OUT OF HIS MIND?

“Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that He and His disciples were not even able to eat. When His family heard about this, they went to take charge of Him for they said, ‘He is out of His mind.’” Mark 3:20,21 (NIV).

They thought He was out of His mind, but He could not have been saner! It was not Jesus’ behaviour that was the problem. It was the madness of the crowd. They wanted what He could do for them. In typical mob fashion, they had no respect for Jesus or for one another, everyone pushing and shoving, everyone trying to get near Him for what they wanted, impatient, disorderly, rude, and demanding.

Family and friends heard about it and tried to get Him out of there as though He were unable to take care of Himself. They thought He was helpless to do anything about it. They wanted to disconnect Him from the suffering and need of the unruly crowd, but they could not. Mark’s record tells us nothing about the outcome. They wanted to rescue Him, by force, if necessary, but did they? No! Jesus would not permit anyone to do anything to Him that was not allowed by His Father. Even though they were not aware of it, no-one could do anything to Him that was not part of the Father’s plan.

Jesus showed His total command of the situation by His response to the Pharisees’ accusation and His family’s attempt to intervene. The religious leaders thought Jesus was in league with demons. He was using black magic to deceive the people. He was deliberately stirring up this irreligious mob because He had a hidden agenda. By seducing them with magic, He wanted to raise an army of followers who would stir up trouble against Rome!

Jesus’ reply was masterful. With the deft strokes of a master artist, He painted a word picture of the implications of their accusation. It was not Rome that was the people’s problem but dark spiritual forces that held them captive – deformities, diseases, depravity that held them in their grip. Would Satan be so foolish as to use someone in league with himself to break his power over them? Not likely! Think again, you fools! Jesus was no magician!

What does this mean for us today? Jesus cares about human suffering. He cared enough when He was here on earth, to risk the anger and hatred of the religious leaders. When He healed people on the Sabbath, they accused Him of breaking the law of God. But Jesus’ attitude was different. Was it better to love people enough to make them well on the Sabbath or to ignore their needs just because of laws for which their tradition demanded obedience?

Jesus loved people enough to heal them wherever He went even if the Pharisees didn’t like it. He wasn’t interested in setting them free from Rome. He wanted them free from bondage to the devil. That’s who Jesus really is!