Christ heals the withered hand. He chooses the twelve. He confutes the blasphemy of the Pharisees.

¹ And again, he entered into the synagogue. And there was a man there who had a withered hand.

² And they observed him, to see if he would cure on the Sabbaths, so that they might accuse him.

³ And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Stand up in the middle.”

⁴ And he said to them: “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbaths, or to do evil, to give health to a life, or to destroy?” But they remained silent.

⁵ And looking around at them with anger, being very saddened over the blindness of their hearts, he said to the man, “Extend your hand.” And he extended it, and his hand was restored to him.

⁶ Then the Pharisees, going out, immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him, as to how they might destroy him.¹

1. 3:6Notice that the same word is used here (destroy) as in the verse where Jesus asks if it was lawful to destroy on the Sabbath. The Pharisees did not want Jesus to cure on the Sabbath, but they plotted His destruction on the same day.(Conte)

⁷ But Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea. And a great crowd followed him from Galilee and Judea,

⁸ and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea and across the Jordan. And those around Tyre and Sidon, upon hearing what he was doing, came to him in a great multitude.

⁹ And he told his disciples that a small boat would be useful to him, because of the crowd, lest they press upon him.

¹⁰ For he healed so many, that as many of them as had wounds would rush toward him in order to touch him.

¹¹ And the unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell prostrate before him. And they cried out, saying,

¹² “You are the Son of God.” And he strongly admonished them, lest they make him known.

¹³ And ascending onto a mountain, he called to himself those whom he willed, and they came to him.

¹⁴ And he acted so that the twelve would be with him, and so that he might send them out to preach.¹

1. 3:14Scripture does not here say what Jesus did exactly, what the act was. Perhaps it was the Sacrament of Ordination to the level of the deaconate.(Conte)

¹⁵ And he gave them authority to cure infirmities, and to cast out demons:

¹⁶ and he imposed on Simon the name Peter;

¹⁷ and also he imposed on James of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, the name ‘Boanerges,’ that is, ‘Sons of Thunder;’¹

1. 3:17The imposition of these names is representative of their roles, and the roles of their successors: Peter and his successors are the Roman Pontiffs, and James and John are representative of those who assist the Roman Pontiffs (Patriarchs and Cardinals).(Conte)

¹⁸ and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus, and Simon the Canaanite,

¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

²⁰ And they went to a house, and the crowd gathered together again, so much so that they were not even able to eat bread.

²¹ And when his own had heard of it, they went out to take hold of him. For they said: “Because he has gone mad.”

²² And the scribes who had descended from Jerusalem said, “Because he has Beelzebub, and because by the prince of demons does he cast out demons.”

²³ And having called them together, he spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan?

²⁴ For if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom is not able to stand.

²⁵ And if a house is divided against itself, that house is not able to stand.

²⁶ And if Satan has risen up against himself, he would be divided, and he would not be able to stand; instead he reaches the end.

²⁷ No one is able to plunder the goods of a strong man, having entered into the house, unless he first binds the strong man, and then he shall plunder his house.

²⁸ Amen I say to you, that all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and the blasphemies by which they will have blasphemed.

²⁹ But he who will have blasphemed against the Holy Spirit shall not have forgiveness in eternity; instead he shall be guilty of an eternal offense.”¹

1. 3:29Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is nothing other than final impenitence, that is, to refuse through the last moment of life to repent from serious sin; this is a type of blasphemy against the Spirit because it is to the Spirit that we account the graces that make repentance from sin possible and effective.(Conte)

³⁰ For they said: “He has an unclean spirit.”

³¹ And his mother and brothers arrived. And standing outside, they sent to him, calling him.

³² And the crowd was sitting around him. And they said to him, “Behold, your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.”

³³ And responding to them, he said, “Who is my mother and my brothers?”

³⁴ And looking around at those who were sitting all around him, he said: “Behold, my mother and my brothers.

³⁵ For whoever has done the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister and mother.”