Endnote 15 – Triumph over Temptation

The fact that Mark inserted the accusations of the scribes—“He is possessed by Beelzebul!” and “It is by the prince of demons that he casts out demons” (Mark 3:22)—at precisely this point clearly indicates how the evangelist understood “he is out of his mind.” Further, krateô means “arrest” in Mark 6:17, 12:12, 14:1, 44, 46, 49, 51. These two points effectively refute attempts to water down the obvious meaning of the accusation, such as that by Marie-Joseph Lagrange, who wrote that Jesus was in such an exalted state that he forgot to eat his meals (Évangile selon saint Marc [Paris, 1911], p. 64), or Henry Wansbrough, who argued that it was the crowd that was out of control with enthusiasm (“Mark iii.21: Was Jesus Out of His Mind?” New Testament Studies (1971–72), pp. 233–235.