And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.
Parallel translations
- WEB When his friends heard it, they went out to seize him: for they said, “He is insane.”
- BSB When His family heard about this, they went out to take custody of Him, saying, “He is out of His mind.”
- NKJV But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, “He is out of His mind.”
- NASB And when His own people heard about this, they came out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “He has lost His senses.”
- NLT When his family heard what was happening, they tried to take him away. “He’s out of his mind,” they said.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus' own family sets out to seize him, thinking he is out of his mind. It matters because even those closest to him misunderstood his mission.
Overview
His relatives, alarmed by his demanding ministry and growing controversy, conclude he is unbalanced and try to take him home. Their misunderstanding shows how radically Jesus' single-minded devotion to God confounded ordinary expectations. It also frames the teaching to come, that true kinship with Jesus is defined by doing God's will, not by blood.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Acts 26:24And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad.
- John 10:20And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?
- John 7:3–10His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest.
- Mark 3:31There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him.
- 2 Cor 5:13For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause.
- 2 Kgs 9:11Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and one said unto him, Is all well? wherefore came this mad fellow to thee? And he said unto them, Ye know the man, and his communication.
- Hos 9:7The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred.
- Jer 29:26The LORD hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that ye should be officers in the house of the LORD, for every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in prison, and in the stocks.
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 3:21 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.