Mark | Chapter 3

“The Penalty of Popularity”

3:7-12

  1. Introduction
  2. Vs. 7-8 Jesus Christ “Superstar” 
  3. Vs. 9-10 Unwanted sales
  4. Vs. 11-12 Unwanted advertisement

Introduction

    So far in Mark’s record of Jesus we have seen Mark gather stories that illustrate two truths, today we will start the third, all of which distinguish Jesus as superior to what the Roman reader would have known as a world leader and son of god.

    • Authority of His Word: At His command and over the physical and spiritual realms (the seen and unseen) things happened according to that word. All had to obey and come into compliance at His word. There was no physical force or coercive threats, just objects surrendering to His Word!
    • Jesus’ insight over His realm: He had great knowledge over all of His creation especially humanity. He didn’t behave like others when dealing with people, He exhibited behavior towards people as His focus was never upon Himself. This alone convinces me that apart from divine inspiration no man relying on human wisdom and knowledge could have written any of the gospels.     
    • The 3rd division starts here in chapter 3 verse 7 and runs through chapter 6 verse 6. This section deals with how He handled His increased popularity and notoriety.

    Each of those three areas are enough singularly to convey that Jesus was far above every other person who has ever walked this earth. Combined the portrait is utterly amazing and is evidence alone that Jesus is the Son of God. It is clear that all the gospel writers saw the same person and that He cannot be a creation of their combined imaginations. They would have had far greater chances to paint the ocean blue as born blind artists than to have ever captured the likeness of Jesus out of the sea of humanity.


    Vs. 7-8 Jesus Christ “Superstar”

      Vs. 7-8 In response both to His increased popularity and pharasitical notoriety Jesus “withdrew”. It is interesting to note that 11 times in Mark’s account he records Jesus “withdrawing” from such popularity. Most of the time it was to pray, others it appears just to rest or have time alone with His disciples. Other leaders might have used increasing popularity to promote themselves and their agendas and parlayed that into power over their opposition. To our Lord His time here on earth was never about advancing Himself it was always about advancing the will of the Father. Mark uses the word “great” in front of the word multitude and the Greek word indicates an exceptionally large crowd that didn’t spontaneously gather. Based upon verse 8 this great multitude took some time to assemble.

      What had attracted these great multitudes was they “heard how many things He was doing”. The word “heard” in the Greek is in the present tense meaning that they “kept hearing” as Jesus “kept doing wondrous things”. They came from areas across the Arabian Desert to the west and in the east up the Mediterranean to Lebanon as well as all of Israel. We are not talking in terms of a few thousand but rather in terms of tens of thousands. People were drawn to Jesus because of “what He did” more than “what He said”. Generally speaking people are far more interested in their bodies than they are their souls in their health than their holiness! We live in a time of mass communication when a video often goes “viral”. But Jesus didn’t live in such an age, there was no YouTube or other social media, people walked and talked without technological aid. One can only imagine what the outcome would have been if these events were taking place today? In verse 20 we are told that the multitude changed His diet as they pressed so close that He could not raise His hand to take a bite of bread. Now there is a “popular” diet fad that would cause you to lose weight fast. Most if not all of humanity would have viewed such popularity and fame as symbols of success and used them to promote themselves into “super star” status. Jesus’ popularity has been noted by secular writers and artists as in the musical “Jesus Christ Superstar” but they miss the point. They only equate His success of drawing the multitudes from all around while failing to note how He dealt with it, which is the truer evidence of His deity.

      Mark’s view is through Jesus’ reaction to popularity which is that: Human fame is fleeting, empty and hollow. It is a danger to His calling and limits His earthly ministry. Jesus knew, what mankind has still failed to grasp that, “success generated popularity” even when that success is generated because it is beneficial to others KNOWS NO BOUNDS! The trouble with popularity and success is that there are no clear lines drawn among those who make a person or an item popular. In any multitude you have mixed together, not only those of curiosity but those with wrong affection and ulterior motives. Though they are all counted as making something or someone popular or successful, their numbers don’t indicate the truth. Jesus attracted people irresistibly and among those He attracted a large majority were not there for the right reasons. Some came to hear His words but far more came to experience His works in hopes they would share in the benefits He so lavishly bestowed upon the people. Such popularity is like the elements of weather; the right amount of it can be rather pleasant for a time but just a few degrees one way or the other or too little of this or too much of that can be disastrous.


      Vs. 9-10 Unwanted sales

        Vs. 9-10 The two illustrations Mark puts forward in the next four verses all have the focus on the negative impact Jesus’ popularity had upon others. In the end these two illustrations remind us that such popularity is not only directionless it also has no ability to filter who it attracts and why they are attracted.

        1. Unwanted Sales: After disclosing Jesus’ demand that a small boat be placed nearby and kept ready because of His’ “crushing success”; Mark informs the reader what had caused such success was “He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him.” There was no politeness or patience with the crowd as the word “crush” is used in classic Greek to describe the crushing of grapes to extract the juice. That word combined with the words “pressed about Him” indicate a dangerous and desperate situation as the word pressed means to “fall against violently”. The scene was not only of squeezing Him it was violently smashing into Him all to get a touch to be healed. The great multitude saw Jesus as a mere commodity that they had to have and didn’t care if they violently took it or not. The scene no doubt looked more like an out of control crowd that was looting store fronts then people in search of the living God. There with a misplaced emphases as they emphasized the temporary at the expense of the permanent. Jesus didn’t come to just heal the body but the soul and spirit of man. The healing of the body was to demonstrate what He could do for the spirit. They all wanted healing and He wanted to preach the word! What this reveals is that popularity and success have no directional ability in human hearts. In fact inevitably popularity and success misdirect and distort the message as that which is secondary becomes the priority. There are far too many folks with a “misplaced emphases” concerning Jesus and they are perfectly happy to have Him be their Savior but have no interest in Him being their Lord. They will press about Him in time of need to touch Him but as soon as they have what they want they go merrily back to their life, without so much as a visit.           

        Vs. 11-12 Unwanted advertisement

          Vs. 11 In the text we see the 2nd illustration in the unclean spirits examination and proclamation concerning Jesus identity. The Greek reveals things that are unfortunately lost in the English translations.

          1. Examination: The word “saw” describes an inspection of a commanding officer viewing his troops. Such viewing was critical in nature and through in investigation. These demons exhibited far more interest in Jesus and His true identity than had the thronging multitudes. They recognized Him as the Son of God out of whose presence they had been driven with Lucifer from heaven, falling to earth. The words “fell down” are in the imperfect tense which indicates a repeated action. All of this makes for a very vivid picture of long staring demonic eye contact with a throwing down in front of Jesus of the demon possessed person. All of which was being done periodically as one by one each of these demon possessed people had contact with Jesus.        
          2. Proclamation: Again the Greek words for “cried out” are in the imperfect tense which indicate a continuous action as they kept on crying out in a horrible demonic voice. The Greek construction of this sentence would render it different than what we read in our English text as literally these demons said, “As for you, you are the Son of God.” It is clear that these demons recognized the deity of Jesus and the uniqueness of His relationship with the Father but this was not a testimony or an indorsement. The repeated howling acknowledgment, though true, was meant to offer confusion to the multitudes as their leader is the author of confusion.
          3. Unwanted Advertisement: Mark brings forth the revealing of Jesus true identity from sources known for telling lies. It is a safe bet that these “unclean spirits” had no desire to advance and promote the cause of Christ by their witness. They told the truth because they knew that in so doing they would hurt the cause of Jesus, not help it. They were out to mislead people about the person and work of Jesus even though what they said was true. The fact that they were known as “lying spirits” would cause people to believe that what they were saying concerning Jesus was a sure proof that what they said wasn’t true. Mark Twain in his book called “Roughing It” tells a story of a notorious liar who had reached such a place in his tall tales that no one believed him about anything. One day they found him hanging with a suicide note pinned on him with the reasons why he took his own life. Though it was written in his own hand the authorities concluded the cause of his death was murder saying that if this man said he hung himself it was proof he hadn’t. Furthermore with this acknowledgement by demonic beings and indirectly satan, people would associate Jesus with the devil. Based upon Matthew 12:24 and the words of the Pharisees this lie of affiliation at least worked in part as the Pharisees had concluded that Jesus was casting out demons by allegiance with the devil.

          Vs. 12 We finish this section off with Jesus rebuke of the demons testimony as to His true identity. The words “sternly warn” do not carry the severity of this rebuke by Jesus as the words in Greek are more of a threat of penalty. Jesus had no interest in the PR concerning His deity from demons, he was not interested in their advertising on His behalf.

          When examining Jesus desire to “withdraw” from success and popularity it becomes apparent that such success and popularity in the world is not a good thing anymore than getting behind the wheel of a Lamborghini and racing off only to find out that not only does the steering not work neither do the breaks and the gas pedal.


          “A few good men”

          3:13-19

          1. Introduction
          2. Vs. 13-15 Professional verses Relational  
          3. Vs. 16-19 He chose who?

          Introduction

            When examining the text it is important not only to give your attention to what the text says but the broader context as to why the Holy Spirit desired to place the narrative in the location it is found in our Bibles. The answer to that question will go a long way in determining what the Holy Spirit wanted to convey to the original reader. A case in point is before us in verse 13-19. The question that needs to be answered is: Why is the choosing of the 12 disciples placed next to how Jesus “withdrew” from the popularity of the multitudes? There are many who would read these as unrelated incidents, recorded without any fore thought. But Mark full of the Holy Spirit wants his readers to answer that question. These seemingly unrelated stories have been deliberately placed next to each other to show an association more than a chronological sequence. I’m convinced that they are connected to convey something that was critical both to the unveiling of Jesus as well and our spiritual development. Jesus withdrew from successful testimonies of pretentious crowds as well as truthful titles from demonic liars. And instead the facts are He wanted ordinary men who by their words and works would demonstrate what will happen to a common person who spends time with Him.


            Vs. 13-15 Professional verses Relational

              Vs. 13 In the New Testament you will find three other lists of the names of the 12 Matthew, Luke and the book of Acts. Luke tells us that Jesus gave the group the name of apostles. The difference between a disciple and an apostle is:

              • A disciple is a person who learns by doing, today we might use the word apprentice.
              • An apostle is a person who is sent out on official service with a commission, and today we might use the word ambassador.  

              It is very significant that Christianity began with a group. The pharasitical approach was similarity and separation. Jesus’ methodology was the exact opposite, diversity and inclusion. Nothing better demonstrates this than the extremes of the men Jesus called: A revolutionary anti Roman zealot and a pro Roman tax collector both of which are part of the 12 man team. With this extreme diversity all 12 did possess two common traits:

              1. They all had an unbreakable attraction to Jesus, they wanted to make Him their master!
              2. They all had the courage to visibly align themselves with Him! No band of men ever risked more than these 12 with their allegiance to a radical peasant Galilean who was crashing headlong into religious leader and being labeled as a rule breaking sinner.

              These 12 had faults but one of them wasn’t a lack of love for their Master. They loved Jesus and weren’t afraid to tell the world that they did. Before giving us the cast of characters in verses 16-19 Mark gives us, three traits Jesus looked for in those He personally called to service!

              1. Vs. 13 PERSONAL ENCOUNTER: People who wanted to be with Him for the right reasons: Jesus didn’t want a “sales force” or “advocates” who had received benefits! What He desired was men who from personal experience had chosen to be with Him. They weren’t trained to talk about Him instead they were tell of their encounter that was not temporary and superficial but everlasting. There is too much of Christianity today in my humble opinion that has been scrubbed and sanitized from the raw truthful testimonies of transformed lives. Oh, it is polished and pointed but sounds like an infomercial that gets the stains out without harming the fabric. The outcome of this “new sales force” are converts who become “members” of a church that caters to their every whim and demand. Yes, we now have “professional spokesmen” but it has been at the price of “unlearned fishermen” that “HAD BEEN WITH JESUS”. And I am reminded that it was those unlearned fisherman that were chosen to change the world! 
              2. Vs. 14 PRACTICAL EVANGELISM: The selection was not based upon giftedness nor education. From beginning to end we have proof that Jesus deliberately chose to build His church with inferior material. That was by design to prove that it is only through and by Jesus that this organism we know as the Church has the power, position and the ability to perform what He has called us too. Their appointment had a threefold task:
              3. That they might be WITH Him. The highest priority was not in making a “professional” team but rather a “relational” team. This appointment was of men who more than anything else just wanted to be with and near Jesus. The “job interview” (there wasn’t one) did not include a resume’, past job experience, training or education. None of these mattered to the Master, what mattered was would they unequiviently without any direction or promises obey the simplest of tasks, which by His own words was to be with Him. Why is this question never asked? It seems to me that far too often the church ends up with people who either want a position or a career path but not Jesus!
              4. That He would send them out: Secondly the team needed to have settled who the Master was and who it wasn’t. The sending out was not based upon a catalog of desirable locations or situations in which a person could naturally choose what was the most appealing and beneficial to their life. The applicant must adapt the attitude that Peter would manifest when asked by Jesus to exercise a direction which Peter had far more experience outwardly then did Jesus, commercial fishing. When Peter heard Jesus’ orders to “cast the net upon the other side” Peter in his professional understanding explained that they had been out fishing all night but “never the less at Your word” he would cast the net as directed. There will be many a time when our “all night fishing” has not yielded the results that we thought we would have achieved for our effort, but our obedience is not leveled upon outcome but because our Master told us too!                  
              5. To preach: Their primary task is to be His proclaimers! They weren’t called to be His entertainers! It was very simple task: Speak what you have learned from Him. It didn’t require any talent or education, why even unlearned fishermen could be considered accomplished. There is a progressive order to this appointment that if not followed as laid out will cause a mess. People can have natural skills in communication, be comfortable in front of others. But if that person eyes the calling to preach and is allowed to do so without noting the above two items the results will be an egotistical entertainer who is far more interested in being worshiped then having the Person they are to proclaim worshipped.                     
              6. Vs. 15 POWER-FILLED EXPERIENCE: The final trait Jesus looked for were men who understood that they were only receivers or stewards of His blessing and power in order that they would be distributors of them. He gave them power, it was not their own and it was not to be used for their benefit or promotion. They were given something to say and something to do, then were sent out for that purpose with power to accomplish it. There ought to be an authenticity that manifests its self when a person who has been with Jesus is where they are supposed to be, doing what they are called to do. They were His ambassadors to make public proclamation with such authority as to make what they said obeyed and given delegated power that people were healed and demons fled. 

              Vs. 16-19 He chose who?

                Vs. 16-19 Matthew records that prior to this calling of the 12 Jesus was up all night in prayer over who He would select. While some believe that this time in prayer was spent receiving direction and confirmation from the Father on who He would choose, men who would be most impactful and influential upon the world. I could also make the case looking at the cast of characters chosen that perhaps the prayer was to be kept from selecting those that seemed most outwardly a perfect fit. There are two surprises in Jesus selection mentioned in these verses: How many He selected and who He selected.

                1. How many: When we factor in the extremely large numbers of people, the political, religious and economic situation that made up this time, 12 men seems like extreme  under staffing. Why 12? Yes it’s a biblical number but I doubt seriously that Jesus selected 12 because He thought “Gee, that’s a biblical number!” No, Jesus selected 12 because that was about the max that He could pour Himself into and have quality time with each. Jesus’ method in the number of men He called indicates His confidence in the task at reaching the world. Jesus and any single one of them fully and wholly consecrated to Him was more than enough to change the world, 12 was over kill!!!! Jesus didn’t launch this enterprise during our era which suggests to me that He didn’t need our technological advancements to reach the world. Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying that He hasn’t used mass media technology, radio T.V., C.D’s etc. What I am saying is that those technological advancements are not essential nor indispensable as far as Jesus is concerned. What is essential and indispensable is Jesus in the life of those He calls.
                2. Who He selected: The first three mentioned Simon (Peter), James and John are all given special names as He “surnamed” them, giving them nicknames. This special designation indicates an inner circle of responsibility. They are the ones we see going on special details, called upon to accompany Jesus at specific opportunities as well as the ones Jesus tended to spend the more of His time with. It appears that they were designated the leaders of the 12. In both Jesus selection of the 12 and the three within the 12 we see a consistent methodology by Jesus of investing in a select few to reach the many! Looking at Jesus’ nicknames of these three in the placement of them over the 12 seems to indicate Jesus’ assessment of what this group needed most: “A rock and two loud voices”! Personally having pastored for nearly 30 years I think a rock and two loud voices comes in pretty handy when dealing with sheep!
                3. Peter: Here is a choice of a man that Jesus knew would deny that he ever knew Him. The acknowledged leader was a person who went from shifting sand to the Rock, which describes what he became after the Holy Spirit took control of him.
                4. James: The surnaming of both James and his brother John in Syrian is “Sons of thunder” but in Hebrew is “Sons of tumult”. The name was laid upon these two for their “tumultuous zeal” which characterized both of them. Here is a choice of two brothers who has such tempers that they wanted to blow away or burn up people who didn’t comply. James would leave his mark not by being a loud voice but by being the first to lay down his life.
                5. John: Who would remain until the end and was noted more for his actions of prayer and love than a loud voice.
                6. Andrew: His name comes from a Greek origin and was used to describe a person who was “manly”. He was the first to enquire of the Lord.
                7. Phillip: Is another Greek name that means found of horses and in ancient Greek was used of a person who was a chariot driver. Elsewhere we are told he was the first that Jesus called.   
                8. Bartholomew: Also known as Nathanael in who we are told had no guile.
                9. Matthew: Is a name that means a “gift of God” he is the one know as Levi in chapter 2 verse 13 the tax collector slash gospel writer. I know this is bad to say but who wants an IRS agent on staff?  
                10. Thomas: His name means “twin” and we know him as the magnificent sceptic. Again a questionable choice as this fellow will deny you’re alive unlike Peter who denied he knew you.
                11. James the son of Alphaeus: Also known as James the less, he may be the brother of Matthew as both are said to be the son of Alphaeus. 
                12. Thaddaeus: He is the other Judas mentioned in John 14:22 and Martin Luther called the “good Judas”. Him we shall hear speak in the upper room. 
                13. Simon the Cananite: More properly the “Canaanaean” which is used to differentiate him from Peter by geographical location. Elsewhere he is called “Simon the Zealot”. Here was a choice of a man that had a complete make over from a revolutionary to a missionary, from a terrorist to tender hearted.      

                Judas Iscariot: His name is placed at the end of the list. Iscariot means “the man from Kerioth” which is a name of a town given in Joshua chapter 15 verse 25 as one of the last of the cities of Judah along the coast near Edom. What a tragic figure Judas is as here we note that he was given authority to cast out demons but in the end will be the one that satan will enter.


                “Love, Lunacy or in league with the devil”

                3:20-35

                1. Introduction
                2. Vs. 22-30 No signs in a morgue to the deceased  
                3. Vs. 20, 21-31-35 Unhinged by Love

                Introduction

                  Mark offers another liability to Jesus’ increased popularity: Misunderstanding the purpose and intentions behind His actions. This came about as a direct observation of His preoccupation with the needs of others above His own needs. Mark further reveals that such misunderstanding was not isolated to those who opposed Him, the scribes. It ran the spectrum, seeing that those who loved Him, His own family, also misunderstood the purpose and intentions behind His actions. Though the diagnoses of the cause of this was different between these two groups they both came from the same observations. Furthermore these two groups both saw the cause as being something that had “taken over” the mental faculties of Jesus. The difference between these two was that the Scribes saw it as coming from the outside and Jesus family saw it as coming from the inside. The problem with the diagnoses was they both failed to realize His PURPOSE because they failed to identify His PERSON, the Son of God. When you consider Jesus true identity His actions are not out of the ordinary they are in every way consistent with His character and nature, God. When has God not considered the needs of His creation above His own? He neither sleeps nor slumbers with regards to us, His meals are to do His purposes. He is by nature quintessentially, “others centered”! That simple observation ought to have caused both groups NOT TO QUESTION or malign His mental stability but rather to fall down before Him to worship:

                  1. The first account is mentioned in verse 21 but won’t be fully dealt with until verses 31-35.
                  2. The second account in verses 22-30 comes from the scribes who came from Jerusalem.
                  3. Vs. 22-30 No signs in a morgue to the deceased

                  Vs.22-27 We shall look at these in order of the priority of the writer Mark, even though he mentions the response of “His own people” first he doesn’t address it until the end which indicates priority.

                  The observation of the Scribes to the cause as to why Jesus was no longer concerned with His needs is that “He has Beelzebub”. Beelzebub means “lord of the flies” or god of dung and it is believed that the Jews transferred this name from the Philistine god to satan in contempt. Simply put their observation led them to the conclusion that Jesus had joined forces with the “dark side”. Here is the first mention of Jesus altering His teaching style to accommodate those that weren’t interested in listening by use of the “parabolic method”. This method was to throw an illustration alongside of truth to explain it and to cause the listener to investigate or search out the truth further.

                  It is not a very well thought out explanation by the educated class of scribes. Jesus just applies basic logic to debunk it. “How can satan cast out satan”? What benefit would satan gain by opposing Himself? He would create anarchy in his underworld as they would be fighting themselves. There would be strife and division amongst his cohorts that would severely cripple their success. One of the reasons evil has such success and power over the world is that it is absolutely 100% united in its aim, there is no rebellion in rebellion! Satan rules by fear and terror! He never permits anything that causes division or any revolutionary activity within his realm. “A kingdom divided against its self, that house cannot stand.” To this Jesus offers the right analysis saying, “No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And he will plunder his house”. By explanation Jesus is the “stronger man” who is doing the plundering! 

                  Vs. 28-30 The word “blaspheme” means to “maliciously misrepresent”. It is used here specifically of speech that was intentionally designed to show contempt and lack of reverence due to Jesus as God. These scribes knew that Jesus was performing miracles by the power and authority of the word of God but deliberately attributed then to satan, in order to misdirect people’s attention and acceptance of Him. 

                  Jesus says, “all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit NEVER HAS FORGIVENESS, but is subject to ETERNAL CONDEMNATION”. This has been referred to as the “unpardonable sin”. Mark’s comment in verse 30 is that Jesus’ warning came about because they attributed His work as coming from the devil. Questions abound with regard to what Jesus was saying and to whom does this warning and judgment apply. There are four points that will clarify this:

                  1. First, the simple observation is that these scribes were being WARNED and not eternally condemned. Though they had attributed the work of Christ to the devil and this was very serious, they had not yet crossed the point of no return. Had they already committed the “unpardonable sin” Jesus would not have issued such a strong warning. There are never any signs in a morgue to the deceased! You don’t warn a man who has already drown in deep water because of a rip tide! No, you warn him while he is still alive and before he goes in too deep and is swept away!
                  2. Secondly, Jesus refers to this as “blasphemes against the Holy Spirit” yet Mark tells us that this blasphemy occurred because they concluded and attributed Jesus work as being from “an unclean spirit”. The question that we need answered is, “How is attributing incorrectly the work of Christ to satan blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and not blasphemy against Jesus? In John 15:26 Jesus says concerning the Holy Spirit that His primary responsibility is to “Testify of Me”. Then in chapter 16:13-14 Jesus said, “..when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and declare it to you.” It is the work of the Holy Spirit to take what is Christ’s words and works and make it known in hearts, to attribute those words and works as coming from satan is rejection of the Holy Spirits work.     
                  3. Third, Jesus’ warning is issued at the scribes but not after His family wrongly attributed His actions as being mentally unstable. This observation goes to the heart of the matter: The scribes had already received and knew Jesus’ true identity according to Jesus stern warning. The Holy Spirit had testified of Jesus and they had been guided into all truth. Their problem was NOT that they hadn’t received all the facts it is having received them they chose to reject Jesus apart from the evidence and conviction brought upon them by the Holy Spirit. Whereas Jesus’ family hadn’t disregarded the Holy Spirit’s testimony.
                  4. Finally, the only question left is: “Why has this not yet reached the level of being “beyond forgiveness” and “eternal condemnation”?” The answer is that the scribes were not yet beyond the Holy Spirit’s testimony, as they were still alive. Oh, to be sure they had waded out into the deep water and were being dragged out deeper but they hadn’t drown yet. To reject Jesus and to die in that state is to be beyond forgiveness. People are forgiven based upon receiving the testimony of the Holy Spirit regarding who Jesus is and what He has done on ther behalf. To die apart from having received this testimony is the “blaspheme against the Holy Spirit” and places a person in a place to “never be forgiven” and subject to “eternal condemnation”.

                  Vs. 20, 21-31-35 Unhinged by Love

                    Vs. 20-21, 31-35 Jesus had hoped that the 10’s of thousands would have disbursed when He went up the mountain with His disciples but they hadn’t as demonstrated that He couldn’t so much as eat bread. The Greek phrase “His own people” in verse 21is further identified by verse 31 as “His brothers and mother” which indicate that it was his immediate family. The words “about this” in verse 21 are italicized which means that they aren’t in the Greek but were added in an attempt to clarify. In this case they misrepresent Jesus’ families concern as “only” being the multitudes with regards to Him eating. Instead the “having heard” refers to all the incidents and crowds during Jesus’ ministry in this region. The words “lay hold” mean to “get possession, become master over or seize” and indicate that Jesus immediate family came to take Him by force against His will. The reason for such a forceful action is that they estimated that He had become mentally unstable do to the demands of the multitudes.

                    When word came to Jesus from the multitude saying, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You.” I’m certain the multitude expected that Jesus would immediately go out and see them. They were concerned enough about His condition to come to where He was at even with thronging multitudes. They had to have let people know loud enough and long enough to garner attention that got word to Him. Jesus didn’t respond to the request but asked the multitude, “Who is my mother, or brothers”. Then before they could answer He looked around at those closest to Him and said “Here are My mother and brothers!” To clarify what He meant by this revelation as for as closeness Jesus continued, “For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.” His answer reveals both His identity and others relationship to Him thought it which is a stronger bond then any human bond or need. His greatest need that superseded all human needs is to “do the will of God”. There is a primacy given in relationships that bind us to our brothers and sisters in Christ and to our Lord Jesus, to God the Father and the Holy Spirit above the demands of even our natural family. When there is a conflict between what our relationship with God demands of our life and the advice, demands from the relationship of our relatives, it is the word of God which is primary. That doesn’t mean that we declare our decision without love and compassion but it does mean that our love for the Lord supersedes our love for all others as it is our love for Him that guides, equips and motivates us too love others. 

                    What I find interesting is that there are many who for leisure or labor have not the time to take care of their basic needs, yet no one thinks they are out of their minds. But when our Lord showed such lack of care exhibited in the needs of others suddenly He’s unhinged. To make matters worse this assessment is from His own immediate family. I’m certain His whole life had exhibited this others centeredness but the difference now was the sheer volume of it, which was no doubt the cause of His personal needs going on met. Why wasn’t this ascribed to LOVE instead accredited to LUNACY? People can get excited as they wish about anything, sport, fashion, politics, entertainment and such excitement is never seen as insanity. But let a soul, touched by the Spirit of God become enthusiastic about the love of God, let them set aside the cares of this world and be engaged in work that transforms the hurting lives of people and that person or persons are out of their minds! And rightly so, as we all ought to be out of our earthly bound mind for the love of Christ! Better to be thought unhinged as it means I have entered in through the door and left it a jar so other can come and knock to enter in as well!