Mark 3:20–35

Jesus and Beelzebul

²⁰Then Jesus went home. Again such a large crowd gathered that Jesus and his disciples had no time to eat. ²¹When his family heard about it, they set out to take charge of him, because people were saying, “He’s gone mad!”

^22*Some teachers of the Law who had come from Jerusalem were saying, “He has Beelzebul in him! It is the chief of the demons who gives him the power to drive them out.”

²³So Jesus called them to him and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? ²⁴If a country divides itself into groups which fight each other, that country will fall apart. ²⁵If a family divides itself into groups which fight each other, that family will fall apart. ²⁶So if Satan’s kingdom divides into groups, it cannot last, but will fall apart and come to an end.

²⁷“No one can break into a strong man’s house and take away his belongings unless he first ties up the strong man; then he can plunder his house.

²⁸“I assure you that people can be forgiven all their sins and all the evil things they may say.^{f 29*}But whoever says evil things against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, because he has committed an eternal sin.” ³⁰(Jesus said this because some people were saying, “He has an evil spirit in him.”)

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

³¹Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. They stood outside the house and sent in a message, asking for him. ³²A crowd was sitting round Jesus, and they said to him, “Look, your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, and they want you.”

³³Jesus answered, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” ³⁴He looked at the people sitting round him and said, “Look! Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵Whoever does what God wants him to do is my brother, my sister, my mother.”