Mark 3:20–35

Jesus Is Accused of Working with Beelzebul—Matthew 12:22–32; Luke 11:14–23

²⁰Then Jesus went home. Another crowd gathered so that Jesus and his disciples could not even eat. ²¹When his family heard about it, they went to get him. They said, “He’s out of his mind!” 

²²The experts in Moses’ Teachings who had come from Jerusalem said, “Beelzebul is in him,” and “He forces demons out of people with the help of the ruler of demons.” 

²³Jesus called them together and used this illustration: “How can Satan force out Satan? ²⁴If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot last. ²⁵And if a household is divided against itself, that household will not last. ²⁶So if Satan rebels against himself and is divided, he cannot last. That will be the end of him. 

²⁷“No one can go into a strong man’s house and steal his property. First he must tie up the strong man. Then he can go through the strong man’s house and steal his property. 

²⁸“I can guarantee this truth: People will be forgiven for any sin or curse. ²⁹But whoever curses the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. He is guilty of an everlasting sin.” ³⁰Jesus said this because the experts in Moses’ Teachings had said that he had an evil spirit. 

The True Family of Jesus—Matthew 12:46–50; Luke 8:19–21

³¹Then his mother and his brothers arrived. They stood outside and sent someone to ask him to come out. ³²The crowd sitting around Jesus told him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside looking for you.” 

³³He replied to them, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” ³⁴Then looking at those who sat in a circle around him, he said, “Look, here are my mother and my brothers. ³⁵Whoever does what God wants is my brother and sister and mother.”