Blasphemy of the Scribes & Jesus and Beelzebul (Mk. 3:20-35)

He came home. Again [the] crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat.  21 When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”  22 The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “By the prince of demons he drives out demons.” 23 Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables, “How can Satan drive 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; that is the end of him. 27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house. 28 Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin.” 30 For they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”  31 His mother and his brothers arrived. Standing outside they sent word to him and called him. 32 A crowd seated around him told him, “Your mother and your brothers [and your sisters] are outside asking for you.” 33 But he said to them in reply, “Who are my mother and [my] brothers?” 34 And looking around at those seated in the circle he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 35 [For] whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.

When Jesus returned to Capernaum, the crowds were so overwhelming that there was no time for him and the disciples to eat.  When his relatives heard about the crowds who were following him, they set out to forcibly remove him since they did not believe in him and thought he was “out of his mind.”  

The scribes from Jerusalem, who had come to observe Jesus, perceived His words and actions as violations of the Torah.  Consequently, they acknowledged Jesus' works but accused Him of blasphemy, alleging that he was possessed by Satan and performing miracles through Satanic power.  In response, Jesus told them that every kingdom or house divided against itself would come to ruin.  If his miracles and exorcisms, which were undermining Satan's kingdom, were done by the power of Satan, then Satan would be working against his kingdom and it would be destroyed.  Jesus’ works also indicated that Satan’s kingdom was being destroyed by someone stronger so Satan could not be the source of the miracles and exorcisms performed by Jesus.  All sins can be forgiven, but attributing the work of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ healings to the power of Satan is a malicious sin against the Holy Spirit that can never be forgiven (1 Sam. 2:25; Ex. 32:33). 

There has been much debate about the “brothers” of Jesus.  In the ancient Middle East, brothers and sisters could mean cousins, nephews, nieces, half-brothers, and half-sisters.  Two of Jesus’ “brothers”, James and Joses, were sons from a different Mary, one of the women watching Jesus die on the cross (Mk. 15:40).  When Jesus was told that his mother, brothers, and sisters were outside, Jesus responded by contrasting his natural family with his new spiritual family.  Jesus was not rejecting his natural family but was making the point that the duties stemming from natural family ties are subordinate to the obligation to do God’s will.  

Almighty God, help us to turn away from all that is evil and through the power of the Holy Spirit, embrace the joy of your word and the goodness of your works.  This we ask through Christ our Lord.  Amen!

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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.

                Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.