Mark 3.31–35: No one left behind (Day 31)

Pray

Lord, prepare me to receive your word. Clear my mind and warm my heart. Assure me of your loving purposes for me, and speak into my life today.

Read

Genesis 32 Mark 3 Esther 8 Romans 3

Daily reflection: Mark 3

Jesus faced opposition from his family. Their view that he is 'out of his mind' (verse 21), seems to be linked to the accusation by the scribes that he was 'possessed by Beelzebul', (verse 22), and provokes a very sharp response: if you blaspheme against the Holy Spirit – by deliberately calling what God is doing evil – you cannot be forgiven. This can't mean, of course, that these scribes – or Jesus' family – could not be forgiven, since many people who were originally hostile changed their minds about him and became his disciples. But continuing to believe that good is evil inevitably puts us outside the will of God.

Jesus' conflict with his family must have been painful. But we can learn two things from what he says. First, we might need to go against what our families and our communities believe and value if we're to be faithful to Jesus. In some cultures this is much harder than it is in the West, and we should be aware of this. But 'Jesus is Lord' is an absolute commitment wherever we are.

Second, when Jesus says that 'whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother' (verse 35) he is not excluding his family, but extending it. As his ministry will show, he brings in the outcast and the excluded, drawing the boundaries wider and wider. Even today, when we're so preoccupied by questions around nationhood and different kinds of identity, this is a revolutionary idea.

Pray

God, help me to be willing to bear the cost of discipleship, and to put Jesus first. And show me who you want to bring into your great family, and help me to welcome them.