Mark 3:20–35

Some People Say Jesus Has a Devil

²⁰Then Jesus went home, but again a crowd gathered. There were so many people that Jesus and his followers could not eat. ²¹When his family heard this, they went to get him because they thought he was out of his mind. ²²But the teachers of the law from Jerusalem were saying, “Beelzebul is living inside him! He uses power from the ruler of demons to force demons out of people.”

²³So Jesus called the people together and taught them with stories. He said, “Satan will not force himself out of people. ²⁴A kingdom that is divided cannot continue, ²⁵and a family that is divided cannot continue. ²⁶And if Satan is against himself and fights against his own people, he cannot continue; that is the end of Satan. ²⁷No one can enter a strong person’s house and steal his things unless he first ties up the strong person. Then he can steal things from the house. ²⁸I tell you the truth, all sins that people do and all the things people say against God can be forgiven. ²⁹But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of a sin that continues forever.”

³⁰Jesus said this because the teachers of the law said that he had an evil spirit inside him.

Jesus’ True Family

³¹Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to tell him to come out. ³²Many people were sitting around Jesus, and they said to him, “Your mother and brothers ⁿ are waiting for you outside.”

³³Jesus asked, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” ³⁴Then he looked at those sitting around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵My true brother and sister and mother are those who do what God wants.”