Is Jesus 'out of His mind'? Mark 3:20-35

Mark 3:20-35 Gospel reading for Sunday 10th June 2012

Well after considerable deviation into John through Lent, Easter and the days leading up to Pentecost and Trinity Sundays, we have finally arrived back into Mark's Gospel, which is the central focus of this lectionary year B. (See Introduction to Mark's Gospel from earlier this year for some general overview comments.)

This particular reading from Mark 3 is difficult to fully grasp without looking at the build-up from the previous two chapters, so by way of summary, here are a few key points leading up to the start of the reading:

1. Jesus had very quickly made a name for Himself at the start of His ministry.
2. Crowds were following Him everywhere.  
3. Several healing miracles and dramatic confrontations with evil spirits are amongst these early events. 
4. Most significantly, the religious authorities were already plotting to kill Jesus (see Mark 3:6)

So to the reading itself. The story starts with an accusation that Jesus is "out of His mind". His family appear on the scene to "take charge of Him". Probably a more accurate translation would be ... they go out to restrain Him. (Is there a hint of family tension here?)

Verse 21 is rather ambiguous. Who is the 'they' referred to? Is it Jesus' family, or is it the people generally, or is it the religious authorities? NOTE: The family tension thinking may be supported by John 7:5.

On the family issue, as the reading proceeds it almost seems that Jesus is having a go at His family. I think however that in a balanced 'Gospel' reading of this, Jesus is not saying 'forget family' in the way that we naturally tend to think. Rather He is most likely saying something like ... 'There is a now a new definition of (spiritual) family. It is no longer your pedigree or your blood line that counts ... the door has been thrown open to all to join this new family of God.'

Then there is the direct allegation from the authorities that Jesus Himself is possessed by demons. This together with His family maybe sticking their noses in, prompts Jesus to launch into a string of mini-parables in order to counter the demon accusation. Yet it is more than just a charge of being demon possessed. The Scribes accuse Jesus of being possessed by Satan himself!

If all that is not difficult enough, what do we make of verse 29? How can any sin be unforgivable? Eugene Peterson in The Message puts this in a way that may be easier for us to comprehend:

'Listen to this carefully. I'm warning you. There's nothing done or said that can't be forgiven. But if you persist in your slanders against God's Holy Spirit, you are repudiating the very One who forgives, sawing off the branch on which you're sitting, severing by your own perversity all connection with the One who forgives." He gave this warning because they were accusing him of being in league with Evil.' Mark 3:28-30

The reality of verse 29 is that Jesus effectively takes it upon Himself to declare the authorities from the Temple to be 'guilty of sin'. How dare He do that! The only place in the whole of Israel where sins were determined and forgiven was in the Temple! Furthermore it was the sole responsibility of the designated Chief Priest to deal with the sins of the people. How can this upstart nobody from Nazareth start making declarations about sin? Is it any wonder that the religious leaders wanted to 'nail' Jesus?

"Here is the Good News: Jesus is not out of his mind; Jesus is not filled with demonic spirits. Rather, Jesus has the mind of God; Jesus is filled with the Holy Spirit - and invites all of us to be of the same mind and same Spirit in a new family as his sisters and brothers." David Ewart http://www.holytextures.com/

 Nev