Christ accused of casting out devils by Beelzebub

St Mark Chapter III : Verses 20-35

The friends of Jesus seek Him

[20] And they come to a house, and the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.
[21] And when his friends had heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him. For they said: He is become mad.

[20] Et veniunt ad domum : et convenit iterum turba, ita ut non possent neque panem manducare. [21] Et cum audissent sui, exierunt tenere eum : dicebant enim : Quoniam in furorem versus est.

Notes

20. to a house. In Capharnaum, but not immediately after the call of the apostles, since the accusation of dealing with the devil, made by the scribes against our Lord, took place some months later, in the autumn of the second year of our Lord’s ministry.

21. his friends. Not His disciples, but those friends and acquaintances who went out from Nazareth. They would all have been animated with a friendly spirit, believing that, as His friends, it was their duty to protect Him from His enemies.

he is become mad. The accusation of madness here made against our Lord has often been, in all ages, brought against those who leave all and follow Him (see Acts xxvi. 24). Those who thus spoke were His unbelieving friends and relations. They imagined Jesus to be beside Himself in consequence of religious fanaticism. Jesus has warned us that a man's enemies shall be they of his own household (St Matt. x. 36). He who was made like unto us in all things, except sin, experienced this trial.

Christ accused of casting out devils by Beelzebub

[22] And the scribes who were come down from Jerusalem, said: He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of devils he casteth out devils. 

[23] And after he had called them together, he said to them in parables: How can Satan cast out Satan? [24] And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 

[25] And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
[26] And if Satan be risen up against himself, he is divided, and cannot stand, but hath an end. 

[27] No man can enter into the house of a strong man and rob him of his goods, unless he first bind the strong man, and then shall he plunder his house. 

[28] Amen I say to you, that all sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and the blasphemies wherewith they shall blaspheme: 

[29] But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, shall never have forgiveness, but shall be guilty of an everlasting sin. 

[30] Because they said: He hath an unclean spirit.

[22] Et scribæ, qui ab Jerosolymis descenderant, dicebant : Quoniam Beelzebub habet, et quia in principe dæmoniorum ejicit dæmonia. [23] Et convocatis eis in parabolis dicebat illis : Quomodo potest Satanas Satanam ejicere? [24] Et si regnum in se dividatur, non potest regnum illud stare. [25] Et si domus super semetipsam dispertiatur, non potest domus illa stare. 

[26] Et si Satanas consurrexerit in semetipsum, dispertitus est, et non poterit stare, sed finem habet. [27] Nemo potest vasa fortis ingressus in domum diripere, nisi prius fortem alliget, et tunc domum ejus diripiet. [28] Amen dico vobis, quoniam omnia dimittentur filiis hominum peccata, et blasphemiæ quibus blasphemaverint : [29] qui autem blasphemaverit in Spiritum Sanctum, non habebit remissionem in æternum, sed reus erit æterni delicti. [30] Quoniam dicebant : Spiritum immundum habet.

Notes

22. scribes .... from Jerusalem. Those who had been sent to watch Him and to report.

come down. From Jerusalem, which was the capital of Palestine.

Beelzebub = Lord of flies, so called, because he was invoked against plagues of flies, or because, being besmeared with the blood of the victims offered in sacrifice, the image was covered with them. The Jews applied this name also to Satan.

by the prince of devils he casteth out devils. From St Matt. (xii. 24) we learn that the cure of the blind and dumb man possessed with a devil led to this remark. The Pharisees, perhaps, caught up the idea of Christ's unbelieving friends about His madness, and attributed it to diabolical agency. The scribes were, by thus accusing our Lord, guilty of a fearful blasphemy, since they made Him out to be Satan’s accomplice, thus attributing to the devil what was effected by the Divine Power.

23. called them together,— i.e. the scribes. Probably they were dispersed among the crowd in order to excite the people against our Lord. By spreading their blasphemy they hoped to cause a tumult.

in parables = here the word stands for similes or illustrations.

Satan cast out Satan. By so doing, the devil would be working against his own interest ; moreover, if Satan was cast out by Jesus, then evidently Christ was the stronger. Our Lord argues that a kingdom or a house (i.e. family or household) divided against itself inevitably brings about its own destruction, and this, Satan was far too astute to do.

27. the house. This world, or the individual soul.

the strong man — Satan.

bind the strong man. He who has power to bind the strong is Jesus, who disarms the devil, drives him out and rifles his house, that is, delivers man from Satan’s yoke. This is an illustration of what Jesus had recently done when He healed the blind and dumb man possessed of a devil.

28. Amen I say to you. Here follows a solemn warning against the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.

all sins shall be forgiven, — i.e. by means of perfect contrition alone, or through sacramental confession and attrition together. It is an article of faith that no sinner having sincere contrition, is ever rejected by our God, who is infinitely merciful.

29. shall never have forgiveness. This sin which cannot have forgiveness is unpardonable probably because those guilty of it do not seek forgiveness, since the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is most likely the sin of final impenitence, or at least leads to it. This being a mortal sin, cannot be forgiven in the world to come (St Matt. xii. 32). From these additional words given by the first Evangelist we gather that some sins ( i.e. venial sins) can be forgiven in the next world. We have here an indirect proof of the existence of purgatory.

Additional Notes

29. shall never have forgiveness. St Augustine gives six sins “ against the Holy Spirit,” viz., presumption, despair, envy of another’s spiritual good, resisting the known truth, obstinacy in sin, and final impenitence. The Evangelist specially notes that the sin which “ shall never have forgiveness ” consists in resisting the known truth, and deliberately ascribing to diabolical agency what is effected by the power of God. Though God could forgive any sin, however grievous, yet, generally speaking, those who commit the sin of wilful apostasy from the known truth are rarely forgiven, because such sin hardens the heart and blinds the intellect, so that the sinner does not consent to receive the necessary graces of salvation which are denied to none. (See Heb. vi. 4, 5, x. 26, 1 St John v. 16, and the footnotes thereon in the Douay Bible.)

Mary and His brethren seek Him

[31] And his mother and his brethren came; and standing without, sent unto him, calling him. 

[32] And the multitude sat about him; and they say to him: Behold thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. 

[33] And answering them, he said: Who is my mother and my brethren? 

[34] And looking round about on them who sat about him, he saith: Behold my mother and my brethren. 

[35] For whosoever shall do the will of God, he is my brother, and my sister, and mother.

[31] Et veniunt mater ejus et fratres : et foris stantes miserunt ad eum vocantes eum, [32] et sedebat circa eum turba : et dicunt ei : Ecce mater tua et fratres tui foris quaerunt te. [33] Et respondens eis, ait : Quæ est mater mea et fratres mei? [34] Et circumspiciens eos, qui in circuitu ejus sedebant, ait : Ecce mater mea et fratres mei. [35] Qui enim fecerit voluntatem Dei, hic frater meus, et soror mea, et mater est.

Notes

His brethren: showing their probable relationship to Jesus

31. his brethren, viz., James (afterwards Bishop of Jerusalem), Joseph, Jude (alias Thaddæus) and Simon. They were not, of course, own brothers to our Lord, since the Blessed Virgin had no other son than Jesus. This is an article of faith, therefore the brethren in question were His cousins, the sons of Mary, wife of Cleophas (also called Alphæus), and this Mary, wife of Cleophas, appears to have been our Lady’s first cousin, since a tradition exists that our Lady was an only child.

According to a Jewish custom, cousins were styled brethren. Thus Abraham, speaking to Lot, says we are brethren (Gen. xiii. 8), and Laban calls Jacob, his nephew, my brother (Gen. xxix. 15). Had Jesus had brethren according to the flesh He would not, when dying, have committed His Holy Mother to the charge of St John. Some Greek writers have put forward the opinion that these “ brethren ” were children of St Joseph by a previous marriage, and thus they were our Lord’s step-brothers, but the universal opinion of the Latin church is that St Joseph was espoused only to our Blessed Lady.

his mother and his brethren. These, knowing our Lord well, would not have come for the same purpose as the friends mentioned in ver. 21, Perhaps they wished to invite Him to rest or take food.

standing without = unable to get in on account of the crowd.

33. Who is my mother, etc. ? Our Lord does not deny, slight or offend His mother by these words, and by His answer he shows—

(1) That He practised what He Himself exacted from His disciples, viz., renunciation of home and kindred.

(2) That God is to be preferred before all.

(3) That spiritual ties are higher and holier than earthly ties. ( Cf. St Luke ii. 48, 49.)

35. whosoever shall do the will, etc. Those who do the will of God and strive to bring others to His knowledge are recognised by Jesus as brother, sister, and mother, and this privilege is open to all. From this point of view, how dear was Mary to her Divine Son, since her motto ever was, Be it done unto me according to thy word. The enumeration of the different kinds of earthly relationship show that in spiritual relationship there is no distinction of sex (St Mark xii. 25, Gal. iii. 28).

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.