JESUS WAS THOUGHT TO BE CRAZY BY HIS FAMILY

JESUS WAS THOUGHT TO BE OUT OF HIS MIND
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Mark 3:21 21Whenhis family heard about this, they
went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of
his mind."
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Christ Hindered By His Friends
Mark 3:20, 21
A.F. Muir
I. THROUGH IGNORANCE. Owing
(1) to want of sympathy with him in his higher aims; and
(2) consequentfailure of spiritual perception.
II. BY CHARGING HIM WITH MADNESS. Theyhad so little of the spirit of
self-denial in themselves that they could not understand enthusiasm which
would not admit of his attending to his own wants, "so much as to eatbread."

1. They fearedalso the consequences whichmight arise from the presence of
his enemies. The scribes were there "from Jerusalem," onthe alert to find
accusationagainsthim; and they must have been observed.
2. But by this charge they discredited the characterof his ministry. Who
should be supposedto know whether he was sane or not, if not his own
family? In attributing to maniacy the Divine works and words of Christ, they
did him and all who might through him have life and peace, a cruel,
irreparable wrong. So Paul was chargedwith being beside himself; and all
who for Christ's sake try to live above the maxims and aims of the world will
meet with similar judgment. The blow thus struck is not at an individual, but
at the spiritual prospects and hopes of a whole race.
III. BY UNAUTHORIZED AND UNTIMELY INTERFERENCE.
1. A sin of presumption. The judgment was hasty and mistaken;the action
was unjustifiable, both foolishand wicked.
2. Enmity to God. - M.

Biblical Illustrator
He Is beside Himself.
Mark 3:21
The sinner mad, not the saint
Thomas Fuller, D. D.
I find St. Paul in the same chapter confessesand denies madness in himself.
Whilst he was mad indeed, then none did suspector accusehim to be
distracted; but when converted, and in his right mind, then Festus taxeth him
of madness. (See Acts 26:11.)
(Thomas Fuller, D. D.)
Mad because exceptional
Thomas Fuller, D. D.
There is a country in Africa wherein all the natives have pendulous lips,
hanging down like a dog's ears, always raw and sore. Here only such as are
handsome are pointed at for monsters.
(Thomas Fuller, D. D.)
Troubled with a goodson

When the son of Dr. Innes became a missionary, the goodold man, who sorely
grudged parting with his boy, said, "Some people are troubled with a bad son,
but I am troubled with a goodone."
He is Beside Himself'
Alexander Maclaren
Mark 3:21
And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they
said, He is beside himself.
'And when His friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on Him: for they
said, He is beside Himself' -- Mark iii.21.
There had been greatexcitement in the little town of Capernaum in
consequence ofChrist's teachings and miracles. It had been intensified by His
infractions of the RabbinicalSabbath law, and by His appointment of the
twelve Apostles. The sacerdotalparty in Capernaum apparently
communicated with Jerusalem, with the result of bringing a deputation from
the Sanhedrim to look into things, and see what this new rabbi was about. A
plot for His assassinationwas secretlyonfoot. And at this juncture the
incident of my text, which we owe to Mark alone of the Evangelists, occurs.
Christ's friends, apparently the members of His own family -- sad to say, as
would appear from the context, including His mother -- came with a kindly
design to rescue their misguided kinsman from danger, and laying hands
upon Him, to carry Him off to some safe restraint in Nazareth, where He
might indulge His delusions without doing any harm to Himself. They wish to
excuse His eccentricities onthe ground that He is not quite responsible --

scarcelyHimself; and so to blunt the point of the more hostile explanation of
the Phariseesthat He is in league with Beelzebub.
Conceive of that! The Incarnate Wisdom shielded by friends from the
accusationthat He is a demoniac by the apologythat He is a lunatic! What do
you think of popular judgment?
But this half-pitying, half-contemptuous, and wholly benevolent excuse for
Jesus, though it be the words of friends, is like the words of His enemies, in
that it contains a distorted reflection of His true character. And if we will
think about it, I fancy that we may gatherfrom it some lessons not altogether
unprofitable.
I. The first point, then, that I make, is just this -- there was something in the
characterof Jesus Christwhich could be plausibly explained to commonplace
people as madness.
A well-knownmodern author has talked a greatdeal about 'the sweet
reasonablenessofJesus Christ.' His contemporaries calledit simple insanity;
if they did not say 'He hath a devil,' as well as 'He is mad.'
Now, if we try to throw ourselves back to the life of Jesus Christ, as it was
unfolded day by day, and think nothing about either what preceded in the
revelation of the Old Covenant, or what followedin the history of
Christianity, we shall not be so much at a loss to accountfor such explanations
of it as these of my text. Remember that charges like these, in all various keys
of contempt or of pity, or of fierce hostility, have been castagainstall
innovators, againstevery man that has broken a new path; againstall
teachers that have cut themselves apart from tradition and encrusted

formulas; againstevery man that has wagedwarwith the conventionalisms of
society;againstall idealists who have dreamed dreams and seenvisions;
againstevery man that has been touched with a lofty enthusiasm of any sort;
and, most of all, againstall to whom Godand their relations to Him, the
spiritual world and their relations to it, the future life and their relations to
that, have become dominant forces and motives in their lives.
The short and easywaywith which the world excuses itselffrom the poignant
lessons andrebukes which come from such lives is something like that of my
text, 'He is beside himself.' And the proof that he is beside himself is that he
does not actin the same fashion as these incomparably wise people that make
up the majority in every age. There is nothing that commonplace men hate
like anything fresh and original. There is nothing that men of low aims are so
utterly bewilderedto understand, and which so completely passesallthe
calculus of which they are masters, as lofty self-abnegation. And whereveryou
get men smitten with such, or with anything like it, you will find all the low-
aimed people gathering round them like bats round a torch in a cavern,
flapping their obscene wings and uttering their harsh croaks, and only
desiring to quench the light.
One of our cynicalauthors says that it is the mark of a genius that all the
dullards are againsthim. It is the mark of the man who dwells with God that
all the people whose portion is in this life with one consentsay, 'He is beside
himself.'
And so the Leaderof them all was served in His day; and that purest,
perfectest, noblest, loftiest, most utterly self-oblivious, and God-and-man-
devoted life that ever was lived upon earth, was disposedof in this extremely
simple method, so comforting to the complacencyof the critics -- either 'He is
beside Himself,' or 'He hath a devil.'

And yet, is not the saying a witness to the presence in that wondrous and
gentle careerof an element entirely unlike what exists in the most of
mankind? Here was a new star in the heavens, and the law of its orbit was
manifestly different from that of all the rest. That is what 'eccentric' means --
that the life to which it applies does not move round the same centre as do the
other satellites, but has a path of its own. Away out yonder somewhere, in the
infinite depths, lay the hidden point which drew it to itself and determined its
magnificent and overwhelmingly vast orbit. These men witness to Jesus
Christ, even by their half excuse, half reproach, that His was a life unique and
inexplicable by the ordinary motives which shape the little lives of the masses
of mankind. They witness to His entire neglectof ordinary and low aims; to
His complete absorption in lofty purposes, which to His purblind would-be
critics seemto be delusions and fond imaginations that could never be
realised. They witness to what His disciples remembered had been written of
Him, 'The zealof Thy house hath eatenMe up'; to His perfect devotion to
man and to God. They witness to His consciousnessofa mission; and there is
nothing that men are so ready to resentas that. To tell a world, engrossedin
self and low aims, that one is sent from God to do His will, and to spread it
among men, is the sure way to have all the heavy artillery and the lighter
weapons ofthe world turned againstone.
These characteristics ofJesus seemthen to be plainly implied in that
allegationof insanity -- lofty aims, absolute originality, utter self-abnegation,
the continual consciousnessofcommunion with God, devotion to the service of
man, and the sense ofbeing sentby God for the salvationof the world. It was
because ofthese that His friends said, 'He is beside Himself.'
These men judged themselves by judging Jesus Christ. And all men do. There
are as many different estimates of a greatman as there are people to estimate,
and hence the diversity of opinion about all the characters that fill history and
the galleries ofthe past. The eye sees whatit brings and no more. To discern
the greatnessofa greatman, or the goodnessofa goodone, is to possess, in

lowermeasure, some portion of that which we discern. Sympathy is the
condition of insight into character. And so our Lord said once, 'He that
receivetha prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's
reward,' because he is a dumb prophet himself, and has a lowerpower of the
same gift in him, which is eloquent on the prophet's lips.
In like manner, to discern what is in Christ is the test of whether there is any
of it in myself. And thus it is no mere arbitrary appointment which suspends
your salvationand mine on our answerto this question, 'What think ye of
Christ?' The answerwill be -- I was going to say -- the elixir of our whole
moral and spiritual nature. It will be the outcome of our inmost selves. This
ploughshare turns up the depths of the soil. That is eternally true which the
grey-bearded Simeon, the representative of the Old, saidwhen he took the
Infant in his arms and lookeddown upon the unconscious, placid, smooth
face. 'This Child is set for the rise and fall of many in Israel, that the thoughts
of many hearts may be revealed.'Your answerto that question discloses your
whole spiritual condition and capacities. And so to judge Christ is to be
judged by Him; and what we think Him to be, that we make Him to ourselves.
The question which tests us is not merely, 'Whom do men saythat I am?' It is
easyto answerthat; but this is the all-important interrogation, 'Whom do ye
say that I am?' I pray that we may eachansweras he to whom it was first put
answeredit, 'Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God, Thou art the King of Israel!'
II. Secondly, mark the similarity of the estimate which will be passed by the
world on all Christ's true followers.
The same elements exist to-day, the same intolerance of anything higher than
the low level, the same incapacityto comprehend simple devotion and lofty
aims, the same dislike of a man who comes and rebukes by his silent presence
the vices in which he takes no part. And it is a greatdeal easierto say, 'Poor

fool! enthusiastic fanatic!' than it is to lay to heart the lessonthat lies in such a
life.
The one thing, or at leastthe principal thing, which the Christianity of this
generationwants is a little more of this madness. It would be a greatdeal
better for us who call ourselves Christians if we had earned and deserved the
world's sneer, 'He is beside himself.' But our modern Christianity, like an
epicure's rare wines, is preferred iced. And the lastthing that anybody would
think of suggesting in connectionwith the demeanour -- either the conduct or
the words -- of the average Christianman of this day is that his religion had
touched his brain a little.
But, dear friends, go in Christ's footsteps and you will have the same missiles
flung at you. If a church or an individual has earnedthe praise of the outside
ring of godless people because its or his religion is 'reasonable and moderate;
and kept in its proper place;and not allowedto interfere with social
enjoyments, and political and municipal corruptions,' and the like, then there
is much reasonto ask whether that church or man is Christian after Christ's
pattern. Oh, I pray that there may come down on the professing Church of
this generationa baptism of the Spirit; and I am quite sure that when that
comes, the people that admire moderation and approve of religion, but like it
to be 'kept in its own place,'will be all ready to say, when they hear the 'sons
and the daughters prophesying, and the old men seeing visions, and the young
men dreaming dreams,' and the fiery tongues uttering their praises of God,
'These men are full of new wine!' Would we were full of the new wine of the
Spirit! Do you think any one would sayof your religion that you were 'beside
yourself,' because youmade so much of it? They said it about your Master,
and if you were like Him it would be said, in one tone or another, about you.
We are all desperatelyafraid of enthusiasm to-day. It seems to me that it is
the want of the Christian Church, and that we are not enthusiastic because we
don't half believe the truths that we say are our creed.

One more word. Christian men and women have to make up their minds to go
on in the path of devotion, conformity to Christ's pattern, self-sacrificing
surrender, without minding one bit what is saidabout them. Brethren, I do
not think Christian people are in half as much danger of dropping the
standard of the Christian life by reasonof the sarcasmsofthe world, as they
are by reasonof the low tone of the Church. Don't you take your ideas of what
a reasonable Christianlife is from the men round you, howsoeverthey may
profess to be Christ's followers. And let us keepso near the Masterthat we
may be able to say, 'With me it is a very small matter to be judged of you, or
of man's judgment. He that judgeth me is the Lord.' Never mind, though they
say, 'Beside himself!' Never mind, though they say, 'Oh! utterly extravagant
and impracticable.' Better that than to be patted on the back by a world that
likes nothing so well as a Church with its teeth drawn, and its claws cut;
which may be made a plaything and an ornament by the world. And that is
what much of our modern Christianity has come to be.
III. Lastly, notice the sanity of the insane.
I have only space to put before you three little pictures, and ask you what you
think of them. I dare say the originals might be found among us without much
search.
Here is one. Suppose a man who, like the most of us, believes that there is a
God, believes that he has something to do with Him, believes that he is going
to die, believes that the future state is, in some way or other, and in some
degree, one of retribution; and from Monday morning to Saturday night he
ignores all these facts, and never allows them to influence one of his actions.
May I venture to speak direct to this hypothetical person, whose originals are
dotted about in my audience? It would be the very same to you if you said'No'
instead of 'Yes' to all these affirmations. The fact that there is a God does not
make a bit of difference to what you do, or what you think, or what you feel.

The fact that there is a future life makes just as little difference. You are going
on a voyage next week, and you never dream of getting your outfit. You
believe all these things, you are an intelligent man -- you are very likely, in a
greatmany ways, a very amiable and pleasantone; you do many things very
well; you cultivate congenialvirtues, and you abhor uncongenialvices;but
you never think about God; and you have made absolutely no preparation
whateverfor stepping into the scene in which you know that you are to live.
Well, you may be a very wise man, a student with high aims, cultivated
understanding, and all the rest of it. I want to know whether, taking into
accountall that you are, and your inevitable connectionwith God, and your
certain death and certainlife in a state of retribution -- I want to know
whether we should call your conduct sanity or insanity? Which?
Take anotherpicture. Here is a man that believes -- really believes -- the
articles of the Christian creed, and in some measure has receivedthem into
his heart and life. He believes that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for him
upon the Cross, andyet his heart has but the feeblesttick of pulsating love in
answer. He believes that prayer will help a man in all circumstances, and yet
he hardly ever prays. He believes that self-denial is the law of the Christian
life, and yet he lives for himself. He believes that he is here as a 'pilgrim' and
as a 'sojourner,' and yet his heart clings to the world, and his hand would fain
cling to it, like that of a drowning man swept overNiagara, and catching at
anything on the banks. He believes that he is sent into the world to be a 'light'
of the world, and yet from out of his self-absorbedlife there has hardly ever
come one sparkle of light into any dark heart. And that is a picture, not
exaggerated, ofthe enormous majority of professing Christians in so-called
Christian lands. And I want to know whether we shall call that sanity or
insanity?

The lastof my little miniatures is that of a man who keeps in close touchwith
Jesus Christ, and so, like Him, can say, 'Lo! I come; I delight to do Thy will, O
Lord. Thy law is within my heart.' He yields to the strong motives and
principles that flow from the Cross ofJesus Christ, and, drawn by the
'mercies of God,' gives himself a 'living sacrifice'to be used as God will. Aims
as lofty as the Throne which Christ His Brother fills; sacrifice as entire as that
on which his trembling hope relies;realisationof the unseenfuture as vivid
and clearas His who could say that He was 'in Heaven' whilst He walkedthe
earth; subjugation of selfas complete as that of the Lord's, who pleasednot
Himself, and came not to do His own will -- these are some of the
characteristicswhichmark the true disciple of Jesus Christ. And I want to
know whether the conduct of the man who believes in the love that God hath
to him, as manifested in the Cross, andsurrenders his whole self thereto,
despising the world and living for God, for Christ, for man, for eternity --
whether his conductis insanity or sanity? 'The fearof the Lord is the
beginning of wisdom.'
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(21) And when his friends . . .—Literally, those from Him—i.e., from His
home. As the “mother and the brethren” are mentioned later on in the
chapter as coming to check His teaching, we must see in these some whom
they had sent with the same object. To them the new course of actionon which
our Lord had enteredseemeda sign of over-excitement, recklesslyrushing
into danger. We may, perhaps, see in the random word thus uttered that
which gave occasionto the more malignant taunt of the scribes in the next
verse. They were saying now, as they said afterwards (John 10:20), “He hath a
devil, and is mad.”

MacLaren's Expositions
Mark
‘HE IS BESIDE HIMSELF’
Mark 3:21.
There had been greatexcitement in the little town of Capernaum in
consequence ofChrist’s teachings and miracles. It had been intensified by His
infractions of the RabbinicalSabbath law, and by His appointment of the
twelve Apostles. The sacerdotalparty in Capernaum apparently
communicated with Jerusalem, with the result of bringing a deputation from
the Sanhedrim to look into things, and see what this new rabbi was about. A
plot for His assassinationwas secretlyonfoot. And at this juncture the
incident of my text, which we owe to Mark alone of the Evangelists, occurs.
Christ’s friends, apparently the members of His own family-sad to say, as
would appear from the context, including His mother-came with a kindly
design to rescue their misguided kinsman from danger, and laying hands
upon Him, to carry Him off to some safe restraint in Nazareth, where He
might indulge His delusions without doing any harm to Himself. They wish to
excuse His eccentricities onthe ground that He is not quite responsible-
scarcelyHimself; and so to blunt the point of the more hostile explanation of
the Phariseesthat He is in league with Beelzebub.
Conceive of that! The Incarnate Wisdom shielded by friends from the
accusationthat He is a demoniac by the apologythat He is a lunatic! What do
you think of popular judgment? But this half-pitying, half-contemptuous, and
wholly benevolentexcuse for Jesus, though it be the words of friends, is like
the words of His enemies, in that it contains a distorted reflectionof His true

character. And if we will think about it, I fancy that we may gatherfrom it
some lessons notaltogetherunprofitable.
I. The first point, then, that I make, is just this-there was something in the
characterof Jesus Christwhich could be plausibly explained to commonplace
people as madness.
A well-knownmodern author has talked a greatdeal about ‘the sweet
reasonablenessofJesus Christ.’ His contemporaries calledit simple insanity;
if they did not say ‘He hath a devil,’ as well as ‘He is mad.’
Now, if we try to throw ourselves back to the life of Jesus Christ, as it was
unfolded day by day, and think nothing about either what preceded in the
revelation of the Old Covenant, or what followedin the history of
Christianity, we shall not be so much at a loss to accountfor such explanations
of it as these of my text. Remember that charges like these, in all various keys
of contempt or of pity, or of fierce hostility, have been castagainstall
innovators, againstevery man that has broken a new path; againstall
teachers that have cut themselves apart from tradition and encrusted
formulas; againstevery man that has wagedwarwith the conventionalisms of
society;againstall idealists who have dreamed dreams and seenvisions;
againstevery man that has been touched with a lofty enthusiasm of any sort;
and, most of all, againstall to whom Godand their relations to Him, the
spiritual world and their relations to it, the future life and their relations to
that, have become dominant forces and motives in their lives.
The short and easywaywith which the world excuses itselffrom the poignant
lessons andrebukes which come from such lives is something like that of my
text, ‘He is beside himself.’ And the proof that he is beside himself is that he
does not actin the same fashion as these incomparably wise people that make

up the majority in every age. There is nothing that commonplace men hate
like anything fresh and original. There is nothing that men of low aims are so
utterly bewilderedto understand, and which so completely passesallthe
calculus of which they are masters, as lofty self-abnegation. And whereveryou
get men smitten with such, or with anything like it, you will find all the low-
aimed people gathering round them like bats round a torch in a cavern,
flapping their obscene wings and uttering their harsh croaks, and only
desiring to quench the light.
One of our cynicalauthors says that it is the mark of a genius that all the
dullards are againsthim. It is the mark of the man who dwells with God that
all the people whose portion is in this life with one consentsay, ‘He is beside
himself.’
And so the Leaderof them all was served in His day; and that purest,
perfectest, noblest, loftiest, most utterly self-oblivious, and God-and-man-
devoted life that ever was lived upon earth, was disposedof in this extremely
simple method, so comforting to the complacencyof the critics-either‘He is
beside Himself,’ or ‘He hath a devil.’
And yet, is not the saying a witness to the presence in that wondrous and
gentle careerof an element entirely unlike what exists in the most of
mankind? Here was a new star in the heavens, and the law of its orbit was
manifestly different from that of all the rest. That is what ‘eccentric’means-
that the life to which it applies does not move round the same centre as do the
other satellites, but has a path of its own. Away out yonder somewhere, in the
infinite depths, lay the hidden point which drew it to itself and determined its
magnificent and overwhelmingly vast orbit. These men witness to Jesus
Christ, even by their half excuse, half reproach, that His was a life unique and
inexplicable by the ordinary motives which shape the little lives of the masses
of mankind. They witness to His entire neglectof ordinary and low aims; to

His complete absorption in lofty purposes, which to His purblind would-be
critics seemto be delusions and fond imaginations that could never be
realised. They witness to what His disciples remembered had been written of
Him, ‘The zealof Thy house hath eatenMe up’; to His perfect devotion to
man and to God. They witness to His consciousnessofa mission; and there is
nothing that men are so ready to resentas that. To tell a world, engrossedin
self and low aims, that one is sent from God to do His will, and to spread it
among men, is the sure way to have all the heavy artillery and the lighter
weapons ofthe world turned againstone.
These characteristics ofJesus seemthen to be plainly implied in that
allegationof insanity-lofty aims, absolute originality, utter self-abnegation, the
continual consciousnessofcommunion with God, devotion to the service of
man, and the sense ofbeing sentby God for the salvationof the world. It was
because ofthese that His friends said, ‘He is beside Himself.’
These men judged themselves by judging Jesus Christ. And all men do. There
are as many different estimates of a greatman as there are people to estimate,
and hence the diversity of opinion about all the characters that fill history and
the galleries ofthe past. The eye sees whatit brings and no more. To discern
the greatnessofa greatman, or the goodnessofa goodone, is to possess, in
lowermeasure, some portion of that which we discern. Sympathy is the
condition of insight into character. And so our Lord said once, ‘He that
receivetha prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s
reward,’ because he is a dumb prophet himself, and has a lower powerof the
same gift in him, which is eloquent on the prophet’s lips.
In like manner, to discern what is in Christ is the test of whether there is any
of it in myself. And thus it is no mere arbitrary appointment which suspends
your salvationand mine on our answerto this question, ‘What think ye of
Christ?’ The answerwill be-I was going to say-the elixir of our whole moral

and spiritual nature. It will be the outcome of our inmost selves. This
ploughshare turns up the depths of the soil. That is eternally true which the
grey-bearded Simeon, the representative of the Old, saidwhen he took the
Infant in his arms and lookeddown upon the unconscious, placid, smooth
face. ‘This Child is set for the rise and fall of many in Israel, that the thoughts
of many hearts may be revealed.’Your answerto that question discloses your
whole spiritual condition and capacities. And so to judge Christ is to be
judged by Him; and what we think Him to be, that we make Him to ourselves.
The question which tests us is not merely, ‘Whom do men say that I am?’ It is
easyto answerthat; but this is the all-important interrogation, ‘Whom do ye
say that I am?’ I pray that we may eachansweras he to whom it was first put
answeredit, ‘Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God, Thou art the King of Israel!’
II. Secondly, mark the similarity of the estimate which will be passedby the
world on all Christ’s true followers.
The same elements exist to-day, the same intolerance of anything higher than
the low level, the same incapacityto comprehend simple devotion and lofty
aims, the same dislike of a man who comes and rebukes by his silent presence
the vices in which he takes no part. And it is a greatdeal easierto say, ‘Poor
fool! enthusiastic fanatic!’ than it is to lay to heart the lessonthat lies in such a
life.
The one thing, or at leastthe principal thing, which the Christianity of this
generationwants is a little more of this madness. It would be a greatdeal
better for us who call ourselves Christians if we had earned and deserved the
world’s sneer, ‘He is beside himself.’ But our modern Christianity, like an
epicure’s rare wines, is preferred iced. And the lastthing that anybody would
think of suggesting in connectionwith the demeanour-either the conduct or
the words-ofthe average Christian man of this day is that his religion had
touched his brain a little.

But, dear friends, go in Christ’s footsteps and you will have the same missiles
flung at you. If a church or an individual has earnedthe praise of the outside
ring of godless people because its or his religion is ‘reasonable and moderate;
and kept in its proper place;and not allowedto interfere with social
enjoyments, and political and municipal corruptions,’ and the like, then there
is much reasonto ask whether that church or man is Christian after Christ’s
pattern. Oh, I pray that there may come down on the professing Church of
this generationa baptism of the Spirit; and I am quite sure that when that
comes, the people that admire moderation and approve of religion, but like it
to be ‘kept in its own place,’will be all ready to say, when they hear the ‘sons
and the daughters prophesying, and the old men seeing visions, and the young
men dreaming dreams,’ and the fiery tongues uttering their praises of God,
‘These men are full of new wine!’ Would we were full of the new wine of the
Spirit! Do you think any one would sayof your religion that you were ‘beside
yourself,’ because you made so much of it? They said it about your Master,
and if you were like Him it would be said, in one tone or another, about you.
We are all desperatelyafraid of enthusiasm to-day. It seems to me that it is
the want of the Christian Church, and that we are not enthusiastic because we
don’t half believe the truths that we say are our creed.
One more word. Christian men and women have to make up their minds to go
on in the path of devotion, conformity to Christ’s pattern, self-sacrificing
surrender, without minding one bit what is saidabout them. Brethren, I do
not think Christian people are in half as much danger of dropping the
standard of the Christian life by reasonof the sarcasmsofthe world, as they
are by reasonof the low tone of the Church. Don’t you take your ideas of what
a reasonable Christianlife is from the men round you, howsoeverthey may
profess to be Christ’s followers. And let us keepso near the Masterthat we
may be able to say, ‘With me it is a very small matter to be judged of you, or
of man’s judgment. He that judgeth me is the Lord.’ Never mind, though they
say, ‘Beside himself!’ Never mind, though they say, ‘Oh! utterly extravagant
and impracticable.’Better that than to be patted on the back by a world that

likes nothing so well as a Church with its teeth drawn, and its claws cut;
which may be made a plaything and an ornament by the world. And that is
what much of our modern Christianity has come to be.
III. Lastly, notice the sanity of the insane.
I have only space to put before you three little pictures, and ask you what you
think of them. I dare say the originals might be found among us without much
search.
Here is one. Suppose a man who, like the most of us, believes that there is a
God, believes that he has something to do with Him, believes that he is going
to die, believes that the future state is, in some way or other, and in some
degree, one of retribution; and from Monday morning to Saturday night he
ignores all these facts, and never allows them to influence one of his actions.
May I venture to speak direct to this hypothetical person, whose originals are
dotted about in my audience? It would be the very same to you if you said
‘No’ instead of ‘Yes’ to all these affirmations. The fact that there is a God
does not make a bit of difference to what you do, or what you think, or what
you feel. The fact that there is a future life makes just as little difference. You
are going on a voyage next week, andyou never dream of getting your outfit.
You believe all these things, you are an intelligent man-you are very likely, in
a greatmany ways, a very amiable and pleasantone; you do many things very
well; you cultivate congenialvirtues, and you abhor uncongenialvices;but
you never think about God; and you have made absolutely no preparation
whateverfor stepping into the scene in which you know that you are to live.
Well, you may be a very wise man, a student with high aims, cultivated
understanding, and all the rest of it. I want to know whether, taking into
accountall that you are, and your inevitable connectionwith God, and your

certain death and certainlife in a state of retribution-I want to know whether
we should call your conduct sanity or insanity? Which? Take anotherpicture.
Here is a man that believes-reallybelieves-the articles of the Christian creed,
and in some measure has receivedthem into his heart and life. He believes
that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for him upon the Cross, and yet his
heart has but the feeblesttick of pulsating love in answer. He believes that
prayer will help a man in all circumstances, andyet he hardly ever prays. He
believes that self-denialis the law of the Christian life, and yet he lives for
himself. He believes that he is here as a ‘pilgrim’ and as a ‘sojourner,’and yet
his heart clings to the world, and his hand would fain cling to it, like that of a
drowning man swept over Niagara, andcatching at anything on the banks. He
believes that he is sent into the world to be a ‘light’ of the world, and yet from
out of his self-absorbedlife there has hardly ever come one sparkle of light
into any dark heart. And that is a picture, not exaggerated, ofthe enormous
majority of professing Christians in so-calledChristian lands. And I want to
know whether we shall callthat sanity or insanity? The last of my little
miniatures is that of a man who keeps in close touch with Jesus Christ, and so,
like Him, can say, ‘Lo! I come;I delight to do Thy will, O Lord. Thy law is
within my heart.’ He yields to the strong motives and principles that flow
from the Cross ofJesus Christ, and, drawn by the ‘mercies of God,’ gives
himself a ‘living sacrifice’to be used as God will. Aims as lofty as the Throne
which Christ His Brother fills; sacrifice as entire as that on which his
trembling hope relies;realisationof the unseen future as vivid and clearas
His who could saythat He was ‘in Heaven’ whilst He walkedthe earth;
subjugation of self as complete as that of the Lord’s, who pleasednot Himself,
and came not to do His own will-these are some of the characteristics which
mark the true disciple of Jesus Christ. And I want to know whether the
conduct of the man who believes in the love that God hath to him, as
manifested in the Cross, andsurrenders his whole self thereto, despising the
world and living for God, for Christ, for man, for eternity-whether his
conduct is insanity or sanity? ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
wisdom.’
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

3:13-21 Christ calls whom he will; for his grace is his own. He had calledthe
apostles to separate themselves from the crowd, and they came unto him. He
now gave them powerto heal sicknesses, and to castout devils. May the Lord
send forth more and more of those who have been with him, and have learned
of him to preach his gospel, to be instruments in his blessedwork. Those
whose hearts are enlarged in the work of God, can easilybear with what is
inconvenient to themselves, and will rather lose a meal than an opportunity of
doing good. Those who go on with zeal in the work of God, must expect
hinderances, both from the hatred of enemies, and mistakenaffections of
friends, and need to guard againstboth.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
When his friends - Greek, "theywho were of him." Not the apostles, but his
relatives, his friends, who were in the place of his nativity.
Heard of it - Heard of his conduct: his preaching;his appointing the apostles;
his drawing such a multitude to his preaching. This shows that by "his
friends" were not meant the apostles, but his neighbors and others who
"heard" of his conduct.
They went out to lay hold on him - To take him awayfrom the multitude, and
to remove him to his home, that he might be treated as a maniac, so that, by
absence from the "causes"ofexcitement, he might be restored to his right
mind.
They said - That is, common report said; or his friends and relatives said, for
they did not believe on him, John 7:5. Probably the enemies of Jesus raised
the report, and his relatives were persuaded to believe it to be true.
He is beside himself - He is delirious or deranged. The reasonwhy this report
gained any belief was, probably, that he had lived among them as a carpenter;
that he was poor and unknown; and that now, at 30 years of age, he broke off

from his occupations, abandonedhis common employment, spent much time
in the deserts, denied himself the common comforts of life, and setup his
claims to be the Messiahwho was expectedby all the people to come with
greatpomp and splendor. The charge of "derangement" onaccountof
attention to religion has not been confined to the Saviour. Let a man be made
deeply sensible of his sins, and spend much of his time in prayer, and have no
relish for the ordinary amusements or business of life; or let a Christian be
much impressed with his obligation to devote himself to God, and "act" as if
he believed there was an "eternity," and warn his neighbors of their danger;
or let a minister show uncommon zeal and spend his strength in the service of
his Master, and the world is not slow to call it derangement. And none will be
more ready to originate or believe the charge than an ungodly and infidel
parent or brother, a self-righteous Pharisee orprofessorin the church. At the
same time, men may endangerthemselves on the bosomof the deep or in the
bowels of the earth for wealth; or may plunge into the vortex of fashion, folly,
and vice, and break in upon the hours of repose, and neglecttheir duties to
their family and the demands of business, and in the view of the world it is
wisdom and proof of a sane mind! Such is the consistencyofboastedreason;
such the wisdomand prudence of worldly men!
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
Mr 3:20-30. Jesus Is Chargedwith Madness and DemoniacalPossession—His
Reply. ( = Mt 12:22-37;Lu 11:14-26).
See on [1413]Mt12:22-37;[1414]Lu11:21-26.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
See Poole on"Mark 3:21"
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
When his friends heard of it,.... Nothis spiritual friends, his disciples and
followers, that believed in him; but his kinsmen, as the Syriac and Ethiopic

versions render the words, who were so according to the flesh; when they
heard where he was, and what a crowd was about him, so that he could not so
much as take the necessariesoflife for his refreshment and support,
they went out to lay hold on him: either out of their houses at Capernaum, or
they went forth from Nazareth, where they dwelt, to Capernaum, to take him
from this house, where he was thronged and pressed, along with them; where
he might have some refreshment without being incommoded, and take some
rest, which seemedvery necessary:so that this was done in kindness to him,
and does not design any violent action upon him, in order to take him home
with them, and to confine him as a madman; though the following words seem
to incline to such a sense;
for they said, he is beside himself: some render it, "he is gone out": that is, out
of doors, to preach againto the people, which they might fear would be
greatly detrimental to his health, since, he had had no sleepthe night before;
had been much fatigued all that morning, and for the throng of the people
could take no food; so that for this reasonthey came to take him with them, to
their own habitations, to prevent the ill consequencesofsuch constantexercise
without refreshment. Moreover, though this may not be the sense ofthe word,
yet it is not to be understood of downright madness and distraction, but of
some perturbation of mind, which they imagined, or heard, he was under; and
answers to a phrase frequently used by the Jews, that such an one, , "his
knowledge is snatchedaway", or his mind is disturbed; which was sometimes
occasionedby disorder of body: so it is said (z),
"a deaf woman, or one that is foolish, or blind, or "whose mind is disturbed";
and if there are any wise women, they prepare themselves, and eatof the
oblation.''
On that phrase, "whose mind is disturbed", the note of Maimonides is,

"it means a sick person, whose understanding is disturbed through the force
of the disease:''
and was sometimes the case ofa personwhen near death (a): and it was usual
to give a person that was condemnedto die, and going to be executed, a grain
of frankincense in a cup of wine, "that so his knowledge may be snatched
away", or his mind disturbed (b), and: be intoxicated; that so he might not be
sensible of his pain, or feelhis misery; in all which cases, there was nothing of
proper madness:and so the kinsmen and friends of Christ, having heard of
the situation that he was in, saidone to another, he is in a transport and excess
of mind; his zeal carries him beyond due bounds; he has certainly forgotten
himself; his understanding is disturbed; he is unmindful of himself; takes no
care of his health; he will certainly greatlyimpair it, if he goes onat this rate,
praying all night, and preaching all day, without taking any rest or food:
wherefore they came out, in order to dissuade him from such excessive
labours, and engage him to go with them, where he might have rest and
refreshment, and be composed, and retire.
(z) Misn. Nidda, c. 9. sect. 1.((a)T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 63. 1.((b) Ib. fol. 43. 1.
Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 10, fol. 198. 4.
Geneva Study Bible
{4} And when his {n} friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for
they said, He is beside himself.
(4) None are worse enemies of the gospelthan they that should be enemies of it
the least.

(n) Literally, they that were of him, that is, his relatives:for they that were
mad were brought to their relatives.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Expositor's Greek Testament
Mark 3:21. And the multitude cometh togetheragain, etc.
συνέρχεται:the crowd, partially dispersed, reassembles (implying lapse of an
appreciable interval). Jesus had hoped they would go awayto their homes in
various parts of the country during His absence onthe hill, but He was
disappointed. They lingered on.—ὥστε, etc.:the crowding about the house
and the demand for sight and succourof the Benefactorwere so greatthat
they (Jesus and His companions)could not find leisure, not even (μηδὲ) to
take food, not to speak of rest, or giving instruction to disciples. Erasmus
(Adnot.) thinks the reference is to the multitude, and the meaning that it was
so large that there was not bread for all, not to speak ofkitchen (obsonia).
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
21. when his friends] not the Apostles, but His relatives, including “His
brethren and His mother,” who are noticed here as going forth, and a few
verses lateron as having arrived at the house where our Lord was (Mark
3:31), or the place where the crowds were thronging Him.
He is beside himself] They deemed the zealand daily devotion to His labour of
love a sort of ecstasyorreligious enthusiasm, which made Him no longer
master of Himself. St Paul uses the word in this sense in 2 Corinthians 5:13,
“Forwhether we be beside ourselves, it is to God.” Comp. the words of Festus
to St Paul(Acts 26:24).
Bengel's Gnomen

Mark 3:21. Οἱ παρʼ αὐτοῦ, those belonging to Him) See App. Crit. Ed. ii., p.
150. The Gothic Version fram answers to περὶ and παρὰ.[25]Who these were,
who belongedto Him, is clearfrom Mark 3:31, where the particle οὖν,[26]
therefore, refers to this 21stverse, after the intervening parenthesis 22–30 has
been as it were clearedout of they.—ἐξῆλθον, they went out) Their coming in
Mark 3:31 followedtheir going out here. A table seems to have been laid at
the house;see end of Mark 3:20.—Κρατῆσαι, to lay hold) to put a restraint on
him.—ἔλεγον, they were saying) the messengers [notthe relatives]from whom
his relatives heard of His earnestness.—ὅτι ἐξέστη, He is beside Himself) By
this word they were attributing to Him excess ofardour, overwhelming His
intellect, but it was falsely that they attributed this to Him, as Festus did to
Paul; Acts 26:24, Thou art mad. Comp. by all means 2 Corinthians 5:13;
comp. ιἑρεὺς καὶ προφήτης ἐξέστησαν διὰ τὸ σίκερα, Heb. ‫.וגש‬ Isaiah 28:7; so
ὁ προφήτης παρεξεστηκὼς, Heb. ‫;עגשמ‬ Hosea 9:7. The singular number does
not admit of this being understood of the people; for although ὄχλος, a
multitude, Mark 3:20 is singular, yet after an interval [betweenΟΧΛΟς and
the verb, if the latter were to be understood of the former], there always
follow the pronoun and the verb in the plural.
[25] AB Vulg. Rec. Text readκαὶ ἀκούσαντες οἱ παρʼ ἀυτοῦ;but Dabc read
καὶ ὅτε ἤκουσανπερὶ αὐτοῦ οἱ γραμματεῖς καὶ οἱ λοίποί (c has Pharisæi.)—
ED.
[26] But the oldestauthorities BCDG vulg. abc omit οὐν. A, however, supports
it.—ED.
Vincent's Word Studies
His friends (οἱ παῤ αὐτοῦ)
Lit., they who were from beside him: i.e., by origin or birth. His mother and
brethren. Compare Mark 3:31, Mark 3:32. Wyc., kinsmen. Tynd., they that
belongedunto him. Nothis disciples, since they were in the house with him.

They said (ἔλεγον)
Imperfect tense. Very graphic, they kept saying.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
Title - "THE SERVANT UNDER ATTACK" - Alan Carr
INTRODUCTION-
I. Mark 3:20-21 HIS FRIENDS --ATTACKED HIS SANITY
A. THEIR REASONS -He's "out of His mind" (Illustration - They calledthe
famous evangelistD L Moody"Crazy Moody" because ofhis zeal for the
Lord and evangelismof the lost)
B. THEIR REMEDY - "take Him by force"
II. Mark 3:22-30 HIS FOES -- ATTACKED HIS SPIRITUALITY

A. THE ATTACK - Mk 3:22
B. THE ANSWER - Mk 3:23-27
(1) A SECULAR ILLUSTRATION - Mk 3:24
(2) A SOCIAL ILLUSTRATION - Mk 3:25
(3) A SPIRITUAL ILLUSTRATION - Mk 3:26-27
C. THE ALARM - Mark 3:28-30
(1) THE SIN THAT CAN BE FORGIVEN - Mk 3:28
(2) THE SIN THAT CAN NEVER BE FORGIVEN - Mk 3:29
CONCLUSION:
Are you under attack for your faith? Are you being misunderstood and
misrepresented? If you are being attackedfor your faith in Jesus, you are in
goodcompany.
-- You ought to come today and thank Him that you are being counted worthy
to suffer with Him, Matt. 5:11-12.
-- You should also pray that He will help you to be steadfastfor His glory.
If you are lost and He has been calling you to come to Him for salvation, I
would suggestto you that you say“Yes” to His calltoday. Come while He is
calling. Come while you canbe saved.

Mark 3:21 When His own people heard of this, they went out to take custody
of Him; for they were saying, “He has lostHis senses.”
NET Mark 3:21 When his family heard this they went out to restrain him, for
they said, "He is out of his mind."
GNT Mark 3:21 καὶ ἀκούσαντες οἱ παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ ἐξῆλθον κρατῆσαι αὐτόν·
ἔλεγον γὰρ ὅτι ἐξέστη.
NLT Mark 3:21 When his family heard what was happening, they tried to
take him away. "He's out of his mind," they said.
KJV Mark 3:21 And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on
him: for they said, He is beside himself.
ESV Mark 3:21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for
they were saying, "He is out of his mind."
NIV Mark 3:21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of
him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."
ASV Mark 3:21 And when his friends heard it, they went out to lay hold on
him: for they said, He is beside himself.
CSB Mark 3:21 When His family heard this, they set out to restrain Him,
because they said, "He's out of His mind."

NKJ Mark 3:21 But when His ownpeople heard about this, they went out to
lay hold of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind."
NRS Mark 3:21 When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for
people were saying, "He has gone out of his mind."
YLT Mark 3:21 and his friends having heard, went forth to lay hold on him,
for they said that he was beside himself,
NAB Mark 3:21 When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for
they said, "He is out of his mind."
NJB Mark 3:21 When his relations heard of this, they setout to take charge
of him; they said, 'He is out of his mind.'
GWN Mark 3:21 When his family heard about it, they went to get him. They
said, "He's out of his mind!"
BBE Mark 3:21 And when his friends had news of it, they went out to get
him, saying, He is off his head.
His own people, Mk 3:31 Joh 7:3-10
He is: 2Ki 9:11 Jer 29:26 Ho 9:7 Joh 10:20 Ac 26:24 2Co 5:13
Mark 3 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries

WELL-MEANING, BUT MISGUIDED
INTERFERENCEBY JESUS'FAMILY
You have probably heard the classic trilemma apologetic thatJesus is either
"LIAR, LUNATIC, OR LORD," made famous by C S Lewis (see below)
Mark 3:20-29 illustrates these three possible choices.
When His own people heard of this - Who are His own people? Literally
“those from the side of Him.” This almost certainly refers to His family which
is how most versions render it, for "the idiom most likely means the
kinspeople or family of Jesus as is common in the LXX." (Robertson) This
interpretation is supported by the context for Mark 3:31 "His mother and His
brothers arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called
Him." Heard what? What had Jesus'family heard? Some commentators
think this refers only to the immediate contextbecause His own people heard
He was not able to eatand/or was not giving considerationto His own needs,
which one commentator says prompted His family to be concernedthat He
was failing to care for Himself (Liefeld, EBC). While that is possible, it is also
likely what they had heard was that He was teaching that He was God(Mark
2:5+), that He could forgive sin (Mark 2:10+), not to mention that He had
been casting out demons and the demons were identifying Him as “the Holy
One of God” (Mk 1:24+) or “the Son of God” (Mk 3:11+). Those Jews who
had witnessedthese exorcisms heardthese demonic declarations and seenthe
effectof casting out demons with their owneyes. And keepin mind that John
tells us "not even His brothers were believing in Him." (Jn 7:5) So you can
just imagine their reactionwhen they heard He was teaching that He was
God!
They went out to take custody of Him - NLT - "they tried to take him away,"
which bring to mind having someone "committed" to a mental institute!
Wuest says "Theywere intending to take Him by force and againstHis will."

They went out indicates that they were not at the home. Possiblyas some say
they made the trek from nearby Nazareth, but this is conjecture.
Take custody(seize)(2902)(krateo fromkratos = strength) has basic meaning
be strong or possesspowerand thus means to take hold of, grasp, hold fast,
especiallyto “take hold of forcibly” in this case referring to His own people,
probably His own family. Mark uses it of the arrestof John the Baptist (Mk
6:17) Krateo is used of arresting someone seventimes in Mark (Mk 6:17; Mk
12:12;Mk 14:1, 44, 46, 49, 51 - all the other uses in Mark - Mk. 1:31; Mk.
3:21; Mk. 5:41; Mk. 7:3; Mk. 7:4; Mk. 7:8; Mk. 9:10; Mk. 9:27) to give you a
sense oftheir resolve to remove Him from His current conditions. Eight of 15
uses in Mark refer to Jesus being seized (including His arrest).
For (gar) is a term of explanation, in context explaining why His own had
come to seize Him and forcibly take Him away.
They calledthe famous evangelistD L Moody"Crazy Moody"
because ofhis zealfor the Lord and evangelismof the lost
-- Alan Carr
Craig Evans - The truly odd feature is the notation that his family, who have
come from Nazareth, respond by trying to take custody of Him (lit. “seize
him”). The evangelistexplains that Jesus’family were saying that he was mad
(lit. “outside of himself”)—and it is his family who saythis, not the excited
crowdwhom Jesus will later identify as his true family, nor the scribes who
hold to a much more sinisteropinion. Accusations ofmadness were sometimes
made againstprophets, exorcists, andhealers. One of the Sibyls complains of
being called a “crazyliar,” yet she knows that she will be vindicated when her
words come to pass (Sib. Or. 3:811–818). Too much learning, it was thought,

could lead to madness (Acts 26:24:“Paul, you are out of your mind! Your
greatlearning is driving you mad”; Alciphron, Letters of Courtesans, “Thais
to Euthydemus” 1.34.1–2:“… ever since you took it into your head to study
philosophy you have put on airs.… You have gone mad …”). (BKBC - Mt-Lk)
Ray Stedman - Here are two reactions to Jesus, to the intensity of his ministry.
He gave himself so totally to this ministry to these crowds that he had no time
even to eat. His friends heard about this and were disturbed. The word
translated "friends" really means "relatives" -- literally, "those from beside
him." We learn from the latter part of the chapter that it is actually his
mother and his brothers. They are up in Nazareth and word reaches them
that he is not taking care of himself. He is not eating properly. He is not
sleeping properly. His health is threatened. So they leave Nazarethand come
to try to put him under restraint. Their feeling is that he has gone crazy, that
he is "beside himself" -- literally, "outside himself" -- as a result of his
concernfor the hurt of the world. Now, Jesus willhandle that
misapprehension at the end of this account. (False Forces Mark 3:7-35)
They were saying, “He has lost His senses - Saying is imperfect tense
indicating they were saying this repeatedly! Sadly his own family thought
Jesus was suffering a mental break down! Has lostHis senses is one word in
Greek (existemi below)which is more literally "He was beside Himself" or out
of His head. His own family felt He was not acting rationally and/or that He
was unbalanced. A similar charge was made by Festus againstPaul (Acts
26:24+ - "out of your mind" = mainomai) In 2 Cor 5:13+ Paul wrote "Forif
we are beside ourselves (NET = "out of our minds," = existemi), it is for God;
if we are of sound mind, it is for you."
Much madness is divinest sense
To a discerning eye;

Much sense the starkestmadness.
’Tis the majority
In this, as all, prevails.
Assent, and you are sane;
Demur—you’re straightwaydangerous,
And handled with a chain.
-- Emily Dickinson
William Lane notes that "Mark frequently inserts an event or narrative
betweentwo phases of some actionof Jesus. This literary device is effective for
indicating a lapse of time, for dramatically heightening the tension, or for
drawing attention to a significantparallel or contrast. The first instance of
intercalationoccurs in this section:the narrative dealing with Jesus’family
(Mk 3:20f., 31–35)is divided by the accountof the Beelzebulcontroversy(Mk
3:22–30). The insertion of the incident involving the scribes from Jerusalem
betweenthe earlierand later phases of the family narrative is deliberate. It
suggeststhat those in Jesus’family who declare that he is mad (Mk 3:21) are
not unlike the scribes who attribute his extraordinary powers to an alliance
with Beelzebul, the prince of the demons (Mk 3:22). The parallel is sharply
emphasized by Mark’s formulation of the charges againstJesusin verses 21
and 30:verse 21 “for they [his family] said, He is beside Himself.” verse 30
“for they [the scribes] said, He has an unclean spirit.” (NICNT-Mark)
Brooks adds that "Mark 3:20–35 is the first clearinstance in the Gospelof
intercalationor bracketing or sandwiching, a literary and theologicaldevice
used to indicate a lapse of time, heighten tension, draw attention to, contrast,
and most importantly to use two accounts to interpret eachother." (NAC-
Mark)

Lost His senses(1839)(existemifrom ek = out + hístemi = to stand) literally
means to stand outside oneselfand thus to be beside oneself. The ideas include
to throw out of position, to displace, to amaze, astonish, throw into
wonderment, and existemi is "usedin the classicsofthe actof driving one out
of his senses,throwing one out of his mind." (Wuest) Used 4x by Mark most
often the idea of amazement or astonishment in the other 13 NT uses -
Everyone was "amazed" when the paralyzed man arose (Mk 2:12), they were
"astounded" when the 12 yo girl was resurrectedfrom the dead (Mk 5:42);
His disciples in the boat in the storm were "astonished" whenthe wind
stopped as He gotinto the boat with them. (Mk 6:51). Lane adds that the use
in Mark "describes one who is ecstatic in the sense ofpsychic derangement."
(Ibid)
Hiebert quotes Hurtado who writes “In recentyears we have heard stories of
other families who have attempted to dissuade family members (usually young
adults) from fervent religious or political associations, sometimes forciblyin
what is popularly calleddeprogramming, usually in the belief that their loved
ones have been ‘brain-washed’ and are not in control of their minds. Seenin
this light, the passagebefore us has a familiar human ring in it.” (Ibid)
J C Ryle has a goodword on the accusationthat Jesus had lostHis senses -
There is nothing in this fact that need surprise us. The prophet who came to
anoint Jehu was calleda “mad fellow.” (2 Kings 9:11.) Festus told Paul that he
was “mad.” (Acts 26:24+ mad = Greek word mania = insanity) Few things
show the corruption of human nature more clearly, than man’s inability to
understand zeal in religion. Zeal about money, or science, orwar, or
commerce, or business, is intelligible to the world. But zealabout religion is
too often reckonedfoolishness, fanaticism, and the sign of a weak mind. If a
man injures his health by study, or excessive attentionto business, no fault is
found:—“He is a diligent man.”—But if he wears himself out with preaching,
or spends his whole time in doing goodto souls, the cry is raised, “He is an
enthusiast and righteous over-much.” The world is not altered. The “things of

the Spirit” are always “foolishnessto the natural man.” (1 Cor. 2:14.) Let it
not shake our faith, if we have to drink of the same cup as our blessedLord.
Hard as it may be to flesh and blood to be misunderstood by our relations, we
must recollectit is no new thing. Let us call to mind our Lord’s words, “He
that loveth father and mother more than me is not worthy of me.” Jesus
knows the bitterness of our trials. Jesus feels for us. Jesus will give us help.
Let us bear patiently the unreasonablenessofunconverted men, even as our
Lord did. Let us pity their blindness and want of knowledge, andnot love
them one whit the less. Above all, let us pray that God would change their
hearts. Who can tell but the very persons who now try to turn us awayfrom
Christ, may one day become new creatures, see allthings differently, and
follow Christ themselves?
C S Lewis in his classic Mere Christianity made the famous quote about Jesus
"Liar, Lunatic or Lord?" -
I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people
often say about Him: I'm ready to acceptJesus as a great moral teacher, but I
don't accepthis claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man
who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus saidwould not be a
greatmoral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man
who says he is a poachedegg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You
must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a
madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you canspit at
him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and
God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a
greathuman teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. ...
Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and
consequently, howeverstrange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to
acceptthe view that He was and is God.

JoshMcDowell -LORD, LIAR OR LUNATIC?
The distinct claims of Jesus to be God eliminate the popular ploy of skeptics
who regardJesus as just a goodmoral man or a prophet who said a lot of
profound things. So often that conclusionis passedoff as the only one
acceptable to scholars oras the obvious result of the intellectual process. The
trouble is, many people nod their heads in agreementand never see the fallacy
of such reasoning.
To Jesus, who men and women believed him to be was of fundamental
importance. To say what Jesus saidand to claim what he claimedabout
himself, one couldn't conclude he was just a goodmoral man or prophet. That
alternative isn't open to an individual, and Jesus never intended it to be.
C. S. Lewis, who was a professorat Cambridge University and once an
agnostic, understoodthis issue clearly. He writes: "I am trying here to prevent
anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm
ready to acceptJesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't acceptHis claim to
be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man
and said the sort of things Jesus saidwould not be a greatmoral teacher. He
would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached
egg—orelse he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either
this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse."
Then Lewis adds: "You can shut Him up for a fool, you canspit at Him and
kill Him as a demon; or you canfall at His feet and call Him Lord and God.
But let us not come up with any patronising nonsense about His being a great
human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."'

F. J. A. Hort, who spent twenty-eight years in a criticalstudy of the New
Testamenttext, writes: "His words were so completely parts and utterances of
Himself, that they had no meaning as abstractstatements of truth uttered by
Him as a Divine oracle orprophet. Take awayHimself as the primary (though
not the ultimate) subject of every statementand they all fall to pieces."2
In the words of Kenneth ScottLatourette, historian of Christianity at Yale
University: "It is nothis teachings which make Jesus so remarkable, although
these would be enough to give him distinction. It is a combination of the
teachings with the man himself. The two cannotbe separated." "Itmust be
obvious," Latourette concludes, "to any thoughtful readerof the Gospel
records that Jesus regardedhimself and his message as inseparable. He was a
greatteacher, but he was more. His teachings about the kingdom of God,
about human conduct, and about God were important, but they could not be
divorced from him without, from his standpoint, being vitiated."3
Jesus claimedto be God. He didn't leave any other option open. His claim
must be either true or false, so it is something that should be given serious
consideration. Jesus'questionto his disciples, "Butwho do you say that I
am?" (Matthew 16:15 ) has severalalternatives.
First, considerthat his claim to be God was false. If it was false, then we have
two and only two alternatives. He either knew it was false or he didn't know it
was false. We will considereachone separatelyand examine the evidence.
WAS HE A LIAR?
If, when Jesus made his claims, he knew that he was not God, then he was
lying and deliberately deceiving his followers. Butif he was a liar, then he was

also a hypocrite because he told others to be honest, whateverthe cost, while
he himself taught and lived a colossallie. More than that, he was a demon,
because he told others to trust him for their eternal destiny. If he couldn't
back up his claims and knew it, then he was unspeakablyevil. Last, he would
also be a fool because it was his claims to being God that led to his crucifixion.
Many will say that Jesus was a goodmoral teacher. Let's be realistic. How
could he be a greatmoral teacherand knowingly mislead people at the most
important point of his teaching—his ownidentity?
You would have to conclude logicallythat he was a deliberate liar. This view
of Jesus, however, doesn'tcoincide with what we know either of him or the
results of his life and teachings. WhereverJesus has beenproclaimed, lives
have been changedfor the good, nations have changedfor the better, thieves
are made honest, alcoholics are cured, hateful individuals become channels of
love, unjust persons become just.
William Lecky, one of GreatBritain's most noted historians and a dedicated
opponent of organizedChristianity, writes: "It was reservedfor Christianity
to present to the world an ideal characterwhichthrough all the changes of
eighteencenturies has inspired the hearts of men with an impassionedlove;
has shownitself capable of acting on all ages,nations, temperaments and
conditions; has been not only the highestpattern of virtue, but the strongest
incentive to itspractice.... The simple record of these three short years of
active life has done more to regenerate andsoften mankind than all the
disquisitions of philosophers and all the exhortations of moralists."4
Historian Philip Schaffsays:"This testimony, if not true, must be downright
blasphemy or madness. The former hypothesis cannot stand a moment before
the moral purity and dignity of Jesus, revealedin his every word and work,

and acknowledgedby universal consent. Self-deceptionin a matter so
momentous, and with an intellect in all respects so clearand so sound, is
equally out of the question. How could he be an enthusiast or a madman who
never lost the evenbalance of his mind, who sailedserenelyover all the
troubles and persecutions, as the sun above the clouds, who always returned
the wisestanswerto tempting questions, who calmly and deliberately
predicted his death on the cross, his resurrection on the third day, the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the founding of his Church, the destructionof
Jerusalem—predictions whichhave been literally fulfilled? A characterso
original, so complete, so uniformly consistent, so perfect, so human and yet so
high above all human greatness, canbe neither a fraud nor a fiction. The poet,
as has been well said, would in this case be greaterthan the hero. It would
take more than a Jesus to invent a Jesus."5
Elsewhere Schaffgives convincing argument againstChrist being a liar:
"How, in the name of logic, common sense, and experience, couldan
impostor—that is a deceitful, selfish, depraved man—have invented, and
consistentlymaintained from the beginning to end, the purest and noblest
characterknownin history with the most perfectair of truth and reality?
How could he have conceivedand successfullycarried out a plan of
unparalleled beneficence, moralmagnitude, and sublimity, and sacrificedhis
own life for it, in the face of the strongestprejudices of his people and age?"6
If Jesus wantedto get people to follow him and believe in him as God, why did
he go to the Jewishnation? Why go as a Nazarene carpenterto a country so
small in size and population and so thoroughly adhering to the undivided
unity of God? Why didn't he go to Egypt or, even more, to Greece, where they
believed in various gods and various manifestations of them?
Someone who lived as Jesus lived, taught as Jesus taught, and died as Jesus
died could not have been a liar. What other alternatives are there?

WAS HE A LUNATIC?
If it is inconceivable for Jesus to be a liar, then couldn't he actually have
thought himself to be God, but been mistaken? After all, it's possible to be
both sincere and wrong. But we must remember that for someone to think
himself God, especiallyin a fiercely monotheistic culture, and then to tell
others that their eternal destiny depended on believing in him, is no slight
flight of fantasy but the thoughts of a lunatic in the fullest sense. Was Jesus
Christ such a person?
Someone who believes he is Godsounds like someone todaybelieving himself
Napoleon. He would be deluded and self-deceived, and probably he would be
lockedup so he wouldn't hurt himself or anyone else. Yet in Jesus we don't
observe the abnormalities and imbalance that usually go along with being
deranged. His poise and composure would certainly be amazing if he were
insane.
Noyes and Kolb, in a medical text,' describe the schizophrenic as a person who
is more autistic than realistic. The schizophrenic desires to escape from the
world of reality. Let's face it; claiming to be God would certainly be a retreat
from reality.
In light of the other things we know about Jesus, it's hard to imagine that he
was mentally disturbed. Here is a man who spoke some of the most profound
sayings ever recorded. His instructions have liberated many individuals in
mental bond-age. Clark H. Pinnock asks:"Was he deluded about his
greatness,a paranoid, an unintentional deceiver, a schizophrenic? Again, the
skill and depth of his teachings support the case onlyfor his total mental
soundness. If only we were as sane as he!"8 A student at a California

university told me that his psychologyprofessorhad said in class that "all he
has to do is pick up the Bible and read portions of Christ's teaching to many
of his patients. That's all the counseling they need."
PsychiatristJ. T. Fisherstates:"If you were to take the sum total of all
authoritative articles ever written by the most qualified of psychologists and
psychiatrists on the subject of mental hygiene—if you were to combine them
and refine them and cleave out the excessverbiage—ifyou were to take the
whole of the meat and none of the parsley, and if you were to have these
unadulterated bits of pure scientific knowledge conciselyexpressedby the
most capable of living poets, you would have an awkwardand incomplete
summation of the Sermon on the Mount. And it would suffer immeasurably
through comparison. Fornearly two thousand years the Christian world has
been holding in its hands the complete answerto its restless and fruitless
yearnings. Here . . . rests the blueprint for successfulhuman life with
optimism, mental health, and contentment."9
C. S. Lewis writes: "The historicaldifficulty of giving for the life, sayings and
influence of Jesus anyexplanation that is not harder than the Christian
explanation is very great. The discrepancybetweenthe depth and sanity . . . of
His moral teaching and the rampant megalomania which must lie behind His
theologicalteaching unless He is indeed Godhas never been satisfactorily
explained. Hence the non-Christian hypotheses succeedone anotherwith the
restless fertility of bewilderment."10
Philip Schaff reasons:"Is such an intellect—clearas the sky, bracing as the
mountain air, sharp and penetrating as a sword, thoroughly healthy and
vigorous, always ready and always self-possessed—liableto a radical and most
serious delusion concerning his own characterand mission? Preposterous
imagination!"6

WAS HE LORD?
I cannot personallyconclude that Jesus was a liar or a lunatic. The only other
alternative is that he was the Christ, the Son of God, as he claimed. When I
discuss this with most Jewishpeople, it's interesting how they respond. They
usually tell me that Jesus was a moral, upright, religious leader, a goodman,
or some kind of prophet. I then share with them the claims Jesus made about
himself and then the material in this chapter on the trilemma (liar, lunatic, or
Lord). When I ask if they believe Jesus was a liar, there is a sharp "No!" Then
I ask, "Do you believe he was a lunatic?" The reply is "Of course not." "Do
you believe he is God?" Before I can geta breath in edgewise,there is a
resounding "Absolutely not." Yet one has only so many choices.
The issue with these three alternatives is not which is possible, for it is obvious
that all three are possible. But rather, the question is "Which is more
probable?" Who you decide Jesus Christ is must not be an idle intellectual
exercise. Youcannot put him on the shelf as a greatmoral teacher. That is not
a valid option. He is either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord and God. You must make
a choice. "But," as the Apostle John wrote, "these have been written that you
may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and"—more important—
"that believing you might have life in His name" (John 20:31 ).
The evidence is clearly in favor of Jesus as Lord. Some people, however, reject
this clearevidence because ofmoral implications involved. They don't want to
face up to the responsibility or implications of calling him Lord. (from More
than a Carpenter)
NOTES ON CHAPTER 2

1. C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: The MacMillanCompany,
1960), pp. 40-41.
2. F. J. A. Hort, Way, Truth, and the Life (New York: MacMillanand Co.,
1894), p. 207.
3. Kenneth ScottLatourette, A History of Christianity (New York: Harper
and Row, 1953), pp. 44, 48.
4. William E. Lecky, History of EuropeanMorals from Augustus to
Charlemagne (New York: D. Appleton and Co., 1903), Vol. 2, pp. 8, 9.
5. Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church (Grand Rapids: William B.
Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1962). (Re-print from original 1910), p. 109
6. Philip Schaff, The Personof Christ (New York: American Tract Society,
1913), pp. 94-95;p. 97.
7. Arthur P. Noyes, and Lawrence C. Kolb, Modern Clinical
Psychiatry (Philadelphia: Saunders, 1958). (5thed.)
8. Clark H. Pinnock, SetForth Your Case (New Jersey:The
Craig Press, 1967),p. 62.
9. J. T. Fisher, and L. S. Hawley, A Few Buttons Missing (Philadelphia:
Lippincott, 1951), p. 273.
10. C. S. Lewis, Miracles:A Preliminary Study (New York: The MacMillan
Company, 1947), p. 113.
RelatedResources:
Lewis' Trilemma - Lewis's trilemma is an apologetic argumenttraditionally
used to argue for the divinity of Jesus by arguing that the only alternatives
were that he was evil or deluded.[1] One version was popularised by
University of Oxford literary scholarand writer C. S. Lewis in a BBC radio

talk and in his writings. It is sometimes describedas the "Lunatic, Liar, or
Lord", or "Mad, Bad, or God" argument. It takes the form of a trilemma — a
choice among three options, eachof which is in some way difficult to accept.
(Readmore...)
C S Lewis 1950 essay, WhatAre We to Make of Jesus?
Mere Christianity (Wikipedia article) excerpt - Mere Christianity is a
theologicalbook by C. S. Lewis, adapted from a series ofBBC radio talks
made between1941 and 1944,[2]while Lewis was at Oxford during the
SecondWorld War.[3] Considereda classic ofChristian apologetics, the
transcripts of the broadcasts originallyappearedin print as three separate
pamphlets: The Case forChristianity (BroadcastTalks in the UK) (1942),
Christian Behaviour (1943), and Beyond Personality(1944).[4]
JoshMcDowell'sclassic "Morethan a Carpenter"
DANIEL AKIN
The Pressures ThatCome With Faithful Ministry
Mark 3:7-21
Introduction: 1) The greatfootball coachofthe GreenBay Packerswas Vince
Lombardi
(1913-1970). He led the Packers to victories in the first 2 Super Bowls.
Lombardi was a great
coachbut also a man of greatwit and insight. Forexample:
- “Confidence is contagious. So is lack of confidence.”
- “Footballis like life. It requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work,
sacrifice,
dedication and respectfor authority.”

- “If you acceptlosing, you can’t win.”
- “It’s not whether you get knockeddown, it’s whether you get up.”
- “Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit.”
- “The goodLord gave you ability that can stand most anything. It’s your
mind you have
to convince.”
- “It is essentialto understand that battles are primarily won in the hearts of
men.”
And the last 3 I will highlight in light of our text:
1) “Men respond to leadershipin a most remarkable way and once you have
won their heart,
they will follow you anywhere.”
2) “People who work togetherwill win.”
3) “Fatigue makes cowards ofus all.”
2) Leadership, team and fatigue run throughout Mark 3:7-21. Wrapping these
3 cords together
are the twin themes of pressure and faithful ministry. These twins always go
together.
3) It is absolutelyessentialthat we know the playing field, have realistic
expectations, and a God
given strategyif we are to do well in ministry. Jesus, Himself, knew this, and
we discover in this
2
text how He dealt with the pressures that come with faithful ministry.
Whether it is opposition

from the Pharisees(2:1-3:6), the press of the crowd (3:7-12), the failure of a
former follower, or
the rejectionof family, Jesus provides a model for us to follow! He will accept
the pressure that
goes with faithful ministry all the way to the cross. There is much here for us
to learn.
I. Expectto be pressuredby those who want something from you. 3:7-12
• Verses 7-8 note the growing popularity of Jesus!The Pharisees andthe
Herodians may
have put out a contracton Him to take Him out, but the people were wildly
enthusiastic
about Him and His ministry!
• Note from where they came.
Galilee – Jews and some Gentiles from Northern Israel
Judea and Jerusalem– Jews from the South and the capital city
Idumea – southeastof Judea – a mix of Jews and Gentiles
Across the Jordan – east, the area of the Decapolis(ten cities)
Tyre and Sidon – Northwestabove Galilee;mostly Gentiles
• Already there is a multi-ethnic movement in the ministry of Jesus, something
He would
affirm in the strongestlanguage in Matthew 28:18-20 and The Great
Commission.
1) They will impose upon you. 3:7-10
• Mark will note repeatedly the large crowds that are flocking to Jesus like
geeseheaded

south for the winter (3:7, 8, 9, 20;4:1 (2X). Wave after wave they follow and
keep
coming. The pressure had to be immense. The temptations were great.
• Jesus has withdrawn hoping for some quiet time with His disciples, but this
is not going
to happen. Pictures of Jesus sitting under a tree in beautiful green grass with
white fluffy
3
sheepin the backgroundand children in His lap is a myth! Mayhem and
bedlam more
often characterizes the reality of His public ministry.
• So greatis the press of the crowd He askedthe disciples to prepare a “get
awayboat” so
they might not getcrushed!
• He was healing the sick (v.10)and casting out demons (v. 11) and the people
wanted in
on this.
• As is often the case in ministry, they did not care about Him, only what they
could get
from Him.
1) Where they concernedabout His privacy? No.
2) Did they care about His need for time alone? No.
3) Did they care about His need for food and rest? (v. 20) No.
Application: This will often, too often, be the experience of those who work
hard for the Lord.

It is really unavoidable. You cannot stop it, but you can controlit to some
degree. But, make
sure you understand and acceptthe reality: people you serve will impose on
you and not give it a
secondthought. It is simply the nature of the work.
2) They will seek to hinder you. 3:11-12
• Jesus continues to confront and conquer the demonic as a proof that the
Kingdom of God
has arrived in Him (1:23-28;32, 39)!
• Upon seeing Him they 1) fall down before Him and 2) cry out,
acknowledging that He is
the Sonof God(v. 11).
• Jesus againdemands their silence (v. 12). A demonic declarationof His deity
will not
help but hurt His mission. 1) It is the wrong source. 2) It is the wrong time.
• Jesus will be fully revealed not by demonic confessionbut by the cross of
Calvary.
4
• In a futile attempt to control Jesus by identifying Him and limiting His
power, the
demons are silencedby His sovereignauthority. He will carry forward and
complete His
mission on God’s terms, on His terms, not theirs. What they want from Him
they cannot
have and will not receive.

Application: The same must be true for us! We must do the will of God (v.
35), God’s wayand
in God’s time. We must not allow ourselves to be manipulated by ungodly
agendas regardlessof
the praise we may receive, the positions we are offered, the prosperity we may
be promised.
II. Expect to be pressured by those who want to be with you. 3:13-19
• Mountain – mountains are interestingly important in the life of Jesus:1)
Climatic
Temptation (Matt 4:8-11); 2) Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7); 3) Call of the
Twelve
(Mark 3:13); 4) Transfiguration(Mark 9:2); 5) Olivet Discourse(Matt24-25);
6) Great
Commission(Matt 28:16-20).
• Luke 6:12 informs us He prayed all night before calling the twelve. Clearly
Jesus saw
this as a crucial decisionin His ministry and building of His kingdom. It
would be a
decisionHe would make with greatcare.
1) Call out the ones you want to spend time with. 3:13-18
• Jesus calledout to twelve specific individuals and they came. As His disciples
(v. 7)
they would follow Him, be with Him and learn from Him. Our modern
equivalent
would be “an apprentice.” As His apostles (v. 14) they would be sent by Him
with
His authority and proclaim Him in the gospel.

• They are appointed with His authority to carry out His mission. They would
have the
authority also to castout demons. In word and actionthey are to carry on His
work
of building the kingdom of God.
5
• He appoints them (v. 14, 16).
He wants them with Him (3 years).
He sends them out to preach.
He gives them authority over the demons.
• And, He calls twelve, as He establishes a new, holy nation, a new community,
called
the church (1 Peter 2:9).
• This is what they would do.
Now the question, “who were they?”
– 4 lists.
– Basic observations.
– Brief description of each.
6
The Twelve Apostles
Matthew 10 Mark 3 Luke 6 Acts 1
Simon PeterSimon PeterSimon PeterSimon Peter
Andrew James Andrew John
James John James James

John Andrew John Andrew
Philip Philip Philip Philip
Bartholomew Bartholomew Bartholomew Bartholomew
Thomas Thomas Thomas Thomas
Matthew Matthew (Levi) Matthew Matthew
James
(of Alphaeus)
James
(of Alphaeus)
James
(of Alphaeus)
James
(of Alphaeus)
Thaddaeus Thaddaeus Judas
(of James)
Judas
(of James)
Simon
(the Canaanite)
Simon
(the Canaanite)
Simon
(Zealotes)

Simon
(Zealotes)
Judas IscariotJudas IscariotJudas Iscariot —————————
Some Basic Observations
1) Matthew and Mark list Thaddaeus while Luke, in his two lists, names
Judas (of James).
Some Bible scholars think Judas may have been his originalname and that it
was
changedlater to Thaddaeus (meaning perhaps “warm-hearted”)in order to
avoid the
stigma attachedto the name Judas Iscariot. This is reasonable.
2) “Simon The Canaanite” is the transliterationinto English of a Greek word
which
probably represents an Aramaic word meaning “Zealous.”The Zealots in
Judaism were a
group who advocatedrevolutionary tactics to overthrow the power of Rome.
Bringing he
and Matthew togetheris something only the gospelcould do!
3) It is interesting that all four lists begin with Simon Peterand end with
Judas Iscariot
(except, of course, the Acts 1 list, for Judas had already killed himself and is
omitted).
Also, the names appearto be in groups of four. Peter, Andrew, James, and
John are
always in the first group-though not always in that order-and Philip,
Bartholomew,

Thomas, and Matthew are in the secondgroup in all four lists.
4) In all four lists, Peter’s name heads the first group, Philip leads the second,
and James (of
Alphaeus) heads the third.
7
The Twelve Apostles:
A Brief Summation
Facts Scriptures
First Group
Peter:given name Simon, changedto Cephas
(Aramaic), or Peter(Greek);sonof Jonah(“bar
Jonah”), brother of Andrew; fisherman, home
in Capernaum; presentat transfiguration and
Gethsemane;denied Christ; first apostle to (1)
preach the gospel, (2) perform a miracle, (3)
speak before the Sanhedrin, (4) preach to
Gentiles, (5) raise the dead; traditionally
martyred at Rome in A.D. 67 being crucified
upside down.
Too extensive to list, but note Gal. 2:7-9; 1, 2
Peter.
Andrew: introduced his brother Peter to Jesus;
also a fisherman; traditionally martyred in

Greece;brought word to Jesus of Greeks who
wanted to see Him.
Matt. 4:18; 10:2; Mark 1:16, 29;3:18; 13:3;
Luke 6:14; John 1:40, 44; 6:8; 12:22; Acts 1:13
James:brother of John; son of Zebedee and
Salome;fisherman, with father and brother
partners with Peter;present at transfiguration
and in Gethsemane;called by Jesus a “Son of
Thunder”; martyred by Herod Agrippa 1 (c.
A.D. 44).
Matt. 4:21; 10:2; 17:1; Mark 1:19, 29; 3:17;
5:37; 9:2; 10:35, 41;13:3; 14:33; Luke 5:10;
6:14; 8:51; 9:28, 54;Acts 1:13; 12:2
John: brother of James;son of Zebedee and
Salome;fisherman, partner with Peter;present
at transfiguration and in Gethsemane;calledby
Jesus “Sonof Thunder”; “the disciple whom
Jesus loved”;companion of Peter;cared for
Mary, the Lord’s mother; leader in Jerusalem
church; later moved to Ephesus;exiled to isle
of Patmos;traditionally not martyred.
Matt. 4:21; 10:2; 17:1; Mark 1:19, 29; 3:17;
5:37; 9:2, 38; 10:35, 41;13:3; 14:33;Luke

5:10; 6:14; 8:51; 9:28, 49, 54; 22:8; Acts 1:13;
3:1, 3, 4, 11;4:13, 19;8:14; 12:2; Gal. 2:9;
Rev. 1:1, 4, 9; 22:8 Cf. 1, 2, 3 John, Gospelof
John
8
Facts Scriptures
SecondGroup
Philip: told Nathanaelof Jesus;brought word
to Jesus of Greeks who wantedto see Him;
traditions unclear as to his life and death.
Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14; John 1:43-
46, 48; 6:5, 7; 12:21-22;14:8-9; Acts 1:13
Bartholomew:probably Nathanaelof John’s
Gospel;from Cana;name Bartholomew is
Aramaic for “Sonof Tolmai”’Jesus saw him
under the fig tree; traditionally martyred in
Armenia.
Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14; John 1:45-
49; 21:2; Acts 1:13
Thomas (called Didymus meaning twin):
probably from Galilee;askedJesus how to
know the way; doubted Jesus’resurrection;
traditionally preached in India.

Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; John 11:16;
14:5; 20:24, 26-28;21:2; Acts 1:13
Matthew:tax collector;son of Alphaeus; also
known as Levi; held a greatfeastfor Jesus in
his house;tradition unclear as to his ministry
and death.
Matt. 9:9, 10:3; Mark 2:14; 3:18; Luke 5:27,
29; 6:15; Acts 1:13
Facts Scriptures
Third Group
James:sonof Alphaeus and Mary; known as
“the small” or “the Younger”;brother of
Joseph;tradition unclear due to confusionwith
other Jameses.
Matt. 10:3; 27:56;Mark 3:18; 15:40;16:1;
Luke 6:15; 24:10; Acts 1:13
Judas (not Iscariot): sonof James;also called
Thaddaeus;perhaps a Zealot; traditionally
preachedin Aremnia and martyred in Persia
with Simon the Zealot.
Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:16; John 14:22;
Acts 1:13
Simon the Zealot: traditionally martyred in

Persia with Judas (Thaddaeus).
Matt. 10:4; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13
Judas Iscariot:possibly from Judea;betrayer
of Christ; calledby Jesus a “devil” and “sonof
perdition”; treasurerfor the apostolic band;
committed suicide.
Matt. 10:4; 26:14, 25, 47;27:3, 5; Mark 3:19;
14:10, 43;Luke 6:16; 22:3, 47, 48; John 6:71;
12:4; 13:2, 26, 29;18:2, 3, 5; Acts 1:16, 18, 25
9
2) Recognize that some will disappoint you. 3:19
• The Bible is brutally honest. It notes successesand failures. It points out the
goodand
the bad. It has integrity in its reporting.
• One of the bad is Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Jesus. In every list he
is listed last.
In every list his betrayal is noted.
• His name means “man from Karioth.” Some believe he was the only disciple
from Judea;
all the others from Galilee.
• Judas was chosenby our Lord to be with Him (v. 14). He did not worm his
way in. He
would run and serve well for a while. He gave evidence of loyalty and
trustworthiness.

Why after all, he served as the treasurerof this happy band of men (John
12:4-6), though
he was dishonest and a thief in his assignment.
• All of this is to remind us that if you live long enough and serve long enough
you will be
disappointed by people you love and thought loved you. You would let them
guard your
back believing they would take a bullet for you, only to discoverthe knife in
your back is
held by them, the bullet in the back of your head came from the gun they
fired.
III. Expect to be pressured by those who misunderstood you. 3:20-21
• It is one thing to be misunderstood, let down and betrayed by a friend. It is
hard to put
into words what it feels like when it is your family.
• Ill: Missionarycouple who have served as careermissionaries in Southeast
Asia. Neither
parents are supportive. Neither has ever visited in more than a decade. [Chris
and
Rebecca]
• Jesus has returned home (probably, in Capernaum; the home of Peter and
Andrew).
Some things haven’t changed(v.20). Some things sadly have (v. 21).
10
1) They may try to control you. 3:20-21

• Once more the crowds descendupon Jesus and they do so with a selfish
vengeance.
• Mark notes they are here “again.” It seems to never end.
• So greatis the “packedhouse” He cannotfind time or space to eat. The
people are
completely sociallyunaware. They care for no one but themselves. Theywill
monopolize Jesus if they can. They misunderstood His true mission and
agenda is to get
to the cross and deal with their realneed!
• Ill. Sociallyunaware people with their “Christian rock stars” is probably
something
similar on a smaller scale!They will smother them if they are given the
chance.
2) They may try to stop you. 3:21
• First mention of Jesus’family in Mark. It is not good.
• Hearing He is so swampedin His ministry and mission and apparently
unwilling to do
anything about it, even care for His own physical needs, they decide to 1) seize
Him, 2)
convinced (actually “saying”)He is out of His mind.”
• The word “seize” means to lay hold and is used elsewhere ofan “arrest.”
• The charge “He is out of his mind” is shocking and disturbing. It reveals
negatively that
they don’t understand Him or His mission. It reveals positively that they care
and are
concernedfor Him.

• However, as Wesselwellnotes, “In a culture in which honor and shame were
critically
important, there may also have been an attempt to prevent shame on the
family causedby
Jesus’…behavior”(EBC, 745).
• He was a religious fanatic who was hurting the family name and also was a
danger to
Himself. He had to be stopped. He needs a strait-jacketand padded cell. Give
that man
11
some drugs that will calm Him down. Oh, if they only knew what a disasterit
would
have been if they had been able to stop Him.
Conclusion:
What do we learn from this text? What words of wisdom can we gleanthat we
might have a
faithful ministry that allows us to start well, run well, and finish well?
1) Know who you are and why you are here (v. 10-12).
2) Make time to getaway. Take controlof your schedule and calendar. If you
don’t others will
(v. 13).
3) Surround yourself with others you can train, delegate to, and send out to do
the work of
ministry (vs. 13-19).
4) Recognize no matter how hard you try and how much you invest, some are
going to

disappoint you (v. 19).
5) Remember the ministry is a 24/7 calling that requires your constant
attention and
management(v. 20).
6) Understand those closestto you may misunderstand you and even oppose
you (v. 21).
7) Never everforget that all that matters in life and ministry is that you please
God and do His
will (v. 35)!Don’t lose sight of the goal. Jesus didn’t! The cross was neverout
of view. It
was His divine destiny. Praise God he did not let the pressures of ministry
distract Him or
deter Him. He stayed focused. He stayedon point. He was faithful in His
mission and
ministry all the way to Calvary!
WILLIAM BARCLAY
THE VERDICT OF HIS OWN (Mark 3:20-21)
3:20-21 Jesus wentinto a house;and once againso dense a crowdcollected
that they could not even eatbread. When his own people heard What was
going on, they went out to restrain him, for they said, "He has takenleave of
his senses."

Sometimes a man drops a remark which cannot be interpreted otherwise than
as the product of bitter experience. Once when Jesus was enumerating the
things which a man might have to face for following him, he said, "A man's
foes will be those of his own household." (Matthew 10:36.)His ownfamily had
come to the conclusionthat he had takenleave of his senses andthat it was
time he was takenhome. Let us see if we can understand what made them feel
like that.
(i) Jesus had left home and the carpenter's business at Nazareth. No doubt it
was a flourishing business from which he could at leasthave made a living;
and quite suddenly he had flung the whole thing up and gone out to be a
wandering preacher. No sensible man, they must have been thinking, would
throw up a business where the money came in every week to become a
vagrant who had not any place to lay his head.
(ii) Jesus was obviously on the way to a head-on collisionwith the orthodox
leaders of his day. There are certainpeople who can do a man a greatdeal of
harm, people on whose right side it is better to keep, people whose opposition
can be very dangerous. No sensible man, they must have been thinking, would
ever getup againstthe powers that be, because he would know that in any
collisionwith them he would be bound to come off secondbest. No one could
take on the Scribes and the Pharisees andthe orthodox leaders and hope to
get awaywith it.
(iii) Jesus had newly started a little societyof his own--and a very queer
societyit was. There were some fishermen; there was a reformed tax-
collector;there was a fanaticalnationalist. They were not the kind of people
whom any ambitious man would particularly want to know. They certainly
were not the kind of people who would be any goodto a man who was seton a
career. No sensible man, they must have been thinking, would pick a crowd of

friends like that. They were definitely not the kind of people a prudent man
would want to getmixed up with.
By his actions Jesus had made it clearthat the three laws by which men tend
to organize their lives meant nothing to him.
(i) He had thrown away security. The one thing that most people in this world
want more than anything else is just that. They want above all things a job
and a position which are secure, and where there are as few material and
financial risks as possible.
(ii) He had thrown awaysafety. Mostpeople tend at all times to play safe.
They are more concernedwith the safetyof any course of actionthan with its
moral quality, its rightness or its wrongness. A course ofaction which involves
risk is something from which they instinctively shrink.
(iii) He had shownhimself utterly indifferent to the verdict of society. He had
shown that he did not much care what men said about him. In point of fact, as
H. G. Wells said, for most people "the voice of their neighbours is louder than
the voice of God." "What will people say?" is one of the first questions that
most of us are in the habit of asking.
What appalled Jesus'friends was the risks that he was taking, risks which, as
they thought, no sensible man would take.
When John Bunyan was in prison he was quite frankly afraid. "My
imprisonment," he thought, "might end on the gallows forought that I could
tell." He did not like the thought of being hanged. Then came the day when he

was ashamedof being afraid. "MethoughtI was ashamedto die with a pale
face and tottering knees for such a cause as this." So finally he came to a
conclusionas he thought of himself climbing up the ladder to the scaffold:
"Wherefore, thought I, I am for going on and venturing my eternalstate with
Christ whether I have comfort here or no; if God doth not come in, thought I,
I will leap off the ladder even blindfold into eternity, sink or swim, come
heaven, come hell; Lord Jesus, if thou wilt catchme, do: if not, I will venture
for thy name." That is preciselywhat Jesus was willing to do. I will venture
for thy name. That was the essence ofthe life of Jesus, andthat--not safety
and security--should be the motto of the Christian man and the mainspring of
the Christian life.
ALBERT BARNES
Verse 21
When his friends - Greek, “theywho were of him.” Not the apostles, but his
relatives, his friends, who were in the place of his nativity.
Heard of it - Heard of his conduct: his preaching;his appointing the apostles;
his drawing such a multitude to his preaching. This shows that by “his
friends” were not meant the apostles, but his neighbors and others who
“heard” of his conduct.
They went out to lay hold on him - To take him awayfrom the multitude, and
to remove him to his home, that he might be treated as a maniac, so that, by
absence from the “causes”ofexcitement, he might be restoredto his right
mind.

They said - That is, common report said; or his friends and relatives said, for
they did not believe on him, John 7:5. Probably the enemies of Jesus raised
the report, and his relatives were persuaded to believe it to be true.
He is beside himself - He is delirious or deranged. The reasonwhy this report
gained any belief was, probably, that he had lived among them as a carpenter;
that he was poor and unknown; and that now, at 30 years of age, he broke off
from his occupations, abandonedhis common employment, spent much time
in the deserts, denied himself the common comforts of life, and setup his
claims to be the Messiahwho was expectedby all the people to come with
greatpomp and splendor. The charge of “derangement” onaccountof
attention to religion has not been confined to the Saviour. Let a man be made
deeply sensible of his sins, and spend much of his time in prayer, and have no
relish for the ordinary amusements or business of life; or let a Christian be
much impressed with his obligation to devote himself to God, and “act” as if
he believed there was an “eternity,” and warn his neighbors of their danger;
or let a minister show uncommon zeal and spend his strength in the service of
his Master, and the world is not slow to call it derangement. And none will be
more ready to originate or believe the charge than an ungodly and infidel
parent or brother, a self-righteous Pharisee orprofessorin the church. At the
same time, men may endangerthemselves on the bosomof the deep or in the
bowels of the earth for wealth; or may plunge into the vortex of fashion, folly,
and vice, and break in upon the hours of repose, and neglecttheir duties to
their family and the demands of business, and in the view of the world it is
wisdom and proof of a sane mind! Such is the consistency ofboastedreason;
such the wisdomand prudence of worldly men!
BRIAN BELL
Mark 3:20-35 2-24-13

JESUS WAS THOUGHT TO BE CRAZY BY HIS FAMILY

JESUS WAS THOUGHT TO BE CRAZY BY HIS FAMILY

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JESUS WAS THOUGHT TO BE CRAZY BY HIS FAMILY