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FEBRUARY 22
Proverbs 10:6–7 them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Sa-
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tan? If a kingdom is divided against itself,
Blessings are on the head 25
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of the righteous, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is
But violence covers the mouth of the divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
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wicked. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and
7 The memory of the righteous is is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.
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blessed, No one can enter a strong man’s house and
But the name of the wicked will rot. plunder his goods, unless he first binds the
strong man. And then he will plunder his house.
Mark 3:20–35 28 “Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiv-
en the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies
Then the multitude came together again, 29
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so that they could not so much as eat bread. they may utter; but he who blasphemes against
21 But when His own people heard about this, the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is sub-
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they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, ject to eternal condemnation”— because they
“He is out of His mind.” said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
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And the scribes who came down from Je-
22 Then His brothers and His mother came,
rusalem said, “He has Beelzebub,” and, “By and standing outside they sent to Him, calling
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the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.” Him. And a multitude was sitting around
So He called them to Himself and said to
23 Him; and they said to Him, “Look, Your moth-
er and Your brothers are outside seeking You.”
33 But He answered them, saying, “Who is
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My mother, or My brothers?” And He looked
around in a circle at those who sat about Him,
3:21 His own people. In Greek, this expres- and said, “Here are My mother and My broth-
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sion was used in various ways to describe ers! For whoever does the will of God is My
someone’s friends or close associates. In the brother and My sister and mother.”
strictest sense,it meant family,which is proba-
bly the best understanding here. lay hold of
Him. Mark used this same term elsewhere to
mean the arrest of a person (6:17; 12:12;
14:1,44,46,51). Jesus’ relatives evidently heard
the report of v. 20 and came to Capernaum to 3:35 Jesus made a decisive and comprehen-
restrain Him from His many activities and sive statement on true Christian discipleship.
bring Him under their care and control, all Such discipleship involves a spiritual relation-
supposedly for His own good. out of His ship that transcends the physical family and is
mind. Jesus’ family could only explain His open to all who are empowered by the Spirit
unconventional lifestyle, with its willingness of God to come to Christ in repentance and
for others always to impose on Him, by saying faith and enabled to live a life of obedience to
He was irrational or had lost His mind. God’s Word.
DAY 22: How did Mark come to write one of the gospels
if he wasn’t one of the original disciples?
Although Mark was not one of the original apostles of Jesus, he was involved in many of the
events recorded in the New Testament. He traveled as a close companion of the apostle Peter and
appears repeatedly throughout the Book of Acts, where he is known as “John whose surname was
Mark”(Acts 12:12,25; 15:37,39).When Peter was miraculously freed from prison, his first action was
to go to Mark’s mother’s home in Jerusalem (Acts 12:12).
John Mark was also a cousin of Barnabas (Col. 4:10), and he joined Paul and Barnabas on their
first missionary journey (Acts 12:25; 13:5). But Mark deserted the mission team while in Perga and
returned to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13). Later, when Barnabas wanted to give Mark another opportuni-
ty to travel with Paul’s second missionary team, Paul refused. The resulting friction between Paul
and Barnabas led to their separation (Acts 15:38-40).
Eventually, Mark’s youthful vacillation gave way to great strength and maturity. In time, he
proved himself even to the apostle Paul. When Paul wrote to the Colossians, he told them that if
John Mark came, they were to welcome him (Col. 4:10). Paul even listed Mark as a fellow worker
(Philem. 24). Later, Paul told Timothy,“Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for
ministry”(2 Tim. 4:11).

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