One of the major cable television networks recently produced a show that purports to be a sequel to “The Maltese Falcon.”  “Monsieur Spade” is set about twenty years after the events in the famous film noir.  The television series follows the familiar plot pattern that begins with a minor inconvenience; very quickly, the minor inconvenience leads to a deep, dark mystery.  Eventually, the mystery is unraveled, and the minor inconvenience is revealed to have had major significance. 

The author of Mark’s Gospel seemed to favor this plot pattern that was popularized much later in film noir.  In today’s Gospel reading, some of Jesus’ relatives traveled to Capernaum because they had heard about the miracles he worked in conjunction with his preaching.  The family seems to have been concerned that Jesus’ unusual activities would cause them embarrassment.  

Apparently, the family would have preferred that Jesus take up Joseph’s occupation as an itinerant skilled laborer rather than aspire to the prophetic vocation he claimed.  The family’s statement, “He is out of his mind” wasn’t a judgment about Jesus’ mental health; rather, it was the family’s way of distancing themselves from him and his growing reputation. (Mk 3:21)  They thought that if they portrayed him as the ‘black sheep’ of the family, their friends and neighbors would be less likely to gossip about them. 

Almost immediately, this minor family squabble developed into a public controversy.  Some religious scholars from Jerusalem had become aware of Jesus’ healing miracles, as well.  They accused Jesus of being in league with Beelzebul, the evil spirit in pagan Canaanite religion which was considered to be the cause of physical illness. (Mk 3:22)  Their motivation might have been different from the motivations behind the actions of Jesus’ family, but the two events are linked closely together by the author of the Gospel. 

This is only one example of a recurring theme in the Gospel.  The Gospel author liked to link two somewhat similar events in order to explain both events and, by means of that explanation, illustrate the central theme of Jesus’ teaching.  In this case, Jesus’ family’s misunderstanding of his words and actions foreshadows the misunderstanding by the religious leadership in Jerusalem.  Jesus addresses the misunderstanding by the religious leadership; then, the Gospel author uses Jesus’ response to the religious leadership as a way to demonstrate the family’s concerns to be unfounded.  Finally, the combination of the two events reveals the message of Jesus’ preaching. 

In summary, the two stories illustrate the fears about Jesus’ activities demonstrated by both his family and the scribes from Jerusalem. Jesus brings those fears into plain sight by proving that the scribes misunderstand the nature of good and evil while his family misunderstands the nature of God’s will. 

Step by step, the Gospel author’s plot pattern is this: Jesus’ family try to show that he has stepped outside the bounds of acceptable behavior, the scribes from Jerusalem try to show that Jesus has stepped outside the bounds of faithful religion, Jesus demonstrates that the scribes are actually the ones who are faithless, and finally, this demonstrates that Jesus’ family are outside the assembly of those who hear God’s Word. All the drama serves a single purpose; it provides a clear picture of Jesus as the One who overcomes evil by virtue of God’s power. 

This final demonstration by Jesus is the message proclaimed by the Gospel author. According to Mark’s Gospel, evil must be overcome but it can be overcome only by God’s power. Misunderstanding cannot be overcome by added lack of comprehension. Injustice cannot be healed by greater injustice. Rather, moral and physical evil can be overcome in one’s life only by one’s communion with God in the assembly of Jesus’ disciples. In the case of moral evil (sin), one must repent and ask God’s help for the process of reform. In the case of physical evil (sorrow, loss, illness, and death) one must trust the God will recreate the world without these burdens. 

This is the meaning of Jesus’ warning about the unforgiveable sin called blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. To deny that God’s power is at work in Jesus’ actions and words is as great a sin as to deny one’s own culpability for one’s sins. One commits blasphemy against the Holy Spirit when one denies either or both the need for salvation and the fact that salvation comes from God alone. Those preserved from the possibility of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit are those who are found, by virtue of faith, to be members of the assembly of Jesus’ disciples. 

These two stories demonstrate the difference between those who are inside the reach of God’s mercy and those who are outside the reach of God’s mercy. No guarantee of salvation results from birth into legitimate religion any more than it results from birth into Jesus’s family. Rather, the guarantee of salvation is granted to those who hear God’s Word, believe God’s Word, and fulfill the requirements of God’s Word.