Mark 3:20-30

Jesus and Beelzebub

20Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."

22And 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."

23So Jesus called them and spoke to them in parables: "How can Satan drive out Satan? 24If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27In fact, no one can enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house. 28I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. 29But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin."

30He said this because they were saying, "He has an evil spirit."





BACKGROUND READING:


Matthew 12:22-37


Luke 11:14-28



Dig Deeper

We’ve all heard the saying "a face only their mother could love." The point of that often true saying is that a person’s mother is usually their biggest supporter, their biggest fan. When the chips are down and everyone else has abandoned you, you can always count on your mother. This must have been a tough time for Jesus. Just as his ministry is really getting rolling, and so is the opposition to what he is doing, his own family, including his mother begins to question his sanity. The things that he is saying are so radical, so new that they came to the conclusion that perhaps he was out of his mind. If they were to question him, what was the general public to think?


A detail like this clues us into three things about the life of Jesus. The first thing is that we can conclude that Jesus had a pretty normal life before his baptism and before his ministry began. Some of the Gnostic gospels, written hundreds of years after his life, claimed that Jesus performed many miracles as even a small child. Even some popular Christmas songs give us a myth of the child Jesus, with lines like "the little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes." If Jesus had shown special God-like qualities while growing up, we can safely assume that his family would not have come to the conclusion that he was crazy. The second thing we can learn is that the accounts of Jesus’ life weren’t made up. Certainly if they were fabricated, the gospel writers wouldn’t have included details like Jesus being accused of working with Satan or that his own family thought he was out of his mind. The third thing is that people only accuse others of being crazy or satanic when things are going on that they can’t explain through normal circumstances.


Mark wants us to know precisely what is going on. In Mark 1:7, he says that John the Baptist said Jesus was more powerful than he. Now, Jesus is talking about a stronger man that ties up the strong man. He uses the same word in chapter 1 and this chapter, ischuros, which means ‘strong’ or ‘mighty’. Mark intends for us to see that Jesus is telling his listeners that he is the stronger man, who has won an initial victory over Satan. When Satan came to Jesus after his baptism, just as he had come to Adam and Eve in the Garden, his intention was to tempt him into sin just as he had Adam and Eve. Satan failed, however, and Jesus had won an important and decisive victory. Due to that victory he is now able to make inroads into Satan’s territory. One of Israel’s expectations was that the Messiah would defeat Israel’s enemies. This is precisely what Jesus is doing here. He is taking on Israel’s true enemy, even if they don’t realize that Satan and not Rome is their primary enemy.


The teachers of the law have already decided that they are apposed to anything Jesus says, so they must find a way to discount him in the minds of the people. The people have seen him perform many signs and wonders so they cannot simply claim that these things did not happen or that someone is making it all up. They are left with making accusations about Jesus’ character. They begin to charge that Jesus has indeed done many seemingly incredible things, but only because he is in league with Satan. Perhaps he’s even demon-possessed.


Jesus doesn’t respond back with a nasty label for the Pharisees, he points out a fatal flaw in their logic. If Satan were to cast out and work against the forces of evil, then he would be fighting himself. Once civil war breaks out in a kingdom, it is a signal of the end of that kingdom. So, even if Satan is fighting against himself, then his kingdom is still coming to an end. Even if the teachers are correct in their accusations, Satan’s kingdom is crumbling, and the only thing that could cause that is God. In essence, Jesus is saying that God’s kingdom is coming through his work, no matter how they want to label him.


We know, of course, that their labeling of him was wrong. Jesus was the stronger one that was attacking the kingdom of Satan. The strong one has had his house broken into and found that there is nothing he can do about it.


What about this business of blaspheming the Holy Spirit? Many a good Christian has worried themselves over whether or not they have committed this sin. The point is not as mysterious as some would have it be. Once you have attributed the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan, there is no place to turn. They have painted themselves into a corner. It is like deciding that someone hates you, no matter what they do, you will perceive it as more of their hate. In the same way, once you label the coming of God’s kingdom as evil, there is no way to see God. They were blind to the truth, like a patient who has decided that the doctor who is trying to save their life is really trying to kill them. They are biting the very hand that is trying to feed them.



Devotional Thought

When confronted here by slanderous accusations, Jesus didn’t respond with labels of his own for them, he coolly and calmly dismantled their faulty thinking. How do you react when people say unkind or untrue things about you? Do you get angry and respond back in kind, or do you respond more in a manner like Jesus did?