Jesus made this statement because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
Parallel translations
- WEB — because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
- KJV Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.
- NKJV because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
- NASB because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
- NLT He told them this because they were saying, “He’s possessed by an evil spirit.”
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
Mark explains that Jesus said this because they claimed he had an unclean spirit. It matters because it identifies the specific blasphemy in view.
Overview
This editorial note ties the warning directly to the scribes' charge: they called the Holy Spirit's work demonic. The sin is not a vague mystery but the willful, slanderous rejection of God's evident work in Christ. Mark's clarification keeps the warning grounded in its concrete setting rather than abstract speculation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- John 10:20Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and insane. Why would you listen to Him?”
- Mark 3:22And the scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and, “By the prince of the demons He drives out demons.”
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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 3:30 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.