Session 3
Mark 3:20-30
Memory Verse: Mark 3:24
Questions about authority come up in families, as parents guide their children from infancy to maturity. Property owners also find themselves dealing with questions about authority. Property lines can be questioned when trees need to be planted or fences need to be constructed. Important questions about authority come up in the world of law and order. Ordinary citizens have to choose whether or not they will honor and obey police officers or judges.
The passage in Mark’s Gospel for this session raises questions about the extent of Jesus’s authority. He had already demonstrated power over sickness, but critics wondered where He derived such power. As you study this session, consider the role Jesus’s authority plays in your life. Identify areas where you might be denying His authority and talk with Him about surrendering to Him once again.
Ours is an age of self-proclaimed autonomy. “No one is going to tell me what to do!” is a familiar refrain. Many assert that they are accountable only to themselves. In self-authority, the only guidance a person seeks is one’s own wisdom, and the only allegiance given is to one’s own self-interest. Of course, when every person is their own authority, the result is relational chaos. No wonder the world is a fractured and confused place. (PSG, p. 28)
Despite all of Jesus’s miracles and ministry, His tensions with the religious elite continued to escalate. As noted in Mark 2, some of the leaders had accused Him of blasphemy—claiming equality with God. They also had serious concerns about His attempts to redefine the Sabbath in ways that ran contrary to their accepted traditions.
Mark 3 begins with another Sabbath showdown. When a man with a paralyzed hand came to Jesus in the synagogue, Jesus raised a theological question about the spirit of the law and the letter of the law. Jesus chose to follow the spirit of the Sabbath by showing mercy and healing the man.
In this account, Mark shared two examples of the religious leaders’ growing animosity toward Jesus. First, they began watching Him closely, looking for a reason to accuse Him (3:2). Second, they initiated a plot to kill Him (3:6). This is the first indication readers have that leaders were planning behind the scenes to execute Jesus.
For His part, Jesus never let His conflicts with the religious establishment hinder His work. He continued fulfilling the Father’s plan by pointing people toward the kingdom, healing diseases, and exorcising demons (3:7-12). He also handpicked twelve men who would learn from Him and spread His message to others. This example of personal multiplication has served as the foundation of Christian discipleship for more than two thousand years.
As His ministry grew and the crowds around Him increased, Jesus began experiencing opposition on multiple fronts. Mark pointed out that members of His own family believed He had lost His mind (3:20-21), while the religious leaders continued to accuse Him of blasphemy (3:22). They said that He cast out demons in the name of Satan (or Beelzebul).
Jesus again dealt with the charges by using the leaders’ own faulty logic against them. No ruler can find victory by destroying his own strongholds. Likewise, Satan had nothing to gain by giving Jesus the authority to cast out demons. So, Jesus had to be relying on an authority higher and stronger than Satan—His heavenly Father.
Jesus also clarified the family issues by redefining what it means to be a member of His family. While Jesus would never deny His earthly family, He also knew that membership in the kingdom was what really mattered.
Mark 4 represents a shift in Jesus’s methods. While He still preached about the kingdom, He began using parables—stories that conveyed spiritual truths—to teach the crowds. The stories illuminated those who accepted them with an open heart and meant little to those who did not (4:10-12). Jesus made sure to explain the true message of each parable to His disciples so they would be equipped when their time to share the message came (4:33-34).
As you read Mark 3:20-30, identify the questions asked by Jesus. What do each of them reveal about His authority?
EXPLORE THE TEXT
20 Jesus entered a house, and the crowd gathered again so that they were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard this, they set out to restrain him, because they said, “He’s out of his mind.” 22 The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and, “He drives out demons by the ruler of the demons.”
(v. 20) Crowd: Jesus had entered someone’s house to eat, but the crowd even followed Him there and disrupted the meal. Many scholars believe this house was probably the home of Peter and Andrew in Capernaum. Whatever the case, the audience was interrupting Jesus’s personal time.
(v. 21) Family: The Greek wording is unclear as to who exactly came to the home to confront Jesus. The actual subject in Greek is vague and means “those with Him” or “His own people.” This could also mean friends. Since Mark referred to Jesus’s family later in the passage (vv. 21,31-35), some scholars believe that is who Mark meant here. But either rendering could be correct.
(v. 21) Restrain: The root of the Greek word chosen by Mark (krateo) implies physical control. It emphasizes strength and mastery over someone. Those close to Jesus apparently believed that He was a danger to Himself and others, and they were willing to use force to stop Him. In general, Jesus’s family genuinely cared for His physical and mental well-being, and they believed the situation required an intervention.
(v. 21) Out of his mind: This is the first of two times that Jesus’s family is introduced in Mark (see chapter 6). Their specific concern was that His growing popularity was affecting His mental health. He was too entrenched in His work and unable to even take care of Himself. As noted, they were willing to restrain Him and take Him away with physical force if necessary. This was their plan for eliminating the stress and strain created by crowds of people constantly seeking to have their physical and spiritual needs met.
(v. 22) Scribes: The scribes were the teachers of the law. The reference to them coming from Jerusalem would imply that they were a delegated group of leaders assigned to evaluate Jesus and His teaching. They would have been charged with finding facts that would confirm or deny rumors about His ministry.
These scribes would have a great influence on those who lived outside of Jerusalem. Word of Jesus was spreading quickly through the region and had created some concerns to those who saw themselves as guardians of the law. They had to go and hear what was being taught themselves in case they needed to act quickly and squelch the ministry of Jesus.
On an interesting note, if they came from Jerusalem to Capernaum, they would travel north, but they also would come “down” from a higher elevation to a lower elevation.
(v. 22) Possessed by Beelzebul: As the Jewish leaders observed Jesus in action, they concluded that he was possessed by an evil force and was simply a raving madman. They used the term Beelzebul, which was a reference to a false Canaanite god associated with demons. By the first century, the Jews used it as a name for Satan. They did not deny the fact that Jesus was able to free people from evil spirits, but they believed he was using demonic powers to do so.
(v. 22) Ruler of the demons: This term is a direct reference to the chief demon, Satan himself. While they didn’t refer to Jesus as Satan, they implied that he was working with the power of Satan to cast out the demons and evil spirits.
Beelzebul in the Old Testament
In 2 Kings 1:1-17, Ahaziah, the ruler of Israel’s Northern Kingdom, sent some of his servants to call on Baal-zebub (the Hebrew equivalent to Beelzebul). He had been critically injured in a fall and wanted to discern whether he would live or die by consulting the false god. In response, the Lord sent Elijah the prophet to reprimand the king for calling on a worthless pagan idol. He also told Ahaziah that he would not survive. While the king tried to arrest Elijah for the prophecy, Ahaziah died just as the prophet had said.
For more on the background of Beelzebul, see Pack Item 9 (Handout: Who is Beelzebub?).
23 So he summoned them and spoke 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 but is finished. 27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house.”
(v. 23) Parables: This is the first time that Mark used this term, although Jesus had already taught using parables in chapter 2. A parable is a form of wisdom teaching that uses an analogy or comparison. A parable could take many forms, including proverbs, allegories, or stories.
While Jesus was known for His parables, they were actually an ancient form of teaching. The Greek word parabole is equivalent to the Hebrew word mishal, which described a proverb or prophetic word or a saying that was difficult to understand. In the New Testament, Jesus often used parables to compare earthly things with heavenly truths.
(v. 23) Drive out Satan: Jesus responded to the scribes’ accusations by using a parable. In addition, by calling out Satan, Jesus identified Satan as a real being and affirmed that his kingdom of evil is real. His words also revealed the hypocrisy and contradictions behind the religious leaders’ comments. If He was driving out demons with demonic power, Satan would literally be working against himself. The idea was ridiculous, and Mark used this situation to affirm Jesus as God’s Son, the Messiah.
(vv. 24-25) Divided against itself: In an effort to bring even more clarification, Jesus further explained that a kingdom or a house cannot survive if it is divided against itself. If Jesus was working alongside Satan to cast out the demons, the enemy would be destroying his own work and kingdom. Satan could not advance his evil agenda by removing evil from a particular situation. Jesus declared that He was working to advance a much different kingdom. Satan was actually His enemy rather than His ally.
(v. 27) Strong man’s house: Jesus emphasized that the only way a person could go in and take something from a stronger person would be to bind that person. In this case, Satan was the strong man, but Jesus demonstrated His superior power by dismantling Satan’s work. The fact that He could cast out demons and defeat evil spirits provided evidence that He was an agent of righteousness, sent by God to do God’s work. He had the power and authority to free people from the oppression of sin that had been holding them in bondage.
(v. 27) Plunder: The Greek root word used here (diaparzo) indicates a forceful seizing of someone else’s property. The term was often used to describe the loot armies captured during a battle. In this case, the strong man would be bound and all that once belonged to Him would be captured and taken away. The implication is that the supposedly strong man would have nothing left to claim for his own. In the New Testament, this Greek word is used only here and in Matthew’s parallel passage (Matt. 12:29).
Satan
Derived as a transliteration of the Hebrew word for “adversary,” the term appears in the Old Testament as both a verb or a noun. When used as a noun, it is used as both a general term (2 Sam. 19:22; Ps. 109:6) and as a proper name (Job 1–2; Zech. 3:2). It can also be understood as “one who makes accusations.”
While it could be used to refer to a human opponent, Satan had come to identify the chief of the fallen angels by the first century. He rebelled against God’s authority, was cast out of heaven, and was the origin of evil—including the temptation that led to humanity’s sin and fall. He remains limited by the hand of God, though He did tempt Jesus during His earthly ministry (Matt. 4:1) and continues to tempt humanity.
The New Testament teaches that this world and culture are the temporary domain of Satan; however, one day Jesus will return with all power and authority, fulfilling the eternal judgment of Satan and his followers.
28 “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for all sins and whatever blasphemies they utter. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” — 30 because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
(v. 28) Will be forgiven: Jesus never hesitated to say that God forgives any and all sins with the exception of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. However, Jesus also issued a harsh warning to the religious leaders about their accusations. They were putting themselves in a dangerous situation by attributing the works of God to Satan. Jesus was cooperating with the Holy Spirit to cast out demons, but the scribes failed to distinguish between the works of Satan and what Jesus had done.
Jesus called out the scribes because of their attitude and hostility toward the work of the Holy Spirit through Him. They were denying the redemptive power that Jesus had through the Spirit.
(v. 28) Blasphemies: The Bible reveals various applications and definitions of “blasphemy.” In general, this sin involves speaking evil against God (Ps. 74:18; Isa. 52:5). We also find in the Bible where it is referring to defaming God’s character or lying about Him (1 Kings 21:10; Acts 13:45; 18:6). That would include what was happening here, as the religious leaders were attributing His works to demonic activity. Those who deny Jesus as the Messiah are also considered blasphemous (Luke 22:65; John 10:36).
(v. 29) Against the Holy Spirit: Mark noted that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is an unforgivable (or eternal) sin. In this, he was referring to an attitude of hostility that ultimately rejects the saving power of God. This ongoing posture of unbelief ultimately hardens people’s hearts toward God.
At some point, the hearts of such rebels become so hard that they no longer have the desire to seek repentance. And, without repentance, forgiveness becomes impossible.
(v. 29) Eternal sin: Mark called blasphemy of the Holy Spirit an eternal sin because it involves rejecting Jesus’s identity as the Messiah sent from God and refusing the salvation and forgiveness only He provides. Of course, God never withdraws His offer of salvation. Instead, the individual stubbornly refuses to accept His grace—and rejects God in the process.
While it is certainly a serious violation, it rarely appears in Scripture. Aside from this passage and the parallel passages in Matthew (Matt. 12:31-32) and Luke (Luke 12:10), John referred to a sin that leads to death in his first epistle (1 John 5:16-17). In this context, heretics were refusing to acknowledge the deity of Christ—much like the religious leaders were refusing to accept God’s work through Jesus in Mark. The writer of Hebrews also referred to a sin for which there was no sacrifice (Heb. 10:26-32) in discussing continued, willful rejection of God’s offer of salvation.
(v. 30) They were saying: The Greek wording could also be rendered “kept on saying.” The religious leaders were continuing to stand by their accusations and assumptions, again revealing their stubbornness and rebellion. In addition, these accusations were not being made by laypeople. They were being leveled by experts in the law who should have known better and should have had more insight into the person and work of the Messiah.
Salvation
Justification brings the believer into a relationship of peace and favor with God. (See Romans 5:8-10; Colossians 1:14.)
Use a Bible dictionary to gain deeper insight into a key word.
Look up the word blasphemy in a Bible dictionary to discover its meaning and usage. Write a summary of your findings. Based on your findings and Mark 3:28-30, is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit a one-time act or a disposition? Explain.