The Gospel of Mark Part 12
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Friends, Family, or Foes?
Friends, Family, or Foes?
Now we come into this next passage, remembering that last week we discussed this “Markan Sandwich” - a literary device used often by Mark where he “sandwiches” one narrative in the middle of a different narrative, and by doing so emphasizes a common theme between them.
And so we discussed the first “slice of bread”, which we find in Mark 3:20-21
20 Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. 21 But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, “He is out of His mind.”
We found that this is directly related to the other slice of bread, found in Mark 3:31
31 Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him.
We will dive deeper into this passage when we get to it, but we need to see the connection between verse 21 and verse 31 - Mark is talking about the same people: Jesus’ family.
What happens when friends become like family? - We enjoy that!
But what about when family become like foes? - We are deeply hurt and that is exactly what we will see Jesus experience, but then He will show us how to overcome that kind of pain.
Today we will explore the “cheese” of this Markan Sandwich - which is the accusation by the scribes that has eternal consequences.
Jesus is truly God, but He is also truly man, which caused Him to experience ALL of the pressures and pain that we experience, with the exception of the self-inflicted pain that we cause ourselves when we sin.
So Jesus is accused of mental insanity by His own earthly family and then He is accused of something much worse by the spiritual leaders of His nation.
I. Jesus’ Foes
I. Jesus’ Foes
I. Jesus’ Foes
A. The Accusation
Mark 3:22 (NKJV)
22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebub,” and, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.”
Jesus’ ministry has now come to the attention of the establishment - the ruling party - in Jerusalem.
The Scribes were a group of Torah experts - they were the final authority in the Jewish community when it came to not only knowing the Scriptures, but also interpreting them.
So it was the scribes to whom Jesus’ teaching was compared.
Ezra was the first to be titled thus and a long, illustrious line of scribes came down from him
Ezra 7:6a (NKJV)
6 this Ezra came up from Babylon; and he was a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given....
The duties of a scribe included professor, teacher, moralist, and civil lawyer.
Only scribes could enter the Sanhedrin
They recieved honor in the streets, the first seats in the synagogue, and people would stand when they entered a room.
It was this group that made this horrendous accusation against Jesus of Nazareth.
Mark 3:22 (NKJV)
22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebub,” and, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.”
The main accusation is that Jesus “has Beelzebub”.
The word “has” means:
Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (ἔχω)
“has”: ἔχω echō - to be possessed by all of the conditions of body and soul
In other words, they were claiming that Jesus’ words and actions were the words and actions of a demon.
The One who lived a perfect, sinless life is taking action by the power of a demon and of Satan himself.
Mark 3:22 (NKJV)
22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebub,” and, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.”
In an effort to explain away and to undermine Jesus’ authority over demons, the scribes make an accusation of demon-possession.
Beelzebub: a Syrian god of Ekron = “Lord of the Dwelling”; also used as a slur, meaning “Lord of the Flies” or “Lord of the Dung Heap”.
Beelzeboul: “Baal the prince” or “Baal’s abode or dynasty”; also known as the arch ruler of a dynasty of demons and evil spirits.
Although no where in Jewish literature is Satan called Beelzeboul, the scribes are clearly equating the two.
Mark 3:22 (NKJV)
22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebub,” and, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.”
Notice that they do not deny that Jesus has the power to cast out demons, rather, they are attacking the SOURCE of Jesus’ power.
This is the heart of their accusation - Jesus’ power source is demonic and satanic.
The scribes were EYEWITNESSES of Jesus’ abilities, His power, His authority, His deity…yet they attribute all of this to Satan.
This is not the only time that Jesus would endure such an accusation:
20 The people answered and said, “You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill You?”
48 Then the Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?”
20 And many of them said, “He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?”
I. Jesus’ Foes
A. The Accusation
B. The Argument
Jesus’ response is not as much theological as much as it is purely logical:
23 So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan?
In other words, why would an army general start attacking his own troops? If Satan is empowering Jesus to cast out demons, Satan has pressed the “self-destruct button”.
If Satan is the antithesis of God, how could he start acting on behalf of God? The scribes argument is self-defeating!
The scribes are saying that Satan has gone from being God’s enemy to being God’s ally!
Take notice of that phrase at the beginning of the verse: “He called them to Himself” - Mark is once again highlighting Jesus’ AUTHORITY!
24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.
Remember that Beelzeboul is a ruler of a dynasty of demons - hence Jesus’ use of a self-destructing kingdom here.
Also, Beelzebub was first a “Lord of the Dwelling” or Lord of the House - which explains Jesus’ use of a divided “house” here.
In verse 26, Jesus further unravels the scribes argument by pointing out that if they are correct, Satan is destroying his own kingdom and is rebelling against himself!
The phrase “risen up” means to rebel against, like an “uprising”, and the word “end” means to be terminated.
If Satan has rebelled against his own kingdom, that means that he has rebelled against himself and has self-destructed - an ironic truth that exposes the scribes’ argument as being self-defeating!
27 No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.
The strong man Jesus refers to here is Satan.
Jesus is saying, “Not only am I NOT under Satan’s authority, instead I am against Satan and I am stronger than Satan.”
Jesus’ actions of casting demons out of people is Jesus binding the strong man and plundering his house. So that Beelzeboul, who is the “lord of the dwelling” is having his dwelling ransacked and I’m the one that’s doing it because I am stronger!
Satan’s house is being invaded because Jesus has the power and authority to bind him and take from him those he has captured.
Every life that Jesus delivered from a demon was a life delivered from Satan’s dominion. Jesus was plundering Satan’s kingdom one life at a time.
APPLICATION: There is nothing in our lives that cannot be freed from Satan’s dominion! There is no sin, no habit, no addiction, no relationship, no environment, no problem that Jesus cannot deliver us from! Jesus is the STRONG MAN! And He is still plundering Satan’s house today!
I. Jesus’ Foes
A. The Accusation
B. The Argument
C. The Adjudication
28 “Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; 29 but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”—30 because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
Now we come to what has been labeled, “The Unpardonable Sin”.
Many today are concerned that they have committed an unpardonable sin. So, are they correct?…Can we commit the unforgivable sin today?
The sin that these scribes were committing is given in verse 30: attributing the power of God to the power of Satan…seeing Jesus’ miracles of casting out demons and attributing the power to do that to Satan.
Another description of this sin comes from Chuck Swindoll’s commentary on the book of Mark:
Mark 3:28–30
“Blasphemy” can be described as “defiant irreverence.” One speaks blasphemy when denigrating another or seeking to do damage to the subject’s reputation. This would include insolent language directed against God, defamation, railing, cursing, and reviling. In the case of the scribes, blasphemy included attributing the acts of the Holy Spirit to the work of Satan. Although not in so many words, they said the Spirit of God was an unclean spirit.
Mark 3:29–30 (NKJV)
29 but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”—30 because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
So what about the unpardonable sin today??
There are some things that must be understood here:
The unforgivable sin is not unforgivable because it’s just too big for God to forgive....It is unforgivable because the heart that gives Satan credit for God’s work is too hard to receive forgiveness. The verb “blasphemes” is an active verb - i.e. “is blaspheming”. In other words, while a person is blaspheming the Holy Spirit, he or she cannot be forgiven.
The unforgivable sin is a perpetual state of the heart that rejects forgiveness because it doesn’t think that it needs forgiveness. this heart doesn’t acknowledge this blasphemy as a sin. It is a perpetual attitude of the heart that accuses Jesus of being a counterfeit and an agent of Satan; it is not a one-off action.
The unforgivable sin defiantly rejects God’s power to save people, which is by the power of the Holy Spirit working through the person and work of Jesus Christ, God’s Son.
The unforgivable sin is an open preference for darkness even after being exposed to the light of Jesus Christ.
The unpardonable sin for the scribes of Jesus’ day was a hardhearted refusal to acknowledge that God was at work in what Jesus was doing and attributing His power to Satan instead. In this context, no one can commit this sin today. We do not have Jesus with us physically doing miracles and casting out demons.
However, people today can have a hard hearts. People today can refuse to believe the truth and prefer the darkness to the light. Today’s unpardonable sin is rejecting Jesus as Savior.
To not believe in Jesus is to resist the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is present to:
8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
And the Holy Spirit does this convicting to point people to Jesus, the only way to life:
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Application:
For the unbeliever: Will you stop resisting the Holy Spirit and put your faith in Jesus alone for eternal life?
For the believer: Will you stop resisting the Holy Spirit’s working in your heart and be willing for Him to do His work of sanctification in your life?
II. Jesus’ Family - Part 2
II. Jesus’ Family - Part 2
II. Jesus’ Family - Part 2
A. Family Becomes Like Foes - Part 2
31 Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. 32 And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You.”
This was His mother! This was Mary, who sang her beautiful Magnificat and gave birth to Him although she was a virgin. She heard what the shepherds saw and was blessed by the wise men. She raised this sinless Son! Yet she was still an ordinary person - a human mother, and she didn’t see everything from God’s perspective.
Luke 2:48–49 (NKJV)
48 So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.” 49 And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”
Jesus’ brothers were even worse in terms of how they treated Him:
John 7:2–5 (NKJV)
2 Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. 3 His brothers therefore said to Him, “Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. 4 For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” 5 For even His brothers did not believe in Him.
So first they have accused Jesus of insanity (Mark 3:21) and now they are trying to call Him out in order to make Him stop doing His work (Mark 3:31).
Sometimes, family or other loved ones, become like foes - they don’t understand what you are doing…they don’t have the same perspective…they are afraid or proud or selfish and they react to what we do accordingly.
32 And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You.”
Now the multitude chimes in with their expectations of Jesus. Once again, Mark’s crowds symbolize problems and obstacles to Jesus’ ministry.
Here, they are adding to the pressure - first His family says He is crazy, then the scribes say He is demon-possessed, and now the crowds try to pressure Him into walking away from what the Father has clearly given Him to do.
He was a Jewish man that was called to honor His mother and family. It was one of the Ten Commandments after all!
Shouldn’t Jesus have stepped outside to answer His family’s request?
Here is what Warren Wiersbe had to say about this situation:
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Three: The Servant, the Crowds, and the Kingdom (Mark 3:13–4:34)
If Jesus had yielded to His family, He would have played right into the hands of the opposition. The religious leaders would have said, “See, He agreed with His family—He needs help! Don’t take Jesus of Nazareth too seriously.”
But we might say, isn’ that disrespecting His mother? While honoring our mother is vital to obedience to God, there is a greater love…a greater principle…a greater law than that.
Jesus used this opportunity, while all eyes were fixed on Him, to teach this greater truth:
II. Jesus’ Family - Part 2
A. Family Becomes Like Foes - Part 2
B. Friends Become Like Family - Part 2
Mark 3:33–35 (NKJV)
33 But He answered them, saying, “Who is My mother, or My brothers?” 34 And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.”
According to Jesus, division of any kind equals failure...
Division = Failure
Unity = Family
…but obedience is equal to family!
Jesus’ earthly family had travelled some 30 miles to “lay hold of Him” - to stop Him from doing the work His Father had called Him to.
Of note, this is the only reference to Mary the mother of Jesus in the gospel of Mark, and it is a failure on her part. This is not to degrade her, but rather just to show us that she was a regular person who despite seeing God do the miraculous in her life in the past, was not walking by faith and made a bad choice.
35 For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.”
Notice He does not use “my Father” in this analogy because Jesus only had one Father - the Father God in heaven.
This is what we need to take with us - the will of God is to believe in the Son - then we become joint heirs with Christ!
29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Not only does Jesus see us as His family, but so does God the Father!
Application: Do you believe in Jesus? - Are you a fellow heir?
Are you living like you are a true brother of Jesus?…or a true mother? - One that believes and obeys? Here we find a piece of