Chapter 3

Chapter Three Mk. 3:1. And He entered the synagogue again; and a man was there who had a withered hand. Mk. 3:2. And they watched Him, whether He would heal him on the sabbath day, that they might accuse Him. Mk. 3:3. And He says to the man who had the withered hand: Stand in the midst. Mk. 3:4. And He says to them: is it lawful on the sabbath to do good, or to do evil? To save a soul, or to destroy it? But they were silent. Mk. 3:5. And when He had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, He saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored whole as the other. On the occasion of the Jews accusing the disciples for plucking ears of grain on the Sabbath, the Lord had already shut the mouths of the accusers with the example of David, and in order to instruct them even more now, He works a miracle, through which He expresses the following: behold how guiltless of sin My disciples are — I Myself also act on the Sabbath day, manifesting this miracle. If working miracles is a sin, then doing anything necessary on the Sabbath is altogether a sin; but to perform a miracle for the salvation of a person is a work of God, and consequently, neither does one who does something not evil on the Sabbath violate the law. Therefore the Lord also asks the Jews: "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good?" — reproaching them for hindering Him from doing good. In the figurative sense, the right hand is withered in everyone who does not perform the works of the right side. To such a person Christ says: "Rise up," that is, depart from sin; "stand in the midst," that is, in the midst of the virtues, since every virtue is a mean, inclining neither toward deficiency nor toward excess. So when he stands in this middle, then his hand will again become healthy. Note also the word "was restored"; there was a time when we had our hands, or active powers, healthy — namely, when the transgression had not yet been committed; but from the time our hand reached out for the forbidden fruit, it became withered with respect to the doing of good. But it will again return to its former healthy state when we stand in the midst of the virtues. Mk. 3:6. The Pharisees, going out, immediately held a consultation with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him. Mk. 3:7. But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea; and a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea, Mk. 3:8. Jerusalem, Idumea, and from beyond the Jordan. And those living in the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon, having heard what He was doing, came to Him in great multitude. Mk. 3:9. And He told His disciples that a small boat should be ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him. Mk. 3:10. For He healed many, so that those who had afflictions rushed toward Him in order to touch Him. Mk. 3:11. And unclean spirits, when they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out: You are the Son of God. Mk. 3:12. But He strictly forbade them to make Him known. Who were the Herodians? Either soldiers of Herod, or some new sect that recognized Herod as the Christ, for the reason that under him the succession of Jewish kings came to an end. The prophecy of Jacob determined that when the princes of Judah would be exhausted, then Christ would come (Gen. 49). And so, since in the times of Herod no one from among the Jews was a prince any longer, but Herod the foreigner ruled (he was an Idumean), some accepted him as Christ and formed a sect. These were the people who wanted to kill the Lord. But He departs, since the time of suffering had not yet come. He departs from the ungrateful also in order to benefit a greater number of people. Many indeed followed Him, and He healed them; even the Tyrians and Sidonians received benefit, despite being foreigners. Meanwhile His own kinsmen persecuted Him. So there is no benefit in kinship if there is no good character! Here even strangers came to Christ from afar, while the Jews persecuted Him who had come to them. See then how Christ is free from love of glory; so that the crowd would not press around Him, He calls for a boat, in order to be at a distance from the crowd in it. The evangelist calls diseases "plagues," for diseases truly contribute much to our correction, so that God punishes us with these plagues, as a father does his children. In a figurative sense, pay attention also to the fact that the Herodians, these carnal and coarse people (Herod means "of leather"), want to kill Jesus. On the contrary, those who went out from their homes and from their fatherland, that is, from the carnal way of life, follow Him; and therefore their wounds are healed, that is, the sins that wound the conscience, and the unclean spirits are driven out. Consider, finally, that Jesus commands His disciples to have a boat ready, so that the crowd would not press upon Him. Jesus is the word within us, commanding that our boat, that is, our body, be ready for Him, and not be given over to the storm of worldly affairs, so that these crowds of worldly cares would not trouble Christ who dwells within us. Mk. 3:13. Then He went up on the mountain and called to Himself those whom He Himself wanted; and they came to Him. Mk. 3:14. And He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, Mk. 3:15. And to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons; Mk. 3:16. And He appointed Simon, giving him the name Peter, Mk. 3:17. And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, and He gave them the name Boanerges, that is, "sons of thunder," Mk. 3:18. Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite Mk. 3:19. And Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. He ascends the mountain in order to pray. Since before this He had been working miracles, after performing the miracles He prays, certainly as a lesson for us, that we should thank God as soon as we do anything good, and ascribe it to the power of God. Or since the Lord was about to ordain the apostles, on this occasion He ascends the mountain for prayer as an instruction to us, that we too, when we intend to ordain someone, must first pray that the one worthy of it be revealed to us and that we not become partakers "in other men's sins" (1 Tim. 5:22). And that He also chooses Judas as an apostle, from this we should understand that God does not reject a person who is going to do evil on account of his future evil deed, but for his present virtue deems him worthy of honor, even if he should afterwards become a wicked man. The Evangelist lists the names of the apostles on account of the false apostles, so that the true apostles might be known. He calls the sons of Zebedee Sons of Thunder, as especially great preachers and theologians. Mk. 3:20. They come into a house; and the crowd comes together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. Mk. 3:21. And when His relatives heard of it, they went out to take hold of Him, for they said that He was out of His mind. Mk. 3:22. And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said that He has Beelzebub in Himself and that He casts out demons by the prince of demons. "And hearing this," he says, "His relatives" — perhaps people from the same hometown as Him, or even His brothers — "went out to take hold of Him; for they said that He was out of His mind," that is, that He had a demon. Since they heard that He was casting out demons and healing diseases, out of envy they thought that He had a demon and "was out of His mind," which is why they wanted to seize Him, so as to bind Him as one possessed. This is what His relatives thought and intended to do with Him. Likewise, the scribes from Jerusalem also said that He had a demon in Himself. Since they could not deny the miracles that had been performed before them, they revile them in another way, attributing them to demons. Mk. 3:23. And having called them to Himself, He spoke to them in parables: how can Satan cast out Satan? Mk. 3:24. If a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand; Mk. 3:25. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand; Mk. 3:26. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but has come to an end. Mk. 3:27. No one, having entered the house of the strong man, can plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house. He refutes the hateful Jews with irrefutable examples. How is it possible, he says, for a demon to cast out demons, when even in ordinary houses we see that as long as those living in them are at peace, the houses stand well, but as soon as division occurs in them, they fall? How is it possible, he says, for someone to plunder the goods of the strong man, if he does not first bind him? These words mean the following: the "strong man" is the devil; his "goods" are the people who serve as his vessels. Thus, if someone does not first bind and overthrow the devil, how can he plunder his vessels, that is, the demon-possessed? Therefore, if I am plundering his vessels, that is, freeing people from demonic violence, then it follows that I have first bound and overthrown the demons, and I prove to be their enemy. So how then do you say that I have Beelzebul in Me, that is, that I cast out demons while being their friend and a sorcerer? Mk. 3:28. Truly I say to you: all sins and blasphemies, with whatever they may blaspheme, will be forgiven the sons of men; Mk. 3:29. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, but is subject to eternal condemnation. Mk. 3:30. He said this because they were saying: He has an unclean spirit. What the Lord says here means the following: people who sin in all other matters can still make some excuse and receive forgiveness, through God's condescension to human weakness. For example, those who called the Lord a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners, will receive forgiveness for this. But when they see that He performs undeniable miracles, and yet blaspheme the Holy Spirit, that is, the miraculous works proceeding from the Holy Spirit, then how will they receive forgiveness if they do not repent? When they were scandalized by the flesh of Christ, in that case, even if they did not repent, they will be forgiven as people who were led astray; but when they saw Him performing the works of God and still blasphemed, how will they be forgiven if they remain unrepentant? Mk. 3:31. And His Mother and brothers came, and standing outside the house, they sent to Him, calling Him. Mk. 3:32. The crowd was sitting around Him. And they said to Him: Behold, Your Mother and Your brothers and Your sisters are outside, asking for You. Mk. 3:33. And He answered them: "Who is My Mother and My brothers?" Mk. 3:34. And looking around at those sitting around Him, He says: behold My mother and My brothers; Mk. 3:35. For whoever does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother. The brothers of the Lord came out of envy to seize Him, as one who was mad and possessed. And His Mother probably came out of a sense of honor to draw Him away from teaching, thus showing the people that she had authority over Him whom they admired and could draw Him away from teaching. But the Lord answers: It will be of no benefit to My Mother to be My Mother if She does not possess all the virtues within Herself. Likewise, kinship will be of no benefit to My brothers. For only those are true relatives of Christ who do the will of God. So in saying this, He does not disown His Mother, but shows that She will be worthy of honor not merely for giving birth alone, but also for every other good deed: for if She did not have this, others would have seized the honor of kinship before Her.