Conversation Starters

1. Read Mark 3:20-35.

2. Who is the strongman in Jesus’ parable? Who is the thief who plunders the house? What is the meaning of the parable?

3. How does Jesus redefine family in this passage? In what way does that challenge or encourage you?

4. How does it make you feel to know that you are part of God's family? How does God's family give you identity and purpose?

Title: Jesus Surprises
Reference: Mark 3:20-35
Speaker: Jacob Nannie, JacobN@cckc.church

– We must prioritize the will of God over family relationships.

Jesus wills and does what God wills, and in performing healings and exorcisms, Jesus and his true family (including the healers and exorcists in the Markan community) do the will of God. ~ Sharyn Dowd, Reading Mark: A Literary and Theological Commentary on the Second Gospel

It is a warning to those who adopt a position of deliberate rejection and antagonism, not an attempt to frighten those of tender conscience. ~ R.T. France, The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary on the Greek Text

– We must prioritize the will of God over religious tradition.

– Prioritizing the will of God is worth it.

The Markan emphasis is twofold: (1) Doing the will of God will look crazy to some people—often to one’s own relatives; and (2) those whose relatives misunderstand their Christian commitment find a new family in the Christian community, just as Jesus did. ~ Sharyn Dowd, Reading Mark: A Literary and Theological Commentary on the Second Gospel