When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” (Mark 3:21)

What does it mean to be family? Many of us have biological brothers or sisters that we remain close to, either geographically or emotionally, or both. But we may also have friends and neighbors—especially if we live at some distance from our siblings—who are closer than our siblings. Proverbs 18:24 holds that some companions may be less than trustworthy, but “a true friend sticks closer than one’s closest kin.” The word translated “friend” means “one who loves.”

            Families are like that. Some of us have siblings who are close, while others may hardly speak at all. Even Jesus discovered that the people who were closest to him were not the ones who were kin to him.

            When Jesus began the crucial years of his public ministry, did his family stand beside him? Did they support him? Did they cheer him on? It appears not—at least, not until later. Indeed, in the early stages of Jesus’ ministry, Mark implies that his family thought he had lost his mind. Our text for today claims that they even tried to put him away. It is a troublesome but memorable story. In it, Jesus gives the word “family” an entirely new meaning.

Misguided seekers

(vv. 20-27)

The lectionary reading follows a series of controversy stories in 2:1-3:6, culminating in Jesus’ opponents plotting his demise. After returning to the Sea of Galilee, Jesus taught and healed amid “a great multitude” who reportedly sought him out from as far away as Jerusalem, Judea, the Transjordan, Tyre, and Sidon (3:7-12).

This was followed, in Mark’s itinerary, by Jesus leading his disciples to a mountain retreat, where he called out twelve of them as apostles, commissioned to proclaim his message and have authority to heal (3:13-19).

“Then he went home,” Mark says, probably referring to a residence in Capernaum, which Jesus apparently adopted as his home base while in Galilee. It is often assumed that he lodged there in the home of Peter and Andrew. There was no rest for the weary, however, as “the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat” (v. 20).

At the height of this frenzied popularity, two groups of people came looking for Jesus. The first was his family, who did not come to follow him, but “to restrain him, for people were saying ‘He has gone out of his mind’” (v. 21).

Families can accept only so much weirdness. Jesus’ notoriety created enough discomfort and concern that Mary and her other sons apparently thought it would be good to take Jesus home and put him under wraps for a while.

Although post-resurrection stories count them among his followers, with his brother James becoming head of the Jerusalem church (Acts 1:14, Gal. 1:19), there seems to have been a period of relative estrangement.

            The second group seeking Jesus consisted of “scribes who came down from Jerusalem,” claiming “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons” (v. 22). [DD]

            Beelzebul was an alternate name for Satan in Jewish demonology of the period. Jesus responded flatly that the scribes’ logic was flawed, for Satan could hardly cast himself out (vv. 23-26).

            Using the analogy of a forceful robbery, which Mark describes broadly as a parable, Jesus said “no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered” (v. 27).

            The obvious message is that Jesus was the strong man who had tied up Satan and could therefore plunder his house by casting out the demons subservient to him.

            Modern readers are not required to accept the ancients’ belief that mental or emotional afflictions were caused by demons: Jesus spoke in the categories that were common to his day. His acts of healing are no less impressive or important if they deliver someone from a debilitating condition.

            By combining these two stories, Mark points to a time when Jesus was cut off from both of his families. Those who had the best chance to recognize Jesus’ special identity first had failed to do so. His biological family feared he had lost his mind. Leaders of his Jewish family thought he was possessed. But Jesus had no intention of being left without a family. He discovered new sisters and brothers everywhere he went, a topic to which Mark returns in v. 31.

Hopeless sinners

(vv. 28-30)

A casual reading might leave the reader puzzled and wondering what connection vv. 28-30 have with the previous account, for Mark has Jesus suddenly switch to the topic of sin and forgiveness. The connection is found in his opponents’ charge that Jesus was empowered by Beelzebul/Satan.

            “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said, “people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” (vv. 28-29). [DD]

            The connection is here: “for they had said, He has an unclean spirit” (v. 30).

            Jesus attributed the mighty works he did to the power of the Holy Spirit within him. The scribes’ accusation that he cast out demons by the power of Satan reversed the order, attributing the Spirit’s good work to an evil being. One who identifies God’s saving power as the work of Satan can hardly expect forgiveness from God, for they can’t tell the difference between the two.

That does not exclude the possibility of repentance and a change of heart. Jesus was not declaring that the scribes who accused him were forever damned because they had wrongly credited the Spirit’s work to Satan. The point of a warning is to hold out the possibility of a better option.

            The question of an “unpardonable sin” appears several times in the New Testament, and in different contexts (see also Luke 12:10, 1 John 5:16; Heb. 6:4-6, 10:6). Modern believers sometimes worry that they might have committed an unpardonable sin, but the only sin that can’t be forgiven is one so consistent and ingrained that a person doesn’t recognize it as sin and thus thinks there’s no need for forgiveness.

            The fact that someone is concerned about having committed “the unpardonable sin” is solid evidence that they have not.

True family

(vv. 31-35)

Mark’s gospel places vv. 31-35 here, but it apparently follows from the brief mention in v. 21 that Jesus’ mother and brothers had come seeking to restrain him, thinking he might have lost his sanity. The same account appears in different contexts in Matt. 12:46-50 and Luke 8:19-21).

            When someone told Jesus that “your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you,” he responded with a question that must have surprised everyone: “Who are my mother and my brothers?” (vv. 31-33). [DD]

            Jesus advised his listeners to look elsewhere if they thought to find his real mother and brothers. Mark draws attention to Jesus’ pause to look around at the followers—both male and female—who had crowded into the house. “Here are my mother and brothers!” he said: “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother” (vv. 34-35).

            There is a higher plane of family life, Jesus suggests, in which a common sense of obedience and loyalty to God is stronger than a shared genetic code. Jesus’ observation contributes to a theology of the church as people who are called to be a “family of faith.”

            Those who belong to Jesus’ family are not those who are born to Christian parents or who belong to a particular ethnic group, but those who trust Jesus to guide their way. It is not our pedigree but our practice that determines our relationship to Jesus.

            In a sense, Jesus came to create a new family of God through making possible a redeemed and renewed relationship with our common parent. He taught us what it means to live as family by loving God and loving one another, thus obeying the will of God. He demonstrated the lengths to which true love will go, laying down his life for us. The lessons learned by his earliest followers and the camaraderie they shared together were essential in the birth and growth of the church—and no less crucial for the health of the church today. 

This text offers a constant challenge for the church universal and for churches individually. We may claim to be the family of God, but does our walk back up our talk? Do we make the effort to become better acquainted with new family members and show love to them? Do we support each other in bad times and good? Do we live in ways that bring honor to our spiritual family? Do we commit time, talents, and treasure to the life and health of our family of faith?

            Some people think it’s crazy to care for people as Jesus did; to be generous with our time as well as our money in caring for others and seeking justice for all people. Some people may think it is insane to sacrifice resources and energy to minister in prisons and feed addicts and visit the lonely and help people who can’t help us back.

From the world’s self-centered perspective, it may seem irrational, but if loving people is bonkers, it’s bonkers like Jesus. In a sense, within the church we’re all crazy relations. Jesus wouldn’t have it any other way.