Summary
Jesus went back to a synagogue where a man with a withered, useless hand was sitting. The religious leaders watched closely to see if Jesus would heal the man on the Sabbath so they could accuse him of breaking the rules. Jesus asked them, "Is it right to do good on the Sabbath, or to do harm?" They said nothing. Jesus was deeply sad about how hard their hearts were. He told the man to stretch out his hand, and the hand was completely healed. Right away the Pharisees left and began making plans with some of Herod's followers to kill Jesus.
Jesus went to the sea and a huge crowd followed him, people from Galilee, Jerusalem, and even from distant regions. So many people pressed around him that he asked his disciples to have a small boat ready so the crowd wouldn't crush him. Evil spirits kept falling down before him and crying out that he was the Son of God, but Jesus told them to be quiet.
Jesus went up a mountain and called twelve men to be his apostles. He chose them to stay with him, to go and preach, and to have power to drive out demons. Their names were Simon (also called Peter), James and John (who he called Sons of Thunder), Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).
When Jesus went home, the crowds came again and there was no time to even eat. Some people close to him thought he had lost his mind. Religious teachers from Jerusalem said he was doing miracles by the power of Satan. Jesus calmly pointed out how silly that was, why would Satan fight against himself? Then he said something very serious: every sin can be forgiven, but saying the Holy Spirit's work is evil is a sin with no forgiveness. At the end of the chapter, Jesus's mother and brothers came looking for him. When told they were outside, Jesus looked at the people sitting around him and said, "These are my mother and brothers! Anyone who does what God wants is my family."
Historical Context
In Jesus's time, most Jewish people kept the Sabbath by resting from all work on Saturday, the seventh day of the week. The religious leaders had added many strict rules about what counted as work. Healing someone was considered working, so the Pharisees saw Jesus as a rule-breaker. The Herodians were people who supported King Herod. Normally Pharisees and Herodians did not get along, but they joined together against Jesus because they both felt threatened by him.
Choosing twelve apostles was very meaningful. Israel had twelve tribes, and picking twelve disciples was like saying Jesus was gathering a new people of God. The twelve would carry on his mission after he was gone. The accusation that Jesus worked for Satan was the most serious insult the religious leaders could throw at him.
