When Jesus’ family first heard about him preaching and exorcizing demons, “they thought he was crazy and went to get him under control” (Mark 3:20-21 CEV). Strange and Mysterious Stuff in the Bible, p. 151.
About Stephen M. Miller
STEPHEN M. MILLER is an award winning bestselling Christian author of easy-reading books about the Bible and Christianity and author of the Casual English Bible® paraphrase. His books have sold over two million copies and include The Complete Guide to the Bible and Who’s and Where’s Where in the Bible.
Yep, “beside himself,” “out of his mind,” or “crazy” would do just fine. This seems to be confirmed later in the chapter, when mom and brothers show up to take Jesus into custody, apparently, and he will have nothing to do with them (Mk 3:31-35). This, then, is further confirmed in Mk 6:4, when Jesus laments that prophets get no honor in their own homes. In short, Jesus, in Mark, is on very poor terms with his own biological family. Different gospel, different tradition, same idea: John 7:5 acknowledges that Jesus and his family were not on good terms during his lifetime. In light of all this, I wish we knew more about how James became the leader of the Jerusalem community after the crucifixion.
Thanks, Bob.