Mark 3:20–35

A HOUSE DIVIDED

²⁰Jesus entered a house, and the crowd gathered again so that they were not even able to eat.^{A 21}When his family^a heard this, they set out to restrain him, because they said, “He’s out of his mind.”^b

²²The scribes^c who had come down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,”^d and, “He drives out^e demons^f by the ruler^g of the demons.”^h

²³So he summonedⁱ them and spoke to them in parables:^j “How can Satan^k drive out Satan?^{l 24}If a kingdom^m is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. ²⁶And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is finished. ²⁷But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his possessions unless he first ties upⁿ the strong man. Then he can plunder his house.

²⁸“Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for all sins and whatever blasphemies^o they utter. ²⁹But whoever blasphemes^p against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness,^q but is guilty^r of an eternal sin”^Bs—³⁰because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”^t

TRUE RELATIONSHIPS

³¹His^u mother^v and his brothers^w came, and standing outside, they sent word to him and called him. ³²A crowd was sitting around him and told him, “Look, your mother, your brothers,^x and your sisters^C are outside asking for you.”

³³He replied to them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” ³⁴Looking at those sitting in a circle around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!^{y 35}Whoever does the will of God^z is my brother and sister and mother.”