“You’re crazy!” Every once in a while someone will say that to another. Often it is said good naturedly, as perhaps the one said or did something preposterous and funny. At other times this could be said in all seriousness, as if the other person is thought to be actually mentally ill. If that is the case, and one genuinely cares about the other’s well-being, that might be okay. Sometimes, though, this accusation is leveled against another just because they don’t like the other person, and want to shut them up. Not that long ago, someone could get a relative, often a spouse, parent, or child, wrongly locked up for years in a psychiatric hospital, by falsely accusing them of being “crazy”. In our Scripture today we read of a time when Jesus was called crazy, including by some relatives. Let’s take a look to see what brought that on, and how Jesus responded.
As Jesus’ ministry progressed, the crowds that sought Him grew to huge numbers. People crowded to hear Him preach and teach, and they especially came bringing sick folk to Him for healing. Day after day this happened, and Jesus had very little time to rest or even to grab a bite to eat (vs. 20). As this continued on, where Jesus kept on teaching, preaching, and healing without much time for any breaks, or taking a few days away for a rest every now and then, word got back to His relatives.
Jesus had several relatives, most likely still living in Nazareth. In addition to His mother, Mark 6:3 lists several “brothers” and “sisters”. There are different views as to who exactly these were. The Greek word used is “adelphos”, which means both a literal brother or also “brethren”, which could mean another close relative, such as cousins or step-brothers (if Joseph had been previously married and had children). During the days of Jesus’ earthly ministry these “adelphos” did not believe in His being the Messiah. However, fairly soon after His resurrection and ascension, at least two came to accept Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, James (author of the Book of James and an early Bishop of Jerusalem), and Jude (author of the Book of Jude). At this time, though, Jesus’ relatives thought He was crazy, and came to take ahold of Him and bring Him home, even if it was by force (vs. 21). Even those close to Him were slow to understand who He was and what He had come to do.
Jesus’ family thought He was insane because He took little or no time to eat or rest, so urgent was He with ministry. The Pharisees thought He was demon possessed and in league with Satan (vs. 22). They refused to believe that Jesus’ power was from God, because then they would have to accept Him as the Messiah. The Pharisees had too much pride, so they instead said His power came from Satan. After they made that proclamation, Jesus tried to use a bit of logic with them. Why would someone in league with Satan want to cast Satan or his demons out? (vs. 23-27). Satan is described as a “strong man” in verse 27. However, one must be stronger than him to enter his domain and bind and plunder his house. Only Jesus has such power. Satan is ultimately doomed as head of the demonic world system.
The Lord then continued His teaching by proclaiming that there is an unpardonable sin (vs. 28-30). This sin is committed when one deliberately and disrespectfully slanders the ministry of the Holy Spirit, in particular the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the cross. When one does that, they completely cancel and forfeit any possibility of forgiveness of sins, because they have rejected the only basis of God’s salvation, Jesus’ saving death on the cross. The Pharisees rejected the work of the Holy Spirit. They did this by willfully choosing not to believe in Jesus as their Savior under any condition. Because of their unbelief, they chose to remain without forgiveness.
Acknowledging the true origin of Jesus’ works is a matter of eternal importance. It distinguishes His true family members from those who would be eternally condemned as blasphemous (vs. 31-35). Any biological connection that the “adelphos” had was not important. What was and is important is whether one accepts what Jesus did on the cross for themselves, and takes Him as their Savior. They are His true family. We know that the Virgin Mary did, of course, and that later both James and Jude did. There is no record of whether any others did or not. What about you? Do you think that Jesus was possibly crazy, mentally ill, like His family did at first? Or maybe you go so far as to think that He may have had a demon, like the Pharisees did. If you have never asked the Lord Jesus into your heart as your personal Savior, please do so now, and become a member of His true family.
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