Jesus and the Ruler of Demons
Jesus went back home, and once again such a large crowd gathered that there was no chance even to eat. When Jesus? family heard what he was doing, they thought he was crazy and went to get him under control. Some teachers of the Law of Moses came from Jerusalem and said, "This man is under the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons! He is even forcing out demons with the help of Beelzebul."
Jesus told the people to gather around him. Then he spoke to them in riddles and said: How can Satan force himself out? A nation whose people fight each other won?t last very long. And a family that fights won?t last long either. So if Satan fights against himself, that will be the end of him. How can anyone break into the house of a strong man and steal his things, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can take everything. I promise you that any of the sinful things you say or do can be forgiven, no matter how terrible those things are. But if you speak against the Holy Spirit, you can never be forgiven. That sin will be held against you forever. Jesus said this because the people were saying that he had an evil spirit in him.
Jesus? Mother and Brothers
Jesus? mother and brothers came and stood outside. Then they sent someone with a message for him to come out to them. The crowd that was sitting around Jesus told him, "Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside and want to see you." Jesus asked, "Who is my mother and who are my brothers?" Then he looked at the people sitting around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who obeys God is my brother or sister or mother."
A Story about a Farmer
The next time Jesus taught beside Lake Galilee, a big crowd gathered. It was so large that he had to sit in a boat out on the lake, while the people stood on the shore. He used stories to teach them many things, and this is part of what he taught:
Now listen! A farmer went out to scatter seed in a field. While the farmer was scattering the seed, some of it fell along the road and was eaten by birds. Other seeds fell on thin, rocky ground and quickly started growing because the soil wasn?t very deep. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched and dried up, because they did not have enough roots. Some other seeds fell where thorn bushes grew up and choked out the plants. So they did not produce any grain. But a few seeds did fall on good ground where the plants grew and produced thirty or sixty or even a hundred times as much as was scattered. Then Jesus said, "If you have ears, pay attention."
Why Jesus Used Stories
When Jesus was alone with the twelve apostles and some others, they asked him about these stories. He answered: I have explained the secret about God?s kingdom to you, but for others I can use only stories. The reason is, "These people will look and look, but never see. They will listen and listen, but never understand. If they did, they would turn to God, and he would forgive them."