"And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. And when His friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on Him: for they said, He is beside Himself." [Mk 3:20-21]
There was a certain time in Jesus’ life when, as happened regularly, that the multitudes of people came together around Jesus so overwhelmingly that Mark records, “that they could not so much as eat bread.” [Mk 3:20] And it was here that Jesus’ “friends” – or rather as the Greek suggests, those who were familiar/close to Jesus, those who were of Him/related to Him – it was here that those close to Jesus, “went out to lay hold on Him: for they said, He is beside Himself.” The phrase “He is beside Himself” literally means Jesus was out of His senses: that is, insane.
Think a moment or two upon this verse and the situation. Do you think that the fact that many people were surrounding Jesus – that He happened to be in the midst of a great crowd – were warrant enough to declare Jesus insane by those who were close to Him? That would seem to be quite a hasty conclusion. But see how The Spirit writes, “again.” “The multitude cometh together again.” This points us back further in Mark’s account to see then how the multitude came together at the first. Mark then records that when Jesus “withdrew Himself with His disciples to the sea,” that “a great multitude from Galilee followed Him” and, “He spake to His disciples, that a small ship should wait on Him because of the multitude, lest they should throng Him.” [Mk 3:7-9] This gathering was because Jesus “had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon Him for to touch Him, as many as had plagues. And unclean spirits, when they saw Him, fell down before Him, and cried, saying, thou art the Son of God.” [Mk 3:10-11] Matthew likewise records that even at this particular gathering, when the great multitudes followed Him, that Jesus “healed them all.” [Mt 12:15] Therefore we can draw a more accurate picture to why those close to Jesus, upon seeing the great crowd and He in the midst, said, “He is insane.” It was not merely for the number of people, but for what Jesus was doing, and why they were gathering. Jesus was teaching, healing, and casting out demons, as He was often doing. And the people were thronging Him and reaching for Him, if but that they too might experience His power. And Jesus gladly accepted these people. He did not turn them away, did not discourage them from seeking Him for healing or teaching, did not discourage any from worshipping Him. He willingly accepted these things, and freely taught and healed. This was the reason those close to Him thought Him insane.
In Isaiah it is written, Christ speaking through the prophet,
“Behold, I am the children whom The LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from The LORD of Hosts, which dwelleth in Mount Zion.” [Isa 8:18, C.f., Heb 2:13]
And Jesus, in fulfilment of this word, indeed was, and still is, a wonder. He is that which many gazed upon, even those close to Him, and who could not figure Him out. They saw the miracles, the gracious words proceeding from His mouth, the audacious claims of divinity, and He was to them a wonder. Here, so much so, that those closest to Jesus called Him insane.
Jesus was so overcome with passion, (as it is written, “the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up;” and, “the zeal of The LORD of Hosts will perform this.” [Psa 69:9, Isa 9:7]), and so filled with power by The Spirit, (as it is written, “The Spirit of The Lord GOD is upon me.” [Isa 61:1]), yes, Jesus was so brimming and overflowing with love and with God’s good character, that those in the flesh, those of the world, thought Him to be insane. Have you ever met, dear reader, a person who was so joyful, so positive, so full of light, that you thought for a moment to yourself that they must be mad? Or a person with such peace, that you thought, they must not realize the seriousness of the situation that they are in? Jesus was so full of those blessed qualities, and so eager and willing to save and help others in selfless love, that those who looked on Him from the outside, even those close to Him, thought Him to be insane.
May this give us encouragement; for there may come a time when someone looks at us – even some of our family or friends – and thinks that we have taken Christ and His doctrine too far; that we are altogether too giving, too peaceful, too forgiving, too trusting in God, too sacrificial. There may come a time when others, as they did to Jesus, do to us and call us insane. But it is no matter, for we are not of this world, being in it strangers and sojourners; and as it is written, “I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge.” [Psa 71:9] Though others look down upon us for our faith and love, thinking that we have altogether lost it, may we find encouragement in the fact that the same thing was present in Jesus’ life. May we not draw back unto destruction at these things of men, but may we reach forward unto Jesus, looking at Him who has gone before us and who first endured these things.
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