crowd and replied:
"Who is my mother, or my brothers? You are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and my sister, and mother."
Discussion questions
- Do you have any questions about any of the vocabulary or grammar in this article?
- Do you know the Bible passage quoted at the top of this article?
- Have you ever been scared of being crushed in a crowd?
- Has anyone in your country ever been falsely accused of anything?
- Which parables from the Bible do you know?