Mark 3:22-30
Chapter 3
22
Meanwhile, the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem said:
“He is in the power of Beelzebul: the chief of the demons helps him to drive out demons.”
23
Jesus called them to him and began teaching them through stories or parables:
“How can Satan drive out Satan?
24
If a country faces a civil war, it cannot hold together.
25
A family that splits into groups won’t last.
26
Similarly, if Satan has risen against himself and is divided, he will not stand; he is finished.
27
No one can break into a strong man’s house to steal his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Only then can he plunder his house.
28
Really, I assure you, all sins and blasphemies spoken by people will be forgiven them.
29
But whoever slanders the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. He carries the guilt of his sin forever.”
30
For they had said:
“He has an unclean spirit.”
Commentaries
Jesus and Satan.
The effort to “form” a new people of God receives different reactions. The crowd that follows Jesus supports it, but a smaller, more intimate group, including his relatives, rejects it. Added to this are the scribes from Jerusalem, who spread slander to deny the obvious: they claim that Jesus’ power does not come from God but from Beelzebub or Satan. The sin against the Spirit is rejecting and shutting oneself off from God’s liberating presence. In the case of the scribes, they not only deny it but also oppose it by slandering.