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study is like walking along a dark, deserted, narrow, moonlit street
in a crime filled neighborhood. The events that occur in this study are
dark, sinister and evil. The initial event that is described in Matthew
and Mark is wonderful, but the rest of the historical account is filled
with pride and sin from the pit of hell itself. Most of us recognize
evil such as a man raping a woman or a woman gossiping about someone.
We recognize lies and dishonesty as being evil, but recognizing lies
that have the appearance of truth is often difficult. It is common to
joke about politicians or lawyers as being dishonest, but when someone
you trust is dishonest, he or she often succeeds. That is not funny.
This study (Matt. 12:22-32; Mark 3:20-30) captures our attention with
a miracle of Jesus’ grace and love. When some trusted leaders created
a lie that came from the pit of hell, they were like a brood of snakes
biting their victim. Miracle of Grace. This historical event
started when Jesus returned home (Mark 3:20) after His preaching tour
from city to city and town to town (Luke 8:1-3).
And He came home, and the crowd gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal. (NASB) Mark 3:20 We discovered earlier that Jesus’ home was no longer in the city
of Nazareth but in Capernaum which was beside the Sea of Galilee (Matt.
4:13; 9:1; Mark 2:1). News that Jesus was back must have spread like
fire attacking dry sagebrush. Many people came quickly to listen, talk,
and be healed by Jesus. In fact, there were so many people that Jesus
was not able to eat.
Mark 3:21 tells us that when “His own people” heard
about this, they thought that He had lost his senses.
When His own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “He has lost His senses.” (NASB) Mark 3:21 Some have suggested that His “own people” refers to His
family. But the Greek phrase is peculiar and literally means “those
from His side.” It does not mean “His own people” or “His
family.” The phrase could refer to His family, friends, associates,
or disciples. It is unlikely here that “His own people” refers
to Jesus’ family alone since it is doubtful that His mother would
have ever believed her divine son was crazy. She had known who Jesus
was since His birth and from the start of His ministry (see John 2:1-4).
It is also doubtful that “His own people” refers to Jesus’ disciples
since they were already with Him and we are told that these people were
coming in order to “help” Jesus. That is, these people were
not originally with Jesus. Therefore, “His own people” are
most likely friends who did not understand completely who He was or His
mission. They did not understand that He was the Messiah. Whoever His “own
people” were, it is likely that they came from some other part
of Capernaum “to take custody” of Him - “to rescue” Him.
Demon-Possessed Man. While these people
are coming to Jesus, Matthew records that a demon-possessed man was brought
to Him.
Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. (NASB) Matt. 12:22 If we skip ahead to the next verse, we discover that apparently enough
time had elapsed for more people to gather. The crowd has grown, and
now we are told that “crowds” were present when the demon-possessed
man was brought to Him. This would suggest that the number of people
had increased and were probably in an inner patio of the house.
With crowds around Him, a demon-possessed man in His presence,
and “His own people” coming to rescue Him, Jesus performed
an amazing miracle in an amazing setting. Even though the demon was powerful
enough to prevent the man from speaking or seeing, the demon submitted
to Jesus’ command to leave; and he did! The man was now able to
speak and see. The crowds were so astonished that they almost failed
to comprehend what they had experienced. That is the meaning of the Greek
word that is translated as “amazed” in the following verse,
All the crowds were amazed and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?” (NASB) Matt. 12:23 It was such an overwhelming experience that the people began to wonder
if Jesus was the Son of David - the promised Messiah.
Response of The Leaders. When the Jewish
leaders heard of the crowds’ response they responded like a brood
of vipers or snakes. They attacked their victim.
The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.” (NASB) Mark 3:22 The Jewish leaders were either already in Capernaum or had recently
come down from Jerusalem in response to the reaction of the crowds. All
that we know for sure is that once they were present, they struck at
Jesus like a venomous snake. First, they claimed that Jesus was demon-possessed.
Then they added that He cast out demons by Beelzebul. Apparently, they
did not stop to ask how a demon-possessed man could cast out demons from
another demon-possessed man. These Jewish scribes did not understand
their victim. They did not understand that Jesus was their own creator
- their God.
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| Life & Heart of Jesus | |||||||
