Christ is stronger than our deepest fears

Where did Jesus get his power? This was not a trivial question. Those who benefited from his actions needed to know the origin of the power that transformed their lives. This question troubled the scribes in this week’s Gospel passage, who confronted Jesus with an accusation of sorcery. In the understanding of the day, a human agent who entered into league with dark powers would receive from them impressive magical abilities. The agent might employ these powers in seemingly benign ways, but what the beneficiaries of these powers would not immediately understand is that their lives were now entangled with demonic forces. In short, the scribes accused Jesus of laying snares for souls on Beelzebul’s behalf.

All three synoptic writers, Matthew, Mark and Luke, pass along this narrative, which suggests that even decades later people still expressed concern over the power that Christians displayed. Mark transmits this tradition as an episode in the wider “rescue mission” that he believes Jesus undertook. Dark powers were at work on earth, twisting God’s creation in ways that rendered it “unclean.” God was planning a final defeat of these powers, but before this event, God sent the Son to gather up any who remained faithful or returned to belief. In Mark’s mind, Jesus was the “strong man” who had incapacitated the prince of demons and was freely plundering his house.

In this context, the unforgivable blasphemy of the scribes was their attribution of this divine liberation to demonic powers. (Later theologians, less motivated by concerns over magic, came to understand blasphemy against the Spirit as an active and complete resistance to divine grace, which remains the teaching today. This deeper understanding draws on elements beyond Mark’s interests here.) Mark understood Jesus to be the all-powerful savior whose power exceded that of even his strongest opponents, and who therefore could rescue any human, no matter how horrifying the situation that held them bound.

Mark uses this Christological insight to highlight a wider discussion of discipleship. Jesus’ disciples are those who believe in his power and follow his teachings. This did not include his relatives, at least at first. The passages immediately before and after this rebuke of the scribes speak of his relatives coming to fetch him because they thought he had lost his mind. Jesus uses their appearance to highlight an aspect of discipleship. His true family are the people who join him in fulfilling the divine will and liberating humanity from the grip of death.

Christ is stronger than our greatest fears and stronger than anything that holds us bound. The Son of God shares this divine strength with anyone who believes in him and takes on his mission, no matter what their initial condition might be. This is the strength that allowed Jesus to overcome his own will in Gethsemane and thereby free those bound by Eden's sin.

in partnership with:

Sponsored through "The Living Word: Scripture in the Life of the Church," a multi-platform project in collaboration with the American Bible Society's Catholic Initiatives aimed at promoting deeper engagement with the Bible. 

More About The Living Word

As we undertake this mission, many might find us insane as well. Those who share this task will recognize us as family, and together our labor will rescue many from the power of death.