1On another occasion when he went to synagogue, there was a man in the congregation who had a withered arm; 2and they were watching to see whether Jesus would cure him on the Sabbath, so that they could bring a charge against him. 3He said to the man with the withered arm, 'Come and stand out here.' 4Then he turned to them: 'Is it permitted to do good or to do evil on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill?' 5They had nothing to say; and, looking round at them with anger and sorrow at their obstinate stupidity, he said to the man, 'Stretch out your arm.' He stretched it out and his arm was restored. 6But the Pharisees, on leaving the synagogue, began plotting against him with the partisans of Herod to see how they could make away with him.
7JESUS WENT AWAY to the lake-side with his disciples. 8Great numbers from Galilee, Judaea and Jerusalem, Idumaea and Transjordan, and the neighbourhood of Tyre and Sidon, heard what he was doing and came to see him. 9So he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him, to save him from being crushed by the crowd. 10For he cured so many that sick people of all kinds came crowding in upon him to touch him. 11The unclean spirits too, when they saw him, would fall at his feet and cry aloud, 'You are the Son of God'; 12but he insisted that they should not make him known.
13He then went up into the hill-country and called the men he wanted; and they went and joined him. 14He appointed twelve as his companions, whom he would send out to proclaim the Gospel, 15with a commission to drive out devils. 16So he appointed the Twelve: to Simon he gave the name Peter; 17then came the sons of Zebedee, James and his brother John, to whom he gave the name Boanerges, Sons of Thunder; 18then Andrew and Philip and Bartholomew and Matthew and Thomas and James the son of Alphaeus and Thaddaeus and Simon, a member of the Zealot party, 19and Judas Iscariot, the man who betrayed him.
20He entered a house; and once more such a crowd collected round them that they had no chance to eat. 21When his family heard of this, they set out to take charge of him; for people were saying that he was out of his mind.
22The doctors of the law, too, who had come down from Jerusalem, said, 'He is possessed by Beelzebub', and, 'He drives out devils by the prince of devils.' 23So he called them to come forward, and spoke to them in parables: 'How can Satan drive out Satan? 24If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand; 25if a household is divided against itself, that house will never stand; 26and if Satan is in rebellion against himself, he is divided and cannot stand; and that is the end of him.
27'On the other hand, no one can break into a strong man's house and make off with his goods unless he has first tied the strong man up; then he can ransack the house.
28'I tell you this: no sin, no slander, is beyond forgiveness for men; 29but whoever slanders the Holy Spirit can never be forgiven; he is guilty of eternal sin.' 30He said this because they had declared that he was possessed by an unclean spirit.
31Then his mother and his brothers arrived, and remaining outside sent in a message asking him to come out to them. 32A crowd was sitting round and word was brought to him: 'Your mother and your brothers are outside asking for you.' 33He replied, 'Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?' 34And looking round at those who were sitting in the circle about him he said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers. 35Whoever does the will of God is my brother, my sister, my mother.'
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