People Misunderstand Jesus

MEMORY VERSE: “He that is not with Me is against Me; and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth abroad.” —Matthew 12:30

MARK 3:20-27, 31-35

WITHOUT doubt there was much misunderstanding of Jesus on the part of the Israelites of his day. But Jesus’ persecutions came not so much from misunderstandings as they did from the jealousies and hatreds of the religious leaders of his day. These looked for things in his ministry which they could criticize, and any misunderstandings on their part arose largely from their desire to discredit and turn the people away from him.

Today’s lesson again finds Jesus surrounded by people, presumably seeking blessings at his hands. The New English Translation gives a clearer meaning to verse 21—“When his family heard of this, they set out to take charge of him; for people were saying that he was out of his mind.” While Jesus’ family for the most part did not believe on him, some of them at least had a concern for his physical welfare.

As so often happened, the scribes and Pharisees were on hand to discredit the Master’s ministry. They charged, “He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of devils casteth he out devils.” (vs. 22) This was a vicious accusation, but one, nevertheless, for which Jesus had a logical reply. He said: “How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. … And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.”—vss. 23-26

This reply clearly called attention to the false reasoning of the scribes and Pharisees and, because he could read their hearts, Jesus did not hesitate to explain what this implied in their relationship to God. He explained: “Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: but he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation. Because, they said, He hath an unclean spirit.”—vss. 28-30

The Holy Spirit is the holy power of God. The scribes and Pharisees had witnessed many demonstrations of the power of God’s Spirit in the miracles they had seen Jesus perform. Not being able to deny this, they made the deliberate charge that Jesus was using the power of Satan to perform these miracles. Jesus’ reply suggests that he knew they were willfully misrepresenting his ministry, and that this constituted a sin against the Holy Spirit. They were sinning against light, against understanding.

Jesus explained that such sins could not be forgiven, either in this age, or in the age to come. Those who commit such sins, Jesus explained, were in danger of “eternal damnation.” The thought here is eternal condemnation. This would mean the punishment described in Revelation 20:14 as “the second death.” Peter referred to it as being “destroyed from among the people.”—Acts 3:23

The over-all lesson to be gleaned from Jesus’ remarks would be that no sin against the Holy Spirit can be forgiven; that those who commit such sins will be punished. However, the nature and duration of that punishment depends upon the extent to which such sins are continued. If they become one’s habit of life, eternal death will be the punishment. On the other hand, repentance and discipline can lead to reformation and, through the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ, to life eternal.

Verses 31-35 relate the effort of Jesus’ mother and brethren to see him. The crowd in and about the house took note of this and sent word to Jesus about it. “They said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek thee. And he answered them saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren? And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren. For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.”

We are not to infer from this that Jesus had no interest in the members of his own family, or that he did not love them. It simply indicates that his first concern and love was for those who were truly seeking to know and do the will of his Heavenly Father; that these were more precious to him than even the sweetest earthly ties.

QUESTIONS

What motivated the scribes and Pharisees to oppose Jesus?

What is the Holy Spirit, and how can we sin against it?

Whom did Jesus esteem his closest associates?

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