“Crazy” In The Bible

How should we understand the concept of “crazy” in the Bible? After Peter’s miraculous escape from prison in Acts 12:6-10, the fisherman-turned-preacher made his way to the home of Mary, who was the mother of John Mark. At Mary’s home many of the believers had gathered together and were praying for Peter (see vv. 11-12). Peter arrived at Mary’s house and knocked, and a young woman named Rhoda came to the door to answer. She heard Peter’s voice coming from the outside, and she recognized it. Overcome with joy, she neglected to open the door. She ran to tell the others that Peter was outside (see vv. 13-14). They told her she was “crazy” (v. 15), but soon they became convinced that she was right and that Peter really had arrived. God had indeed sent an angel to rescue Peter from prison.

“Crazy” In The Bible

The term translated “crazy” in Acts 12:15 means “to rave, to be mad, or to speak in a manner not consistent with being in one’s right mind.” Our English word mania is related to this term. In addition to Acts 12:15, this Greek word appears four other times in the New Testament. In each instance below, the English word representing the Greek term is underlined.

• In John 10:20, John wrote that “Many…were saying [of Jesus], ‘He has a demon and He’s crazy! Why do you listen to Him?’” Others disagreed, but a significant number thought Jesus was mad.
• As Paul was giving his testimony and explaining to Governor Festus who Jesus was, the governor interrupted and “exclaimed in a loud voice, “You’re out of your mind, Paul! Too much study is driving you mad!” (Acts 26:24). Interestingly, the term translated mad at the end of this verse is related to the verb we are highlighting here.
• Paul replied to Festus, “I’m not out of my mind, most excellent Festus. On the contrary, I’m speaking words of truth and good judgment” (v. 25).
• In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul instructed the Corinthian believers regarding the importance of not overemphasizing the spiritual gift of tongues. In verse 23 the apostle wrote, “Therefore, if the whole church assembles together and all are speaking in other languages and people who are uninformed or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your minds?” Then he added, “But if all are prophesying and some unbeliever or uninformed person comes in, he is convicted by all and is judged by all. The secrets of his heart will be revealed, and as a result he will fall facedown and worship God, proclaiming, ‘God is really among you’” (vv. 24-25).

We see in the New Testament, therefore, that Jesus was accused of being mad; and later, His spokesman, Paul, also was accused of being mad when he was testifying to the truth about Jesus. We’re reminded of Jesus’ words in John 15:18: “If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me before it hated you.” We even see that a believer, Rhoda, was accused of being mad by her fellow believers, but this was quickly resolved. Take note that in 1 Corinthians 14:23, Paul warned believers not to “set the stage” for the world to accuse them of madness. Thus, to some extent, certain accusations of madness are unavoidable—yet as believers we must avoid engaging in behavior that invites the world to bring such a charge against us.

B. Nathaniel Sullivan
Christian educator, Bible teacher, and Editor

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations in SundaySchoolZone.com materials are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.