THE TRILEMMA
Jason Grissom
MARK: THE SERVANT WHO WAS OUR SAVIOR • Sermon • Submitted
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“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
THEY CALLED HIM A LUNATIC
THEY CALLED HIM A LUNATIC
The word for “seize” is regularly used by Mark in the sense of attempting to bind Jesus and deprive him of freedom, which is its sense here.
There is obviously more to this incident than Mark relates. Exactly who is threatening Jesus is not entirely clear. English translations normally read “family,” but the Greek is a simple and ambiguous prepositional phrase, “those of him”, which could mean associates, kin, or followers as well as friends or family.
According to
After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.
Jesus mother and brothers visited Jesus and his disciples in Capernaum early in his ministry. Perhaps there was a connection between that visit and the attempted intervention here. Or perhaps they intervened from Nazareth itself. At any rate, those closest to Jesus believe his conflicts with the authorities to be mistaken and they come to retrieve him, perhaps even to “deprogram” him
And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the Lord.’ And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies.
other and brothers visited Jesus and his disciples in Capernaum early in his ministry. Perhaps there was a connection between that visit and the attempted intervention here. Or perhaps they intervened from Nazareth itself. At any rate, those closest to Jesus believe his conflicts with the authorities to be mistaken and they come to retrieve him, perhaps even to “deprogram” him (!).22 The disconcerting reference that Jesus “is out of his mind” reminds Mark’s readers that the religious authorities are not alone in their mistaken apprehensions of Jesus. Their opposition is the more explainable, for as outsiders they may be victims of ignorance, false reports, jealousy, or misguided zeal. The opposition of insiders is more troubling, for Jesus’ associates ought to be advocates, not adversaries. The very ambiguity of Mark’s wording, “the ones of him,” is a calculated reminder that those closest to Jesus may indeed oppose him, and that proximity to Jesus—even blood relationship or being called by Jesus—is no substitute for allegiance to Jesus in faith and following.
The disconcerting reference that Jesus “is out of his mind” reminds Mark’s readers that the religious authorities are not alone in their mistaken apprehensions of Jesus. Their opposition is the more explainable, for as outsiders they may be victims of ignorance, false reports, jealousy, or misguided zeal. The opposition of insiders is more troubling, for Jesus’ associates ought to be advocates, not adversaries. The very ambiguity of Mark’s wording, “the ones of him,” is a calculated reminder that those closest to Jesus may indeed oppose him, and that proximity to Jesus—even blood relationship or being called by Jesus—is no substitute for allegiance to Jesus in faith and following.
Jesus other and brothers visited Jesus and his disciples in Capernaum early in his ministry. Perhaps there was a connection between that visit and the attempted intervention here. Or perhaps they intervened from Nazareth itself. At any rate, those closest to Jesus believe his conflicts with the authorities to be mistaken and they come to retrieve him, perhaps even to “deprogram” him (!).22 The disconcerting reference that Jesus “is out of his mind” reminds Mark’s readers that the religious authorities are not alone in their mistaken apprehensions of Jesus. Their opposition is the more explainable, for as outsiders they may be victims of ignorance, false reports, jealousy, or misguided zeal. The opposition of insiders is more troubling, for Jesus’ associates ought to be advocates, not adversaries. The very ambiguity of Mark’s wording, “the ones of him,” is a calculated reminder that those closest to Jesus may indeed oppose him, and that proximity to Jesus—even blood relationship or being called by Jesus—is no substitute for allegiance to Jesus in faith and following.
The phrase “he is out of his mind” to think or reason in a completely irrational manner—‘to not be in one’s right mind, to be insane, to be mad, to be out of one’s mind, insanity, madness
This reminds us that the religious authorities are not alone in their mistaken apprehensions of Jesus. Their opposition is the more explainable, for as outsiders they may be victims of ignorance, false reports, jealousy, or misguided zeal.
reminds Mark’s readers that the religious authorities are not alone in their mistaken apprehensions of Jesus. Their opposition is the more explainable, for as outsiders they may be victims of ignorance, false reports, jealousy, or misguided zeal.
However, the opposition of insiders is more troubling, for Jesus’ associates ought to be advocates, not adversaries. The very ambiguity of Mark’s wording, “the ones of him,” is a calculated reminder that those closest to Jesus may indeed oppose him, and that proximity to Jesus—even blood relationship or being called by Jesus—is no substitute for allegiance to Jesus in faith and following.
THEY CALLED HIM A LIAR
THEY CALLED HIM A LIAR
The precise nature of their opposition is important to note. They do not deny Jesus’ power to perform miracles, nor do they accuse him of being an imposter. They indeed recognize his power to perform miracles, but they impugn the source of his power, ascribing it to Beelzeboul rather than God.
The malicious judgment of the scribes is evidence that faith and unbelief are not the result of proofs. There is a mistaken view abroad that if only we saw the undisputed miracles of Jesus we would believe—or believe more. The scribes, however, have seen precisely such evidence—but they do not believe.
Faith, in other words, is not an automatic, inevitable, or necessary consequence of witnessing the acts of God. The words and deeds of Jesus are indeed evidence of God’s presence, but the evidence demands a decision from the beholder as to its source and significance.
Edwards, J. R. (2002). The Gospel according to Mark (pp. 119–120). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos.
Faith judges that the person and work of Jesus stand in continuity with the character of God and hence have saving significance; disbelief judges that the person and work of Jesus derive not from God but, as the scribes suggest in this instance, from the devil.
Jesus uses a parable not only to discredit their claim that he was a liar but to present the truth of how one can be saved from the Kingdom of Satan.
He likens the world to a kingdom, dominated by a strong man, a warlord, an evil prince. Then, of course, Jesus says, “A general never wins a battle by attacking his own flanks.”
Then he moves by likening this world to a castle. This strong man has a castle, and in it are all sorts of prisoners. He is describing us, we’re in bondage to sin, death, and evil forces.
Listen to Jesus words that separate him from the belief that he is just a good teacher. “But I’m stronger than him. I am mightier than him. I have come to bind the strong man.”
Jesus is saying, “Look around you. You are surrounded by death, disease, injustice, poverty, and hunger. Brokenness has befallen everyone. Do you think a good teacher alone will overcome? Do you really believe that education alone can triumph?
Jesus is saying; I’m going to have to come and do something for you before I can ever do anything in you.
You can’t be taught until you have been rescued. I must first be the divine Warrior before I can a teacher of love and peace.
Jesus is tapping in to one of the deepest strata of human hope in all of literature. We see this in
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
The human race and the world is in ruins. Mankind has fallen into bondage. He has alienated himself from God. Everything has been tainted with falleness. Yet, God speaks in the midst of the wreckage and ruin. When hope seems lost God speaks; “A mightier One than you will come and crush your head. You’ve triumphed for a moment, but a mightier One than you will come and will plunder you and will take over your kingdom and liberate your captives and will renew the face of the earth.”
This prophecy grows throughout Scripture. Throughout the Psalms in various ways and words the Psalmist states; “This divine Warrior, this Prince, this King who will come and defeat the evil forces and break the spell that binds us will be the Lord himself. He will come, and the winds will be his chariots. The trees of the wood will sing for joy when he comes and liberates the earth.”
The prophets repeat this refrain. Isaiah spends the first 39 chapters showing us this truth and then in chapter 53 he pulls back the curtain to reveal this Warrior’s victory.
Prophesies in the Old Testament can be difficult and confusing . There’s one place in the book of Lamentations 2 where Jeremiah speaks about the fierce anger of God. He sees God’s holiness leading Him to war against all evil and this is very frightening.
Jeremiah says, “But behold in fierce anger the Lord has withdrawn his right hand at the approach of my enemy. Like an enemy the Lord has strung his bow against us, and his right hand is ready.” What is that about? The God of Israel is not a tribal deity whose job it is simply to fight against all other tribes and put his tribe in the place of ascendancy.
The God of Israel is the Lord of heaven and earth. He’s the Judge of all the earth, and he fights against evil wherever it is. What happens when believers in God are part of humanity’s inhumanity to humanity? He’s going to have to fight against us too, if he’s really going to come and defeat the powers of darkness.
What is God going to do when he comes? When this Lord comes to bind the strong man and to defeat evil, how will he be able to defeat evil and still save us? He’ll either have to accept us and let evil go, or he’ll have to destroy evil and let us go. How is he going to defeat evil and still save us?
When Jesus showed up and said, “I’m the One who has come to bind the strong man,” he’s saying is, “These problems will be resolved in me.” How is that going to happen? And that is the purpose of Mark’s Gospel. We have a God who’s fighting against evil but a God who wants to save his people. He’s coming to rescue his people. How can he do both?
What he’s saying is, “These problems will be resolved in me.” How is that going to happen? Do you know what? The whole book of Mark is about that, but I can’t wait. I have to tell you now. These currents converge. We have a God who’s fighting against evil but a God who wants to save his people. He’s coming to rescue his people. How can he do both?
Jesus is the mighty One who in his preaching, healing, and exorcism is showing he is stronger than Satan.. He raises people from the dead showing that he is stronger than death. He forgives people’s sin’s showing he is stronger than their evil. Yet when he gets to the end of his life, the disciples see him bound.
This is the reason why his disciples were absolutely freaked out. They see him getting plundered. They don’t see him walking to a throne. They see him walking to a cross. This is the stunning triumph of the mighty One. If Jesus had picked up a sword and just started smiting people in a traditional way, what he would’ve done is he would’ve liberated one little group of people from imperial Rome for one little period of time.
What we see on the cross is the Judge receiving divine judgment. What we see on the cross is the power and justice of God going into the divine sacrifice of God, receiving in himself the punishment we deserve, paying the penalty for our sins, not going to a throne, going to a cross. There’s mightiness.
There’s the ultimate strength, when the Lord of the universe is strong enough to be weak in order to pay the penalty for our sins so someday he can destroy evil without destroying us. That is the ultimate strength, the strength to be weak, the strength to forgive, the strength to be willing to suffer and die. Because of that, Jesus Christ has forever changed what it means to defeat evil.
Jesus is who he says he is, he is not a lunatic. Jesus has done what he said he would do, he is not a liar. What then shall you do with Jesus?
WILL YOU CALL HIM LORD?
WILL YOU CALL HIM LORD?
There are only two kinds of people: those who sit on the inside at Jesus’ feet and those who stand on the outside with false assumptions. Discipleship depends on doing God’s will.
In
In
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.
Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.
If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Paul says, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. […] Do not repay anyone evil for evil. […] On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ ” By the way, that’s the language of battle, but it’s also the language of love. What does it mean, “Pour burning coals on his head”?
“For by doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ ” This is the language of battle and the language of love. What does it mean, “Pour burning coals on his head”?
This is a military phrase that carries the idea of a surgical strike. We destroy evil by not participating in the evil of retaliation. The way to destroy evil truly is by being so gracious to the person who did evil to you that the person gets his retribution.
Let me show you how this works on the practical level. On the cross Jesus Christ brought the mighty power of God to defeat evil and at the same time, his desire to love us, even though we are complicit in evil together.
On the cross he defeated evil in a way no one ever imagined it could be defeated, and he has changed forever the way you and I now have to deal when people are evil to us.
When somebody wrongs you, what do you want to do? Instinctively, you want to hurt them back. It’s impossible to resist.
Why? We have the bonds of the evil one on us. Our reaction shows we are a prisoner in his house. This is how the world stays in its miserable.
What is happening here? Then he moves on with the metaphor. He likens this world to a castle. This evil prince, this strong man, this warlord, in a sense, has a castle, and in it there are all sorts of prisoners. That’s us, because this world is in bondage. We’re in bondage to sin and to death and to evil forces.
When someone is evil towards you and you retaliate with evil you spread the evil all over you and over everybody else.
How do I stay free as a Christian? How do I prove that I am in the family of God? Jesus said this is done by doing the will of God.
When you see he had to die for you, it gives you humility. When you see Jesus was glad to die for you, that affirms you, so when people wrong you, you say, “Well, I have Jesus.” In other words, when you see the weakness of Jesus Christ for you, when that moves you, when that melts you, when that changes you, that makes you a mighty one, because then you can forgive. That’s the way to defeat evil.
Somebody says, “Wait a minute. I don’t want to forgive. I want justice.” I want to say to you I love you, but you’re a fool. If you don’t forgive, you’ll never get justice. If you go to try to confront people and make things right with vengeance in your heart, either you won’t do anything because you’re too scared of your anger and you’ll just let it go, or else you will go after people with vengeance in your heart and they’ll never listen to you ever, and you’ll never make anything better.
Only when you see Jesus had to die for you and was glad to die for you, only when you see him in that weakness does that give you the strength inside, both the affirmation and the humility, to look at other people wronging you and to forgive them deep in your soul. That makes you a mighty one. Then you can confront as needed, and you will see as you seek justice in that spirit that you are defeating evil.
How do I do the will of Father? Look at the cross.
Do you remember this? Religion is, “I obey God; therefore, I’m accepted.” The gospel is, “I’m accepted through what Jesus Christ has done; therefore, I obey.” Religion is Jesus is a teacher. Religion is, “Oh, because I follow Jesus’ teaching, God has to bless me.” The gospel is, “Jesus is a Savior, is a mighty One. Only because of what he has done am I saved by grace.”
What if you were so moved by the sight of the immense strength of the Lord of the universe being weak for you? If you see you are so sinful that the Lord of glory had to die for you, that gives you a humility when you see someone wronging you, so you don’t feel superior to them. After all, you wronged Jesus and he loved you.
If you’re a religious person and someone is evil to you, someone wrongs you, you’re just going to get worse. You’re just going to be evil back, because you’re going to say, “How dare God let this happen to me? I’m a good person. How dare this person treat me like this? I’m a good person.” You’ll just get further and further into the bonds of evil when people are evil to you.
The gospel frees you. The gospel makes you a true mighty one.
We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.
that says, “If you are born again, if you’re born of God, then the evil one cannot harm you.” Literally, the Greek says, “The evil one can’t get a grip on you.” If you are born of God, if you’ve experienced the grace of God, you don’t just see Jesus as a Savior but as the mighty One, the evil one, the strong man, can’t get a grip on you.
Literally, the Greek says, “The evil one can’t get a grip on you.” If you are born of God, if you’ve experienced the grace of God, you don’t just see Jesus as a Savior but as the mighty One and therefore the evil one, the strong man, can’t get a grip on you.
This is illustrated well in the first Harry Potter book. Lord Voldemort, the strong man shows up, the evil one, possesses one of his servants and tries to kill Harry Potter. This is what we read. Voldemort screamed, “Seize him!” Harry felt the hands close on his wrists, and to his surprise this servant of Voldemort let go with the cry and was bunched over in pain looking at his fingers. They were blistering before his eyes.
“Kill him,” Voldemort said. Again this person lunges at Harry Potter. The next thing you know he jumps back, his face boiling and blistering, his body filled with huge red, raw, shiny wounds, and Harry realizes the evil one can’t touch him. Later on he talks to Dumbledore, and he says, “Why couldn’t the evil one touch me?”
Dumbledore, his mentor, says, “ ‘Years ago Lord Voldemort tried to kill you, but your mother gave her life to save you, and a love as powerful as your mother’s sacrificial love for you leaves its mark. To have been loved that deeply, that sacrificially will give you some protection forever. It’s the ultimate magic. It’s the deeper magic before the dawn of time.’ Harry dried his eyes on the sheet.”
Jesus, at this point, has the audacity to say, “But I’m stronger than him. I am mightier than him. I have come to bind the strong man.” This is the last nail in the coffin of the idea that Jesus came primarily to be a teacher. Jesus is, in a sense, saying, “Think of the world, death, disease, injustice, poverty, and hunger. Think of the world and all of its brokenness. Do you think a teacher is going to overcome that? Do you really believe that education alone can triumph?
Jesus is saying; I’m going to have to come and do something for you before I can ever do anything in you.
You can’t be taught until you have been rescued. I must first be the divine Warrior before I can a teacher of love and peace.
Jesus is tapping in to one of the deepest strata of human hope in all of literature. We see this in
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Paradise lost. You see the human race in ruins, and you see the world in ruins and the Paradise God had created breaking apart, because the evil poison and lies of the Serpent are sinking down into our hearts.
The human race and the world is in ruins. Mankind has fallen into bondage. He has alienated himself from God. Everything has been tainted with falleness. Yet, God speaks in the midst of the wreckage and ruin. When hope seems lost God speaks; “A mightier One than you will come and crush your head. You’ve triumphed for a moment, but a mightier One than you will come and will plunder you and will take over your kingdom and liberate your captives and will renew the face of the earth.”
“A mightier One than you will come and crush your head. You’ve triumphed for a moment, but a mightier One than you will come and will plunder you and will take over your kingdom and liberate your captives and will renew the face of the earth.” That’s the prophecy, and as you go through the Bible, that prophecy grows.
There is no deeper narrative to explain how to defeat evil. Only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart.
He says, “A mightier One than you will come and crush your head. You’ve triumphed for a moment, but a mightier One than you will come and will plunder you and will take over your kingdom and liberate your captives and will renew the face of the earth.” That’s the prophecy, and as you go through the Bible, that prophecy grows.
This prophecy grows throughout Scripture. Throughout the Psalms in various ways and words the Psalmist states; “This divine Warrior, this Prince, this King who will come and defeat the evil forces and break the spell that binds us will be the Lord himself. He will come, and the winds will be his chariots. The trees of the wood will sing for joy when he comes and liberates the earth.”
The prophets repeat this refrain. Isaiah spends the first 39 chapters showing us this truth and then in chapter 53 he peals back the curtain to reveal this Warrior’s victory.
Prophesies in the Old Testament can be difficult and confusing for many reasons. There’s one place in the book of Lamentations where Jeremiah has this prophecy about the fierce anger of God. He sees God as the Holy One. God’s holiness leads Him to war against evil and this is very frightening.
Only the grace of God, the gospel of God, will bring you out. You say, “How do I make that my own?” There are actually two things I can only briefly mention. People get freaked out when it says in verse 28 every sin will be forgiven. There’s not a single thing you can do wrong that can’t be forgiven. Then verse 29 says except if you sin against the Holy Spirit. That won’t be forgiven.
In , suddenly Jeremiah says, “But behold in fierce anger the Lord has withdrawn his right hand at the approach of my enemy. Like an enemy the Lord has strung his bow against us, and his right hand is ready.” What is that about? The God of Israel is not a tribal deity whose job it is simply to fight against all other tribes and put his tribe in the place of ascendancy.
The God of Israel is the Lord of heaven and earth. He’s the Judge of all the earth, and he fights against evil wherever it is and what happens when believers in God are complicit in the evil of this world, and we are. What happens when believers in God are part of humanity’s inhumanity to humanity? He’s going to have to fight against us too, if he’s really going to come and defeat the powers of darkness.
What is God going to do when he comes? When this Lord comes to bind the strong man and to defeat evil, how will he be able to defeat evil and still save us? He’ll either have to accept us and let evil go, or he’ll have to destroy evil and let us go. What is he going to do? How is he going to defeat evil and still save us?
When Jesus showed up and said, “I’m the One who has come to bind the strong man,” I don’t know what these religious leaders must have been thinking, because unlike you and me, they knew the Old Testament. They knew the Hebrew Scriptures, and they realized the audacity of what he was saying.
Everybody says, “That’s a contradiction.” No, what it’s simply saying is the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to show you Jesus isn’t just a teacher, but he’s the mighty One. He’s the Savior. God says, “I can forgive every sin, but I can’t forgive any sin at all if you’re not willing to see you need forgiveness, if you refuse the forgiveness I’ve given you, if you refuse what the Holy Spirit is showing you.”
What he’s saying is, “These problems will be resolved in me.” How is that going to happen? Do you know what? The whole book of Mark is about that, but I can’t wait. I have to tell you now. These currents converge. We have a God who’s fighting against evil but a God who wants to save his people. He’s coming to rescue his people. How can he do both?
The answer is, first of all, we see here Jesus is the mighty One who has come, and in preaching and in healing and in exorcism he is defeating, he is showing he is stronger than Satan. He is stronger than the force of this world. He raises people from the dead. He’s stronger than death. He forgives people’s sins. He’s stronger than their evil. He touches the leper. He feeds people. He’s stronger than the forces of evil in this world, and yet when he gets to the end of his life, the disciples see him bound.
This is the reason why his disciples were absolutely freaked out. They see him getting plundered. They don’t see him walking to a throne. They see him walking to a cross. This is the stunning triumph of the mighty One. If Jesus had picked up a sword and just started smiting people in a traditional way, what he would’ve done is he would’ve liberated one little group of people from imperial Rome for one little period of time.
What we see on the cross is the Judge receiving divine judgment. What we see on the cross is the power and justice of God going into the divine sacrifice of God, receiving in himself the punishment we deserve, paying the penalty for our sins, not going to a throne, going to a cross. There’s mightiness.
This is a warning, but there’s also a promise. The promise is when Jesus says, “Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers!’ ” In a patriarchal culture in which family was everything and your identity was everything, Jesus has the audacity to say, “Even if your parents reject you like my parents have rejected me, you can be in my family, and I give you an unconditional love so powerful you can take that.”
There’s the ultimate strength, when the Lord of the universe is strong enough to be weak in order to pay the penalty for our sins so someday he can destroy evil without destroying us. That is the ultimate strength, the strength to be weak, the strength to forgive, the strength to be willing to suffer and die. Because of that, Jesus Christ has forever changed what it means to defeat evil.
Keller, T. J. (2013). The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive. New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church.
Keller, T. J. (2013). The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive. New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church.
Later on I found . “Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will bear me up.” I realized I am going to let my kids down, and I also realize some of you have been really badly dropped by your parents, emotionally, personally. Jesus says, “I have a love that can make mincemeat of that. You can be adopted into my family. That’s how much I love you.” Let that come into your life, and through it you will defeat evil and the strong one. Let us pray.
Keller, T. J. (2013). The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive. New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church.