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Jesus of Nazareth: Lunatic, Liar, or Lord? (Mark 3:20-30)

by Wayne Davies  
11/02/2014 / Bible Studies

The gospel of Mark presents a compelling picture of Jesus of Nazareth. Mark 1:1 tells us who Jesus is he is the Christ (the Messiah) and he is the Son of God (God the Son). Mark then proceeds to present the evidence for this claim that Jesus is both King and God.

Along the way, we see various responses to Mark's presentation of who Jesus is. Even though the evidence is overwhelming - chapters 1 and 2 are filled with powerful demonstrations of the deity of Jesus by the time we get to chapter 3, there are indications that many are rejecting Mark's thesis statement.

Mark 3:20-30 provides a shocking glimpse at the negative responses to the ministry of Jesus. Here we see two examples of how people misunderstand his identity the first is a surprise; the second is not.

The surprising response of his family.
The first negative response comes from an unlikely source Jesus' family. When they hear that Jesus' fame has spread so dramatically that he doesn't even have time to eat, "they went to take charge of him, for they said, 'He is out of his mind.'" (Mark 3:21).

Take note of the phrase "out of his mind" (NIV). It can also be translated "beside himself" (RSV) or "lost his senses" (NASB). In other words, Jesus' family thought he was crazy!

Even though Jesus' mother is part of the family entourage who has come to take him home (see Mark 3:31), it seems unlikely that Mary thought Jesus was a lunatic. When Jesus' was 12 years old and got separated from his parents in Jerusalem, Luke tells us "his mother treasured all these things in her heart" (Luke 2:51).

In stark contrast, we know that Jesus' brothers were antagonistic toward Jesus, at least initially. Jesus had four brothers their names were James, Joses, Judas and Simon (see Mark 6:3). And according to John 7:5, "his own brothers did not believe in him".

So Jesus' family, who probably still lived in Nazareth, came to Capernaum to end the greatest miracle show on earth. Jesus had left Nazareth and was traveling throughout Galilee, doing incredible things and drawing crowds of thousands. And now his brothers show up to "take charge of him" (NIV), which means they wanted to seize him (ESV), take custody of him (NASB) and take him home (TLB). "Enough is enough! Our brother has gone off the deep end. Let's get him out of this mess he's created before things get any further out of hand."

The illogical response of the religious leaders.
Mark has already laid the groundwork for what the leaders are about to say concerning the identity of Jesus. In Mark 2:1-3:6 we find five consecutive episodes of their antagonism toward Jesus. Because he violates their legalistic interpretation of Old Testament Sabbath law and claims to be God, the Pharisees have already begun to plot his death.

But what about his miracles? Jesus has healed people by the hundreds (thousands?). He has also cast out many demons. There is no way to deny his supernatural power, so the leaders must come up with an explanation for that. Their conclusion: Jesus gets his power from the devil. "By the prince of demons he is driving out demons" (Mark 3:23).

In light of their plan to kill Jesus, this response may not be surprising, but it is illogical. Jesus immediately exposes the stupidity of their argument with his own irrefutable logic: "How can Satan drive out Satan?" Obviously, he can't. And so Jesus can't be getting his power from the devil. Duh.

The only plausible conclusion.
This passage leads us right back to Mark 1:1 Jesus is God. He possesses supernatural power not because he is possessed by the devil, but because he possesses the very power of God. He is God in a human body. The deity of Jesus is the plain teaching of Scripture, and Mark's account is consistent with this foundational teaching of the Bible and the testimony of biblical Christianity for 2,000 years.

C.S. Lewis, the well-known British author, has presented a compelling argument for the identity of Jesus. It goes like this: There are only three possibilities. Jesus is a lunatic; Jesus is a liar; or Jesus is Lord. If a person accepts the Bible as an accurate representation of the words and deeds of Jesus of Nazareth, these are the only three possibilities.

Could it be that C.S. Lewis got his paradigm from Mark 3:20-30? Jesus' family thought he was a lunatic -- "He is out of his mind". The Jewish religious leaders thought Jesus was a liar, because if Jesus actually got his power from the devil while proclaiming to be God, he was the greatest liar the world has ever known.

But Jesus was not crazy. Do the New Testament gospels present him as a lunatic? Have you read the accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John? If not, I urge you to read these four books objectively and ask yourself, "Am I reading about the life of a crazy man?"

And Jesus was not a liar. Isn't the absurdity of the Pharisees' conclusion self-evident?

And so we come to the only plausible conclusion: Jesus is God. And since he is God, how should we then live?

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