Listen to the audio of today’s Reflection:
https://soundcloud.com/hapearce/reflection-for-february-27-2024
Mark 3:20-35
Jesus and Beelzebub
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 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 Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”
23 So Jesus called them 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 rob his house. 28 I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of people will be forgiven them. 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.”
Jesus’ Mother and Brothers
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.”
OK, so this passage from the Gospel of Mark is complicated, but if you take the time to think through the whole point that’s being made you can make sense of it. So let’s see what we can do.
The passage starts out by telling us that Jesus’ family was worried about him. Word had apparently reached them that Jesus had become so consumed with his ministry that he wasn’t stopping to eat or rest. So it seems that his mother and brothers had come to look into the situation. The text in Mark says they were afraid that Jesus was “out of his mind.” But it’s a little hard to tell whether the family really thought Jesus was acting ‘crazy,’ or whether they feared he would make himself crazy if he didn’t start taking care of himself.
But then Mark steps away from the story about Jesus’ family for a while. He tells us that some of the Jewish religious leaders had come down from Jerusalem to look into what Jesus was doing and teaching, and these religious leaders announced that Jesus was actually possessed by the devil. They said this was why Jesus was able to drive out demons.
I think it’s interesting that these two ideas show up next to one another here – the ideas of mental illness and demonic possession. The reason I say it’s interesting is that the line between the two was pretty blurry in the ancient world. At that time, most people had no real concept of mental illness. As far as they were concerned, any mentally ill person was possessed by a demon. It’s probably important to keep that in mind when you’re reading gospel stories about people who are described in the gospels as possessed by demons – they might actually have been victims of mental illness.
(But that’s not to say that there’s no such thing as demonic possession. In some cases, demons spoke to Jesus, and knew his true identity even before the disciples did. Mental illness doesn’t give you that kind of supernatural knowledge. And in his writings, the modern psychotherapist M. Scott Peck said he was quite sure he had witnessed people being exorcised of evil spirits.)
So why would the leaders accuse Jesus of being in league with demonic powers?
It seems possible that the Jewish leaders were just cynically trying to think up something serious to accuse Jesus of. We see that all the time in our political world. Just watch the news. But it also seems possible to me that these Jewish leaders were making a mistake that people in power often make: They start thinking of themselves as ‘the good guys,’ so anyone who stands in their way must be evil.
Of course, once the Jewish leaders accused Jesus of being in league with the devil, he points out the logical flaw in their accusation: If Satan was going to give someone power, he wouldn’t give that power so it could be used against his own minions. And Jesus adds a little parable where he likens Satan to a strong man, and says that the only way a strong man’s house can be robbed is if an even stronger man comes in and ties him up. It seems to me that Jesus’ point is that as God in human form, he is strong enough to overpower Satan.
Then Jesus says something that a lot of Christians find a little disturbing: He says that all sins can be forgiven except the sin of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit. Lots of Christians read that and are struck by the fear that they’ve committed an unforgivable sin – that they’ve ‘blasphemed against the Holy Spirit’ without knowing it. Not to worry, I think. Most scholars seem to think Jesus meant to specifically address the Jewish leaders’ accusation that the healings and other works of the Holy Spirit were actually works of evil powers. The scholars say it’s not likely the average follower of Jesus will accidentally ‘blaspheme against the Holy Spirit.’
Then the passage gets back to Jesus’ mother and brothers. They ask to see him and send in a messenger. But Jesus responds by saying that all those around him are actually his family. Lots of people think that sounds pretty dismissive of his family. But I think that misreads the passage. Jesus seems to have maintained close ties with his family. His mother and at least two of his brothers seem to have been involved in his ministry. Mary was there at the cross, and the church historians say his brother James was one of the leaders of the movement after Jesus ascended to heaven.
It seems to me the real point Jesus was making was that all those who followed him in seeking and doing God’s will were members of his ‘spiritual family.’ That’s a principle we remember each time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. I sense Jesus was being inclusive, not exclusive in this story.
As we said, this is a complicated passage. It makes a few twists and turns, but in the end, it sheds some light on how his enemies attacked Jesus, how he turned aside their attacks, and the great promise we have that as his followers, we’re considered members of his own family.
Let’s pray. Lord, we thank you that in Jesus, you stood up to the vested interests who found you threatening, and that in him, you were strong enough to break the power of Satan and begin taking back what he had stolen. We thank you, also, that you have opened your own family to all who follow him in seeking and doing your will. Amen.
Blessings,
Henry
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