From: Mark 3:20-35
His Relatives Are Concerned About Jesus
Then He (Jesus) went home; [20] and the crowd came together again, so that
they could not even eat. [21] And when His friends heard it, they went out to
seize Him, for they said, “He is beside Himself.”
Allegations of the Scribes
[22] And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He (Jesus) is pos-
sessed by Beelzebul, and by the prince of demons He casts out the demons.”
[23] And 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.”
Sins Against the Holy Spirit
[28] “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever
blasphemies they utter; [29] but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”—[30] for they had said, “He
has an unclean spirit.”
The True Kinsmen of Jesus
[31] And His (Jesus’) mother and His brethren came; and standing outside they
went to Him and called Him. [32] And a crowd was sitting about Him: and they
said to Him, “Your mother and Your brethren are outside, asking for You.” [33]
And He replied, “Who are My mother and My brethren?” [34] And looking around
on those who sat about Him, He said, “Here are My mother and My brethren!
[35] Whoever does the will of God is My brother, and sister, and mother.”
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Commentary:
20-21. Some of His relatives, whose outlook was too human, regarded Jesus’
total commitment to apostolate as excessive: the only explanation, they thought,
was that He was out of His mind. On reading these words of the Gospel, we can-
not help being moved, realizing what Jesus did for love of us: people even thought
Him mad. Many saints, following Christ’s example, have been taken for madmen
— but they were mad with love, mad with love for Jesus Christ.
22-23. Even Jesus’ miracles were misunderstood by these scribes, who accuse
Him of being a tool of the prince of devils, Beelzebul. This name may be con-
nected with Beelzebub (which spelling is given in some codices), the name of a
god of the Philistine city of Eqron (Accaron), which means “god of the flies.” But
it is more likely that the prince of devils is called Beelzebul, which means “god
of excrement”: “excrement” is the word Jews used to describe pagan sacrifices.
Whether Beelzebub or Beelzebul, in the last analysis it refers to him to whom
these sacrifices were offered, the devil (1 Corinthians 10:20). He is the same
mysterious but real person whom Jesus calls Satan, which means “the enemy”,
whose dominion over the world Christ has come to wrest from him (1 Corinthians
15:24-28; Colossians 1:13f) in an unceasing struggle (Matthew 4:1-10; John 16:
11). These names show us that the devil really exists: he is a real person who
has at his beck and call others of his kind (Mark 5:9).
24-27. Our Lord invites the Pharisees, who are blind and obstinate, to think along
these lines: if someone expels the devil this means he is stronger than the devil:
once more we are exhorted to recognize in Jesus the God of strength, the God
who uses His power to free man from enslavement to the devil. Satan’s dominion
has come to an end: the prince of this world is about to be cast out. Jesus’ vic-
tory over the power of darkness, which is completed by His death and resurrec-
tion, shows that the light has already entered the world, as our Lord Himself told
us: “Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast
out; and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself” (John
12:31-32).
28-30. Jesus has just worked a miracle but the scribes refuse to recognize it “for
they had said `He has an unclean spirit’” (verse 30). They do not want to admit
that God is the author of the miracle. In this attitude lies the special gravity of
blasphemy against the Holy Spirit—attributing to the prince of evil, to Satan, the
good works performed by God Himself. Anyone acting in this way will become
like the sick person who has so lost confidence in the doctor that he rejects him
as if an enemy and regards as poison the medicine that can save his life. That
is why our Lord says that he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be
forgiven: not because God cannot forgive all sins, but because that person, in
his blindness towards God, rejects Jesus Christ, His teaching and His miracles,
and despises the graces of the Holy Spirit as if they were designed to trap him
(cf. “St. Pius V Catechism”, II, 5, 19; St. Thomas Aquinas, “Summa theologiae”,
II-II, q. 14, a. 3).
31-35. In Aramaic, the language used by the Jews, the word “brethren” is a broad
term indicating kinship: nephews, first cousins, and relatives in general are called
‘brethren’ (for further explanation cf. note on Mark 6:1-3). “Jesus did not say this
to disown His mother, but to show that she is worthy of honor not only account of
having given birth to Jesus, but also because she has all the virtues” (Theophylact,
“Enarratio In Evangelium Marci, in loc.”).
Therefore, the Church reminds us that the Blessed Virgin “in the course of her
Son’s preaching received the words whereby, in extolling a kingdom beyond the
concerns and ties of flesh and blood, He declared blessed those who heard and
kept the word of God as she was faithfully doing” (Vatican II, “Lumen Gentium”,
58).
Our Lord, then, is also telling us that if we follow Him we will share His life more
intimately than if we were a member of His family. St.Thomas explains this by
saying that Christ “had an eternal generation and a generation in time, and gave
preference to the former. Those who do the will of the Father reach Him by Hea-
venly generation [...]. Everyone who does the will of the Father, that is to say,
who obeys Him, is a brother or sister of Christ, because he is like Him who ful-
filled the will of His Father. But he who not only obeys but converts others, be-
gets Christ in them, and thus becomes like the Mother of Christ” (”Commentary
on St. Matthew”, 12, 49-50.)
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible by Darton, Longman & Todd
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Green.
| First reading |
Genesis 3:9-15 © |
| 'I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid' |
The Lord God called to the man after he had eaten of the tree. ‘Where are you?’ he asked. ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden;’ he replied ‘I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.’ ‘Who told you that you were naked?’ he asked ‘Have you been eating of the tree I forbade you to eat?’ The man replied, ‘It was the woman you put with me; she gave me the fruit, and I ate it.’ Then the Lord God asked the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman replied, ‘The serpent tempted me and I ate.’
Then the Lord God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this,
‘Be accursed beyond all cattle,
all wild beasts.
You shall crawl on your belly and eat dust
every day of your life.
I will make you enemies of each other:
you and the woman,
your offspring and her offspring.
It will crush your head
and you will strike its heel.’
| Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 129(130) © |
With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord,
Lord, hear my voice!
O let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleading.
With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt,
Lord, who would survive?
But with you is found forgiveness:
for this we revere you.
With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
My soul is waiting for the Lord.
I count on his word.
My soul is longing for the Lord
more than watchman for daybreak.
(Let the watchman count on daybreak
and Israel on the Lord.)
With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
Because with the Lord there is mercy
and fullness of redemption,
Israel indeed he will redeem
from all its iniquity.
With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
| Second reading |
| 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1 © |
| We are being trained to carry the weight of eternal glory |
As we have the same spirit of faith that is mentioned in scripture – I believed, and therefore I spoke – we too believe and therefore we too speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus to life will raise us with Jesus in our turn, and put us by his side and you with us. You see, all this is for your benefit, so that the more grace is multiplied among people, the more thanksgiving there will be, to the glory of God.
That is why there is no weakening on our part, and instead, though this outer man of ours may be falling into decay, the inner man is renewed day by day. Yes, the troubles which are soon over, though they weigh little, train us for the carrying of a weight of eternal glory which is out of all proportion to them. And so we have no eyes for things that are visible, but only for things that are invisible; for visible things last only for a time, and the invisible things are eternal.
For we know that when the tent that we live in on earth is folded up, there is a house built by God for us, an everlasting home not made by human hands, in the heavens.
| Gospel Acclamation |
Jn14:23 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
If anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we shall come to him.
Alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia!
Now the prince of this world is to be overthrown,
says the Lord.
And when I am lifted up from the earth,
I shall draw all men to myself.
Alleluia!
| A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand |
Jesus went home with his disciples, and such a crowd collected that they could not even have a meal. When his relatives heard of this, they set out to take charge of him, convinced he was out of his mind.
The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, ‘Beelzebul is in him’ and, ‘It is through the prince of devils that he casts devils out.’ So he called them to him and spoke to them in parables, ‘How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot last. And if a household is divided against itself, that household can never stand. Now if Satan has rebelled against himself and is divided, he cannot stand either – it is the end of him. But no one can make his way into a strong man’s house and burgle his property unless he has tied up the strong man first. Only then can he burgle his house.
‘I tell you solemnly, all men’s sins will be forgiven, and all their blasphemies; but let anyone blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and he will never have forgiveness: he is guilty of an eternal sin.’ This was because they were saying, ‘An unclean spirit is in him.’
His mother and brothers now arrived and, standing outside, sent in a message asking for him. A crowd was sitting round him at the time the message was passed to him, ‘Your mother and brothers and sisters are outside asking for you.’ He replied, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ And looking round at those sitting in a circle about him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother.’