Jesus Accused by His Family and by Teachers of the Law

It is incredible to think that some thought Jesus was out of His mind…

Mark 3:20-35
20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family[b] heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”

23 So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house. 28 Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”

30 He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”

31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”

33 “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.

34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

A house divided against itself makes no sense. That is what Jesus was teaching. Why would He cast out demons if the demons were actually with Him? He says that would make no sense. Yet, they didn’t believe Him, and they would continually persecute Him.

Jesus goes on to teach them that to blaspheme the Holy Spirit is unforgivable. It is a very obvious warning for all. The warning was against the Pharisees that said that Jesus has an “impure spirit” and that He was possessed by a demon. Wow!

Jesus is speaking directly to His Pharisee accusers when He shows them truth and salvation. Truth be told, it’s hard for the Pharisees to see Jesus, mostly for fear. Yet all they needed to do was submit to Him and the questions would be answered. As they are for us today when we read God’s word.

The last few verses speak on the idea that if we are to accept God’s true gift, then we are all members of the same family of God, and should be loved as we would love our family members.

Amen. Maranatha.
DK