Mark 3:20–35
A
20 Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. 21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”
B
22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed 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. 28 “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, 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 were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
A
31 And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” 33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”
The literary structure Mark is employing here is known as an A-B-A sandwich technique. Mark employs this often. Beyond just being nerdy grammar knowledge for you, understanding this structure is important for interpreting the meaning of the text. Mark interrupts his story (A) with another story (B) which gives the key to properly understanding the theology of the overriding story (A).
Here the theme is the claim that Jesus is out of his mind and therefore needs to be restrained or bound. His family in A1 is coming to "seize him". In A2 they are outside "seeking him" (every time this word occurs in Mark it refers to someone coming to contain or trap Jesus). His family thinks he's lost his mind and they need to contain him. The scribes think he's lost his mind and he is Satan, so they need to kill him. These both indicate a complete misunderstanding of his identity and his mission.
Mark uses these accounts to illustrate who the true and false disciples of Jesus truly are. The true disciples of Jesus aren't those who are close to him by family or by nationality. Disciples of Jesus are those who listen to him and do the will of God (ie. those who don't try to restrain him to their will but allow him to accomplish his God given mission). To restrain Jesus from his work and mission is just as adversarial as comparing him to the adversary (Satan). Satan is God's adversary and determined to frustrate his plan and his mission. So anyone attempting to restrain Jesus from his mission is doing similar work; they are an adversary to him. Hence, Jesus' statement to Peter in Mark 8:33 after Peter rebukes Jesus about his stated mission to suffer and die on the cross, "Get behind me, Satan (adversary)! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."
So Jesus, isn't just being rude to his family. He is making the point that attempting to restrain him from his mission is to take the role of God's adversary—Satan. Instead, those who listen to him and do the will of God are in with him like family.
Tomorrow we will look into the teachings in the B section (v. 22-30).