Ever since he healed a paralytic man at Peter’s house in Capernaum (Mark 2:1-12), Jesus’ public ministry has drawn criticism from those who were in the religious authorities.
This took place in Peter’s house in Capernaum. The
house was packed with crowd to hear Jesus preaching. Ever since the first day
of his public ministry, Jesus had become a very popular figure in Galilee to be
pursued for his teaching and healing (Mark 1:21-38).
Four men brought a paralytic man to Peter’s house for
Jesus to heal the man. But, there was no way to enter the house because of the
crowd, these four men climb up to the rooftop, made an opening on the roof, and
lowered the paralytic man from this hole on the roof to where Jesus was in the
house. When he saw the paralytic man, Jesus said to him, “Child, your sins
are forgiven”(Mark 2:5). However, some of the scribes among the crowd
accused Jesus for committing “blasphemy”, saying “Why does this man speak
that way? He is blaspheming. Who but God alone can forgive sins?” (Mark
2:7). Sensing what in their minds, Jesus said to them:
Why are you thinking such things in your
hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven,” or
to say, “Rise, pick up your mat and walk”? But that you may know that the Son
of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth (Mark 2:8-10).
In the Gospel Reading of the Tenth Sunday in Ordinary
Time, on Cycle B (Mark 3:20-35), Jesus is once again in Peter’s house in
Capernaum, and it is packed with the crowd. And, again, Jesus faces his accusers.
But this time, they are not local scribes but the scribes who came all the way
to Jerusalem (Mark 3:22a) – perhaps, to find something to accuse him, upon
hearing about his “blasphemy against God” for telling the paralytic man that
his sins were forgiven (Mark 2:5-7). But, Jesus calls them unforgivable
blasphemers for their offense against the Holy Spirit (i.e. Mark 3:29-30). In
other words, Jesus condemns these scribes from Jerusalem for committing blasphemy
against the Holy Spirit, because they accused him of having an unclean spirit
(Mark 3:30), calling him being possessed by Beelzebul, the prince of demons (Mark
3:22), which is referred to Baal-zebub, a demonic pagan deity of the
Philistines (i.e. 2 Kings 1:2).
Jesus’ relatives try to pull him out of the crowd in
Peter’s house, thinking that he is out of his mind (Mark 3:21). Why do they want
to take Jesus away there? Because he is an embarrassment to the family for
being out of his mind? If so, is it because of the accusation against Jesus by
the scribes when he said, “Your sins were forgiven” to the paralytic man
and because he indicated himself as the Son of Man with the authority to
forgive sins on earth (Mark 2:5-10)? Obviously, the relatives of Jesus do not
know who he is – his Christological identity. This is why they were easily
influenced by those who commit unforgivable sin, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit,
accusing Jesus, who is filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:1), as being demonically possessed.
After all this, Jesus’ mother, Mary, and his brothers
come to the house of Peter but could not get in. So they are outside and send a
message to Jesus in the house, letting him know that they have arrived (Mark
3:31-32). Brothers of Jesus are not his blood-brothers, as Mary is the Blessed
Virgin. They are children of Joseph from his previous marriage, as he was a
widow when he met Mary (i.e. The Protoevangelium of James, 9). To this message,
Jesus says, pointing to the crowd:
Who are my mother and my brothers? Here
are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother
and sister and mother (Mark 3:33-35).
In regard to this, unfortunately, some accuse Mary for
“not being faithful to the will of God”, thinking that Jesus uttered these
words because Mary did not believe in him as the Christ. What makes them to
think that Mary lacked her faith and failed to do the will of God? She is,
indeed, a faithful handmaid of God, letting the will of God be done on her (Luke
1:38), and St. Augustine of Hippo describes her as a faithful disciple of Jesus
(Sermon, 72). Making such an accusation against Mary, based on the above words
of Jesus on his mother (and brothers) (Mark 3:33-35) is a sign of ignorance as
to who Mary is, though implicating Jesus to “the prince of demons” for being possessed
by “Beelzebul”(Mark 3:22) is not merely due to ignorance of who Jesus is but
rather the unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:29-30).
It is important to note that Jesus gives a parable (Mark
3:23-27) in response to these words of his accusers, “By the prince of
demons he drives out demons” (Mark 3:22b).
First, Jesus points out a fallacy committed by the
scribes in their accusation against him, saying:
How can Satan drive out Satan? If a
kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is
divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has
risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of
him
(Mark 3:22-26).
Then, Jesus argues:
But no one can enter a strong man’s house
to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can
plunder his house (Mark 3:27).
Who is the strong man and who breaks into the strong
man’s house and plunder his property by tying up him?
Jesus is speaking of himself against Satan and those
who commit the unforgivable sin of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit.
The strong man to be bound is Satan, and the one who
breaks into his house and plunder his property of Jesus, the Christ. And this
echoes these words from the Book of Isaiah:
Can plunder be taken from a warrior, or
captives rescued from a tyrant? Thus says the Lord: Yes, captives can be taken
from a warrior, and plunder rescued from a tyrant; Those who oppose you I will
oppose, and your sons I will save (Isaiah 49:24-25).
This is a powerful prophecy that Christ the Son breaks
into the domain of Satan and release those who have been bound to be Satan’s
captives, upon binding Satan to be destroyed (i.e. Revelation 20:1-10). For
this, the Father sent His only begotten Son out of His love (John 3:16; 1 John
4:9-10), and the Son did the Father’s will (Luke 22:42) by taking up the cup of
God’s wrath (i.e. Matthew 20:22), going through his Passion, dying on the
Cross, and being raised on the third day, as we say, “Dying he destroyed our
death, rising he restored our life”. And this is the economy of our
salvation (i.e. 1 Corinthians 6:20), based on God’s words against Satan when
Adam, Eve, and Satan, were expelled from Eden:
I will put enmity between you and the
woman, and between your offspring and hers; They will strike at your head, while
you strike at their heel (Genesis 3:15).
Here, “the woman” is the New Eve, namely, Mary. And
her offspring is her Son, the Son of God, Jesus, and those who are with him, children
of God adopted through him (John 1:12; Ephesians 1:5) and the Holy Spirit
(Romans 8:15). Those who are on Jesus’ side are those whom he calls his mother
and brothers for doing God’s will (Mark 3:35). And they have the Holy Spirit,
the spirit of faith, therefore, their inner self is being renewed daily, being
able to endure afflictions, bound for heaven (2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1).
Upon the fall of Adam and Eve, having being lost the
garment of God’s grace and glory, as St. Ephrem puts it (Genesis 3:9-15), we
are prone to be captured by powerful Satan and become his servants. But, Christ
has already begun doing the Father’s will to bind Satan and plunder his possessions,
those who have captured by him, by his suffering, death, and resurrection. And Satan
is already bound to be destroyed. In the meantime, there is always a battle
between the offspring of Mary, including the Christ and those who are with him,
against Satan and his offspring, those who are possessed by him and commit the
unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit.
No comments:
Post a Comment