And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.
The moment came just after Jesus healed a demon-possessed man who was blind and dumb for the second time, when the Pharisees repeated the charge that He casts out devils through the prince of devils. In that setting He taught that speaking against Himself without discerning His divine character can still be forgiven, because through the Holy Spirit the soul can be brought to see error and repent and have guilt washed away in the blood of Christ, but attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan cuts off the fountain of blessing and the channel by which God works on the heart, placing the soul where repentance and faith cannot come, so that when the Spirit is finally rejected there is nothing more God can do for the soul. To say He is beside Himself meant they thought His reason was unsettled. Those described as His friends were His relatives and family, including His mother and brothers and His parents and friends. Even His disciples shared the concern.
They were alarmed because He labored tirelessly and incessantly, often without food and without sleep or rest, ministering all day to the throngs that came to Him while the crowds pressed Him heavily. They feared His life would be sacrificed, that He would be overwhelmed, and that He could not long endure the constant strain. They were also alarmed by His bold dealings with the Pharisees, His claim to divine authority, His reproof of the sins of the rabbis, and His unceasing conflict with their enmity and false teaching. They felt keenly the reproach brought upon them through their relation to Him by the Pharisees' charge that He cast out demons by Satan's power. They feared His words would bring trouble on Him and denunciation on their family.
They judged His mission from a human point of view and with a short measure, and did not understand His character and mission, that He had come from the Father to bear witness to the truth, so they could not fathom His mission or sympathize with His trials. Their misunderstanding and reproach wounded Him. They planned to persuade or constrain Him to stop, to lay hold on Him and take Him away by force, to draw Him away from His work and urge Him to rest, to make Him act more cautiously and work more prudently. They also wanted to have Him speak only in ways acceptable to the scribes and Pharisees to avoid controversy.
His brothers enlisted Mary, believing His love for her might make Him act more cautiously and prevail upon Him to stop. He refused to be taken away and persisted in serving the suffering, teaching the people, and traveling and working despite weariness because He wanted His work to continue. He briefly crossed the sea by boat seeking solitude and rest, but people followed Him and He soon returned to help the suffering people. His utter weariness was renewed by hours spent alone with God in prayer at the close of the toilsome day, leaving peace upon His face and freshness and life and power pervading His whole being, so that morning by morning He came forth to bring the light of heaven to men.
The moment came just after Jesus healed a demon-possessed man who was blind and dumb for the second time, when the Pharisees repeated the charge that He casts out devils through the prince of devils. In that setting He taught that speaking against Himself without discerning His divine character can still be forgiven, because through the Holy Spirit the soul can be brought to see error and repent and have guilt washed away in the blood of Christ, but attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan cuts off the fountain of blessing and the channel by which God works on the heart, placing the soul where repentance and faith cannot come, so that when the Spirit is finally rejected there is nothing more God can do for the soul. To say He is beside Himself meant they thought His reason was unsettled. Those described as His friends were His relatives and family, including His mother and brothers and His parents and friends. Even His disciples shared the concern.
They were alarmed because He labored tirelessly and incessantly, often without food and without sleep or rest, ministering all day to the throngs that came to Him while the crowds pressed Him heavily. They feared His life would be sacrificed, that He would be overwhelmed, and that He could not long endure the constant strain. They were also alarmed by His bold dealings with the Pharisees, His claim to divine authority, His reproof of the sins of the rabbis, and His unceasing conflict with their enmity and false teaching. They felt keenly the reproach brought upon them through their relation to Him by the Pharisees' charge that He cast out demons by Satan's power. They feared His words would bring trouble on Him and denunciation on their family.
They judged His mission from a human point of view and with a short measure, and did not understand His character and mission, that He had come from the Father to bear witness to the truth, so they could not fathom His mission or sympathize with His trials. Their misunderstanding and reproach wounded Him. They planned to persuade or constrain Him to stop, to lay hold on Him and take Him away by force, to draw Him away from His work and urge Him to rest, to make Him act more cautiously and work more prudently. They also wanted to have Him speak only in ways acceptable to the scribes and Pharisees to avoid controversy.
His brothers enlisted Mary, believing His love for her might make Him act more cautiously and prevail upon Him to stop. He refused to be taken away and persisted in serving the suffering, teaching the people, and traveling and working despite weariness because He wanted His work to continue. He briefly crossed the sea by boat seeking solitude and rest, but people followed Him and He soon returned to help the suffering people. His utter weariness was renewed by hours spent alone with God in prayer at the close of the toilsome day, leaving peace upon His face and freshness and life and power pervading His whole being, so that morning by morning He came forth to bring the light of heaven to men.