Mark 3

Some Jews taught that practicing medicine on the Sabbath is something that should be reserved for life-threatening situations. In this case, a man with a withered hand would not qualify. Healing his hand could wait another day. Jesus did not seem to agree.

Herodians were members of a Jewish political party focused on restoring the family dynasty of King Herod the Great. Most Jews, however, were interested in restoring the family dynasty of King David and putting one of his descendants on the throne of an independent Jewish nation. By the time Jesus started his ministry, Romans had been occupying and controlling the Jewish homeland for approaching a century. Neither the kingdom of Herod nor the kingdom of David was ever restored. The Jews did not regain their homeland and declare their independence until 1948. For most of the past 2,000 years, Muslim Arabs controlled the land.

The Sea of Galilee

Judea was a Roman province farther south. Jerusalem was a city in that province. The city was roughly a 100-mile (160 km) walk south of Jesus’s ministry headquarters in Capernaum. That would have been about a weeklong walk.

Idumea was a territory south of Jerusalem.

Tyre and Sidon are cities on the Mediterranean coast in what is now Lebanon.

“Apostle” means “official messenger,” such as a delegate or an ambassador sent to deliver a message. The title “apostle” came to mean disciples handpicked by Jesus to tell his story and spread his teachings. The title usually referred to the 12 original disciples of Jesus and Paul, who met Jesus in a miraculous encounter while Paul was traveling to Damascus to arrest Christians (Acts 9:5).

Jesus seemed to be using the home of Peter as his ministry headquarters (Mark 1:29).

Nazareth was the hometown of Jesus. That was about a day’s walk away, roughly 20 miles (32 km).

Actually, they came up from Jerusalem since Jerusalem was south of Capernaum. But Bible writers often say people go down from Jerusalem and up to Jerusalem no matter what direction the people are traveling. Bible writers say this because Jerusalem is on a ridgetop. Anyone going into Jerusalem has to go up. Anyone leaving Jerusalem has to go down.

Beelzebub, many Bible experts say, is a word that comes from a Hebrew expression meaning “master of the home,” though some suggest “master of the poop.” Well, okay, they say “dung.” The word seemed to have become a title for Satan. Whatever it meant, given the context alongside the “prince of demons,” it was not intended as a compliment.

A parable is a story with a spiritual message embedded in it.

“Sons” refers to the Jewish scholars Jesus is targeting. It was a men’s-only religious club.

The word is more literally “blaspheme.” It’s not clear what Jesus meant by this. Just as Mark 3:22 reports Pharisees accusing Jesus of using Satan’s power, Matthew reports Jesus accusing them of blaspheming after they accused him of casting out demons by the power of Satan (Matthew 12:22-27). Given that context, some scholars say the sin is crediting Satan with a miracle performed by the Holy Spirit. Others suggest it is simply a person’s persistent unwillingness to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, which describes the critics Jesus faced. For people who fear they have committed the unforgivable sin, Bible experts point them to 1 John 1:9, which says that if we confess our sins, God will forgive us. Period. See the video “Unforgivable sin.”