Mark 3:1-35
Notes
Transcript
Mark 3:1-35
Mark 3:1-35
Last week, Jesus returned to Capernaum. Chapter 2 started with 4 friends taking a paralyzed man upon the roof of a house that Jesus was teaching and broke the roof off and dropped him down in front of Jesus. What friends to have, right? They cared so much about his physical wellbeing...but also knew Jesus could do the impossible.
Jesus didn’t just heal the man, though, did he? He used this as a teaching moment. Did he say “Be healed” and slap him on the forehead? No, he said “your sin’s are forgiven.” The room full of religious leaders struggled with what Jesus said...so Jesus then points to Daniel 7 and says the Son of Man has the power on earth to forgive sins.
Our sin paralyzes us, chains us in this world, doesn’t it? What was this man’s sin? Nobody knows...but he’s man, he’s steeped in sin. Jesus is the only one who can heal.
Next, Jesus calls Levi, known as Matthew to follow him, and says “let’s get pizza at your house.” So Jesus starts grabbing random wierdos from all over the place and brings them to Matthew’s house. Tax collectors and what? Sinners...that’s right. These were known unrighteous people from the town that the religious leaders would have been encouraging people to stay away from.
Who was Jesus sitting with? People like us, right? And they were changed by Him. Transformed. The leaders asked some of the disciples “Who does this man think He is?” Jesus heard them and said:
17 When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
Who is righteous in this world? NOBODY. Nobody on their own. What does Jesus say about us when we turn our lives over to Him?
21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Do followers of Jesus need a physician? NO, we’re made well. If we aren’t healed of every malady here, we will be eventually, right? Jesus calls sinners to repentance.
Then Jesus is confronted that He doesn’t follow traditional laws of leaders fasting which is not a law of Moses. Jesus responds saying: “According to your traditions, you don’t have to fast at a wedding...that’s what this is.” Then He confirms that He is re-establishing the Covenant by transforming people from something old and busted to something new and perfect.
Finally, Jesus says the Sabbath was made for man, but that He was Lord of the Sabbath. Sabbath is important, it was designed for us to commune with the Lord. I asked, what if you’re pregnant? What if there is a birth? Or a briss?
I was doing some research this week, and I found out you could bind a wound, but you could not perform surgery on the Sabbath. In fact, here’s a list of some things you are prohibited to do according to the Talmud or Mishnah
3 Slides
Adding fresh water to a vase of cut flowers (sowing — any activity that causes or furthers plant growth).
Making a bouquet of flowers (making a sheaf).
Separating good fruit from spoiled fruit (winnowing, selecting, sifting).
Brushing dried mud from boots or clothes (grinding).
Cutting hair or nails (shearing sheep-removing outer covering of a human or animal).
Applying makeup (dyeing).
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Braiding hair (weaving).
Drawing blood for a blood test (slaughtering).
Rubbing soap to make lather, applying face cream, polishing shoes, using scouring powder for utensils or other surfaces (scraping-smoothing the surface of any material by grinding, rubbing, or polishing).
Sharpening a pencil (cutting to shape-altering the size or shape of an item to make it better for human use).
Painting, drawing, typing (writing, making durable marks on a durable material).
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Tearing through lettering on a package (erasing).
Opening an umbrella or unfolding a screen (building).
Smoking a cigarette, using the telephone (kindling a fire).
Switching off an electric light (extinguishing a fire).
Setting or winding a clock or watch (finishing off).
Wearing eyeglasses not permanently required (carrying them from private to public domain).
There is a whole volume of books that explain the traditions of the Talmud and the Mishnah. Jesus is saying: This is RIDICULOUS.
Remember, Jesus never broke the Law of Moses. He did, however, challenge the traditions that men used to establish their own place of righteousness here before our fellow man. We must be careful not to fall into the same trap as these people...oh holier than thou should never be our titles.
Jesus is still in Capernaum, here is where we pick up today.
1 And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2 So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.
Could the pharisees, sadducees, and scribes have set this up for Jesus? Sabbath day, tradtions are on the line here. We just talked about SOME of the ridiculous things that they had to keep. This carpenter was blowing their minds, and He had to be a fraud. Jesus sniffs this out...
3 And He said to the man who had the withered hand, “Step forward.” 4 Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent. 5 And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.
Did Jesus spit in the mud and apply that to this man? No, all he did was speak, and it was so. But he precedes this with a question: Is it lawful to do good or evil? Save life or kill? Jesus knew they knew this tradition.
Now, the pharisaical law allowed for lifesaving treatment to be done on the Sabbath, but it’s specific. You can save the life, but you can’t do anything that promotes healing. If you got a deep cut, they could bind it, but they could not put any ointment on it, that would constitute work, NOT BECAUSE YOU ARE WORKING, BUT BECAUSE THE MEDICINE WAS.
Good would be life saving, evil would be killing, or even allowing to die. This man was not in danger of losing his life. Jesus has the floor as He is teaching, and purposely makes a statement with this man. He wants EVERYONE to see what He can do, so He heals him.
Jesus has no problem defying the laws of man. I’ve heard a lot of pastors recently preaching on when is it appropriate to disobey rulers. We need to know, as Christians, we need to know there is a time when we are to rebel. That’s when the rules go against what scripture says.
If someone comes along and forbids worship, there’s your fence. Get on man’s side, or Gods. What does God command? We are to worship Him and NOBODY else. Make your choice, but make sure you’re right in the Word. Fear God and obey His commands.
At this point, the pharisees are losing their minds.
6 Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.
The word destroy here apollymi which means what it says, they knew now that all of this new teaching, it’s actually old teaching, isn’t it? Back to basics, but they KNEW that this would undo them.
You see, these religious leaders especially had made a life for themselves of being prominent. They wore specific clothes even to stand out in crowds as holy men. They relished in that. They needed to keep it, so they employed the Herodians, a political faction loyal to King Herod that would give them greater clout in their plans.
There is so much danger when you protect your position over others. I can tell you, as a pastor, I feel no power. I don’t have power over any of your lives. I may have some influence, but there’s nothing really special about me other than having gifting to teach and tend to the Lord’s flock. Many of you have more power in your prayers than I ever have. The power isn’t in the man, or the woman, or the position. The power is where Jesus is in that person’s life. I’m not able, but Jesus is.
These men knew their livelihood was in danger. Their whole way of life, their lives up to this point was crumbling around them if they let this man live. Jesus knew this, and after this mic drop, he left the city again.
7 But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea 8 and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him.
Word of Jesus was growing quickly. This put those religious leaders in jeapordy. They would lose their status, and many their jobs too, if Jesus continued on like this.
SLIDE
Look at where these people came from, also! Idumea is in the southern tip of Judea. Idumea, for those of you who have been with us thru Genesis, sounds similar to Edom, Edom was Jacob’s brother Esau. This is where the Edomites had lived previously.
Jesus did not come to give the people what they wanted, though, did he? He came to bring sinners to repentance. Jesus made sure the disciples were prepared to slip away when the time was right.
9 So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him. 10 For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him. 11 And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, “You are the Son of God.” 12 But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.
The word crush here in verse 9 doesn’t mean to hurt Jesus, He wasn’t afraid of that. It was more that they would oppress or afflict His ministry. On the Sea of Galilee especially, there is an amplification effect that happens to human voices when you are just offshore. Jesus wanted to make sure there wasn’t any hindering of His ministry there.
Jesus also knew that the people were starting to see Jesus as a parlor trick. The question is often asked, “Why didn’t Jesus heal everyone? If He was moved with such compassion for the people?” He could have.
Have any of you seen Bruce Almighty? Don’t get your theology from this movie, but what happens when Bruce, who was given the powers of God temporarily, starts hearing the prayers of the people? What does He do? He gets frustrated about all of the whiners, and finds that he can’t answer all of the prayers at quickly enough, so he creates an e-mail system called Yahwehhh, a play on Yahoo. He downloads them and selects them all and answers “YES” to them.
What happens? Everybody’s happy, NO! Chaos, right? Everyone prays to win the lotto...and they each win $17 bucks.
Jesus knew that His compassion would be misinterpreted by the people, as He often is. How often do we all do that? We import the goodness of God to our financial gains or our health. Jesus was meeting needs, but we never settle for that...our wants become our needs, don’t they?
This was another long day for Jesus, and after the crowds were dispersed, Jesus trekked back up the mountain.
13 And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. 14 Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, 15 and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons: 16 Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; 17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”; 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; 19 and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house.
Luke 6 says Jesus spent the whole night in prayer before the Lord. How many of us can do that? Not many, huh? I have trouble keeping focus for a few minutes, let alone an entire night. Jesus, exhausted, spent all night in prayer, then appointed these men and gave them His power.
12 men, one of whom would betray Jesus. Jesus multiples His ministry by empowering people to fulfill His ministry. He still does this today. Do we heal sickness today? What is the greatest virus affecting the Human race today? Sin.
Do we have the medicine that will heal the sick? We do. Do we bear the name that casts out spirits? We do. Jesus gives that to us.
These men were the dirty dozen of their time. Nobody educated, but possibly Matthew. What did they all share, though? A heart to want to follow Jesus. We all have a common goal, no matter where we congregate.
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.”
What does verse 21 mean, when His own people? Jesus is not far from Nazareth, they knew where He was and what He was doing, and they came to see Him. They see the people clamoring around Him and are concerned, and think “This is STUPID.” I didn’t cuss in church, even though my kids are now staring at me...They think Jesus is a crazy person because He’s not even taking care of Himself.
They don’t know the He fasted 40 days in the wilderness...He knows what it’s like to go without food for a day. The Spirit prepared Him for this. It’s natural they didn’t understand.
More religious fantastics show up
22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebub,” and, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.”
What is this called, what’s the title in your Bibles? The Unpardonable Sin. It’s important for us to understand it.
2 SLIDES
23 So He called them to Himself 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 cannot stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. 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.
Who is the strong man in this parable? Do you all understand what parables are? A parable is a simple story used to tell us a moral truth or lesson. Something we can understand. It helps us connect the dots between our understanding and the meaning behind it.
In this parable, who is the strong man Jesus is talking about? It’s not Him, it’s satan. Jesus is letting us know the enemy is strong. I will NEVER challenge the enemy in any kind of combat. I am not strong enough to stand against him. But Aaron plus Jesus is.
Abraham Lincoln on June 16, 1858, while running for Illinois state senate seat said this at the Republican State Convention:
Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Convention. If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it. We are now far into the fifth year, since a policy was initiated, with the avowed object, and confident promise, of putting an end to slavery agitation. Under the operation of that policy, that agitation has not only, not ceased, but has constantly augmented. In my opinion, it will not cease, until a crisis shall have been reached, and passed. "A house divided against itself cannot stand." I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.
Abraham Lincoln knew there would need to be a fight for the soul of America, and the only way to fight against it was to unite against a common enemy. It was not flesh and blood, but principalities and powers of the satan.
Why do we lead with the Law when we witness to people? Have you ever told a lie? Used the Lord’s name as a cuss word? Looked at a person of the opposite sex with lust? DISOBEYED OUR PARENTS? Those are all disqualifying sins for heaven. What are we doing with the Law? We are pointing out the strong man, and binding him with Jesus love for them.
The enemy keeps his house in order. He wants nothing less than to destroy what the Lord loves most. That’s why our world is so medicated today...nobody wants to fight, everyone wants to take the easy way out. Husbands and wives need to fight for their marriages. Dads and Moms need to fight for their kids. We can’t do it alone.
Kids, you have a mission here too. Pray for your parents. When they are angry, pray for them. When they are angry at YOU, pray for them. When they are stressed and sad, pray for them. When they work long hours, pray for them.
I’ll tell you what, right now, let’s take a moment. Kids in this room, could you pray for your parents? You know them better than anyone.
For those of you who don’t have kids in the room, pray for your parents. If they’re not here on earth anymore, pray for the legacy that lives within you now and thank them for it. Whether they were good parents or bad ones, they shaped you into who you are today. I’ll give you a 2 minutes, it’ll seem like eternity, but do it. Hold their hands, and lift them up.
Nobody knows how to bind the strong man like our kids. Amen?
Jesus continues on
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.”
This is the unpardonable sin, attributing the works of Jesus to the satan. Rejecting His work. CS Lewis said: SLIDE
“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done." All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. Those who knock it is opened.” - CS Lewis - The Great Divorce
Satan will blind us to the goodness of God, and in the end, He will give us what we think we want. Nobody will be in heaven who doesn’t want to be there.
As we close, Jesus is being approached again by His own people, who think he’s crazy, remember?
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.” 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.”
Jesus is not batting down the fact that He has family. Nor that they don’t mean anything to Him. But family can become an idol as well. We are built on encouraging families here. Dad’s, it’s your job to lead your families. Mom’s, it’s your job to be the helper and encourage good leadership.
If you don’t have an other half, and you’re a part of our church, the you should be building relationships with those around you. Until you find that other half that fills the void and chases after Jesus faster than they chase after you, the church can and will help fill it.
We embody, here, what Jesus is saying. I can say to you all: Here are my mother and brothers, and sisters. You are all an extension of our family. We do life together. That’s so important in the world today, those relationships we have with each other. Building on each block laid on the foundation. In Christ.
Remember, a few weeks ago, we talked about Mark being written to the Gentiles in Rome. Mark is with Peter, and it flows like a sermon being preached. Thruout this chapter, Peter again is saying: This is all about Jesus. He teaches, He heals, He empowers people to work. And His ministry is delivered by people.
The power to Save is in Jesus, but it’s delivered by us. We are the Lord’s mouthpiece. We need to vote, we need to speak out for the unborn. The Holy Spirit lives within all of us who call upon the name of Jesus, who believe He died for our sins, was buried and rose again on the 3rd day. That’s the power that will raise others from the grave too.
Jesus is the ONLY Way, the ONLY Truth, the ONLY Life. The only way to the Father is thru Him. Can a blasphemy of the Holy Spirit happen today? Yes it can. If we reject the Holy Spirit in our lives, and attribute it to the work of satan, then the Spirit will not dwell with us.
We Gentiles don’t know we need a Savior, because the strong man is in charge. Binding him is hard work. It takes the Holy Spirit with skin on, wearing your name, to walk the walk you don’t want to walk...because it’s hard. That’s about the only reason we don’t want to walk it. It takes us away from our phones, our games, our work.
It’s good work, though. Rewarding beyond all measure. There’s peace in it. The church needs your story, your past, your struggles, what you’ve been trained for to make a difference. Did you know you’ve been trained for such a time as this? This church needs your story, your wisdom from years of experience. As we grow together, we’ll all be strengthened. Once the 12 were commissioned and sent out, what did they do? They came back and told their stories! Then they were sent out again, to come back and get filled.
This world is lost and lonely. Family is messy and it’s hard...but family is family and you don’t leave them behind. If Christ has changed you, and opened your eyes, it’s our job to take the medicine to this infected world and do the work of the ministry, and that’s restoring the love of this world until that love is only for Jesus.
Worship team. Pray.
