January 31

Mark 3: When Mary Thought Jesus Was Crazy

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Genesis 32; Mark 3; Esther 8; Romans 3

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Photo by Rob Curran on Unsplash

Mark 3 contains another “Markan Sandwich” (see also yesterday’s entry). Mark introduces someone who reacts to Jesus in a certain way that is defective and needs correcting. That’s the first piece of “bread.” The “meat” of the sandwich is some seemingly unrelated person or event that nevertheless shines light on how the first person must correct their view of Jesus. Finally, the second piece of “bread” returns to the first person and provides that completion or correction.

In verses 13-19 Jesus appoints his twelve apostles. It was at this time that the crowds began to swell to unmanageable, amazing numbers, such that they could not even eat (20). In a culture that valued hospitality over almost every other value, this was bordering on scandalous. So then:

21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”

You read that right: Jesus’ own family thought he was crazy for harboring this scene, this undignified situation.

Then the meat of the sandwich. Religious leaders come down from HQ - Jerusalem - to say something very similar about Jesus, that he’s possessed by the devil (22). Jesus rebuffs them with tight logic. Then he leaves them with a very direct warning:

29 …whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.

Jesus tells them this because they don’t realize what they’re doing. He’s not saying that they have committed this sin. He’s saying, “Watch out - you’re coming perilously close to the point of no return. For you are viewing the work of God in entirely human terms and attributing it to the devil. Your interpretation of things has nearly become perfectly inverted. So turn back.”

Then the action from the first part of the sandwich continues, with an extra, very controversial detail added. When Mark mentioned Jesus’ family above, we now learn in verse 31 that this included Mary, his own mother. If you’ve ever been misunderstood by your family for following Jesus, so was he. So then, Mary and Jesus’ brothers arrive and try to take Jesus home. But Jesus responds by asking,

33 “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

Jesus is not renouncing his mother and family. But he is gently rebuking his them. For Mary too must not view Jesus in entirely human terms. She too must instead sit at his feet as his disciple, submitting to His Word. Let us learn the same lesson.