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Mark 3:1. And he came again to the synagogue; there was a man who had a withered hand. Mark 3:2. And they watched Him to see if He would heal Him on the Sabbath, in order to accuse Him. Mark 3:3. He said to the man who had a withered hand: stand in the middle. Mark 3:4. And he says to them: Should one do good on the Sabbath, or should one do evil? save your soul or destroy it? But they were silent. Mark 3:5. And looking at them with anger, grieving over the hardness of their hearts, he said to the man: Stretch out your hand. He stretched out, and his hand became as healthy as the other. On the occasion of the accusation by the Jews of the disciples for plucking ears of corn on the Sabbath, the Lord, with the example of David, had already stopped the mouths of the accusers, and in order to bring them to their senses even more, He works miracles, through this He expresses the following: this is how innocent my disciples are of sin: I myself do this miracle on the Sabbath day. If performing miracles is a sin, then in general doing what is necessary on the Sabbath is a sin; but to perform a miracle to save a person is the work of God, therefore, the one who does something not evil on the Sabbath does not violate the law. Therefore, the Lord asks the Jews: “Should we do good on the Sabbath?” , reproaching them for preventing Him from doing good. In a figurative sense, the right hand of anyone who does not do the works of the right hand is dry. To such a person Christ says: “stand,” that is, stay away from sin, “stand in the middle,” that is, in the middle of the virtues, since every virtue is the middle, not inclined either to deficiency or to excess. So, when he stands in this middle, then his hand will become healthy again. Notice the word “became”; There was a time when we had healthy hands, or active forces, when, that is, a crime had not yet been committed: and since our hand stretched out to the forbidden fruit, it became dry in relation to doing good. But it will return to its previous healthy state when we stand among the virtues. Mark 3:6. The Pharisees, having gone out, immediately made a conference with the Herodians against Him, how to destroy Him. Mark 3:7. But Jesus and His disciples withdrew to the sea; and a great multitude followed Him from Galilee, Judea, Mark 3:8. Jerusalem, Idumea and beyond the Jordan. And those who dwelt in the region of Tire and Sidon, when they heard what he did, came to him in great multitudes. Mark 3:9. And He told His disciples to have a boat ready for Him because of the crowd, so that He would not be crowded. Mark 3:10. For He healed many, so that those who had wounds rushed to Him to touch Him. Mark 3:11. And the unclean spirits, when they saw Him, fell before Him and shouted: You are the Son of God. Mark 3:12. But He strictly forbade them so that they would not make Him known. Who were the Herodians? - either Herod’s warriors, or some new sect that recognized Herod as Christ for the reason that under him the succession of the Jewish kings ended. The prophecy of Jacob determined that when the princes become poor from Judah, then Christ will come (Gen. 49). So, since in the time of Herod no one was a prince of the Jews, but Herod, a foreigner, ruled (he was an Edomite), some took him for Christ and formed a sect. It was these people who wanted to kill the Lord. But He leaves because the time of suffering has not yet come. He leaves the ungrateful in order to benefit more people. Many indeed followed Him, and He healed them; even the Tyrians and Sidonians benefited, despite the fact that there were foreigners. Meanwhile, His fellow tribesmen persecuted Him. So there is no benefit in kinship if there is no good behavior! So strangers came to Christ from afar, and the Jews persecuted Him who came to them. See how Christ is alien to the love of glory; so that the people do not surround Him, He requires a boat in order to be at a distance from the people. The evangelist calls illnesses “sores,” for illnesses really contribute greatly to our admonition, so that God punishes us with these ulcers, like a father of children. In a figurative sense, pay attention to the fact that the Herodians want to kill Jesus, these carnal and rude people (Herod means leather). On the contrary, those who came out of their homes and from their fatherland, that is, from a carnal way of life, will follow Him; why their wounds will be healed, that is, sins that hurt the conscience, and unclean spirits will be cast out. Finally, understand that Jesus orders His disciples to bring a boat so that the people do not embarrass Him. Jesus is the word in us, commanding that our boat, that is, our body, be ready for Him, and not be left to the storm of everyday affairs, so that these crowds of worries about business do not disturb the Christ who lives in us. Mark 3:13. Then he ascended the mountain and called to Him whom He Himself wanted; and came to Him. Mark 3:14. And he appointed twelve of them to be with Him and to send them to preach, Mark 3:15. and that they may have power to heal diseases and cast out demons; Mark 3:16. appointed Simon, calling his name Peter, Mark 3:17. James Zebedee and John, the brother of James, calling them Boanerges, that is, “sons of thunder,” Mark 3:18. Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, Jacob Alfeev, Thaddeus, Simon the Canaanite Mark 3:19. and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him. He goes up the mountain to pray. Since before this he performed miracles, after performing miracles he prays, of course, as a lesson to us, so that we thank God as soon as we do something good, and attribute it to the power of God. Or since the Lord intended to ordain the apostles, on this occasion he ascends the mountain to pray for our instruction that we, when we intend to ordain someone, must first pray so that one worthy of it will be revealed to us and so that we will not become participants “in the sins of others” (1 Tim. 5:22). And that he chooses Judas to be an apostle, then from this we must understand that God does not turn away a person who has to do evil because of his future evil deed, but that for his real virtue he is honored, even if he subsequently becomes a bad person. The Evangelist lists the names of the apostles in relation to the false apostles, so that the true apostles may be known. He calls the sons of Zebedee the sons of thunder, as especially great preachers and theologians. Mark 3:20. They come to the house; and again the people gathered, so that it was impossible for them to eat bread. Mark 3:21. And when his neighbors heard, they went to take him, for they said that he had lost his temper. Mark 3:22. And the scribes who came from Jerusalem said that He had Beelzebub in Him and that He cast out demons by the power of the prince of demons. “And hearing,” he says, “His neighbors,” perhaps people from the same city as Him, or even brothers, came out to take Him; for they said that He lost His temper, that is, that He had a demon. Since they heard that He cast out demons and healed diseases, out of envy they thought that He had a demon and “lost his temper,” which is why they wanted to take Him to bind him as if he were possessed. This is what His neighbors thought and wanted to do with Him. Likewise, the Jerusalem scribes said that He had a demon in Him. Since they could not reject the miracles that happened before them, they blaspheme them in another way, deriving them from demons. Mark 3:23. And calling them, he spoke to them in parables: How can Satan cast out Satan? Mark 3:24. If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand; Mark 3:25. and if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand; Mark 3:26. and if Satan has rebelled against himself and been divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. Mark 3:27. No one entering the house of a strong man can plunder his belongings unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house. Refutes the hated Jews with undeniable examples. “How is it possible,” he says, “to cast out demons, when in ordinary houses we see that while those living in them are peaceful, the houses stand well, and as soon as division occurs in them, they fall? “How is it possible,” he says, “for someone to steal the dishes of a strong man if he does not tie him up first? These words mean the following: “the strong one” is the devil; His “things” are people who serve as his container. Thus, if someone does not first bind and overthrow the devil, then how can he plunder his vessels, that is, those who are possessed? Therefore, if I plunder his vessels, that is, I free people from demonic violence, then, consequently, I first bound and cast down the demons, and I turn out to be their enemy. So, how do you say that I have Beelzebub in Me, that is, that I cast out demons, being their friend and magician? Mark 3:28. Truly I say to you, all sins and blasphemies will be forgiven to the sons of men, no matter what they blaspheme; Mark 3:29. but whoever blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but he is subject to eternal condemnation. Mark 3:30. He said this because they said: There is an unclean spirit in Him. What the Lord says here means the following: people who sin in everything else can still apologize in some way and receive forgiveness, through God’s condescension to human weakness. For example, those who called the Lord a food drinker and a wine drinker, a friend of tax collectors and sinners, will receive forgiveness for this. But when they see that He works undoubted miracles, and yet they blaspheme the Holy Spirit, that is, the working of miracles that come from the Holy Spirit, then how will they receive forgiveness if they do not repent? When they were tempted by the flesh of Christ, in this case, even if they did not repent, they will be forgiven, like people who were tempted; and when they saw Him doing the works of God and still blasphemed, how will they be forgiven if they remain unrepentant? Mark 3:31. And His Mother and His brothers came and, standing outside the house, sent to Him to call Him. Mark 3:32. The people were sitting around Him. And they said to Him: Behold, Your mother and Your brothers and Your sisters are outside the house asking You. Mark 3:33. And he answered them: Who are My mother and My brothers? Mark 3:34. And looking around at those sitting around Him, He said: Behold My mother and My brothers; Mark 3:35. for whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother. The Lord's brothers, out of envy, came to take Him as one who was frantic and possessed by a demon. And the Mother, probably inspired by a sense of honor, came to distract Him from the teaching, thus showing the people that She freely disposes of the One Whom they marvel at and can distract Him from the teaching. But the Lord answers: It will be of no benefit to My Mother to be My Mother if She does not combine all the virtues in Herself. In the same way, kinship will be useless for My brothers. Because those are the only true relatives of Christ who do the will of God. So, saying this, He does not renounce the Mother, but shows that She will be worthy of honor not only for birth, but also for any other good deed: if She did not have this, then others would anticipate the honor of kinship.