Mark part six

We are back to the book of Mark, just after the appointing of the twelve apostles, chapter three, verse 20.

Jesus is in a house trying to eat and a huge crowd develops. His family hears about it and thinks he's gone crazy. Teachers of the law say he's possessed by Beelzebub. He's able to drive out demons because he's in league with the prince of demons. Jesus basically says that's silly. Why would Satan oppose himself? A kingdom or house divided against itself cannot stand. (Interesting that Beelzebub, the prince of demons, and Satan are used synonymously in this passage.)

Next Jesus says no one can enter a strong man's house and take his possessions without tying him up. Presumably this is referring to Jesus being able to remove people from demon possession. This must mean Jesus has some how overpowered Satan. Then Jesus pointedly says "I tell you the truth, all the sin and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whosoever blasphemes against the holy spirit will never be forgiven; he us guilty of an eternal sin. Jesus said this because they were saying he has an evil spirit." So, Jesus obviously equated their words about him with blasphemy against the holy spirit.

 Because of this passage, blasphemy against the holy spirit/ Jesus/ God has come to be known in Christianity as the "unforgivable sin." Let me tell you, this fact has caused a of load trouble for people all around the world in the form of blasphemy laws. It also causes intense psychological angst for the person who thinks that just thinking forbidden words in ones head will bring a conviction of blasphemy/eternal sin from god. Do you know how hard it is not to think something once you've been told it is forbidden to think it?

Moving on to verse 31, Jesus's mother and brothers are outside the house and they send someone in to get him. He replies, "who are my mother and my brothers?" He answers his own question by saying, "Whoever does god's will is my brother and sister and mother." This seems to establish that Jesus had a family and that his mother had other children, but they are not named, not even Mary. Remember there was no holy spirit conception or virgin birth narrative at the beginning of Mark. So far, Jesus appears to be fully human. His holy spirit vision upon baptism wasn't witnessed by anyone else in Mark either. Is it no wonder some people thought he was crazy?

Next, Jesus is teaching by the lake and has to get in a boat because there are such large crowds. He apparently taught them parables from the boat. One of the parables was about a farmer who sowed seed. The seed fell upon different types of soil, producing different results, some good, some poor. When the disciples got Jesus alone they asked him to explain the parables. Jesus told the disciples that he would tell them the secret meanings of the parables, but he would not tell those "on the outside,"  so that "they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven."

Wait. What?!! Do you realize that Jesus is saying he is deliberately keeping people from being forgiven? Well, if Jesus is god in the flesh, it's not the first time. That passage was quoting from Isaiah 6:9-10, where god says that to Isaiah. If the Jews hearing/reading this statement of Jesus's were familiar with the passage in Isaiah, they would know it goes on to say the peoples' non-understanding will continue "until the cities lie ruined....until the lord has sent everyone far away." Is this a foreshadowing of the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and the diaspora? If the author of Mark wrote later than 70 CE, he already knew what was coming.

More to come.