The Family of Jesus Mark 3:22-35

-Entry into the family of God comes through obedient faith in Jesus

Lincoln was much surprised one day when a man of rather forbidding countenance drew a revolver and thrust the weapon into his face. In such circumstances “Abe” at once concluded that any attempt at debate or argument was a waste of time. “What seems to be the matter?” inquired Lincoln, with all the calmness and self-possession he could muster. “Well,” replied the stranger, who did not appear at all excited, “some years ago I swore an oath that if I ever came across an uglier man than myself I’d shoot him on the spot.” A feeling of relief evidently took possession of Lincoln at this point in the conversation. “Shoot me,” Lincoln said to the stranger, “for if I am an uglier man than you, I don’t want to live.”

I. Accusation v. 22

Jesus continues His conflict with the scribes of the Pharisees, as a team of important men come down from Jerusalem to confront Him

The presence of these men should draw our attention to the rising conflict

Jesus has been working in powerful ways; since they cannot deny the power of Jesus, they will try to discredit it

They accuse Jesus of being possessed by a demon; this, they say is the power that allows Him to have power over demons

Needless to say, this is an interesting interpretation of events. Jesus will expose the inconsistency of their position immediately

This is a really strong accusation and it should make us aware of the lengths that they are willing to go to in their quest to silence Jesus

For our purposes, I think we need to be careful

It is easy to attempt to discredit the work of God when it feels like we are not in control of it

We must not find ourselves opposing God or discrediting good work that comes from Him!

Acts 5:38–39

[38] So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; [39] but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, (ESV)

My Favorite Illustrations Out of the Heart

America is a land filled with church buildings. These buildings are no guarantees of God’s favor. He does not count buildings but examines hearts. The real issues of life proceed out of the heart.

II. Explanation vv. 23-27

Jesus uses two illustrations here to show them where things really stand

First, we see the problem of the divided kingdom

If Satan is divided against Satan, then the kingdom of Satan is coming to an end

It cannot stand if it is attacking itself; no kingdom would turn on itself like this

Second, we see the solution, the strong man has been bound

The power of Satan has not turned inward against itself

Instead, a greater power has entered and bound the strong man

It is the power of God that is at work through Jesus

In the same way as we saw before, we need to recognize the power of God when it is working and we need to seek it where it can be found!

Johnny Cash! Known internationally as the great country folk singer of all time found that his rise to stardom brought more than fame and fortune. It brought problems. While he was rising professionally his personal life became worse. Show business pressures soon drove him to take “pep pills,” and soon he became addicted to Amphetamine. His first arrest came in 1965, when he was caught with more than 1,000 pills in his pockets. From 200 lbs. he went down to 140 lbs. in weight. He was going steadily downhill. Then on May 9, 1971, Johnny Cash sat in a pew of a small church in his home town. The pastor finished his sermon and appealed to the congregation to come to the front to “make things right” with God. Johnny Cash stood up and walked a few steps to the wooden altar. The power of the gospel changed Johnny Cash!

III. Warning vv. 28-30

Jesus then addresses the real elephant in the room: their rejection of Him

He begins with a promise: God will forgive sins

This is good news for every one of us

This forgiveness even extends to blasphemies, words of wickedness against God

However, He also addresses an exception, regarding a different blasphemy, a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit

What is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? It is a continued rejection of His testimony to the identity and work of Jesus

If you reject the Holy Spirit’s testimony that Jesus is God’s agent of forgiveness, you can never experience forgiveness

This kind of blasphemy has eternal consequences; you cannot experience eternal life with Christ if you reject Him

In April 1988 the evening news reported on a photographer who was a skydiver. He had jumped from a plane along with numerous other skydivers and filmed the group as they fell and opened their parachutes. On the film shown on the telecast, as the final skydiver opened his chute, the picture went berserk. The announcer reported that the cameraman had fallen to his death, having jumped out of the plane without his parachute. It wasn't until he reached for the absent ripcord that he realized he was freefalling without a parachute. Until that point, the jump probably seemed exciting and fun. But tragically, he had acted with thoughtless haste and deadly foolishness. Nothing could save him, for his faith was in a parachute never buckled on. Faith in anything but an all-sufficient God can be just as tragic spiritually. Only with faith in Jesus Christ dare we step into the dangerous excitement of life.

IV. Encouragement vv. 31-34

Finally, we see news that ought to bring us encouragement:

Jesus is teaching a crowd of people when His family shows up, seemingly to take Him away

Jesus gives His birth family no special access, but makes a bold statement about His true family to the crowd

This gives us three reasons for hope:

First, we see that we are invited to become a part of His family

Second, we see that participation in this family is not based on genealogy, ethnicity, culture, or geography

Third, we see that we can become a part of this family by grace through an obedient faith that does the will of God

Where there is no faith in Christ, there is no hope at all; but where faith exists, there is a family!

Fred Craddock and his wife were in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, on a short vacation. One night they found a quiet little restaurant where they looked forward to a private meal – just the two of them. While they were waiting for their meal they noticed a distinguished, white- haired man moving from table to table, visiting guests. Craddock secretly hoped that the man wouldn’t make it around to their table, but he did. After a short introduction, the white-haired man sat down at the Craddock’s table and said, “I’ve got a story I want to tell you… I’m Ben Hooper. I was born not far from here across the mountains. My mother wasn’t married when I was born so I had a hard time. When I started to school my classmates had a name for me, and it wasn’t a very nice name. I used to go off by myself at recess and during lunch-time because the taunts of my playmates cut so deeply. “What was worse was going downtown on Saturday afternoon and feeling every eye burning a hole through you. They were all wondering just who my real father was. “When I was about 12 years old a new preacher came to our church. I would always go in late and slip out early. But one day the preacher said the benediction so fast I got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. I could feel every eye in church on me. Just about the time I got to the door I felt a big hand on my shoulder. I looked up and the preacher was looking right at me. “‘Who are you, son? Whose boy are you?’ the preacher asked. “I felt the old weight come on me. It was like a big black cloud. Even the preacher was putting me down. “But as he looked down at me, studying my face, he began to smile a big smile of recognition. ‘Wait a minute,’ he said, ‘I know who you are. I see the family resemblance. You are… a son of God!’” Ben Hooper, former Governor of Tennessee, looked across the table at Fred Craddock and said, “That was the most important single sentence ever said to me.” With that he smiled, shook the hands of Craddock and his wife, and moved on to another table to greet old friends.