“Jesus Defines Family”
June 6, 2021
Mark 3:20–35
And the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain Jesus, for people were saying, ‘He has gone out of his mind.’ And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, ‘He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.’ And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, ‘How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. But 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.
‘Truly I tell you, 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’ — for they had said, ‘He has an unclean spirit.’
Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, ‘Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.’ And he replied, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ And looking at those who sat around him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.’
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The Devil’s Advocate is a movie starring Al Pacino. It was released in 1997 and while not a horror movie in the classic sense, it was frightening.
I normally do not spend much time thinking about the devil. It is a challenge for me to think of the devil as a being, because in my mind evil is so much larger than any particular “person.” However, “The Devil’s Advocate” did personify Satan and the distressing thing about him was that he was handsome, charming, and charismatic. He could transform himself into different beings — male or female — for the purpose of seducing people into selling their souls. He would place options and opportunities before people that were intensely tempting, and he convinced them that these were good choices, the right thing to do for everyone involved. He seemed so nice, trustworthy, and concerned about doing what was in people’s best interest. And before you knew it, they were entangled in a terrible situation that was impossible to escape.
The movie convinced me if evil is personified, this is perhaps what Satan is like: attractive, compelling, and deadly.
In the reading from Mark today, we encounter a discussion about Satan and we find Jesus not very compelling. To be honest, this passage is one I could readily skip over. No need to bookmark it in your bible or look up heartwarming devotions on it.
So, to dig into this passage it is important to have some context. Up to this point in Mark, Jesus has done a number of healings and exorcisms. Growing crowds of people press in on Jesus as he and the disciples move about.
In this scene, Jesus thumbs his nose at those in religious leadership and rebuffs his family. For us, in just four sentences, he upends everything we have been taught to think as sacred: family, religion, civility, established order, home, church, country.
The result of all this makes people think Jesus has lost his mind. As Mark tells it: “And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, ‘He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.” (v.22) They thought he was possessed.
Hearing this, Jesus questions, “How can Satan cast out Satan?” Jesus is basically saying, “If I were Satan, why would I cast out demons? Would I let them continue to pursue demonic intentions? Why would Satan act against Satan?” Why would a person who agrees with what the demonic powers are doing stand against the demonic powers?
His defends his point, arguing that a kingdom or a house divided against itself cannot stand. Then he declares that people can be forgiven of blasphemy, “but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.”
Let’s stop right here. This is a terrifying claim. Housed in this context in Mark 3, it seems what Jesus is naming as blaspheming the Holy Spirit is blaming the Holy Spirit for evil. These scribes charge that Jesus’ work of casting out unclean spirits and demons is indeed the work of evil. In response Jesus declares that those who falsely accuse him of devilish acts, have committed an unforgivable sin. Why? Because they have not only failed to see the good of what God has done through Jesus, but they have attributed the good works of God to the evil one.
Do you see the blindness of the scribes? These religious leaders could not see that Jesus was doing was the work of God. It did not fit in the realm of their understanding of God. So, they called the work of the Spirit evil, and the result is Jesus calls their act unforgivable.
Is there a takeaway here? This condemnation of the religious leaders is the kickstart for us to look beyond our limited understanding of how God works and acts in the world. Jesus is intent upon people being open to the surprise at how the Holy Spirit works to make manifest God’s love for all.
Finally, in the midst of all this drama and controversy, Jesus’ mother and brothers come. Remember, they wanted to restrain him. Standing outside they called to him. Perhaps the crowd was noisy so that Jesus could not hear them calling. Or maybe he was ignoring them to make his point. So, some people seated near say to him, “Your mother and brothers and sisters are outside asking for you.”
In response, Jesus says what no mother ever wants to hear, “Who are my mother and brothers?” Knife meet heart. Can you imagine your child saying this to you? (And I do not mean your four-year-old who does not yet know the unfairness of such psychological battle.) Imagine the pain that Jesus’ mother must have felt. Even if Jesus’ action in denying his mother is meant as a way to establish a more well-connected community of followers, his words must have had a powerful impact on her.
Remember I told you that this is a passage you will not want to bookmark in your Bible. It seems Jesus is challenging the role of blood relatives in our lives, especially when it comes to understanding the broad circle of family that Jesus advances. Jesus knows that those who love and nurture us in our family units also have the power to bind us to good or bad, prejudices and biases. And Jesus wants nothing of it.
Think about it in this context: Where do children learn disparaging attitudes toward people of other skin color? Where do people learn to fear people who are in any way different? We are taught such perspectives and prejudices by the people who loved us most. Our families.
Whether the family unit is the source of the perspectives and prejudices we hold, Jesus’ departure from the family unit here presents the same challenging conviction he offers the scribes who could not see the good of what God has done through Jesus.
While prompted to consider the source of our own prejudices and inflexible understandings of God, it is worth noting that Jesus is not being anti-family. He is not really speaking ill of his mother, his brothers, or sisters. Fast-forward three years, while hanging on the cross, Jesus calls out to John to care for his mother, Mary. He cares about his family.
Yet, Jesus challenges our understanding of family to the aim that our dedication to family does not prevent us from seeing God working in new ways. It is clear that nothing whatsoever is to deter people from doing the will of God that Jesus makes known in his actions and teaching.
So, “looking at those who sat around him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.’”
It is clear that Jesus defines the family, not by blood, but by openness to the Spirit of God seen in Jesus and the commitment to doing God’s will of healing and mercy for the entire human family.
