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Jesus and His Family
Mark 3: 20-35
This morning we look at two stories that are intertwined. Look at the Scripture readings in your bulletin insert to get an idea of the structure. The two passages on the far left tell the story of Jesus and his family. The two passages in the middle contain the charge of the scribes against Jesus. The larger passage on the right contains the words of Jesus to the scribes. Notice the italics. His family says Jesus is out of his mind. The scribes agree; but they say he is possessed of the devil. Jesus warns the scribes. Then he kindly rebukes his family.
Jesus divides people. This hurts to see. Don’t we wish that we would all just love each other and get along? Wouldn’t we all desire to have great reunion where all of God’s creatures are together and happy? I sure would. If I were to make up my own religion it might look like that. But I have to admit I’d just be making it up. And I have to admit that if I did so I’d be being fast and loose with God’s character, especially with his justice and with His truth.
When we come to see the Jesus of the gospels we ought to be at least a little disturbed. Jesus shakes up sacred structures and redefines allegiances. In one sense he is inclusive. All who would do the will of God -- red, yellow, black or white, old young, rich, poor, Jew, gentile – they are all welcome. The wall of partition has been broken down – ethic, racial, gender, social, and economic barriers shattered.
But a new wall of partition has gone up, between those who follow Jesus and those who don’t.
These days folks get around this partition by redefining who Jesus is, so that folks don’t have to really follow Jesus to be OK with God. But we cannot play fast and loose with our sources. To Jesus himself, the great divide was between those who understood him to be anointed one of God, and who turned to him and followed him, and those who did not.
This is disturbing and upsetting. It’s downright wrong! Unless it’s true. Unless Jesus IS the anointed one!
It’s also disturbing that not only do Jesus’ enemies think he’s possessed of the devil, but many of his closest acquaintances think he’s gone off the deep end.
Imagine your brother, or your son or daughter saying the things Jesus says, doing the things Jesus does, telling people that loyalty to God means loyalty to him, saying he had authority to forgive sins, saying that he had special authority from God to interpret what you believed to be God’s law, eating and associating with all the people you knew would be bad influences, rebuking and insulting the respected leaders of the community, dining with your nations enemies, telling people that they needed to deny everything else in life and follow after him, and telling people that turning to God meant turning to Him.
Imagine your brother or your son overcome with compassion, and healing people of all their diseases, besieged and surrounded by crowds, exhausted, not being able to eat, in trouble with the law, life in danger.
If you are a mother, even one who believed God was going to do something special in your son, well, enough is enough. You remember the words of the angel; you have been treasuring up words in your heart. This can’t be what being Emmanuel looks like! Something’s gone wrong. And Jesus, just look at you: you’re not even taking good care of yourself. Come home Jesus and take a break.
And if you are a brother, one who does not yet believe, one who has not been treasuring up words, one who has grown up with a “perfect” brother, well, you may well be totally embarrassed, ashamed, and may have had just enough.
We can hear the talk around the table. They have probably been having long family debates about what to do about Jesus. Imagine being Jesus younger brother or sister. Imagine your older brother going about doing all this, not eating, getting into trouble, besieged by the crowds, saying all these really way out things. You’d be having that debate in your kitchen too.
“Mom, we’ve got to do something about Jesus.” “Mom, when we hear next that he is nearby, let’s go get him and bring him home for a while.”
We pick up in verse 20 of Mark chapter 3…
(20) Then Jesus entered a house…
Jesus entered a house. What house? This is likely the house Jesus lived in while in Capernaum – the same house where he healed the paralytic who was lowered through the roof.
and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.
Again, like in the earlier story of healing the paralytic, the house is packed with people.
(21) When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."
Apparently by this time Jesus’ father Joseph had died. His brothers and mother have heard that Jesus is back in Capernaum and have come down from Nazareth to take charge of him, to take him home.
Jesus family wishes Jesus no ill will. They wish to protect him from harm, from embarrassment. This is the motivation for their wanting to take charge of him. He is out of his mind, they say, he has lost perspective, his reason has left him, he is fanatical. We’ll just take him home.
Let me say here that I can sympathize with Jesus’ mother and brothers. Either Jesus is God’s anointed, or he’s a egomaniac, or a scam artist, or he is crazy. We have to grant this. We must grant this. We cannot say that he was a great man, or a great teacher, if he was wrong about himself.
Faced with the options, Jesus’ family would rather say the nicer thing about him. He’s not in his right mind.
But then there is a break in the story.
(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."
The teachers of law are the scribes. They had an important ministry and function. It was right for them to come from Jerusalem to check out Jesus. They had obviously heard of his ministry of casting out demons, and they did not dispute it.
We cannot fault them for taking Jesus seriously, for being concerned about what Jesus was saying. That was their job. To be responsible leaders they had to do this.
Unfortunately they seem to have had their mind made up. They weren’t willing to have their mind’s changed about Jesus. This sounds like a lot of people we come across.
They speak their words not directly to Jesus, but to others. They make two charges:
1. That Jesus is possessed by Beelzebub.
2. That Jesus drives out demons by the power of the prince of demons.
Let us consider for a moment the merit of their case.
What would we say of a person who cast out demons but who taught what we thought was a radically different message about God? What if a person was exhibiting supernatural power, was casting our demons and healing people of the most unhealable of diseases, and yet proclaimed a message which cut right against what we most held to be true?
We might conclude either that the person is mad, that he is possessed; that is, or that he is in fact possessed by Beelzebub.
So their argument is not without merit.
(23) So Jesus called them and spoke to them in parables:
Jesus has a response. He calls or summoned the scribes. Did Jesus call them to the house? Did this happen somewhere other than the house? We just don’t know.
Jesus spoke to them in parables, or stories, in riddles or sayings, in words that invite not so much a counter argument but a decision.
"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.
Jesus’ approach goes like this. He, Jesus, in casting out demons, in healing the sick, in pronouncing forgiveness, is in fact making an assault on the kingdom of darkness. The demons are screaming. They recognize him. They are being destroyed. Yes, the devil is a con artist, but would he intentionally destroy himself? Would he destroy his own troops?
(27) In 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.
As to what is really is going on Jesus explains with another story. If I am going to break into and rob a house protected by a really strong man, I'm going to have to bind, or tie up, the strong man. Only then can I take off with his possessions.
That, says Jesus, is just what he is doing. The strong man is Satan, the devil. The world has been under the dominion of the devil. Jesus is in fact laying siege to Satan’s territory. The world has been under Satan’s dominion, but the rescue has begun. The invasion is underway. The re-conquest has begun.
So, Jesus is robbing Satan’s house. How can he do this? To do this Jesus has to tie up, or bind the Satan, the strong man.
To take back the captives, Jesus has to bind the captor. He has to take the jailer’s keys away. He has to defeat the devil.
He did this in the desert when he resisted the devil’s temptations. He did this in Gethsemane when he refused to abandon his mission. He did that on the cross when he took away the devil’s greatest weapon, the deadly weapon of guilt and condemnation and accusation. He did that when he rose from the dead, defeating the devil’s program for long term internment in death and Hades and his captivity of people under the fear of death.
So in the bigger ways the devil has been restrained or bound. He has been defeated. And during his earthly ministry Jesus laid waste to the devil’s kingdom. He defeated the works of the devil. He did this when he cast out demons. He did that when he healed the sick. He did this when he forgave sins. He did this when he brought those who were far from God close again to God.
Jesus by the Spirit is still defeating the work of the devil today. When you became a Christian, when your heart was renewed and came to see the truth of the gospel of Christ, this was proof today that God has bound the strong man and that Jesus by the Spirit is defeating the work of the devil.
When you break free from that addiction or that terrible habit of mind or heart, praise God, we can know that the devil has been bound.
When we gather this morning to offer heartfelt praises to God through Jesus, praise God, He is still binding the strong man.
So, as to pour work in the world, let us make hay while the sun shines….
(28) I tell you the truth,
Some of your bibles read, “Verily I say unto you” or “Amen! I say to you.”
Whenever Jesus says this, something good is coming. “Yo, this is important.”
This is a divine pronouncement, an underlined statement, something to listen to very closely “Thus says the Lord:”
all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them.
This is a wonderful promise. Not only will all of the sins we think of like stealing, dishonesty, impurity, adultery, murder, lust, lying, hatred be forgiven, but even sins of blasphemy -- even the sin of cursing God and saying all sorts of evil against him. These will be forgiven those who repent and turn to God in Christ.
(29) But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin." (30) He said this because they were saying, "He has an evil spirit."
So there is a kind of sin that will not be forgiven. What is this sin? What is this blaspheming against the Holy Spirit? Well, if we look at Mark’s comment after Jesus’ statement, we see what Jesus had in mind. Why did Jesus say this? Well, Mark says it was because of the things the scribes were saying, which Mark summarizes as their having said, “He has an evil spirit.” That is, attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to the Evil One places a person outside the range of God’s mercy, for it is only the work of the Holy Spirit that can renew a man’s heart!
Be very careful about saying that a work is the work of the devil.
(31) Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrive.
OK, we switch gears. Jesus’ mother and brothers had been on their way earlier, when the story was interrupted. They had come to take Jesus away.
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."
Now the family is outside the house, calling for Jesus, wanting to take him home, believing him not to be of sound mind. The crowd takes the word to Jesus. Perhaps they sympathized with the family. Again Jesus has stood up to the leaders of his day, gotten Himself into more trouble, proven his family’s case against him.
Whatever your culture, the words “your mother is looking for you” carries some considerable weight. What will Jesus do? Will he be a good son and go with his mother? Everybody is looking at Jesus.
(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!
In a way Jesus agrees. He should be with his mother and brothers. A good son would gather with his mother and brothers. But who are his mother and brothers? Jesus looks around him, and as it says in Luke, he sort of waves his arm. These, these gathered here around me, these who do God’s will are my brother and sister and mother.
In fact:
(35) Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."
Here Jesus is redefining the family...
What is meant here by God’s will? Does this mean that the person who is perfect is Jesus brother? No, God’s will here refers primarily to the act of following Jesus, of turning to him and being loyal to Him. His disciples had done God’s will. They had left all and followed Jesus. That has become the crux of the issue as to doing God’s will means – being Jesus’ disciples or not.
Jesus says that these are his real family.
Once again Jesus is striking at a cherished symbol. Not only is the nation of Israel being redefined around Jesus, but the family is being redefined too.
Maybe Jesus’ mother and brother’s were right. I mean this is going too far! Jesus is calling for disloyalty to the most cherished structure of the created order. Instead of being loyal to nation and family, be loyal to Jesus.
Jesus is saying that he and his followers are the remnant who will be saved, who will escape the coming judgment and be the nucleus of the new people of God.
This seems so severe. But let’s listen to the same thing said in a different light, in the second chapter of Hebrews, verses 10-18.
Hebrews 2:10-18 In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. He says, "I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises." And again, "I will put my trust in him." And again he says, "Here am I, and the children God has given me." Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil--and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
The one who makes men holy and the ones made holy are of the same family!
Jesus is not ashamed to call them – us – brothers!
Jesus will declare God’s name to his brothers!
Jesus had to be made like his brothers in every way!
And interestingly this passage in Hebrews pulls in the sub plot of the story of the devil as well. We go from being called his brothers to being called his children. And what has he done for his children who are his brothers? He has destroyed him who has the power of death, that is, the devil.
So, back to the story in Mark, those gathered around him, those who have chosen to follow him to turn to Him, they are his brothers, his family, and they are brothers of each other and family for each other. And his own mother and brothers, well, they will have to get this message and go home without him.
Now let’s consider some of the implications and applications of this “encounter” which never quite happens directly.
First, there is the issue of Jesus, God’s Son, the Messiah.
To Jesus, following him is the real issue, not because He is an egomaniac, but because he knows what is true, he knows who he is, and he knows the Father’s will.
Jesus said blessed were the peacemakers. But he also said that he had not come to bring peace but division. He said that because of him children would be divided against parent, and brother against brother.
Jesus knew that He is worth dividing families over. But this cuts so close to home. How many of have grieved over families that thought us insane when we began to follow Jesus, or children who have decided they have had enough and walked away from the faith?
Second, Jesus is either who the Scriptures say He said He is, a megalomaniac, or even more insane than his family thought. But let’s be honest about Jesus. Let’s have integrity about what we say. Let’s call others on their lack of integrity when it comes to what they say about Jesus. Be honest. Say he was a lunatic. Say he had ago issues. Say you don’t see the evidence for the resurrection. Say you don’t believe it. Say like his own mother and brothers that he was insane. But don’t say he was a great man and a great teacher but that he was wrong about himself. And don’t rewrite his words to make them more acceptable to you.
This whole family thing is part of counting the cost of following Jesus. It may mean loss of family and friends. It certainly does mean that in many parts of the world, and it may mean that for you. How little we tell people anymore about the costs of discipleship.
Some people cannot accept that cost when it comes down to it. The loss is too great. The cost is too high. In many foreign cultures that usually means simply going back to being Hindu or Muslim or whatever you were. In our culture it usually means becoming Christian in name but not in reality, a nominal churchgoer or a member of a liberal church for whom Jesus means whatever anybody needs him to mean.
We have to be careful as well. Many people are itching for a fight with their families, and lo and behold they go off to a crusade or to BibleCollege or to L’Abri or whatever, and come home loaded for bear.
Following Jesus doesn’t mean we throw out the fifth commandment, the one about honoring our mothers and fathers. It means that we are more serious about it than ever before. But our honoring of them cannot mean denying of obedience to Jesus, and that is the rub. We cannot use these passages as a pretext for disrespecting or disobeying our parents. Nor can we use the fifth commandment as a way to hide from obeying Jesus. Sometimes we have to disobey our parents in order to follow Jesus, but we must do so respectfully, even with tears.
Finally, the good news. If Jesus has many brothers, and if brothers to Jesus are brothers to each other, that means that Jesus brothers have many brothers too! That means we have a new family, made up of a whole mix of people from every tribe and nation and language.
I love my family. I miss my mom and dad. I wish I knew that I would see them again. I miss my grandmother. I am pretty sure I’ll see her.
But I have a newer and bigger and more wonderful family now.
You know, I can be all alone amongst strangers, as has happened to me, in a foreign land, and can meet a person who I come to realize is a Christian. We may barely be able to understand each other, but there is a bond, a love, a joy. We are family. We share Christ together. We are co-brethren of the Lord Jesus. I would give the shirt off my back for him or her.
We know a taste of that here at Covenant Fellowship. It is not perfect, but it substantial and real. We have tasted it.
You now are my mothers and my fathers and my brothers and my sisters.
Amen.
Copyright © 2000 by Joel Gillespie. Reproduction for non-commercial use is permitted, provided the material is not altered, and provided that the copyright notice is retained.
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