Scripture Reference: Mark 3:7-35
Wanted: A New Family
In Mark 3:20-35 we are introduced directly to the family of Jesus, the new family that He came to establish, that we become part of when we surrender to, and follow Him. Having called the Twelve to Himself, Jesus now returns to town. He is most likely back at His Capernaum base, and maybe this is once more the house we have been in before, first in chapter 1 and then again in chapter 2. Not surprisingly, He will have to face His opponents again as well as the crowds. The fact that opposition now also comes from His own human family must have hurt. It is against this background of false accusations, of blindness and hostility towards Jesus, that He shows us whom He considers to be His true family.
The story focuses around two ideas about Jesus, the first from Jesus’ physical family, who think He is most likely mad, “out of His mind,” and the second from the religious authorities, who think He is possessed by evil. Jesus and His team are so busy that they don’t have time for a “lunch-break.” It is quite possible to read the report in verse 21 as, “His own people were saying He is out of his mind.” In other words, a rumor is doing the rounds that Jesus is mad. Thus His own family members have come to that conclusion. Either way, it is the family who feel that they have no choice but to come and take Him away. Yes, Jesus is a thirty-year-old man who is living an independent life, but in a culture where the honor of the family is so vital, they simply have to follow up on stories like this. It is a question of honor or shame, just as it is in the Middle East even today. Presumably it is what Jesus has been saying, the claims He has been making, that has led people to say that He is mad. After all, He has been claiming to forgive people’s sins in His own name! (Mark 2:5). He has been announcing that, now He has arrived, God is in action again, doing new things, in fact, God’s longed-for Kingdom is here because He has arrived.
Interestingly, it seems that the final straw is the report that Jesus isn’t getting regular meals. Like many mothers, Mary is probably most concerned that her eldest son should be eating properly! So the family set off, and they will appear again shortly.
This is in fact the first example in the Gospel of bracketing, a device Mark uses to illustrate one story by means of another. There is a striking example in chapter 11, where the cursing of the fig tree is an acted parable illustrating the downfall of the temple. In this case Mark is highlighting the fact that Jesus’ own natural family do no understand Him any better (at least at this point in His ministry) than His religious adversaries.
Meanwhile, the religious leaders are getting in on the act. We have seen before that Jesus’ opponents have watched Him closely, even setting traps for Him (see Mark 3:1-6), but here it is absolutely clear that He is faced by a special commission of inquiry sent down from headquarters in Jerusalem. Rumors haven’t only reached His family; the news about Jesus’ activities is now seriously worrying the temple authorities. They have a policy in their files for dealing with cases like this. So, according to their clear procedures, they now send this commission up north to Capernaum, about eighty miles away. Possibly they are enquiring whether the whole town needs to be declared apostate, that is, rejecting God, but certainly they are given the task of drawing a clear conclusion about Jesus Himself.
To Be Continued
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 
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