Some Say Jesus Has a Devil in Him

²⁰Then Jesus went home. But again many people gathered there. There were so many people that Jesus and his followers could not eat. ²¹Jesus' family heard about all these things. They went to get him because people said that Jesus was crazy. ²²And the teachers of the law from Jerusalem said, "Beelzebul (the devil) is living inside him (Jesus)! He uses power from the ruler of demons* to force demons out of people." ²³So Jesus called the people together and used stories to teach the people. Jesus said, "Satan will not force his own demons* out of people. ²⁴A kingdom that fights against itself cannot continue. ²⁵And a family that is divided cannot succeed. ²⁶And if Satan is against himself and fights against his own people, then he cannot continue. That would be the end of Satan. ²⁷If a person wants to enter a strong man's house and steal his things, first the person must tie the strong man. Then the person can steal the things from the strong man's house. ²⁸I tell you the truth. All sins that people do can be forgiven. And all the bad things people say against God can be forgiven. ²⁹But any person that says bad things against (refuses to accept) the Holy Spirit* will never be forgiven. He will always be guilty of that sin." ³⁰Jesus said this because the teachers of the law said that Jesus had an evil spirit (devil) inside him.

Jesus' Followers Are His True Family

³¹Then Jesus' mother and brothers came. They stood outside and sent a person in to tell Jesus to come out. ³²Many people were sitting around Jesus. They said to him, "Your mother and brothers are waiting for you outside." ³³Jesus asked, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" ³⁴Then Jesus looked at those people sitting around him. He said, "These people are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵My true brother and sister and mother are those people that do the things God wants."

demon(s) Demons are evil spirits from the devil. Holy Spirit Also called the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, and the Comforter. Joined with God and Christ, he does God's work among people in the world.