Tuesday 29 October 2024
When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” (v. 21)
Background
In the earlier parts of Mark’s Gospel, which describe the early days of Jesus’ ministry of teaching and healing, we see his initial conflicts with the religious authorities. The local Pharisees criticise him for breaking the strict Sabbath laws about work (Mark 2:24) and question whether it was right to heal someone in the synagogue on the Sabbath (Mark 3:1-6). As a result of those early skirmishes we are told that “The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.” (Mark 3:6)
Our reading today returns to this conflict and intensifies it. Jesus is no longer receiving criticism just from the local religious leaders, now “scribes who came down from Jerusalem” (v. 22) have arrived. What he has been doing in the backwater of Galilee has clearly come to the attention of the national authorities, and they have rapidly come to the conclusion that this man who heals people thought to be made unwell with evil spirits must himself be in league with the same evil spirits (v. 22).
Jesus challenges them head on with logic that the crowd around him would have clearly understood. How can a divided house achieve anything other than its own destruction (v. 25)? Jesus could not be in league with the evil powers he is driving out – quite the contrary, what he is demonstrating is that through the Holy Spirit he's bringing healing and wholeness. That this cannot be seen by the religious leaders suggests they are the ones who should be accused of blasphemy.
However the religious leaders are not the only ones to be concerned about Jesus’ behaviour. His family are also worried about him, so much so that “they went out to restrain him” (v. 21). We are not told whether they actually did this or not, but they seemed to believe that Jesus himself was mentally unwell and that he needed restraining for his own good. This misunderstanding by his relatives and the religious leaders, albeit they had different reasons for what they were seeing, blinds them to the truth and stands in contrast with the crowd, which is now so big it prevents Jesus from eating (v. 20). It is the ordinary people who have replaced family and religious authorities and who are now the ones with the better grasp of the reality of God’s actions among them.
To Ponder:
- Consider how you deal with differences between the rules and teaching of different religious organisations. How should we respond to any conflicting positions?
- Pray for churches, locally, nationally and internationally, which have experienced conflict and division that at times has led to separation. Pray for understanding, healing and reconciliation.
Prayer
Healing God, we pray for those who suffer from internal distress that impacts their mental and physical wellbeing. Help them to know your presence in their lives and bring them healing, wholeness and peace. Amen.
Bible notes author: Dr Richard Vautrey
Dr Richard Vautrey is a local preacher and church steward in Leeds, and a former Vice-President of the Methodist Conference. He works as a GP and is a former chair of the BMA's GP committee.