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And they went into a house. Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind."
And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub," and, "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons." So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: "How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.
"Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" -- because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."
Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You." But He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or My brothers?" And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother."
- Mark 3:19b-35
Yesterday we read that Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea, after disagreement with the Pharisees over healing a man on the Sabbath. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him. So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him. For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him. And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God." But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known. And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sickness and to cast out demons: Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the same Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddeus, Simon the Cananite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.
And they went into a house. Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind." Jesus' "own people" are extended family. While the crowds surround Him, as if He's a contemporary rock star, His family is upset. It is so out of context, so inappropriate in their understanding, that they think He is out of His mind.
And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub," and, "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons." So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: "How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house. Jesus' own people have said that He is out of His mind. Here, the religious leadership from Jerusalem pronounces Him as one working in conjunction with demons, like a person possessed. Jesus has disrupted the social order, on both a personal and a public level. But He is the One who brings order, not destroys it, and He sets out the logic that defeats the claims of the scribes. "How can Satan cast out Satan?" is asking us for logic, ultimate logic. Why would the ruler of demons cast out his own, work against his own kingdom. They know how worldly kings fight. In fact in the centuries leading to Christ's birth, the entire Near East was one great battle ground, with kingdom battling against kingdom, one after the other, and a constant switching of alliances and powers. Jesus' illustration comes as one people know very well. Why would a man on the throne fight against his own house, his own army, his own kingdom? To plunder a strong man's goods, one would have to first defeat him, bind him, imprison and capture him. This is what Jesus is doing with the "house" of Satan; therefore He is the enemy of Satan. Beelzebub, also called Baal, was "the prince of the dung heap" or lord of "the flies" in the pejorative title given by the Jews -- a god worshiped by the Philistines, but here referred to as the ruler of the demons by the scribes.
"Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" -- because they said, "He has an unclean spirit." The characterization by the scribes of Jesus' work as demonic isn't only a vain product of pride and envy, it's a far more serious problem. Jesus works by the Holy Spirit, and to call this work demonic is something far more grave than an accusation against a man. It is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, an accusation against the divine activity of God. It is calling the essentially good "evil." He separates their hostility to Him from their qualification of the work of the Holy Spirit as evil or demonic, something they should understand and know as experts in the Scripture. Indeed, exorcism was practiced by the Jews. My study bible is quick to point out that Jesus does not say repentance and forgiveness are not possible even for this sin. Jesus stresses the great gravity of the sin.
Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You." But He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or My brothers?" And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother." Jesus' brothers are again extended family, not necessarily blood brothers (even today in the Middle East, cousins are commonly called brothers). Jesus is not insulting His family when He teaches about the union in the will of God, the family created by God. In some way, it is similar to His teaching about the union of marriage made by God. My study bible suggests that Jesus points to a spiritual family based on obedience to the will of God.
We see a great division created by Jesus, and by the work of the Spirit. It's something that is reflected in Jesus' words later on in His ministry (see Matthew 10:35), about what is to come in the world and to His followers after He is gone, the purpose and effect of His mission. Controversy surrounds Him, even as He gains more and more fame and is in such demand that no one can even eat a meal in the house He stays in. Jesus now faces divisions in both His personal and His public life. Those who have known Him best, His extended family and kin, His own people, think that He must be out of His mind. The person of the public ministry is very different from the person they've known, the One who had lived the life of a simple Galilean in Nazareth. Now He's causing an unseemly furor. The religious authorities accuse Him of working healings and exorcisms by the power of the ruler of demons. This is an accusation raised out of envy, and pride of their own places, as His popularity and fame extend ever more greatly. They feel challenged in their role as authorities, particularly after He healed on the Sabbath in their presence, after He'd already been challenged about Sabbath work. Jesus is causing an extraordinary sort of scene. Nothing is "normal" -- rather, it is all extraordinary. Extraordinary is the important qualification here, because this isn't just the work of a preacher; the centerpiece here is the work of the Holy Spirit in the world, at work through His ministry. It is God at work in the world, and this is what gathers the great central place of Jesus' mission. Everything is done to serve the will of the Father. At work is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- and the effects of this ministry come in the wake of that central fact, that central work. Everything else gathers around that pole, that central reality. And it will continue to cause its own disruption of the fabric of the world and our social structures. This seems to be particularly so when things become highly rigid. The Spirit works through all circumstances, and takes on particular effects within systems that do not allow for the freedom of truth. We see this in the Old Testament, in the holy prophets who shake up the worldly powerful, who will not go along with the kings who hire others to prophesy for money. In Eastern Orthodoxy, it can be seen in the person of the holy fool, who somewhat resembles many of the prophets -- living outside of the social structures and norms of his or her time, seemingly out of their minds, but speaking the truth to the powerful, saying the things no one else will dare say. John the Baptist is a similar sort of figure -- one outside of the social structures, living in the wilderness in strict asceticism. But with the saints and the holy, it is just as Jesus will say: "Wisdom is justified by all her children" (Luke 7:35). Jesus Himself is truly our central figure. He's one who's come from Galilee, from a family established in His small town, but who tangles with the religious establishment, answering with authority all those in authority, whose work and effects are so challenging to what has become rigid and in some sense stagnant that the challenge will go right up to the Roman authorities. He is our central figure, and His words teach us everything about where we stand, where our first loyalty must be, what truth is, and even the price we may pay for His kind of freedom. Let us remember His truth in our daily lives, through all that we do, and all the challenges we may find.
