2These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;

3Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;

4Simon the Cananaean,[^1] and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. [^1]: An Aramaic term meaning "the zealous one"; elsewhere rendered "Simon the Zealot."

Marc(du leser)

13Then he went up on the mountain and called to himself those he wanted, and they came to him.

14He appointed twelve, so that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach,

15and to have authority to drive out demons.

16These are the twelve he appointed: Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter;

17James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder);

18Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananean,

19and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

LucLuke 6:12–16

12In those days Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and he spent the whole night in prayer to God.

13When day came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles:

14Simon, whom he also named Peter, and his brother Andrew; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew;

15Matthew and Thomas; James son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot;

16Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Again he went into a synagogue, and a man with a withered hand was there.

They watched him closely to see whether he would heal the man on the Sabbath, so that they could bring a charge against him.

He said to the man with the withered hand, "Stand up here in front of everyone."

Then he asked them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save a life or to kill?" But they said nothing.

He looked around at them in anger, deeply grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.

Then the Pharisees went out and immediately began plotting with the Herodians how to destroy him.

Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd from Galilee followed him. They came also from Judea,

and from Jerusalem, Idumea, the region beyond the Jordan, and the area around Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude came to him, for they had heard all that he was doing.

He told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the crowd from crushing him;

for he had healed so many that all who had diseases were pressing in on him to touch him.

And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God!"

But he sternly warned them again and again not to make him known.

Then he went up on the mountain and called to himself those he wanted, and they came to him.

He appointed twelve, so that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach,

and to have authority to drive out demons.

These are the twelve he appointed: Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter;

James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder);

Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananean,

and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat.

When his family heard about it, they went out to take charge of him, for they were saying, "He is out of his mind."

And the scribes who had come down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and, "It is by the ruler of the demons that he drives out demons."

So he called them to him and spoke to them in parables: "How can Satan drive out Satan?

If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

And if a household is divided against itself, that household will not be able to stand.

So if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come.

No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first ties up the strong man; then he can plunder his house.

Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and every blasphemy they utter;

but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness; he is guilty of an eternal sin."

He said this because they were saying, "He has an unclean spirit."

Then his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside, they sent word to him, calling for him.

A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, "Look, your mother and your brothers are outside, looking for you."

He answered them, "Who are my mother and my brothers?"

Then he looked around at those seated in a circle about him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers.

Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother."

Historical and Cultural Context for Mark 3

People

The Twelve form the core of this chapter. Jesus "appointed" (ἐποίησεν, literally "made") twelve to be with him and to be sent out to preach and drive out demons. The list includes Simon, who was given the name "Peter" (Πέτρος, "rock"), and the sons of Zebedee, James and John, who were called "Boanerges" (Βοανηργές), an Aramaic expression that Mark translates as "sons of thunder." Simon "the Cananaean" (Καναναῖος) does not refer to Cana, but to the Aramaic word qan'an (zealous/fervent), meaning "the zealous one." Luke uses the Greek term "Zealot" (Luke 6:15). Judas Iscariot (Ἰσκαριώθ) likely means "man from Kerijoth," a town in Judea.

The Herodians (Ἡρῳδιανῶν) were supporters of the Herodian dynasty, particularly Herodes Antipas who ruled Galilee. Their alliance with the Pharisees (v. 6) is remarkable, since these groups were normally opponents—the Pharisees being religious traditionalists while the Herodians supported the Hellenized ruling class. This alliance shows how threatening they perceived Jesus to be.

Places

The chapter mentions a broad geographical range of places from which people came: Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, the region east of the Jordan (Perea), and the areas around Tyre and Sidon. This spans from pagan Phoenician cities in the north to Edomite Idumea in the south—an area that was forcibly converted to Judaism under the Hasmoneans in the 100s BC. The Sea of Galilee ("the sea," τὴν θάλασσαν, v. 7) served as Jesus' refuge from the crowds, and the small boat (πλοιάριον) was a practical solution to the pressing throng.

"The mountain" (τὸ ὄρος, v. 13) where Jesus chose the twelve is not named, but mountain tops held strong symbolic significance in Jewish tradition as meeting places with God—such as Sinai where Moses received the law and appointed seventy elders.

Events and Customs

The Sabbath Controversy (vv. 1-6) concerns rabbinic interpretations of the Sabbath commandment. According to Pharisaic tradition, healing on the Sabbath was permitted only in cases of immediate life-threatening danger. A withered hand was a chronic condition and could therefore wait until after the Sabbath. Jesus' question about whether it is lawful "to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill" (v. 4) turns the debate around: To refrain from helping when one can is itself an act of wickedness.

Accusations of Demon Possession (vv. 21-22) illustrate two different reactions to Jesus. His family thought he was "out of his mind" (ἐξέστη), possibly in religious ecstasy or madness. The scribes from Jerusalem advanced a more serious accusation: that he operated by Beelzebul (Βεελζεβούλ), "the prince of demons." The name is likely a distortion of "Baal-Zebul" (prince's lord) to "lord of the flies" as mockery.

Key Terms

"Hardness of heart" (τῇ πωρώσει τῆς καρδίας, v. 5) uses the Greek pōrōsis which means calcification or petrification—a medical term for the formation of hard bone tissue. It describes a spiritual condition where the ability to see and understand God's work is blocked.

"Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit" (v. 29) is described as an "eternal sin" (αἰωνίου ἁμαρτήματος). The context clarifies what this entails: attributing the works of the Holy Spirit to Satan (v. 30). It is not about isolated doubts, but a persistent attitude that rejects God's saving presence even when it is clearly manifested.

The number twelve for the group of apostles has clear symbolic significance as a parallel to Israel's twelve tribes. By establishing this group, Jesus signaled the restoration of all God's people in the end times.

MarcChapitre 3

Chapitre 3

Contexte historique

Historical and Cultural Context for Mark 3

People

Places

Events and Customs

Key Terms

Marc

L’Ancien Testament

Le Nouveau Testament

Aides à l’étude