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.”
Question 1
Who are the people you expect would be loyal to you?
Question 2
In what ways can we show that we are part of a family?
Looking at this section of Mark’s book, we want to ask the question, who is the family of Christ? Who are the people who really belong to it? Although many people come to Jesus to be healed by him, some of his family or people from his village think he is crazy. The religious leaders go even farther and say that he does these things in the strength of an evil spirit. These don’t act like family to Jesus.
Jesus’ answer to these is that it is stupid to think that Satan and his followers are fighting against each other. When the people who live in the same country fight with each other, then the country is very weak! No, Jesus said, the only way you can take something from a strong person is if you are stronger than him. This is how Jesus manages to help so many people – because he is stronger than the evil spirits who hurt them. Jesus’ family is not the devilish spirits! In fact, Jesus warns the people that if they say that it is through the devil that he does these things, then they have mixed up between the Holy Spirit and the spirit of righteousness. If their minds have darkened that much, then what hope do they have to turn to God and receive forgiveness.
Then something spectacular happens. Jesus’ closest relatives, his mother and brothers, come to him and in a rather proud way send someone to fetch him, expecting that he will come to them because they belong. But Jesus’ response is to say that these are not his family! Jesus’ real family, those who really belong to him, are the people who obey God and receive the King he has sent.
Question 3
How does Jesus show that he is stronger than Satan?
Question 4
How should knowing that we are Christ’s family change the way we behave?
Pray
that you will not take your relationship with Jesus for granted, but that your whole life will show that you love him.
