Who Is Crazy?

June 10, 2012

Mark 3:20–35

20Then [Jesus] went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. 21And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”
22And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” 23And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.
28 “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” — 30for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
31And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” 33And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

Jesus was very popular. People would flock around him. They wanted to see him. They wanted to hear him. They wanted to be healed by him. They wanted their problems solved by him. They wanted evil to be cast out of their lives. He was popular all over Israel, except in his home town and by the religious authorities in Jerusalem.

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus is in his hometown of Nazareth. Here too there is a big crowd that demanded his attention. He was so busy he had not time to eat. His old hometown friends and family knew the old Jesus and just could not understand how he could have changed into this dynamic evangelist. There was a change in his personality. They could not accept that he was the Messiah. His old friends thought that he had gone crazy. They said, “He is out of his mind.” But they were still his family and friends, so they wanted to help him. They wanted to seize him, they wanted to take him away so that Jesus would not make a fool of himself, and also so that they would not be embarrassed at having a friend who acted wild and crazy. Even his own mother and brothers seemed to be embarrassed by Jesus and wanted him to come home.

Another group of people did not think he was crazy, they thought that Jesus was possessed by the devil, which they name Beelzebul. The scribes from Jerusalem could see that Jesus had supernatural power. This is how Jesus could heal and cast out demons. However, they did not recognize that Jesus’ supernatural power was from God. I am sure that they prayed for God’s help, but they did not believe that God was doing miracles through this man Jesus. They did not accept Jesus as doing the work of God. Perhaps they did not like Jesus’ teaching, or were jealous of his teaching and his popularity, and so they did not want to accept Jesus. They did not think his teaching was from God, so they thought that his words and actions were both from the devil.

So there were two accusations against Jesus: that he was crazy and that he was possessed by the devil. Jesus answers this way. Both of his answers are directed mostly toward the scribes. He is not crazy, they are. Their logic is crooked. “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.” It is illogical that Satan would try to destroy himself, so they are wrong on that point. And so he is working in the power of the Holy Spirit to cast out evil sprits. Q.E.D.

When people called Jesus crazy, I do not think he was too upset. After all, he was saying things that were new. He was talking about the love of God and how to live in that love. But I think Jesus was very upset when they said he had an unclean spirit. Jesus said, 28 “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” — 30for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.” To blaspheme the Holy Spirit is the unforgivable sin because it is the Holy Spirit that gives us the faith to receive the forgiveness of sins. If we reject the Holy Spirit, then we are rejecting the Gospel. We are rejecting the faith of what Jesus did for us. We are rejecting that Jesus died on the cross to forgive our sin and then rose on the third day to bring us reconciliation and peace with God the Father. If Jesus is working in the power of Beelzebul as they claim, then the work on the cross is also the work of the Beelzebul and so brings damnation rather than salvation. These words of Jesus are a bit scary because they speak of eternal judgment and so we people with guilty consciences get a bit nervous. And at the same time, this speech by Jesus has words to comfort and strengthen our guilty hearts. If we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, if we have faith given by the Holy Spirit, then these words give pure gospel. Jesus said, 28 “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter.” That means all other sins. Even lying and murder are forgivable. That is the almighty power of the cross. Jesus preached that gospel. It is forgiveness, it is love, it is living with God. It is living as the children of God.

This Gospel passage starts with those who wanted to prevent Jesus from preaching and teaching and doing the work of God. His friends thought he was crazy and wanted to seize him and take him away. 　The scribes wanted to silence Jesus, and later they will work to kill him. And finally, even Jesus’ own family comes looking for him. They too want him to come home. They show love and concern, but they do not show faith in his work. They are outside the house where Jesus was, they were not working with him. That is how to understand the next words of Jesus. He is not rejecting them, but giving them an invitation to be full members of the family of God. 33And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

Jesus wants us also to be in his family. He wants us to be his brothers and sisters, and yes, even some disciples are like his mother. Of course only God is his Father. His family are those people who are around him, they are the ones who do the will of God. Of course, if we are in the family of Jesus, we too might be called crazy and thought to be possessed by evil spirits. But if we are faithful to the teachings and love of Christ, if we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will know the truth and we will free.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church


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