Mark 3:20-35 - Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
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.”
So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to
them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that
kingdom cannot stand. If a house is
divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided,
he cannot stand; his end has come. 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. Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all
their sins and every slander they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the
Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”
He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure
spirit.”
Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing
outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told
him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”
“Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.
Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and
said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and
sister and mother.”
Mark has “buried the lead” here. The story he tells here about Jesus’s family
trying to “take charge of him” because they believe He might have gone off the
deep end. But in the middle of the
account, Jesus drops a bombshell on the scribes that has caused problems for would-be
Jesus followers ever since:
“…but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will
never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”
This statement is honestly something I wish Jesus had not
said. I have encountered so many people
over the course of three decades of ministry that get tripped up by this saying
of Jesus. Some have, with anguish,
shared that they feared that they had committed this unforgivable sin. My answer has come to be the following: “if
you have any real fear that you might have committed this sin, then you haven’t.
Remember who Jesus is addressing here. The scribes/pharisees have already been
exposed as seeking a justifiable reason to kill Jesus. In previous reflections on earlier passages
in Mark, we saw how these religious leaders were using the holy law given by
God to actually kill Jesus. They have
accused Jesus of blasphemy (speaking against the ways of God), but Jesus warns
that the leaders are the ones in danger of being blasphemers here. They are calling the work of Jesus the work of
the prince of demons. They are so consumed by their own agenda, they
are willing to blatantly and publicly lie about what they know to be the work
of God with no fear that God will hold them accountable. Jesus identifies this as the point of no
return. So, if you have any fear that
you might be offending God in an unforgivable way, then you haven’t done so.
But before we go, let’s return to Mark’s main story here
about Jesus’s family coming to collect him for fear that He is crazy. This is important because it provides Jesus
the opportunity to teach a very important truth. When Jesus is told that His mother and
brothers are waiting, he asks a question that He Himself answers; “Who are
my mother and my brothers?”
Looking at the people around Him that have been following
Him, he says, ““Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and
sister and mother.”
Jesus expands the definition of family beyond biology. Following God creates a family connection
with those who are doing the same. I
have experienced this truth throughout my life.
My connection to God’s community has blessed me with several women who
have functioned as additional mothers to me beyond the one that gave me
birth. I have additional father figures
in my life as well. I even affectionately
call some of these people “Mom” and “Dad.”
Likewise, I have four biological children, but many more who I consider
to be my “adopted children” because of my strong connection to them. And of course, I have many more brothers and
sisters than biology has afforded me.
All of these people are not “like family” to me. They ARE family to me along with my
biological family. The same Love that
created my biological family is creates a much bigger family to which we can
all choose to belong.
Question: Who are your
mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers beyond biology?
Prayer: Holy Spirit,
we acknowledge Your work among us.
Today, we especially thank you for knitting us together as a family of
those who acknowledge Your work.
Strengthen our connection to You and to each other. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray
for members of your church today as their names come to mind.
Song: The Family of
God – Newsboys
