NRSV Adventure Bible | Sampler NRSV Adventure Bible Sampler | Page 8

1098 Mark 3 – 4
twelve : a Simon ( to whom he gave the name Peter ); 17 James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James ( to whom he gave the name Boanerges , that is , Sons of Thunder ); 18 and Andrew , and Philip , and Bartholomew , and Matthew , and Thomas , and James son of Alphaeus , and Thaddaeus , and Simon the Cananaean , 19 and Judas Iscariot , who betrayed him .
Jesus and Beelzebul
Then he went home ; 20 and the crowd came together again , so that they could not even eat . 21 When his family heard it , they went out to restrain him , for people were saying , “ He has gone out of his mind .” 22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said , “ He has Beelzebul , and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons .” 23 And he called them to him , and spoke to them in parables , “ How can Satan cast out Satan ? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself , that kingdom cannot stand . 25 And if a house is divided against itself , that house will not be able to stand . 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided , he cannot stand , but his end has come . 27 But no one can enter a strong man ’ s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man ; then indeed the house can be plundered .
28 “ Truly I tell you , people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter ; 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness , but is guilty of an eternal sin ”— 30 for they had said , “ He has an unclean spirit .”
The True Kindred of Jesus
31 Then his mother and his brothers came ; and standing outside , they sent to him and called him . 32 A crowd was sitting around him ; and they said to him , “ Your mother and your brothers and sisters b are outside , asking for you .” 33 And he replied , “ Who are my mother and my brothers ?” 34 And looking at those who sat around him , he said , “ Here are my mother and my brothers ! 35 Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother .”
The Parable of the Sower

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‌Again ered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there , while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land . 2 He began to teach them many things in parables , and in his teaching he said to them : 3 “ Listen ! A sower went out to sow . 4 And as he sowed , some seed fell on the path , and the birds came and ate it up . 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground , where it did not have much soil , and it sprang up quickly , since it had no depth of soil . 6 And when the sun rose , it was scorched ; and since it had no root , it withered away . 7 Other seed fell among thorns , and the thorns grew up and choked it , and it yielded no grain . 8 Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain , growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold .” 9 And he said , “ Let anyone with ears to hear listen !”
The Purpose of the Parables
10 When he was alone , those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables . 11 And he said to them , “ To you has been given the secret c of the kingdom of God , but for those outside , everything comes in parables ; 12 in order that
‘ they may indeed look , but not perceive , and may indeed listen , but not understand ; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven .’ ”
13 And he said to them , “ Do you not understand this parable ? Then how will you understand all the parables ? 14 The sower sows the word . 15 These are the ones on the path where the word is sown : when they hear , Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them . 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground : when they hear the word , they immediately receive it with joy . 17 But they have no root , and endure only for a while ; then , when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word , immediately they fall away . d 18 And others are those sown among the thorns : these are the ones who hear the word , 19 but the cares of the world , he began to teach beside the sea . Such a very large crowd gatha 3.16 Other ancient authorities lack So he
appointed the twelve b 3.32 Other ancient authorities lack and sisters c 4.11 Or mystery d 4.17 Or stumble