⁷Jesus went off to the Sea of Galilee with his disciples. A large crowd from Galilee followed. ⁸People heard about all that Jesus was doing. And many came to him. They came from Judea, Jerusalem, and Idumea. They came from the lands east of the Jordan River. And they came from the area around Tyre and Sidon.

⁹Because of the crowd, Jesus told his disciples to get a small boat ready for him. This would keep the people from crowding him. ¹⁰Jesus had healed many people. So those who were sick were pushing forward to touch him.

¹¹When people with evil spirits saw him, they fell down in front of him. The spirits shouted, “You are the Son of God!” ¹²But Jesus ordered them not to tell who he was.

Jesus Appoints the Twelve Apostles

¹³Jesus went up on a mountainside. He called for certain people to come to him, and they came. ¹⁴He appointed 12 of them and called them apostles. From that time on they would be with him. He would also send them out to preach. ¹⁵They would have authority to drive out demons.

¹⁶So Jesus appointed the Twelve. Simon was one of them. Jesus gave him the name Peter. ¹⁷There were James, son of Zebedee, and his brother John. Jesus gave them the name Boanerges. Boanerges means Sons of Thunder. ¹⁸There were also Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, and James, son of Alphaeus. And there were Thaddaeus and Simon the Zealot. ¹⁹Judas Iscariot was one of them too. He was the one who was later going to hand Jesus over to his enemies.

Jesus and Beelzebub

²⁰Jesus entered a house. Again a crowd gathered. It was so large that Jesus and his disciples were not even able to eat. ²¹His family heard about this. So they went to take charge of him. They said, “He is out of his mind.”

²²Some teachers of the law were there. They had come down from Jerusalem. They said, “He is controlled by Beelzebub! He is driving out demons by the power of the prince of demons.”

²³So Jesus called them over and spoke to them by using stories. He said, “How can Satan drive out Satan? ²⁴If a kingdom fights against itself, it can’t stand. ²⁵If a family is divided, it can’t stand. ²⁶And if Satan fights against himself, and his helpers are divided, he can’t stand. That is the end of him. ²⁷In fact, none of you can enter a strong man’s house and just take what the man owns. You must first tie him up. Then you can rob his house.

²⁸“What I’m about to tell you is true. Everyone’s sins and evil words against God will be forgiven. ²⁹But anyone who speaks evil things against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. His guilt will last forever.”

³⁰Jesus said this because the teachers of the law were saying, “He has an evil spirit.”

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