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Jesus Heals on the Sabbath
1 Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man
with a shriveled hand was there. 2 Some of them were looking
for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to
see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to the
man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of
everyone.”
4 Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the
Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?”
But they remained silent.
5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply
distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man,
“Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand
was completely restored. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and
began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.
Crowds Follow Jesus
7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a
large crowd from Galilee followed. 8 When they heard about
all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea,
Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and
around Tyre and Sidon. 9 Because of the crowd he told his
disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the
people from crowding him. 10 For he had healed many, so that
those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him. 11
Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before him
and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” 12 But he gave them
strict orders not to tell others about him.
Jesus Appoints the Twelve
13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him
those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed
twelve that they might be with him and that he might send
them out to preach 15 and to have authority to drive out
demons. 16 These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom
he gave the name Peter), 17 James son of Zebedee and his
brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which
means “sons of thunder”), 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew,
Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the
Zealot 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Jesus Accused by His Family and by Teachers of the Law
20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd
gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to
eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they went to take
charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
22 And the teachers of the law who came down from
Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince
of demons he is driving out demons.”
23 So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak
to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a
kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot
stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house
cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is
divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no
one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him
up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house. 28 Truly I
tell you, people will be forgiven all their sins and all the
blasphemies they utter. 29 But whoever blasphemes against
the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, but is guilty of an
eternal sin.”
30 He said this because they were saying, “He has an
evil spirit.”
31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing
outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was
sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and
brothers are outside looking for you.”
33 “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.
34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around
him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35
Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and
mother.” |
Cults 
Why Did God Permit Sin?
