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INTRODUCTION
There are days when we can feel all alone and defeated.
Have you ever had one of those days?
Or maybe you are having one of those years.
😀
Please make no mistake; we are in spiritual warfare.
We have to understand the battle going on around us.
Today's passage is found toward the end of chapter 3 in Mark’s Gospel, but you'll notice something if you read chapter 3 from start to finish.
There is a growing sense among both strangers and friends of Jesus that something isn’t right with Him.
The chapter begins with the Herodians wanting to destroy him because of “work " on the Sabbath (more on that in week 5) and then climaxes when His family tries to restrain him and declares Jesus to be “out of his mind" (v.
21).
The criticism Jesus faces in our text today should give us hope.
If you believe in and trust Jesus, this criticism and how Jesus answers it should encourage us all, especially when we feel defeated.
We can lose hope and faith when things are not going well.
If we are not careful, we can start to feel like the enemy cannot be defeated and that we will ultimately lose.
Jesus will clear up that myth in our text today.
We are not fighting the battle alone; Jesus has fought the battle and gives us ultimate victory!
We will be in two passages today, Matthew 12:22-37 as well as our main text, Mark 3:20-30.
These two passages are parallel passages of the same event, and each helps to fill in some holes from the other.
Let's begin with Matthew 12:22-24 and Mark 3:20-22.
Big Idea of the Message: Jesus waged war against the powers of darkness.
Jesus has won the battle for us because He is more powerful than the powers of darkness!
Mark 3:20–21 (NET 2nd ed.)
20 Now Jesus went home, and a crowd gathered so that they were not able to eat.
21 When his family heard this they went out to restrain him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
Matthew 12:22–24 (NET 2nd ed.)
22 Then they brought to him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute.
Jesus healed him so that he could speak and see.
23 All the crowds were amazed and said, “Could this one be the Son of David?”
24 But when the Pharisees heard this they said, “He does not cast out demons except by the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons!”
Mark 3:22 (NET 2nd ed.)
22 The experts in the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and, “By the ruler of demons he casts out demons!”
SERMON
I.
The criticism of Jesus.
Jesus was heading home, and the crowds were gathering, so much so that Jesus and His disciples could not eat.
The crowd brings Jesus, a demon-possessed man who could neither speak nor see.
Jesus healed the man.
The crowds were AMAZED; the crowd wondered and said, could Jesus be the Son of David?
The Son of David was a phrase used for the coming Messiah.
The miracle excited the crowds who were looking for the Messiah to come.
Could Jesus be the one?
Now here comes the party poopers, the religious leaders.
Here is the problem for the religious leaders.
There was a miracle that was performed by Jesus that they could not deny.
If you look carefully at their response in verses 22 and Matthew 12:24, they were in a position where they did not deny the miracle.
So what do you do when you cannot deny what happened before your eyes?
You make up a new story.
In verse 22, the scribes declare that Jesus "is possessed by Beelzebul” and "by the prince of demons he casts out the demons."
We see three claims from his critics: Jesus is not thinking clearly; Jesus is not in control of his actions; Jesus is not serving God.
Why are they saying this?
First, they cannot deny what’s happening.
Jesus is casting out demons (v.
11).
But He isn't acting in a way they believe a respectable, law-abiding Jew should act (vv.
1–6).
So if Jesus is not acting the way they expect a religious observant Jew to act, yet he is casting out demons, in their mind, there is only one conclusion: he is an agent of Satan.
That is a very serious criticism.
The Pharisees' explanation had merit since the people understood there were only two possible powers that could pull off such a powerful miracle, God or Satan.
It may be hard to prove where the power to do the miracle came from.
Jesus will show he is clearly thinking, that He is in control of His actions and that He is serving God.
However, Jesus considered the criticism worthy of an in-depth reply.
Let’s continue with Mark 3:23-27 and Matthew 12:26-29.
Mark 3:23–26 (NET 2nd ed.)
23 So he called them and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan?
24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom will not be able to stand.
25 If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.
26 And if Satan rises against himself and is divided, he is not able to stand and his end has come.
Matthew 12:26–28 (NET 2nd ed.)
26 So if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself.
How then will his kingdom stand?
27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out?
For this reason they will be your judges.
28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has already overtaken you.
Mark 3:27 (NET 2nd ed.)
27 But no one is able to enter a strong man’s house and steal his property unless he first ties up the strong man.
Then he can thoroughly plunder his house.
II.
The response of Jesus.
Jesus offers four arguments to refute the criticism by the Pharisees.
For a man out was accused of being out of His mind, Jesus offers rational answers.
The first argument against the Pharisees is found in Mark 3:23-26.
The premise of this first argument is that the Demons are on Satan’s team, and I am not.
How is it possible, Jesus asks, that Satan can cast out Satan (v.
23)?
He points out that a house divided against itself cannot stand but will fall.
If Satan is waging war on his own kingdom, then in the end, God'sSatan'sLet's kingdom will triumph because the kingdom of darkness will devour itself (vv.
23–26).
Fighting against oneself seems kind of silly and would serve Satan no purpose.
Jesus healed this man from a malady Satan inflicted upon him.
I want to point something out concerning how Jesus handles criticism.
Jesus responds to different criticisms in different ways.
When it’s appropriate to refute a claim directly, He does so.
He does so when it is necessary to demonstrate His soundness of mind.
Jesus doesn’t avoid addressing the criticism but instead turns it into a moment to teach people about His mission and God.
The example of Jesus should help us to think about how we handle criticism when it comes our way.
The second argument is found in Matthew 12:27
Matthew 12:27 (NET 2nd ed.)
27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out?
For this reason they will be your judges.
The Pharisees claim that Jesus' work of casting out demons is done in the power of Satan.
But the Pharisees' own followers also cast out demons, so Jesus asks where their followers' power to do this comes from.
The Jewish historian Josephus (Ant.
viii.
2,5, and Wars vii 6,3) tells us that there were Jews who practiced exorcisms, as does Acts 19:13 (sons of Sceva).
When Jesus says, "YOUR SONS" cast out demons, He references the Pharisees' disciples.
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