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Mark 3 · a question people ask

Who are "his friends" in 3:21?

In the text

The WEB has, "When his friends heard it, they went out to seize him; for they said, “He is insane.”" (3:21). Mark doesn't name them. In Greek the words behind his friends are hoi par' autou, and Thayer gives that phrase as "those of one's family, i. e. his kinsmen, relations", citing this verse. Mark then tells of the scribes from Jerusalem (3:22-30), and after them: "His mother and his brothers came, and standing outside, they sent to him, calling him" (3:31). Mark doesn't say whether these are the ones of 3:21, or why his mother and brothers came, and these notes don't say it for him.

The verses

“When his friends heard it, they went out to seize him; for they said, “He is insane.””
Mark 3:21 · World English Bible
“His mother and his brothers came, and standing outside, they sent to him, calling him.”
Mark 3:31 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Mark 3

Mark 3: Whoever does the will of God

In the synagogue Jesus "looked around at them with anger, being grieved at the hardening of their hearts" (3:5): the only time Mark has the Greek word for anger. And the word behind "He is insane" (3:21) is the one Mark uses after a healing, when "they were all amazed" (2:12).

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions