1 - 6 The Curing of the Man with the Withered Hand - Again, in the synagogue, Jesus heals a man. It is the sabbath, and he heals him. The Prarisees begin to plot against him.7 - 12 Curing Beside the Sea of Galilee - There are so many people, Jesus has to go on a boat. He heals many and when unclean spirits behold him, they cry out, "You are the Son of God."
13 - 19 Jesus Chooses the 12 Apostles - Roll Call!
- Simon (surnamed Peter)
- James (Son of Zebedee)
- James (Brother of James; surname - Boanerges: sons of thunder)
- Andrew
- Philip
- Bartholomew
- Matthew
- Thomas
- James (son of Alphaeus)
- Thaddaeus
- Simon the Cananaean
- Judas Iscariot
20 - 30 Allegations of the Scribes/Sin against the Holy Spirit - The scribes come from Jerusalem & state the Jesus is possessed by Beelzebul, Prince of demons. Jesus says, "How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that Kingdom cannot stand." & later: "Truly I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin." My notes: Such a person will not be forgiven, not because God cannot forgive all sins, but because that person, in his blindness towards God, rejects Jesus Christ, his teaching and his miracles, and despises the graces of the Holy Spirit as if they were designed to trap him."
31 - 35 The True Kinsmen of Jesus - Jesus mother and brethren come (in aramaic brethren is broad term for kinship, including nephews, cousins, and relatives in general). They say, "Your mother and brethren are here," and Jesus says, "Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother."
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Healing the shriveled hand
Notes indicate that the Pharisees now knew that Jesus could heal but they wanted to see if he would, again, do it on the Sabbath; breaking their law. The law said that it is ok to heal if a person's life were in danger which isn't the case here.
Because of this they begin to plan Jesus' murder. It's funny to me because they think they're doing the right thing by breaking a commandment. This shows how twisted their thinking was. It also reminds me of Obi Wan Kenobi's quote "If you destroy me, I'll become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."
Jesus' popularity
Notes indicate that the list of places where Jesus' followers were from shows that many traveled great distances to hear him; virtually all of Israel. The demons and evil spirits recognized Jesus but didn't believe in him.
A house divided
Remember, Abraham Lincoln quoted this to describe the Civil War.
The Pharisees were blasphemous because they were calling the Holy Spirit "evil".
Jesus now separates himself from earthly relationships. His blood relatives have no importance to him unless they live under God's will. Then, THAT is why they are important, not because they are blood relatives. The disciples demonstrate the same belief since they all left their families to follow Jesus.
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