Family, Friend, or Foe?
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
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As we jump back into this passage, I want us to take a moment to remember where we are in the development of Jesus’ ministry.
Jesus has been establishing himself as one having inherent authority within Himself by virtue of who He is. He demonstrates His authority by casting out demons, healing the sick, teaching with authority, declaring sins to be forgiven, calling people to be His disciples, and by showing that He is Lord of the Sabbath. We saw all that from chapters one and two. We see him calling people to enter into the Kingdom of God and that entrance comes through repentance and faith. Then we saw some of the reactions of the people.
The pharisees outright rejected Him, the crowds flocked to Him, but it seems they were only interested in what He could do for their physical needs, rather than in who He was, and the demons cowered before Him in terror.
We are going to see two more kinds of reactions to Jesus in our passage this morning and take note of how Jesus responds, because that will inform how we ought to respond as well.
We are going to cover a lot of ground today, and that is because even though there are what seem like there are three different sections in here, I believe they form one literary unit in Mark and are intended to be understood altogether. Alright? Let’s dive in.
Here is an example of a chiastic structure
A
B
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Thoughts are presented in a particular way that reveals what the author thinks is the main point of the passage. A and A’ correspond to each other, B and B’ correspond to each other, and the main point is C.
Mark 3:20
20 Jesus entered a house, and the crowd gathered again so that they were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard this, they set out to restrain him, because they said, “He’s out of his mind.” 22 The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and, “He drives out demons by the ruler of the demons.” 23 So he summoned them and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is finished. 27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house.
Set the scene:
We have seen a crowded house once before that in order to get in some men cut a hole in the roof to lower their friend down to get healing. This time things are a little different. It seems to be even more crowded. It was so full that they could not eat anything. Apparently this bothered some people. There are two reactions here back-to-back and I find each interesting.
Notice what happens here in verse 21.
21 When his family heard this, they set out to restrain him, because they said, “He’s out of his mind.”
You’re translation might say when his friends heard this, or when his own people heard this. The original language simply says “when those of his heard this” and that could be referring to his family, close friends, or his countrymen. However we are to understand that, it is clear that these are individuals that are familiar with Jesus and seem to be close to Him. They seem to be embarrassed by Jesus and want to do something about His seemingly irresponsible behavior. So they set out to restrain Him because they say “He’s out of His mind”
They think Jesus is insane! They think he has totally lost his senses, that He’s a madman, needing to be contained. This is very strong terminology that shows what they think of Jesus. It’s not come along now, it’s okay, yes, I know you’re God now come along. No. They think he’s so far off the rails that they need to restrain, to seize, to take custody, or detain Him. Jesus, I don’t know who you think you are, but you’re behaving in such a way that we cannot tolerate it, in fact we believe you to be insane. You’ve lost your mind!
That’s one reaction.
Let’s see the second:
22 The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and, “He drives out demons by the ruler of the demons.”
Jesus is a man who claims authority, and not only that, but he claims the authority of God. The works of Jesus make it clear who he is. He’s casting out demons, he’s dealing people of their illnesses, he’s forgiving sins! Who do you think can do all those things? God of course! But the scribes refuse to believe that. Jesus is messing everything up as far as their concerned, so they have come up with an alternate way to understand what Jesus is doing. They cannot deny the facts, but they can deny the power and attribute that power to another source. First they say “he’s possessed by Beelzebul” which refers to the devil. They only way that Jesus could be doing the things that He’s doing is if he was possessed by Satan himself. Strong claim. The second thing they say, and this is related tot he first, but they say that He drives out demons by the ruler of the demons”
Once again, it’s clear that they cannot deny that demons are being driven out, but they dare not accept the premise that Jesus is God so the only other solution is that Jesus is doing these things by the power of the devil himself.
What I find interesting about these responses is they reflect two parts of the great trilemma of the ages. C.S. Lewis popularized a particular argument about Jesus, though he didn’t invent it. This trilemma has existed for literally hundreds of years, though C.S. Lewis, to my knowledge, was the first have it alliterated, and all good preachers love that, so he gets all the credit. The argument goes like this: If Jesus is not Lord, He is either a liar or a lunatic. He’s either lying about being who he claims to be, or is self-deluded, or he is exactly who he claims to be. If the pages of Scripture accurately preserve the real words of an historical figure, which they do, then those are the only options. Liar, lunatic, or Lord. Many over the years have tried to make the claim that Jesus isn’t Lord on the basis of these two things, and we find those two things right here in our text.
Jesus’ own people identify him as the lunatic. We know who you are, Jesus, we grew up with you, you built our house. You’re no Messiah, you’re out of your mind, you’re crazy, you’re a lunatic and we have come to restrain you.
Many today would dismiss Jesus on similar grounds. Christianity doesn’t make sense, it’s foolish to believe in fairy tales. Faith in Christ is ridiculed and mocked for blind faith. It’s lunacy.
Then there’s a scribes. Jesus isn’t who he claims to be, but rather he is from the devil. He’s lying! He’s not Lord, he’s a liar! He doesn’t cast out demons by God’s power but the devil’s. He’s a liar.
As we stand here today, we all have to decide what we think of this Jesus. Who will we believe? What will we say of Christianity? That Jesus is a lunatic, and those who follow him are foolish and self-deluded for doing so? That Jesus is a liar, and that those in the church are liars as well who only want your money or allegiance for other reasons? Or is Jesus who he claims he is and therefore we have the responsibility to submit ourselves to him, hailing Him as Lord.
Well, Jesus is going to respond to these accusations and his response is critical to understanding who He is and how we should respond to Him.
First, Jesus uses good logic to demonstrate that he is not, in fact, crazy. And in that logic he demonstrates how He could not be under the power of the devil because that would counter-productive.
23 So he summoned them and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is finished.
Mark 3:23
In many ways this just seems like common sense. If a kingdom is divided against itself, it cannot stand, if a house is divided against itself it will not stand. This is obvious. Internal struggles do not lead to profitable organizations. This isn’t rocket science, it’s simple logic.
But He then goes on to apply that logic to the situation. Jesus has clearly been working against the forces of Satan. He’s casting out demons, he’s healing the sick, He’s forgiving sins. If Jesus has been working against Satan, why would it stand to reason that Jesus is doing that by the power of Satan? Is Satan a dummy that doesn’t know how to direct his forces? Of course not. So it makes zero sense for Jesus to cast out demons and be working for Satan.
So by simple logic Jesus shows that He’s not out of His mind as those around him claim, nor is he working for Satan and therefore a liar, as the scribes claim.
But notice what Jesus says next.
27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house.
Okay, what does that have to do with anything? Two things are going on here. The strong man in this illustration is the devil. Jesus is the one plundering. If Jesus was working for Satan, he would be plundering His own house, which, again makes no sense. But the larger point is that the strong man’s house is, in fact, being plundered! This is a big deal here! What Jesus is claiming is that He has in fact bound the strong man and is plundering His house.
One of Jesus’ first acts in his public ministry involved casting out a demon, and casting out demons is mentioned six times in just these first three chapter alone. Something significant is going on here because the devil’s house is being plundered.
It’s possible that there is an allusion here to
24 Can plunder be taken from warriors, or captives be rescued from the fierce? 25 But this is what the Lord says: “Yes, captives will be taken from warriors, and plunder retrieved from the fierce; I will contend with those who contend with you, and your children I will save. 26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
Is 49:24-
How are we to understand this verse in Mark? First, Jesus is clearly claiming to be raiding Satan’s house. The only one who is strong enough to bind the strong man to plunder the house is the Almighty God. Jesus is claiming to be Lord. Second, if Jesus is alluding to that Isaiah passage, his claim to being the Messiah is only that much more clear, because in that passage the one doing the plundering of the warriors is the Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
So Jesus defends himself and says I’m not a lunatic, I’m not a liar; I am LORD.
But Jesus doesn’t stop there. He doesn’t stop with simply defending Himself against these foolish accusations, but he presses His advantage and makes a stunning pronouncement.
28 “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for all sins and whatever blasphemies they utter.
28 “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for all sins and whatever blasphemies they utter. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”—30 because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
Much has been written over how to understand this “unforgivable sin” I knew someone at school who was concerned that he may have committed the unforgivable sin, which if he had it would have left him in a very unfortunate position. But what is the unforgivable sin, this “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit” that is an eternal sin, one that will not be forgiven?
In context Jesus is dealing with some serious accusations. Jesus is demonstrating divine power by the work of the Holy Spirit by casting out demons, healing illnesses, and forgiving sins. The scribes and religious leaders are viewing the very work of God on earth, the very work of the Holy Spirit manifested in the man Jesus Christ who is God in human flesh, they are witnessing the most impressive display of glory the world has ever seen....and they are attributing that Satan. That is blasphemy to the highest degree. That is a rejection of the Spirited-empowered Messiah who is God in human flesh. That sin cannot be forgiven, because it represents the ultimate rejection. Their utter and final rejection of the redeemer renders them irredeemable.
Some have wondered if this sin can be committed today? I lean toward no, because no one today is witnessing what the scribes were seeing. It’s hard to attribute the works of the Messiah to the devil if we are witnessing those first hand.
utter and final rejection of the Redeemer, it stands to reason that, just like the scribes, such a rejection would thus render them irredeemable.
But even if it could be committed today, this verse is not intended to produce anxiety within someone or make them worry if they have committed the sin. This verse stands a warning not to harden your heart and off that ultimate, final, and utter rejection of the Messiah. If you worry that you may have committed the sin, that’s a really good indication that you actually haven’t because it shows that your heart is still soft and still sensitive to right and wrong, shows that you haven’t landed on utter and final rejection of the Messiah.So if you’ve ever been concerned about that, I hope that’s an encouragement to you.
It represents their utter and final rejection of the Redeemer, thus rendering them irredeemable.
31 His mother and his brothers came, and standing outside, they sent word to him and called him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him and told him, “Look, your mother, your brothers, and your sisters are outside asking for you.” 33 He replied to them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 Looking at those sitting in a circle around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
Mark 3:
In many ways this is similar to how this sectioned opened up. In verse 21 we saw that those of his own, which may have been family, were coming to restrain him. Now we see his mother and brothers calling for him and asking for him. Jesus is about the Lord’s business, teaching and instructing the people, and once again, there are those who would seek to pull him away from that task.
Notice the key words here: his family is outside. They are not part of the crowd listening to Jesus, but are on the outside. Second they are calling to him. This is a summons. They want to draw him away. With what intend it is not stated, but Jesus is active in ministry and the family summons him away from that task.
Then in verse 32 the message from his family is relayed to him and He is told “your family is looking for you” the word “looking for” is used ten times in Mark, and each time it carries negative connotations. I like how one commentator put it: ‘“Seeking” connotes an attempt to determine and control rather than to submit and follow.’
Seeking” connotes an attempt to determine and control rather than to submit and follow
See how Jesus responds?
Who are my mother and my brothers? Poignant question. And the question is answered in an unexpected way. Jesus redefines what it means to be family. It’s not those to whom he share DNA, but rather those who do God’s will that Jesus calls his true family. Blood relationships are now secondary to the relationships between those that do the will of God.
The will of God here simply refers to obedience to the commands of Scripture. God has revealed his will regarding how you conduct yourself in life, and doing God’s will, in this context, refers to obeying those commands.
This serves as a wake-up call those those who might think they’re in with Jesus, but don’t follow his commands. No matter how close you think you are with Jesus, if you’re not following his commands, you’re on the outside. The religious leaders thought that were in with God, that they were on the inside, but they were not obeying the will of God. They were rejected God’s Messiah. They were on the outside.
His own family and friends seemed to reject His claims. They want to hinder what He is doing and retrain Him. For time being, they are not only on the outside of the house, but also on the outside of God’s family. Some of them would later come around and embrace Jesus for who He is, but right here, they appear to be on the outside.
You may think you’re in with Jesus because you go to church, or something like that, but how does the rest of your life look during the week?
3 This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commands. 4 The one who says, “I have come to know him,” and yet doesn’t keep his commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps his word, truly in him the love of God is made complete. This is how we know we are in him: 6 The one who says he remains in him should walk just as he walked.
1 John 2:3
Obviously this doesn’t mean we are going to be perfect, but this ought to be something that marks us, that we are people who obey the Lord, and follow his commands.
The one who consistently walks in willful, unrepentant sin and rebellion against God is not in His family. How are you doing with that?
For those that do observe His commands, how sweet are Jesus’ words? He calls us His family. There is a relationship there, communion there.
11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name,
John 1:
14 For all those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. 15 You did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. Instead, you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!” 16 The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, 17 and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
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What a beautiful thing to be a part of God’s family.
At the start of this message I mentioned how the different sections here actually form one literary unit. These three interactions seem to be arranged according to a chiastic structure.
If you aren’t familiar with chiasms, a chiasm is a literary device used to emphasize a particular point.
There are a few ways to arrange a chiasm, but this one is arranged in this way:
A. Family seeks to restrain him
B. Scribes attribute power to Satan
C. Jesus’ Defense
B’. Consequence of attributing His works to satan
A’. Consequence of hindering His ministry
So we see the main point is in Jesus’ defense. And if we drill down deeper, the main point of the ain point I believe comes in verse 27. Jesus is making a bold declaration that He has bound the strong man, Satan, and is plundering his house. Jesus is setting free those who were bound by the devil. Though there are those around Him him who would seek to hinder and bind Him, Jesus will not be bound, but rather He does the binding, and thus it is demonstrated that He is Lord, and that He is to be headed, He is to be obeyed.
If Jesus isn’t a liar, and if He isn’t a lunatic, then He is Lord, and the Lord must be obeyed or else you are no family of His. But for those that embrace Him as Lord, and seeks to follow the will of God, to obey the clear commands of Scripture, we are His family, and that’s a beautiful thing. If that describes you I hope you are encouraged by that.