Bible Commentaries
Mark 3

Verse 1

3:1 And {1} he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a {a} withered hand.

(1) Thirdly, because they preferred the ceremonial law (which was but an addition to the moral law) before the moral law, whereas in reality they should have learned from this the true use of the ceremonial law.

(a) That is, unprofitable and dead.

Verse 4

3:4 And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save {b} life, or to kill? But they held their peace.

(b) He uses here the figure of speech called synecdoche, for this type of saying, "to save the life", is the same as saying "to save the man".

Verse 5

3:5 And when he had looked round about on them {c} with anger, being grieved for the {d} 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.

(c) Men are angry when they have wrong done to them, but not without sin: but Christ is angry without sin, and he is not sorry for the injury that is done to him as much as he is for their wickedness; and therefore he had pity upon them, and because of that he is said to have been grieved.

(d) As though their heart had been closed up and had grown together, so that wholesome doctrine had no effect upon them.

Verse 6

3:6 {2} And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the {e} Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.

(2) The more the truth is suppressed, the more it comes out.

(e) See Matthew 22:16 .

Verse 8

3:8 And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and [from] {f} beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him.

(f) Which Josephus called stony or rocky.

Verse 9

3:9 And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should {g} wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him.

(g) Should always be ready for him.

Verse 10

3:10 For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had {h} plagues.

(h) Diseases with which God scourges men as it were with whips.

Verse 11

3:11 And {i} unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.

(i) In those whom they had entered into: or by the figure of speech called metonymy, it refers to those who were vexed with the unclean spirits.

Verse 14

3:14 {3} And he {k} ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,

(3) The twelve apostles are set apart to be trained for the office of the apostleship.

(k) Chose and appointed twelve to be familiar and well acquainted with him.

Verse 18

3:18 And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the [son] of Alphaeus, and {l} Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite,

(l) Whom Luke also calls Judas: and to make a distinction the other Judas is called Iscariot.

Verse 19

3:19 And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an {m} house.

(m) The disciples whom Christ had taken as part of his company and to live with him come home to his house, to be with him from this point on.

Verse 21

3:21 {4} And when his {n} friends heard [of it], they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.

(4) None are worse enemies of the gospel than they that should be enemies of it the least.

(n) Literally, "they that were of him", that is, his relatives: for they that were mad were brought to their relatives.

Verse 26

3:26 And if {o} Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.

(o) Satan’s servants or followers.

Verse 28

3:28 {5} Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:

(5) Only those who know Christ and maliciously attack him are without hope of salvation.

Verse 30

3:30 {p} Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.

(p) These are the words of the evangelist.

Verse 31

3:31 There came then his {q} brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him.

(q) By the name "brother" the Hebrews understand all that are of the same stock and blood.

Verse 34

3:34 {6} And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!

(6) The spiritual family is larger than the biological family.