6: Jesus and Beelzebul, Parable of the Sower – Mark 3:20-4:9

3Then he went home; ²⁰ and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. ²¹ When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” ²² And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.” ²³ And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan?
²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. ²⁶ And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. ²⁷ But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered. 

²⁸ “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; ²⁹ but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”– ³⁰ for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.” 

The true kindred of Jesus

³¹ Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. ³² A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.” ³³ And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” ³⁴ And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵ Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” 

4The parable of the sower

Again he began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. ² He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: ³ “Listen! A sower went out to sow.
⁴ And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
⁵ Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. ⁶ And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain.
⁸ Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”
⁹ And he said, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” NRSV

Get into the Word

1. Where is Jesus now? Who is involved in this incident? What is the charge against Jesus? How does he respond to this charge? What metaphor does he use to explain how things really are? Do you think the crowd understood? Did the Pharisees? How do Matthew and Luke describe this exchange?

2. Who comes to see Jesus next? How does Jesus learn about this situation? How does he respond? How do you think the people reacted to Jesus’ statement? How do you think his family felt?

3. Where does Jesus go next? What is he doing here? What is the story about? Where does the seed fall? What happens to the seed in each of the places where it fell? What is different in Matthew and Luke’s versions of the parable? Are any of the differences significant? Why are they important to you?

Get Personal

What kind of “soil” were you when you first heard the Gospel of God’s love in Jesus Christ? What type are you today? How has God helped you deal with the “thorns” of life? How is your sowing going?

(cross-references to Matthew and Luke are given in brackets)

3:20-30. Jesus and Beelzebul — Matthew specifies the healing of a demoniac who was mute, and the Pharisees’ claim about the “Prince of Demons,” but does not include Jesus’ response to them, [9:32-34].
Luke also includes the fact that the man was mute, but he expands considerably on Jesus’ response to the Pharisees: But he knew what they were thinking and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself becomes a desert, and house falls on house. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? —for you say that I cast out the demons by Beelzebul. Now if I cast out the demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your exorcists cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his castle, his property is safe But when one stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his plunder. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. [11:17-23].
Luke omits Jesus’ comment about “blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, but does include: “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting place, but not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ When it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first.” [11:24-26].

3:31-35. Jesus’ true family — Matthew’s version of this is very similar to Mark’s. He says Jesus pointed to his disciples as my mother and my brothers; and refers to the will of my Father in heaven, [12:46-50].
Luke’s version is different: While he was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!” [11:27-28].
4:1. Matthew and Luke both include the parable of the sower. Matthew also puts Jesus in a boat and refers to many stories, [13:1-9]; but Luke says only that Jesus told this story to a great crowd and people from town after town came to him, [8:4].
Matthew’s version of the parable is almost identical to Mark’s. Luke differs in a couple of the details, such as lack of moisture for the seed on rock, and a hundredfold increase in the crop on fertile soil, [8:6-9].
4:9. Ears to hear — the full meaning of the parable is available only to those who listen spiritually. Jesus used this admonition several times [check Matt 11:15, 13:9, 13:43, Luke 8:8 and 14:35].

NOTE: Both Matthew and Luke place the Beatitudes after Jesus calls his Apostles. Matthew tells of Jesus delivering them in the Sermon on the Mount, [Matt 5:1-7:29]. In Luke’s version, which is considerably shorter, Jesus simply tells the disciples, [Luke 6:20-49]. Both include the Beatitudes, love for our enemies, not condemning others, the tree and its fruit, and building on a strong foundation. Matthew also includes Jesus’ teachings about salt and light, the Law, anger, adultery, divorce, vows, revenge, giving to the needy, prayer and fasting, money and possessions, effective prayer, the Golden Rule, the narrow gate, and true disciples.