Then [Jesus] went home; and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, 'He has gone out of his mind.' And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, 'He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.' And he called them to him, and spoke 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 his end has come. But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.
'Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin' for they had said, 'He has an unclean spirit.'
Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, 'Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.' And he replied, 'Who are my mother and my brothers?' And looking at those who sat around him, he said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.'
This passage takes the story in an unusual direction after the appointment of the twelve. The phrase that stands out to me today is, “a house divided against itself will not be able to stand.” Jesus is faced with accusers saying that he has a demon. He said to them, “How can Satan cast out Satan?”
In this passage, Jesus goes home and confronts accusers there who say that he has a demon. Some think he is out of his mind and possessed. Jesus teaches them in a parable, saying that the kingdom cannot stand if divided against itself. He also relates it to plunder a strong man’s house… that one must first tie him up. Jesus goes from talking about a kingdom divided to the forgiveness of sins and blasphemies, saying that blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness. He said this because they said he had an unclean spirit.
Then, he abruptly goes from there to define who his mother, brothers, and sisters are. Jesus says that the ones with him are his mother and brothers and sisters, and whoever does the will of God is his brother and sister and mother. This is also the first time in Mark's Gospel that indicates Jesus has kin (mother and brothers and sisters).
The call today for me is unity. It came to me from his explanation of a house divided. If we, as disciples and children of God, are in union with each other, then anything is possible. Unity is strength and power; Unity is wisdom and influence. Without unity and a shared mission, we are divided, and we will fall.
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