Mark 3:7-35

Following a summary statement about the popularity and success of Jesus' ministry (so popular that Jesus has a boat ready just in case he needs to make a quick escape!), Mark presents a section contrasting real disciples from Jesus' critics and even his family.

Jesus picks out, from among his many followers, an inner circle of twelve who will be with him all the time and become his primary missionaries. The list of twelve disciples given by Mark does not precisely agree with the lists recorded in Matthew, Luke, or John. It may be that "the twelve" was not always exactly the same group of people--that a few came in and out. What was important was the number twelve itself (so important that in the Acts of the Apostles, the disciples replace Judas Iscariot so the number will still equal twelve). Why is the number twelve so important? Probably, these twelve disciples are meant to represent the twelve tribes of Israel. In Jesus' day, most of the tribes of Israel had disappeared; but Jesus seems to be symbolically reconstituting the tribes. In other words, his little band of disciples are meant to represent a restored Israel--another sign that the kingdom of God is dawning.

A continuous group of disciples is also important in order to model a new community. The twelve, along with Jesus, show the rest of the world a new way of being a community, based on absolute trust in God. The kingdom of God is not an individual experience--each person having their own private relationship with God and Jesus; rather, the kingdom of God is a social experience and a social reality.

Jesus gives Simon the nickname "Rock" ("Peter" in Greek/English), probably because Peter was seen as the most reliable and the natural leader. The nickname stuck, and Simon was always known after this as Peter. The brothers James and John are given the nickname "Sons of Thunder," perhaps because they were loud and quick-tempered, or because Jesus also viewed them as natural, powerful leaders for his kingdom movement. "Simon the Cananaean" was probably a zealot--a person in favor of rebellion against the Roman Empire (that's what "Cananaen" probably means). If Jesus' disciples included a tax collector (Levi in 2:14) and a zealot, then somehow Jesus was holding together the opposite ends of the political spectrum. A zealot would have wanted to kill a collaborating tax collector! But Jesus' vision of the dawning kingdom of God managed to cut across the strongest social and politcal barriers.

Last on the list is Judas Iscariot. "Iscariot" has three possible meanings: it could mean "dagger-man" (which means Judas was an assassin who worked with the zealots), or it could mean "man of Kerioth," a village in Judah (making Judas perhaps the only "southerner" among the twelve, coming from outside Galilee), or it could mean "man of the city" (a reference to Jerusalem, which may explain why he was more prone to betray Jesus to the Jerusalem authorities).

In the next story, Jesus' family thinks he has become mentally unhinged because of the reports they hear about his ministry. (It wasn't "people" who were saying he was out of his mind, but his own family--that's how the original Greek manuscripts should be translated most naturally.) The scribes (the educated elite) have another explanation for Jesus' outrageous behavior and healings--not that he's crazy, but that he's demon-possessed by Satan himself! But Jesus rejects their claim by pointing out that Satan cannot be working against Satan; in other words, if people are genuinely being healed and good is resulting, then it cannot be coming from evil. (We would do well to remember this logic whenever we criticize people or groups that are accomplishing some genuine good.)

In the previous conflict stories, Jesus was accused of uttering blasphemy; but now he tells his critics what real blasphemy is: claiming that good (the work of God's Spirit) is evil. If we think that the good done by God's Spirit is evil, then we have no moral compass at all. But modern Christians get too worried about what is "the unforgiveable sin." Jesus' overall point is for us to live in grace not fear--indeed, he tells his audience that all their sins and stupid and irreligious statements will be forgiven!

Jesus' mother and brothers now show up, outside the crowded house, wanting to drag their crazy family member home. But Jesus' won't come out. He says that those who follow him and do God's will are his real family. For his mother and brothers, this must have sounded like a very harsh statement. Family relationships were the most sacred relationships in Jesus' culture. Respect for family was an absolute value. But Jesus' radical claim is that, in the end, even one's biological family has to take second place to doing God's will. And doing God's will creates a new family of mutual love and support and meaning.

We know from other New Testament documents that at least some of Jesus' family eventually became his followers. His brother James became the main leader of the Jerusalem church. His mother also joined the movement.