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Biblical Meanderings: Mark 3:22-30
🕑 Added 2024-01-29 17:40:39 +0000 UTCrecorded by a babbling brook
And the scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebub [Satan], and by the prince of the demons he drives out demons.” So he called them together and began to speak to them in parables.
“How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, it cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, it cannot stand. And if Satan is divided and rises against himself, he cannot stand, the end has come. But no one can enter a strong man’s house to steal his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house. Truly I tell you, the sons of men will be forgiven all sins and blasphemies, as many as they utter. But the one who blasphemes against the holy spirt has no forgiveness; he is guilty of an ageless sin.” (Because they were claiming, “he has an unclean spirit.”)
A lot of you asked me about my relation to the Bible and whether I’m a Christian. I don’t know whether I am a Christian or not; I was confirmed, but I don’t go to church much. But I do read the Bible, because it makes me a better person. Scripture is a difficult stuff to digest. It’s like unseasoned meat, plain tofu, kombucha. So you have to expend some mental energy digesting it; you have to interrogate it and sit with it. In doing so, you develop skills that help you in your life. Once you learn how to digest scripture, you can digest anything that comes along in life. A lot of you have had the Bible used as a weapon against you. That’s not ok, and I’m sorry you had to suffer like that. You can’t force people to take scripture against their will. If you don’t want to look at this series, I understand. If you’re willing to give it a try, thank you.
So in this passage, I’ll break down my own side process of how I digest scripture. There are two things going on in this passage: there’s a story about Jesus and the scribes from Jerusalem, and within that story there’s a parable. The “scribes from Jerusalem” means religious authority. Judea was under Roman control, but the Jewish courts had a limited authority to govern their own people. The scribes held power in the court. They’re going to be the villains in this story, because they are trying to maintain earthly power, and Jesus represents a divine power that they can’t control. So they’re going to try and get rid of him. Here they accuse him of being possessed by evil spirits, which is a pretty serious accusation. People wanted to get rid of their evil spirits; they didn’t want to gather more of them. So they’re slandering him in a big way.
Jesus responds by telling them a parable. It’s difficult to define what a parable is. Basically, it’s a part of the text where you have to stop reading it like it’s a text and start looking at it like it’s a painting. If you look at a painting for 30 seconds, you might be able to summarize what’s going on in it, but you won’t have actually experienced the painting. If you look at a painting for an hour, or an hour every night for a year, then you’ll have an inner impression of the painting which has nothing to do with that initial summary. You recall the colors, the expressions on the people in the painting, what they’re looking at, what they’re feeling. You go through your life and you see things that remind you of the painting. A parable is like that. If you sit with it, you start to understand it, but not in a sense like, “Oh, I understand this now, I can move on.” You don’t want to move on from it; you want to keep dwelling on it, like a good painting you can come back to.
A good place to start with a parable is to look at the images that are presented within it, and just conjure them up in your mind. This parable starts with a series of three images: a kingdom, a house, and Satan. What comes to mind when you think of a kingdom? Castles, vast expanses of land, many different people. Ultimately it’s the people that make up a kingdom. Trees don’t appoint a king tree. But people fall into groups with communal rules. You form a little bubble; you’re protected and guided by the rules of the community. When there is disagreement on those rules, suddenly the protective bubble breaks; there’s no more community. It’s a bunch of people at odds with each other. This is the “divided kingdom.”
Next there is the “house”, which really means “family”, because families live in houses. This is the same idea, but more personal. A family is a very intimate bubble. Familial dispute can be incredibly painful, because you lose that bubble. Using the word “house” is interesting, because a house is what helps shape and define the family. You go to your room and shut the door. It’s protective. On Esther Perel’s podcast there was a woman remembering her childhood - her father was throwing a tennis ball against her door early in the morning, and the family dog would fetch it. And she had this great sense of violation. “I can’t have my space, and I can’t do anything to change it - if I tell him to stop, he’ll yell at me.” That was a defining moment for her as an adult. That’s what I think of with “house divided” - tennis balls against the door. The barriers break down.
Then we come to “Satan”. “Satan” in Hebrew means “accuser”. That’s an important place to start. Anyone can be an accuser. In Jewish cosmology, God has a cabinet of angels that he interacts with. They do his will, and they also report back. On his right side, there are a host of angels who support mankind - guardian angels. They keep us from misdeeds, and they report back to God - “Oh, they’re not really so bad. They can actually be quite good.” Then on the left side, you have a host of angels who dislike mankind. They’re constantly telling God that God should punish humans, maybe get rid of them. They hold up all humanity’s misdeeds and say, “how can you sleep on this?” So Satan, as a spiritual figure, represents that left side. He is the accuser of mankind. He is the original hater. He has no belief in the positive capacity of humanity. He tries to tempt humans down the wrong path, and then shows them off to God as an example.
So what does it mean for Satan to be divided against himself? You can think of it like a person divided against himself. Jesus isn’t big on grand, cosmological theories. He always brings it back to the human level; that’s his whole deal. He creates the cosmos on a personal scale, and he uses the people surrounding him like he’s a director and they’re actors on a stage. These people come to represent all the energies of the universe. The scribes accuse him of working for Satan, but by the end of the parable he’s flipped it - it’s his accusers who work for The Accuser. They are the non-believers in human spiritual power.
We all do this - scoff in the face of something potentially positive. I do it. Someone says, “this guy is a real inspiration to me, he’s so great!” And I think, “oh, he’s probably a terrible person. He probably does all sorts of things behind closed doors.” But whether I turn out to be right or wrong, nobody benefits from me thinking that without any proof. Now if you know someone is doing something wrong, then you should speak it. And if you have a strong sense that someone is about to do you immediate harm, you should acknowledge that and remove yourself from the situation. But most of the time, we’re just making up a guy in our head to get mad at. Speculating the worst intentions behind something that people are saying is good is a useless activity. Nobody’s giving out “You Guessed It Awards” when somebody everyone thinks is good turns out to be bad.
Not only that, but you’re also cutting yourself off from your inner soul. When we speculate on someone behaving badly, we’re holding them in judgement based on our own past experiences. It’s really a judgement on ourselves: “I was a fool to believe like this earlier in my life. If I let myself believe again, I’ll be a fool again.” You can’t forgive yourself for experiencing disappointment - you’re holding yourself in a place of non-forgiveness. If you forgive your past self, that foolish little believer who really is still there inside you, then you have to experience all that pain firsthand again. So you run from it, you try to attack it, but really you’re attacking your inner self. This is what he calls “blasphemy”, and it remains unforgiven because you’re the one refusing to forgive. The person holding you in judgment is yourself. You say to yourself, “what could be more foolish than expecting a messiah? What could be more foolish than expecting the divine to live inside a human body?” But what could be more awful than not expecting these things? When you the refuse to believe in the divinity that lives in others, you deny the divinity that lives inside yourself.
Ok, we haven’t even finished the parable yet, but that’s probably enough for today. Thanks for tuning in.
Comments
Sam Bradley
This is beautiful! Just subscribed to the patreon, and this caught my eye! I don’t necessarily pin myself as a christian, but I am incredibly interested in esoteric christianity and ancient theology. I find myself connected very deeply with christian theology because it resonates on a human level. The symbolism of it all is as old as time itself. Cycles perpetuate because a lack of judgement. When we come to unity with our own divinity, we must confront our own fears and choose to dwell in suffering - or move towards something more productive on a spiritual level. This is a matter of evolution. Suffering manifests itself outside of you, and haunts you until you confront it face to face. It’s no easy task to confront this suffering, when it’s perpetuated everywhere. But in order to evolve, we must confront these parts of ourselves we push away. When we come into alignment with the divine within ourselves, it begins to manifest outside ourselves. You are a reflection of the world around you, until you look inward to find the divinity within yourself. Then the world begins to mirror the divinity in you - and it moves outward. When you summon this within yourself, you align with god. An old god, as old as the stars in the sky. It’s primordial love! You’ve tapped into something important here. I believe in a new world and an old god. Things ought to change, and you know that more than anyone. Believe in a messiah Will.
Elsie
Thank you for sharing this insightful spiritual analysis, as a raised Catholic who was also confirmed and is also now in the space of "not being able to answer if I'm a christian or not" I have always yet found scripture and especially Jesus' teachings worthwhile in making me keep to the path of trying to be a better person. I wonder about the historical context of the passage as you described earlier, of Jewish scribes under Roman rule having made these accusations. Considering how the Jewish people were not treated especially well by Rome, it would make one believe unity under persecution is important more than ever, yet rather than point their words towards the Romans who persecute them, they point towards Jesus instead. With the last part of your analysis in how we all too often fall victim to our worst impulses, I see a powerful parallel between this and the types of inter-community accusations and fingerpointing that happen to marginalised communities, where we, in the absence of the will or ability to stand against our persecutors, attack and bully one another and in doing so divide our communities along lines of hurt that are, in your words, really sourcing from guys we make up in our heads. If I may ask, how do you feel about the gospels considered gnostic or apocryphal by the Church, such as the Nag Hammadi texts? They take certain deviations from the teachings found in other books of the New Testament, and I'm curious how you find them. Regardless, very appreciative of what you've shared here, thank you.
Holiday
I’ve been feeling this as of late, I’m non religious but I visit different churches from time to time to discover who god is to people, to me god isn’t a being but is just the universe and it’s surroundings and what I put out comes back to me 3 fold. I wish I could put things into words correctly and sort out my feelings on these topics that’s what I admire most about your writings, have a very good night
Two Snails in a Snenchcoat
Your take on the “unforgivable sin” has completely changed my perspective.
Benjable
thankyou so much for sharing your perspective, i am far from a christian but i too find myself resonating with biblical scripture a lot, and its really nice to hear your take on this stuff.
Ana Ng
Could you call it cynicism? I'd call it cynicism. It is one of those awful drugs to me at least. It really does feel right to say "I told you so." To give yourself that golden little "you did it" sticker and pat yourself on the back. But like you said it takes you away from your soul. It often feels so easy to be so cynical and I argue with it about my parents, this idea that I won't let anything past me, but it tears me apart really. That constant spiraling into darkness and trying to act like some "bad vibes" Columbo. Like I saw it all from the start or something. "But what could be more awful than not expecting these things? When you the refuse to believe in the divinity that lives in others, you deny the divinity that lives inside yourself." I think this was a wonderful ending quote. It takes me back to anti-bullying verbiage from when I was little. That when a bully is hurting someone else it's because they're hurt on the inside. I don't want to compare your analysis to chintzy anti-bullying slogans, but it I like the idea that the message from these verses hides in a lot of ways. To put others down simply on suspicion/cynicism/whatever you call it, picks you apart. In the end it doesn't bring good. A thousand tiny gold "you did it" stars only makes you a shining example of how to tear yourself away from your soul and the souls of others. I want to thank you for giving me a reason to get back into reading the bible. So far I've been really enjoying this little series and I do hope you continue something like this in the future.
Luka Buchanan
much love to you, i’m sorry you went through that at home ❤️
MaeveDX
Also, out of curiosity, what translation are you using? I was using NIV to read but I think what you quoted was different from what I read.
MaeveDX
I really like how you explained what a Parable is. I had always been told it was metaphor and allegory, but I think your explanation of it as a "painting", something to be carefully examined and thought about for an extended period of time, longer than just needed to understand the metaphor, really gave me a new way of understanding them. I also really love getting your insight - you have a lot of extensive literary knowledge and knowledge about religious history that I think is very valuable to have when reading scripture, and for example I never would have connected "house" to "family" without you pointing it out. I'm not a spiritual person, but I love hearing your thoughts on and contemplating these stories and what they can tell us about ourselves.
Luka Buchanan
whew, i’ve been sitting with this verse all day. the phrase ‘a kingdom divided cannot stand’ has been rolling around my head. i’m thinking of the idea of the self as a kingdom, or a house. what it means to be a self, divided; to have hate for oneself. do hate (weakness?) and love (divinity?) contradict each other? the reference to Satan being divided/rising against himself went over my head. my understanding of Satan is based mostly on Genesis, mostly in the context of studying Milton’s Paradise Lost. Milton’s characterisation of Satan as a manipulative yet charming and at times fucking hilarious guy (“O hell, o hell” - seeing Adam & Eve eating fruit) is fascinating. Satan, to me, represents hatred and doubt that can ‘divide’ oneself (i guess like Esther Perel’s childhood memory; a profound lack of internal safety). in Milton he is arrogant and judgemental, and often, very relatable, very human. which is a fascinating way to characterise him, because by the end of Milton’s Genesis, the reader has been (or at least, I was) seduced by Satan as much as Eve and Adam were. i’m conflicted in my capacity for love and hate. on one hand, i believe fundamentally in humans, i believe our personhood and the divinely humble lives we lead. on the other hand, i (and to an extent, we) have profound capacity for judgment, ignorance, selfishness, self-importance. i don’t think i believe in original sin, that humans are born with sin, that we are inherently divided and weak. but we are fallible. do these beliefs contradict? shrug! a ping pong ball bounces around in me!
damian
i like how you explained the imagery of "house" as an intersection between emotional and physical places. when you mentioned that woman's story, it reminded me of my own childhood; i didn't have any privacy while growing up because my parents never allowed me to close my bedroom's door. that made me feel like i wasn't able to be myself even inside my own house (since, at that time, my parents didn't accept me), and our home started emotionally falling apart. talking to friends of mine who also grew up in religious environments, i discovered a lot of them went through similar situations. i think it's curious, but very telling, how religion is misinterpreted by people who use it against others... thank you for sharing your views this week again! i'm really enjoying this series so far.
Bita
As a kid, gospels and scriptures were easily relatable to me. I went to a Catholic school in middle school, and I often ask my teachers why that is. I never really got the answer that explained why. Reading through it now, it has become some of the hardest pills to swallow, probably because I see it now in a different light, as if it's a call out to my past mistakes, a judgment I'm meaning to avoid.
duke
It’s hard to remember that religion is so much more than what we see and what we’re told. I grew up very religious, so out of rebellion I fully rejected the church and the scriptures. As I’ve grown older, I’ve realized that not every relationship with the Bible and religion has to be based in faith or belief in God. There’s so much to learn from the scriptures.
Enoch
It’s so interesting how a small passage can have so much meaning behind it and like I don’t even realize. I guess I need to analyze stuff more and not just read it and forget about it.
Knives
i've always considered myself an atheist, i never cared much about church when i went and i started questioning christianity even as a young kid. in my teens i thought it was ridiculous to believe in god (not that i would go around trying to convert people to atheism but i would always roll my eyes when christianity would come up as a topic). it took me a while to stop resisting religion as a concept -- i don't blame myself for it, considering that i was born and raised in the bible belt and every christian i know was always using the word of god against me for a lot of aspects of my identity that i cannot change. it's only now that i'm growing into adulthood that i understand religion more, even if i don't take part in it at all. when i started reading the bible from a secular point of view, i noticed that it has a lot of ideas that are ultimately timeless and can be very beneficial even today i've seen a lot of statistics that generations are identifying as nonreligious more and more the younger you go, and i'm hoping that maybe they'll be the ones to pave the way for a rise of a much less toxic religious environment that is truly beneficial for those who do decide to partake in it, especially if it can be a choice to opt in or out of rather than something you're raised in
hana
gonna sit with that final paragraph for a while .. thanks for sharing :]
