We carry labels in our lives. We like to slap labels on others.

Jesus had some labels of his own. They weren’t ones he necessarily put on voluntarily.

“Insane” was one of those labels.

²⁰ Jesus entered a house. A crowd gathered again so that it was impossible for him and his followers even to eat. ²¹ When his family heard what was happening, they came to take control of him. They were saying, “He’s out of his mind!” (Mark 3:20-21, CEB)

When your own family is labeling you insane, it might be time for a vacation.

²² The legal experts came down from Jerusalem. Over and over they charged, “He’s possessed by Beelzebul. He throws out demons with the authority of the ruler of demons.”

When religious experts start calling you demon-possessed… you can probably ignore it. (The voices in your head may be normal after all!)

Two labels: Insane. Demon-possessed.

And Jesus was guilty of what? Doing the will of his father.

Jesus did not hide the cost of apprenticeship. And in this season of Lent, it is good to reflect on the cost of following Jesus.

Please remember: There is a cost TO following Jesus. There is also a cost to NOT follow Jesus. Those things need to be weighed before you really apprentice yourself to him.

But in Lent it is good to remember the cost.

⁴⁹ “I came to cast fire upon the earth. How I wish that it was already ablaze! ⁵⁰ I have a baptism I must experience. How I am distressed until it’s completed! ⁵¹ Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, I have come instead to bring division. ⁵² From now on, a household of five will be divided—three against two and two against three. ⁵³ Father will square off against son and son against father; mother against daughter and daughter against mother; and mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” (Luke 12:49-53, CEB)

It may mean you get an extra label or two from some who don’t understand.