Mark 3:21

Mark 3:21. His friends, lit. ‘those by him.' The exact reference is doubtful. The nearer relatives, spoken of in Mark 3:31, may not be included, since they waited outside; but probably the whole circle was engaged in this effort with varying feelings, the immediate family persisting longer (see on Matthew 12:46).

Heard it, i.e. what was going on; they may have heard that the scribes had come with a hostile purpose (Mark 3:22).

They went out, etc. Either from Nazareth, or from their house in Capernaum, since it is uncertain in which place they now lived.

For they said. The relatives just spoken of.

He is beside himself. This implies either actual insanity in a bad sense, or religious enthusiasm and ecstasy, even to derangement, in a good sense. While an accusation of madness on the part of His relatives is neither impossible nor improbable, so long as they were not true believers, it may have been a mere pretext. As His enemies had already, in all probability, said that He was possessed, His relatives, from motives of policy, may have adopted this modification of the charge to get Him away; with this, anxiety for His health may have entered as a motive. The context favors the thought that the motive was policy resulting from want of faith, though perhaps not from positive disbelief. This doubting, worldly policy, which could seek to shelter Him by meeting the accusations of His foes half way, is in keeping with the desire to thrust Him forward which was afterwards shown (John 7:3-5) Yet even among these relatives there was probably a great variety of opinions regarding Him.