Jesus' Impact on the Religionists: Accused of Having a Demon Pt. 21

Introduction

Good morning and welcome to the Countryside Vineyard. My name is Joe Fager and I’m one of the Pastors here.

This morning we’ll be in Mark 3:22-30

Last week Merlene covered 20-21 where she showed how Jesus’ family didn’t even truly understand who he was.

She said that when we are obedient to God, we will also experience these very same challenges. People may think you’re crazy when you’re trying to be obedient and they won’t understand. They though Jesus was crazy.

This week we’re going to switch gears a bit. His family was confused and concerned but the religious leaders are a whole different story, and that’s who we’re dealing with today.

We’re also going to deal with one of the topics most asked about by first time Bbile readers. They often go to their Pastor concerned that they may have committed the unforgivable sin. So, we will be talking about what Jesus refers to as the sin which cannot be forgiven.

We’re going to talk about the Scribes’ accusation, and Jesus’ response which includes this talk of an unforgivable sin.

But first  I want to zoom out a bit and show what’s going on in this passage.

Let’s go back all the way to verse 20. It says something like Then Jesus went home or to a house depending on your translation (it means he went to where he was staying).  Mark is signaling that he’s starting a different part of his story. He doesn’t end this until verse 35; all the way at the end of Chapter 3.

So, this is one unit from verse 20 all the way down to the end of the chapter.  

But it’s broken into 3 parts and structured very deliberately. Scholars have a fancy name for this but let’s just call this a Markan sandwich.

What Mark does is start a story and then stick  another story in the middle, and then finish the original story. He does this like 9 times in the book of Mark.

The center of these “sandwiches” are called the meat because it fits the sandwich metaphor and because the “interruption” defines or gives additional meaning to the two pieces of bread.  

This is the first one of those.

He starts with Jesus family wanting to take him because they think he’s crazy, and it will end next week when they try.

The meat? The center is the interaction between Jesus and the Scribes from Jerusalem.

Ok so what’s the point of this one? Why am I pointing this out?

First, because I want you to read the Bible carefully and notice things like this, because you can and you will, then be curious. Ask questions like why is Mark doing this all over the place? It appears disjointed at first glance — but is actually very deliberate. What is going on?

Also, because it’s intentional the structure speaks to the meaning and intent of the passage. He uses this structure to make a point.

His family is confused and concerned, but are still blaspheming him, the scribes are willfully ignorant (which we’ll see today) and Jesus answers all of it by saying who his true family is and we’ll see that next week.

So, the meaning of the sandwich, I’ll just give it to you now. He contrasts two types of blasphemies. We’ll get to know what that word means when we get there. But his family really is blaspheming, and so are the scribes but one is much worse than the other.

Verses 28-30   28 “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

So now that you see the sandwich let’s get into the meat of it.  

Before I begin to teach let’s pray.    

I. Scribes Accuse Jesus of having a Demon (22)

22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.”

The first thing I want to point out here is that the Scribes are from Jerusalem. So basically Mark is saying now the big dog lawyers are in town to investigate this guy named Jesus of Nazareth.

So, who is Beelzebul? It’s an interesting question with a long history of answers, but he’s a Philistine god and his name literally means Lord of the Flies.

But the way we get to that meaning is by combining the two parts of his name like Baal and bul. However, that’s not how names really work.

Take the word butterfly We know butter and we know fly but imagine you have no idea what a butterfly is and 10,000 years from your trying to figure what these English people thought a butterfly was just using the conjunction of those two words.

So, we don’t really know much about this particular Philistine god or why the Scribes named him, but thankfully we don’t need to because they define what they really mean by saying he cast out demons by prince of demons. That deity we do know and it’s Satan. Paul later calls Satan the god of this world, and the prince of the power of the air. They are claiming Jesus is being empowered by Satan himself.

This particular confrontation is recorded in Matthew as well. But he adds two details Mark does not and it’s intentional by Mark not accidental and definitely not contradictory.

Matthew adds this in 12:22 He says 22 Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. 23 And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?”

You might say ok that’s cool, another demon cast out, and some more healing.

Now turn to Isa. 35:5-6 written 700 years before Jesus and something these Scribes and Pharisees would have known well.

Isaiah 35:5–6 (ESV)

5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.\

The lawyers and Pharisees they have been studying the things around the Jewish Messiah for their whole lives. They knew Isaiah told them to watch for one who would open blind eyes, open deaf ears, make the lame walk and the mute talk. Here Jesus accomplishes two of them in one motion.

In Matthew 11 and Luke 7 John the Baptist, from his cell in prison asks Jesus if he is really the Messiah and Jesus responds with:

Luke 7:22

“Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.

Jesus expected that John would understand when he heard the report. Yep that’s him alright.

See the point is that the Scribes knew Isa 35 too. They had all the information, all the miracles all the demoniacs freed. Blind eyes open, lame walking, deaf hearing mute speaking, the oppressed set free.

Yet they then make the claim after seeing all the evidence in the world they say nope it’s by Satan that this guy does all these things.

Are you kidding me? Come on, they have every reasonable bit of proof they need that this is the Messiah standing in front of them and they attribute all his ministry to Satan.

That is called willful unbelief and it’s called blaspheme of the highest order.

They simply did not want him to be the Messiah.

Why would they do that?

Why would they have all this evidence and yet still deny, still attribute his power to Satan.

Notice they never say he’s not doing these things.

They don’t deny his power

They reassign it from God to and attribute it to Satan.

Why?

Because if this man is truly Messiah, then everything changes. Our way of life, our power and authority it’s all gone because he interprets the Law, he is ruler and Judge and we just can’t have that.

That was their idea of what Messiah was supposed to do, and he does do it, but not in his first coming, he will be all that in his second coming.  

Now listen…

We are not that different.

When Jesus confronts something we love, we are tempted to redefine Him.

Before I say anything about culture or sexuality or sin, let me say something about me. My biggest problem is not out there. It’s in here.

James says we are tempted when we are lured by our own desires. Jesus says sin comes out of the heart.

That means the issue is not “those people.” It’s the human heart. My heart. Your heart.

I have feared people more than I have feared the Lord. I have softened things when I should have spoken clearly. I have justified things in my own life that Scripture confronts. I have winked at things in my children’s lives that I should have been more forceful about.

The Word of God exposes me before it exposes anyone else.

The older I get, the more convinced I get of this one truth, that in this life we will never come to the end of our sin. When I open the Word of God it exposes my sin. It exposes areas I need to submit to the Lordship of Jesus.

I have a choice every time that happens. I can either submit to the change the Holy Spirit wants to make in me, or I can attempt to redefine, or soften, or even outright reject the work he wants to do. When I do this my whole growth track slows down. My whole process of sanctification grinds to a halt, and I will start to lose growth I’ve already experienced.

But, if Jesus is Lord, then He gets to define good and evil — not me. Not culture. Not my feelings.

One of the clearest places this shows up in our culture is around sexuality. Not because it’s worse than other sins — but because it’s fiercely defended.

We don’t get to reshape Jesus so that He never confronts us. He defines marriage. He calls lust sin. He calls sexual perversion sin. And He does that not to shame us — but to save us.

We will love you. We will walk with you. But love does not affirm things that God views as destructive. If I affirm what God calls sin, I am not helping you — I am hurting you.

highway illustration

The scribes didn’t misunderstand Jesus. They saw the truth — and redefined it because it threatened them. That’s the danger. Not struggle. Not temptation. But redefining Jesus so we don’t have to surrender.

“The issue is not whether we struggle with sin. The issue is whether we submit our struggle to the Lordship of Christ — or redefine Him so we don’t have to.”

II. — Jesus’ Response (23-27)

23 And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.

What’s happening here? Jesus is exposing bad logic and proving they are just making stuff up to deny, deny, deny.

They’ll go for anything for Jesus not to be the Messiah.

Jesus says hey hello that was a really dumb thig to say.

Let’s take the first two rebuttals Jesus gives a kingdom against itself and a house against itself.

This is like saying the Japenese or the Germans were killing their own soldiers in World War II. I mean that’s a very smart military tactic. I’m kill my own people so the enemy can win??

I mean stupid right?

Jesus is not calling them stupid, he’s exposing their hard hearts, their willingness to believe absolutely anything no matter how stupid over submitting to the Lordship of Jesus.

Now look at verse 27.

No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strongman.

Here Jesus is saying exactly what he is doing. He is saying hey I am waring against Satan by binding his demons so I can take all the people he’s held prisoner. I’m at war, he’s at war, no way would I be working for him while simultaneously working against him.

In another place Jesus says if I do all these things then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.

And this is the real story.

Jesus says the rightful King and ruler of this world has arrived, and my works are what proves it.

And the good news He is still at work in the world today. He is still binding Satan and His army, and freeing people stuck in sin and shame and guilt.

He says every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven of people.

Jesus says I’m in control and am binding Satan, which he’s still doing today.

Every time you preach the gospel and someone is transferred out of Satan’s Kingdom into the kingdom light, that’s what is happening.

III. The Unforgivable Sin (28-30)

Now let’s look at what Jesus calls the Unforgivable sin.

28 “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

So now for the million dollar question what is blaspheme of the Holy Spirit (the unforgivable sin) and have I committed it?

Mark gives I think the clearest explanation of what it is out of any of the other gospel writers.

First, though I want to start at the phrase Truly I say to you.

When Jesus says truly or truly truly I say to you, he is using a unique word.

The word for truth is alathia, but Jesus uses amen.

Yes  the amen you’re thinking of.

The one we use as a reasponse that means something like I bleeive that is true. When you say amen yu are saying that is truth!

Jesus uses this as the first word of his sentences.

Nobody in the Greek world or the Jewish world talked like this.

Everyone uses amen as a response except Jesus.

And except Isa 65 which says God is the God of Amen – truth.

And in Revelation Jesus calls himself the amen.

But in regular speech Jesus starts with amen, which is why everyone oh this guy he teaches with authority because this is a strong authoritative claim, and a subtle but noticeable enough claim deity. Jesus later says he is the way the truth and the life.

Just so cool had to share that little tidbit.

Jesus says something shocking here: “All sins will be forgiven… but one won’t.”

And that’s not a new idea. David is tasting this same mercy in Psalm 51. David can’t fix what he did. He can’t “law” his way out. He comes broken, and he finds mercy.

Jesus tells a story that makes the same point — the Pharisee is proud, the tax collector beats his chest and says, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” And Jesus says the broken man goes home forgiven.

So hear this: God really forgives. Not “sort of.” Not “maybe.” Jesus says, “all manner of sin”can be forgiven. Drink that down.

And Paul explains how that works in Romans 3:25: God “passed over” sins before Christ, not because He ignored them, but because He was waiting—until Jesus would deal with sin fully through His blood.

So even Old Testament mercy was never “apart from Jesus.” It was always through Jesus, ahead of time.

Now—here’s the warning.

Jesus says there is one kind of sinthat will not be forgiven: blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

Blasphemy is not just “saying a bad word.” Blasphemy is slandering God—calling His work evil.

That’s what the scribes are doing. They are watching the Spirit of God free people, and they say, “That’s Satan.”

This is not a weak moment. This is not doubt. This is not a person fighting fear.

Isa 5 says wickedness is calling evil good and good evil.

This is a hardened heart that sees the light and chooses darkness, and then tries to pull everyone else into that darkness too.

And Jesus says this is an “eternal sin.” Matthew puts it like this: it won’t be forgiven “in this age or the age to come.”

Why is it unforgivable?

Not because someone is crying out for mercy and God is refusing them.

It’s the opposite.

This kind of hardness moves a person into a place where they will not repent. They don’t want forgiveness. They don’t want Jesus. They don’t want the Spirit’s witness.

The Holy Spirit’s one mission is to show the world who Jesus is.

That’s his main mission, so to refuse the real Jesus, the one revealed in Scirpture, to ignore or make light of the holy Spirit’s witness about Jesus, is blaspheme of the Holy Spirit.

Notice something it’s something one actively engages in. It’s not a one time thing I said the wrong thing or had the wrong attitude and blasphemed it’s continual and ongoing disregard of the voice of the Holy Spirit.

That’s why passages like Hebrews 6 feel related: a person gets real light, tastes real spiritual reality, and then turns away, and the result is not “they tried and God rejected them,” but “they cannot be renewed to repentance.” Their heart is locked.

So the application is not paranoia.

The application is soberness:

Don’t play games with God. Don’t keep saying, “not yet… not yet… not yet,” because “not yet” hardens into “never.”

But also don’t miss the hope:

Paul called himself a blasphemer and violent aggressor, and he says, “I received mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief” (1 Timothy 1:13). That’s a different category than what these scribes are doing here.

Jesus’ own family in this story Mark is telling are actually blaspheming Jesus, Mark said they thought he was crazy out of his mind. That is blaspheme. Yet two of his family end up being pillars of the church James and Jude in fact wrote two books of the New Testament.

So, if someone is afraid, tender, drawn toward Christ — that fear is usually the clearest sign they have not committed this.

The right response is simple:

Run to Jesus. Because whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.