"And they went into an house. And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread" (Mark 3:19, 20). These words introduce what has been called the "Busy Day" (Harmony of the Gospels by A. T. Robertson, p. 61). If taken as a record of one day's events, Mark 3: 20-5: 20, with its parallels in Matthew and Luke, might be regarded as one example of a day filled with teaching and healing work. There must have been many such days in the Master's three-year ministry.
Mark's record indicates that Jesus' work was so misinterpreted by those called "his friends"—a phrase rendered by modern translators as "his family"—that they thought of him as being out of his mind (see verse 21). Jesus also had to face the accusation by the scribes and Pharisees, who had come from Jerusalem to challenge this popular new movement, that he was in league with Beelzebub or, in his own word, Satan.
Next, Jesus was confronted with further claims of human kinship; his mother and his brothers had come and were calling him. His response recognized the distinction between his human heredity and his divine sonship. His true family were those who were in accord with his spiritual mission. "He stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother" (Matt. 12:49, 50; see Mark 3:34, 35, Luke 8:21).
