Mark 3:23-35

3:23 So ¹  he called them and spoke to them in parables: ²  “How can Satan cast out Satan? 3:24 If ³  a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom will not be able to stand. 3:25 If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 3:26 And if Satan rises against himself and is divided, he is not able to stand and his end has come. 3:27 But no one is able to enter a strong man’s ⁴  house and steal his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can thoroughly plunder his house. ⁵  3:28 I tell you the truth, ⁶  people will be forgiven for all sins, even all the blasphemies they utter. ⁷  3:29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, but is guilty of an eternal sin” ⁸  3:30 (because they said, “He has an unclean spirit” ⁹ ).

Jesus’ True Family

3:31 Then ¹⁰  Jesus’ ¹¹  mother and his brothers ¹²  came. Standing ¹³  outside, they sent word to him, to summon him. 3:32 A crowd was sitting around him and they said to him, “Look, your mother and your brothers ¹⁴  are outside looking for you.” 3:33 He answered them and said, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” ¹⁵  3:34 And looking at those who were sitting around him in a circle, he said, “Here ¹⁶  are my mother and my brothers! 3:35 For whoever does the will of God is ¹⁷  my brother and sister and mother.”

¹ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

² sn Jesus spoke two parables to demonstrate the absurdity of the thinking of the religious leaders who maintained that he was in league with Satan and that he actually derived his power from the devil. The first parable (vv. 23-26) teaches that if Jesus cast out demons by the ruler of the demons, then in reality Satan is fighting against himself, with the result that his kingdom has come to an end. The second parable (v. 28) about tying up a strong man proves that Jesus does not need to align himself with the devil because Jesus is more powerful. Jesus defeated Satan at his temptation (1:12-13) and by his exorcisms he clearly demonstrated himself to be stronger than the devil. The passage reveals the desperate condition of the religious leaders, who in their hatred for Jesus end up attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan (a position for which they will be held accountable, 3:29-30). For an explanation of what a parable is, see the note on parables in 4:2.

³ sn The three conditional statements in vv. 24-26 express the logical result of the assumption that Jesus heals by Satan’s power, expressed by the religious leaders. The point is clear: If the leaders are correct, then Satan’s kingdom will not stand, so the suggestion makes no sense. Satan would not seek to heal.

⁴ sn The strong man here pictures Satan.

⁵ sn Some see the imagery here as similar to Eph 4:7-10, although no opponents are explicitly named in that passage. Jesus has the victory over Satan. Jesus’ acts of healing mean that the war is being won and the kingdom is coming.

⁶ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

⁷ tn Grk “all the sins and blasphemies they may speak will be forgiven the sons of men.”

⁸ sn Is guilty of an eternal sin. This passage has troubled many people, who have wondered whether or not they have committed this eternal sin. Three things must be kept in mind: (1) the nature of the sin is to ascribe what is the obvious work of the Holy Spirit (e.g., releasing people from Satan’s power) to Satan himself; (2) it is not simply a momentary doubt or sinful attitude, but is indeed a settled condition which opposes the Spirit’s work, as typified by the religious leaders who opposed Jesus; and (3) a person who is concerned about it has probably never committed this sin, for those who commit it here (i.e., the religious leaders) are not in the least concerned about Jesus’ warning. On this last point see W. W. Wessel, “Mark,” EBC 8:645-46.

⁹ sn Unclean spirit refers to an evil spirit.

¹⁰ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

¹¹ tn Grk “his”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹² sn The issue of whether Jesus had brothers (siblings) has had a long history in the church. Epiphanius, in the 4th century, argued that Mary was a perpetual virgin and had no offspring other than Jesus. Others argued that these brothers were really cousins. Nothing in the text suggests any of this. See also John 7:3.

¹³ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

¹⁴ tc ‡ Many mss read “and your sisters” here after “your brothers” (A D Γ 700 pm it). However, the pedigree of several of the mss which lack this phrase is considerable (א B C K L W Δ Θ Ë^1,13 28 33 565 892 1241 1424 2542 pm lat sy). It seems likely that this phrase was added by an early Western scribe to harmonize this statement with Jesus’ response in v. 35. NA²⁷ has the words in brackets, indicating some doubt as to their authenticity.

¹⁵ tn Grk “Who is my mother and my brothers?” The use of the singular verb ἐστιν (estin) here singles out Mary above Jesus’ brothers, giving her special prominence (see ExSyn 401-2). This is slightly unnatural in English since the predicate nominative is plural, though, so a plural verb was used in the translation.

¹⁶ tn Grk “Behold my mother and my brothers.”

¹⁷ tn The pleonastic pronoun οὗτος (Jouto", “this one”) which precedes this verb has not been translated.