Mark Chapter 3 Notes Chapter 3 expands the list of the Disciples from 4 to 12. Here is how the names of the disciples are listed in the Matthew, Mark, Luke. Not identical, though some use the Greek names for the person and others the Hebrew or Aramaic names for the disciples. But what the list does illustrate is Jesus’ mission from the beginning was about bringing in outsiders and those not usually associated with religious leadership. Matthew 10:2-4 Mark 3:13-19 Luke 6:12-16 Simon (Peter) Simon (Peter) Simon (Peter) James, son of Zebedee James, son of Zebedee James John, the brother of James John, the brother of James John Andrew Andrew Andrew Philip Philip Philip Bartholomew Bartholomew Bartholomew Matthew Matthew Matthew Thomas Thomas Thomas James, son of Alphaeus James, son of Alphaeus James, son of Alphaeus Thaddaeus Thaddaeus ----- Simon the Zealot Simon the Zealot Simon the Zealot Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot ----- ----- Judas the son of James Mark continues his Jesus as rebel theme in the beginning of Chapter 3 with Jesus healing the hand of a man on the Sabbath. Again, being a Gentile, these distinctions are not important to Mark. But Jesus’ mission and his authority is very important to Mark. Because Mark is so brief in length, then Mark establishes much earlier in his narrative that the Herodians and Pharisees are looking to have Jesus arrested much earlier than Matthew, Luke or John’s gospels. Chapter 3 v. 8 the people of Mark’s congregation get a shout out by him naming their hometowns and regions from where they are from. Chapter 3 has a very odd logical proof about why Jesus can forgive sins and heal people … the infamous Satan vs. Beelzebul, no house can stand divided proof. Beelzebul is the proper name of the head demon of the 1st century and is derived from the old rival to Yahweh, Baal. Jesus’ proof basically says in a nutshell that if Beelzebul wanted demons to possess people then it wouldn’t make sense for him to send a servant to cast out demons. Therefore, Jesus is not from Beelzebul but from God. Mark 3 ends with a discourse on family and family units. Jesus expands the definition of family beyond the boundaries of blood relatives or clan/tribe members. This in the 1st Century as in the 21st Century is very controversial. .