19   And he cometh into a house.
      20   And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.
      21   And when his friends heard it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.
      22.   And the scribes that came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and, By the prince of the demons casteth he out the demons.
      23   And he called them unto him, and said unto 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 will not be able to stand.
      26   And if Satan hath risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.
      27   But no one can enter into the house of the strong man, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.
      Mark 6:1.   And he went out from thence; and he cometh into his own country; and his disciples follow him.
      2   And when the sabbath was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, Whence hath this man these things? and, What is the wisdom that is given unto this man, and what mean such mighty works wrought by his hands?
      3   Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, and Joses, and Judas, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended in him.
      4   And Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.
      5   And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.
      6   And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages teaching.

Questions and Brief Comments.

Verses 19, 20. What was the preceding lesson about? How greatly did the throngs hinder Jesus? Is it ever said that He became impatient with them?

Verse 21. What did His friends attempt? Do a Christian's friends sometimes try to stop him from an earnest service? (For example, foreign missions). What did Jesus' friends think?

Verse 22. What did His enemies say of His work? Who was it that said that? What were "scribes"? (They copied the Scriptures, and thus became well versed, and were esteemed as teachers). Why did they think and speak such things? (Matt. 12:34, 35).

Verses 23-26. How did Jesus refute this accusation? Can anybody cast out Satan by Satan? What would happen if such a thing were done?

Verse 27. In what way only can Satan's prey be taken away from him? How did the Lord illustrate that?

Mark 6:1. Had He been in His own country once before? (Luke 4:16-30). How had they treated Him? Why did He go again?

Verses 2, 3. What effect did His work and teaching produce? What did they call Him? Did they know His relatives? Why were they "offended" (caused to stumble) in Him? (Comp. Matt. 11:6; 1 Pet. 2:7, 8.)

Verse 4. How did Jesus explain their attitude?

Verses 5, 6. Does it say He would not, or could not? What limits the Lord's ability to do great things for us? What did He marvel at? Only one other time does it say that He marvelled--where? (Matt. 8:10). [56]

NOTES AND TEACHING POINTS.

MISUNDERSTOOD BY HIS FRIENDS.

      "They said, He is beside himself." What had He done the seemed insane to them? It could not have been His signs and mighty works--men do not count a man demented for that. Indeed His works were the best proof that He was not insane. "And many of them said, He hath a demon and is made; why hear ye him? Others said, These are not the sayings of one possessed with a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" (John 10:20, 21). But the manner of His life, perfectly devoted to the Father's will, and the truth which He spoke, which sounded so strange to their ears; also the high place He claimed for Himself, and His demand that they should have faith in Him--that was the reason they thought Him crazed.

      Who thought He was "beside Himself"? If it had been His enemies only it would have been natural. But it was His friends, those who knew and loved Him best. That was hard to bear. In verses 31-35, His mother and His brethren tried to get Him off to Himself--for what purpose is not stated, but in the light of v. 21, and judging by the way He ignored their attempt, it was for no worthy reason. The Lord Jesus did not even send them an answer. He merely said to His hearers that He acknowledged only those as mother and brethren who hear the word of God and do it.

      Where all is wrong, the right seems odd and strange. Where falsehood has right of way the truth is evil spoken of. Where all are selfish and sinful a pure and true life looks abnormal. Paul, accused of being beside himself, gave an explanation of his life that the love of Christ constrained him to do as He did. That sort of life demands explanation. (2 Cor. 5:13-15). Even among fairly good people a truly devoted life and an unselfish work, is looked on with a little secret misgiving, as a sort of mild insanity. Partly because there is so much that is false and fanatical, a man would be counted as "beside himself" if he should really love the Lord his God with all his heart and soul and strength and his neighbor as himself. Such a one must be content to be misunderstood and misjudged as Jesus was.

MALIGNED BY HIS FOES.

      That He cast out demons they could not deny; so they charged Him with doing it by Satan's power. The Lord could have flashed forth in righteous indignation at such malicious slander, or He could have loftily passed it by in scorn of their meanness. Instead he humbly stooped to explain, that such a thing could not be. If Satan turn against himself and undid his own interests his kingdom would go to pieces. It was only by overpowering Satan that Jesus was able to out him from his possessions, to take his prey away from him.

REJECTED BY HIS OWN COUNTRYMEN.

      His first visit to Nazareth would have resulted in His death, if His townsmen could have carried out their will. (Luke 4:16, 28-30). Here He is back once more in His home vicinity. But because they had known Him from childhood, and as the carpenter as Nazareth, and as "the Son of Mary" and because they knew His brothers and sisters, they found it impossible to believe on Him.

THE POSITION OF MARY.

      This lesson incidentally shows how different was the position of Mary the mother of Jesus from that to which the church of Rome has presumed to exalt her. She holds no higher place and any true, obedient believer has before God. (Mark 3:34, 35; Comp. Luke 11:27, 28). Also the Roman myth of Mary's perpetual virginity meets its refutation: she was the mother of Joseph's children, after Jesus' birth. True, the term "brethren" often means only relatives, in the Bible; but the connection here is such as to demand the simple meaning of the terms "brother" and "sisters." [57]

HE COULD DO NO MIGHTY WORK THERE.

      The limitation was not in Him but in them. God cannot give us more than we are in attitude to receive. Our unbelief hinders Him from doing His best for us. If we do not expect anything from Him, and think He cannot or will not do for us, we will get very little. "According to your faith be it done unto you." "He marvelled at their unbelief."

Source: First Lord's Day Lesson of February. Lesson 6. February 5, 1928. Jesus Misunderstood and Opposed.