Mark in March 3:20-30

Mark 3:20-30

Jesus and the Prince of Demons

²⁰ One time Jesus entered a house, and the crowds began to gather again. Soon he and his disciples couldn’t even find time to eat. ²¹ When his family heard what was happening, they tried to take him away. “He’s out of his mind,” they said.

²² But the teachers of religious law who had arrived from Jerusalem said, “He’s possessed by Satan, the prince of demons. That’s where he gets the power to cast out demons.”

²³ Jesus called them over and responded with an illustration. “How can Satan cast out Satan?” he asked. ²⁴ “A kingdom divided by civil war will collapse. ²⁵ Similarly, a family splintered by feuding will fall apart. ²⁶ And if Satan is divided and fights against himself, how can he stand? He would never survive. ²⁷ Let me illustrate this further. Who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man like Satan and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger—someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house.

²⁸ “I tell you the truth, all sin and blasphemy can be forgiven, ²⁹ but anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. This is a sin with eternal consequences.” ³⁰ He told them this because they were saying, “He’s possessed by an evil spirit.”

Verses 20-21 -  So much was demanded of Jesus by the people that He had no time to eat.  His family was well-meaning and wanted Him to get away from the mob and nourish himself.  They thought He was “crazy” for putting Himself in a position to be so pressed upon.

Verses 22-28 – Teachers of religious law were relentless in trying to accuse Jesus of doing wrong.  My question is, if they were so smart and knew the scriptures so well, why didn’t they realize who Jesus truly was… like those who were following Him and being forgive of their sin and being healed of their illnesses?  Because they were religious, but not spiritual and their hearts were not seeking the truth.  They loved their position in the church more than they loved God.  They blasphemed the Son of Man who God had sent to be their Savior!  They accused Jesus, who never sinned, of being possessed by Satan!  That is the worst thing they could have done, worse than spitting in the face of God.

In verses 29-30, Jesus told the religious leaders that they had just sealed their own fate by their sin of blasphemy.  It’s unforgivable to say that the Holy Spirit is from Satan and that is what they said when they said that Jesus was possessed by Satan.

What does Mark 3:20-30 say to you?