He is possessed by Beelzebul

Mark 3:20-30

When it states in the gospel of Mark 3:20 that Jesus went home we believe it is referring to Capernaum.  At this point in Jesus’ ministry so many had heard of what He had done that they wanted to be there to either be healed, have a demon removed from a family member, or to see what is going to happen next.  Now if you’re the priest in charge of the treasury and few are coming to services, you begin to be alarmed.  This new Rabbi is the center of attention and He is not one of your boys, and that always makes religious folks fearful.  They have been the central authority and the only show in town and now someone who is not part of their team is getting all the attention.

In these first verses we see the results of all Jesus’ popularity; “Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again so that they could not even eat. And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”  A crowd of people can be very dangerous, and they have expectations and Jesus and His disciples sitting down to a quiet meal is not on their schedule.  Jesus’ family are keepers of the Law and Jewish, and that means they have grown-up under the authority of the priest and it looks as if they are being pressured to get Jesus under control.  Only Mark makes this statement; “He is out of his mind.” 

I’m sure it was not long before the scribes that came from Jerusalem understood the family of Jesus had no authority over Him, for Jesus’ focus was only doing the will of the Father.  (Note: how different it would be if the Church had the same attention to just doing the will of the Father, how different it would be if you and I had that as our only goal.)

So the scribes go to plan B, and that is to attack the messenger of God, that is still the plan both Satan and religion use today.  “And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.”  Now the religious guys are the ones who are under the control of demons and we are told in Scriptures the demons know that Jesus is the Son of God, but they are saying Jesus is under the control of Satan.

Jesus reply; found in Mark 3:23-30, “And he called them to him and said 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 is coming to an end. But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.

“Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

Let me close with this statement, neither you nor I can stand in our strength against the powers and schemes of the devil, we need Jesus to do it all for us!

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice