Gospel (Mk 3,22-30) - At that time, the scribes, who had come down from Jerusalem, said: "This man is possessed by Beelzebul and casts out demons through the prince of demons." But he called them and said to them in parables: «How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand; if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. Likewise, if Satan rebels against himself and is divided, he cannot resist, but he is about to finish. No one can enter the house of a strong man and steal his things unless he has first tied up that strong man; then he will plunder his house. Truly I say to you, all the sins of the sons of men will be forgiven, even all the blasphemies that they say; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not have forgiveness forever: he will be guilty of eternal guilt." For they said, "He is possessed by an unclean spirit."

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

This evangelical passage is preceded by two verses which report the negative judgment that Jesus' family had pronounced on him. According to him, Jesus has lost his mind, according to the scribes, he is possessed by the devil. This last accusation, obviously, is much more serious than the first because it places Jesus on the side of the enemy of God. But what both the family members and the scribes do not understand is why so many people flock to Jesus. But it is precisely this that annoys the scribes, the Pharisees and, finally, the family members themselves. Good always creates envy, breaks illicit balances or even just questions, disturbs, asks for a comparison. And the Pharisees on duty, or even their family members, cannot bear that Jesus, with his Gospel, breaks the established balance, they cannot accept that life gets out of their control. This is why they look for every way to discredit him right in front of the people. Jesus, however, responds to the scribes with the example of the house divided against itself. And he invites us not to trust in our own strength and to no longer be self-confident, because we risk underestimating the strength of evil and succumbing to it. Only Jesus is capable of binding the strong man (evil) and, therefore, of not allowing himself to be mocked by him. The poor, the sick, the sinners had realized this and for this reason they sought him, trusting in his compassion and in his strength. It is a great lesson also for us who are so often tempted by self-sufficiency and unable to invoke God's help.