These verses provide us with an interesting, and unexpected, moment
described by Megan McKenna (On Your Mark: Reading Mark in the Shadow of the
Cross) – his family “come to restrain him, or take him home, to silence
him and stop his traveling and teaching, which attract the crowds.” This
will be developed and explained further (in verses 31 – 35) after the
description of an encounter with some scribes from Jerusalem.
The crowds remain enthusiastic, or so it would seem. Jesus does not even have time to eat because there is so much interest in what he is saying and doing. His impact continues. However, there are those who are concerned about this, and who seek to prevent his ministry from continuing. The opposition now comes from two very different sources. It has already been made clear that the religious authorities had concerns about how he was functioning. However, they now find support from what might be considered to be the unlikely source of his family.
Nothing is said about why his family want to prevent him from continuing the mission that has begun so apparently spectacularly. Perhaps they were afraid of what would happen to him if he continued. Perhaps they had even been persuaded by the religious leaders to ‘do something’ about this wayward member of the family. Perhaps they thought that what he was doing was wrong and even, in the terms of the day, that he was ‘possessed’ by demons. Anyway, whatever the reason, for the moment Jesus faces family opposition.
I wonder what motives we most allow to influence our actions.
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