Who is My Brother, Sister or Mother? Mark 3:20-34
Jesus Accused by His Family and by Teachers of the Law
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 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.”
Reflection:
The teachers of the Law had quite a vested interest in figuring out a way to derail Jesus' ministry, as we have said before mainly for selfish reasons. Since not much else was working, they tried a new tactic today. They said he was possessed by Beelzebul (the head of all demons) and by his power was driving out demons. Since they couldn't deny the powerful things that were happening, they had to figure out another way to explain them so as to discredit Jesus. But the problem today as Jesus quickly exposes, is their argument makes no sense. Jesus says, "why would Satan cast out himself?" For a kingdom to get stronger it wouldn't decimate or divide itself. The only way for Jesus to cast out demons was that he had more authority than Satan himself. It was an issue of power. Only because Jesus had more power than these demons could he drive them out. And that is why don't need to be afraid of evil spirits because we too have the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus. As John has said, "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world!"
Then Jesus gives a stern warning. You are on dangerous ground when you attribute something done in the power of the Holy Spirit to Satan. It is a blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, in whose power Jesus did these things. You may ask why is that sin any more heinous than any other sin? Because when you blaspheme the Holy Spirit you take away the one who can lead you to repentance and believe in Jesus and receive forgiveness. As the scripture says, "No one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Spirit!"
Then, Jesus' mother and brothers came to see him. When people had told them what was happening and that he was casting out demons, they concluded, "he was out of his mind". Even his own family did not fully understand his true identity and calling. This is why when the crowds told him that they were and looking for him he says, "whoever does the will of my Father is my mother, brother or sister!" Did he do this to disrespect his mom and brothers? I don't think so. Again he was explaining that in the kingdom of God, a new family is formed as we become God's children through faith in Christ and baptism into the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
So we have this tension of honoring our parents and families of origin, but also realizing that as we become part of the family of God through the Church, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ and need to care for each other. Amen.
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 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.”
Reflection:
The teachers of the Law had quite a vested interest in figuring out a way to derail Jesus' ministry, as we have said before mainly for selfish reasons. Since not much else was working, they tried a new tactic today. They said he was possessed by Beelzebul (the head of all demons) and by his power was driving out demons. Since they couldn't deny the powerful things that were happening, they had to figure out another way to explain them so as to discredit Jesus. But the problem today as Jesus quickly exposes, is their argument makes no sense. Jesus says, "why would Satan cast out himself?" For a kingdom to get stronger it wouldn't decimate or divide itself. The only way for Jesus to cast out demons was that he had more authority than Satan himself. It was an issue of power. Only because Jesus had more power than these demons could he drive them out. And that is why don't need to be afraid of evil spirits because we too have the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus. As John has said, "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world!"
Then Jesus gives a stern warning. You are on dangerous ground when you attribute something done in the power of the Holy Spirit to Satan. It is a blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, in whose power Jesus did these things. You may ask why is that sin any more heinous than any other sin? Because when you blaspheme the Holy Spirit you take away the one who can lead you to repentance and believe in Jesus and receive forgiveness. As the scripture says, "No one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Spirit!"
Then, Jesus' mother and brothers came to see him. When people had told them what was happening and that he was casting out demons, they concluded, "he was out of his mind". Even his own family did not fully understand his true identity and calling. This is why when the crowds told him that they were and looking for him he says, "whoever does the will of my Father is my mother, brother or sister!" Did he do this to disrespect his mom and brothers? I don't think so. Again he was explaining that in the kingdom of God, a new family is formed as we become God's children through faith in Christ and baptism into the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
So we have this tension of honoring our parents and families of origin, but also realizing that as we become part of the family of God through the Church, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ and need to care for each other. Amen.
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