Jesus, Under Pressure (2)

7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea 8 and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. 9 And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, 10 for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. 11 And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” 12 And he strictly ordered them not to make him known. 13 And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons. 16 He appointed the twelve: 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, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. 20 Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. 21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.” 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.” 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. 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.” 31 And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” 33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

Mark 3:6–35 ESV

6 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. 7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea 8 and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. 9 And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, 10 for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. 11 And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” 12 And he strictly ordered them not to make him known. 13 And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons. 16 He appointed the twelve: 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, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. 20 Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. 21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.” 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.” 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. 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.” 31 And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” 33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

Textual Introduction

In our text this morning we see Jesus under pressure from all sides. News about him has gone viral. Friend and foe alike crowd around to see the spectacle. He must have felt a little bit like a start up entrepreneur whose business just took off, here we go, we are off to the races. The press on his human nature must have been immense. His family clearly thought if he had not actually had a break down, he was in danger of it from the work load. In our sermon this morning, I want to consider these pressures with you, I want you to see the threat they brought to His ministry, and I want to consider Jesus’s response, and, in particular, what it says about His priorities in ministry.

The First word I jotted down when I was working through this passage this week was Pressure,

Jesus is Facing Pressure from all Sides

From the Pharisees Who Seek to Destroy Jesus

Mark 3:6 ESV

6 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

From the Pharisees (Book End Our Passage)

Mark 3:22 ESV

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.”

mark 3:

This it seems is the religious establishment’s first line of attack. Rather than killing him outright— which could prove dangerously unpopular with the people. Let’s try a campaign of misinformation. The reason he is so successful with demons is that He is in league with them. A vicious lie, and a dangerous one.

Make no Bones about it

Jesus and His mission will always have earthly enemies who will bandy together to attack us by any means at their disposal.

Openly hostile to Christ and His Mission....

From the Crowds Who Threaten to Distract Jesus

Seek to Destroy Jesus

From the Crowds Who Threaten to Distract Jesus

Mark stresses how these crowds come from far and wide to meet Jesus.

Mark 3:7–8 ESV

More what he does than what He says

These were desperate people, desperate not to miss their chance to touch Jesus. Desperation made them more of a mob than a congregation, and evidently they posed a clear, and present danger to Jesus’ physical welfare (Verse 9).

It also seems clear they were drawn to Jesus mostly by his deeds, not by his words. Remember Jesus was primarily a preacher and a teacher. His miracles served as authenticating signs, validating his message from God. They were never meant to be the focus of his ministry. Healing bodies was not what Jesus primarily came to do. And it seems the crowds constantly missed this point.

John 6:26–27 ESV

26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”

Jesus is neither a vending machine nor a magician. And yet the crowds had the tendency to treat him a little bit like that. And if he is not careful, the very vitality, purity, and purpose of his mission could easily fall prey to mission creep.

More what he does than what He says

Mission Creep

According to Wikipedia, mission creep is “the expansion of a project or mission beyond its original goals, often after initial successes.” The term was originally coined in a 1993 Washington Post article on the UN Peacekeeping mission in Somalia, in which the writer argued that a humanitarian mission turned into a military operation which did not have clearly spelled-out goals and for which the soldiers on the ground were not prepared. Horton, Michael. The Gospel Commission: Recovering God's Strategy for Making Disciples (p. 8). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Horton, Michael. The Gospel Commission: Recovering God's Strategy for Making Disciples (p. 8). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

This can be a constant danger both for churches and for her pastors. We must keep the main thing the main thing. Yet there is constant pressure to turn away from the primary thing God has called us to be and to do.

HE ONE piece of mail certain to go unread into my wastebasket basket is the letter addressed to the "busy pastor." Not that the phrase doesn't describe me at times, but I refuse to give my attention to someone who encourages what is worst in me. I'm not arguing the accuracy of the adjective; I am, though, contesting the way it's used to flatter and express sympathy.

"The poor man," we say. "He's so devoted to his flock; the work is endless, and he sacrifices himself so unstintingly" But the word busy is the symptom not of commitment but of betrayal. It is not devotion but defection. The adjective busy set as a modifier to pastor should sound to our ears like adulterous to characterize a wife or embezzling to describe a banker. It is an outrageous scandal, a blasphemous affront. Hilary of Tours diagnosed our pastoral busyness as irreligiosa sollicitudo pro Deo, a blasphemous anxiety to do God's work for him.

Eugene H. Peterson. The Contemplative Pastor: Returning to the Art of Spiritual Direction (Kindle Locations 149-171). Kindle Edition.

I (and most pastors, I believe) become busy for two reasons; sons; both are ignoble.

I am busy because I am vain. I want to appear important. Significant. What better way than to be busy? The incredible hours, the crowded schedule, and the heavy demands on my time are proof to myself - and to all who will notice - that I am important. If I go into a doctor's office and find there's no one waiting, and I see through a half-open door the doctor reading a book, I wonder if he's any good. A good doctor will have people lined up waiting to see him; a good doctor will not have time to read a book. Although I grumble about waiting my turn in a busy doctor's office, I am also impressed with his importance. Such experiences affect me. I live in a society in which crowded schedules and harassed conditions are evidence of importance, so I develop a crowded schedule and harassed conditions. When others notice, they acknowledge my significance, , and my vanity is fed.

I am busy because I am lazy I indolently let others decide what I will do instead of resolutely deciding myself. I let people who do not understand the work of the pastor write the agenda for my day's work because I am too slipshod to write it myself. The pastor is a shadow figure in these people's minds, a marginal person vaguely connected with matters of God and good will. Anything remotely religious or somehow well-intentioned can be properly assigned to the pastor. Because these assignments to pastoral service are made sincerely, I go along with them. It takes effort to refuse, and besides, there's always the danger that the refusal will be interpreted as a rebuff, a betrayal of religion, and a calloused disregard regard for people in need. It was a favorite theme of C. S. Lewis that only lazy people work hard. By lazily abdicating the essential work of deciding and directing, establishing values and setting goals, other people do it for us; then we find ourselves frantically, at the last minute, trying to satisfy a half dozen different demands on our time, none of which is essential to our vocation, to stave off the disaster of disappointing someone. But if I vainly crowd my day with conspicuous activity or let others fill my day with imperious demands, I don't have time to do my proper work, the work to which I have been called. How can I lead people into the quiet place beside the still waters if I am in perpetual motion? How can I persuade a person to live by faith and not by works if I have to juggle my schedule constantly to make everything fit into place? Eugene H. Peterson. The Contemplative Pastor: Returning to the Art of Spiritual Direction (Kindle Locations 149-171). Kindle Edition.

From the Demons who Seem to Endorse Jesus

“Truly You are the Son of God...” At first glance you might think this was a positive testimony. Wasn’t it PT Barnum who coined the phrase, “No publicity is bad publicity.” But that is not the case here. Jesus silenced the demons, forbidding them to speak. They were after all unclean spirits.

FURTHERMORE Jesus can only be properly known and understood as His divine self-revelation is received by faith. There is no certainty behind the back of faith. And faith leans on Scripture for both its rule and its warrant. The devil will never lead people to faith in Christ.

You would not want to have a good testimony from a bad witness.

I am reminded of the famous story in the life an ministry of Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones

You wouldn't want a bad man saying good things about you round Greensboro.

And so it with Jesus.

And as we shall see in a moment, from the Pharisees, any connection or association drawn between Christ and demons will prove counter productive. So Jesus nips it off at the bud.

He neither needs nor desires the devil's assitance.

“Here was a woman who made her living as a spiritist medium, earning her three guineas almost every Sunday night. One Sunday she was unable, because of a slight illness, to go and do what she normally did. As she was sitting in her house she saw people walking to a place of worship. Quite suddenly she thought to herself, ‘What if I went with them? I wonder what they do there? I wonder what that place is like in comparison with what we do?” So she went to that place of worship, and that led to her conversion. She never again did what she had been doing before.

FURTHERMORE Jesus can only be properly known and understood as His divine self-revelation is received by faith.

Jesus nips it off at the bud.

Faith leans upon Scripture as its rule and its warrant

“But I want to quote to you her reply to my question, ‘What did you feel like when you came to this service?’ ‘Well,’ she said. ‘this was what really convinced me and finally convicted me. When I came into this place I felt immediately that there was a spiritual power here, exactly as we have in our meetings. I was always conscious of power in our meetings, and I was conscious of power in your meeting, but there was one great difference. The power in this building here, in some indefinable way, seemed to me to be clean. I didn’t think of it. I wasn’t reasoning. I was just conscious of power and cleanliness and of purity such as I had never known before.’

In the end, as we shall see in a moment, any connection between Christ and the devils will prove counterproductive.

Jesus nips it off at the bud.

The constant misunderstandings even on the part of Jesus’ closest disciples vividly illustrate the basis for Jesus’ caution about allowing people, even disciples, to talk openly about the μυστήριον which only divine revelation could unveil to human insight, and which would eventually work itself out through the humanly incomprehensible means of a rejected and abandoned Messiah, a dying Son of God, and an empty tomb....The mustard seed will grow in its own time, but until then its significance will necessarily remain hidden from all but the few whose eyes God has opened. But one day they will be able to see that, despite apparent failure and delay, God’s kingship has come with power. France, R. T. The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary on the Greek Text. New International Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press, 2002.

...The mustard seed will grow in its own time, but until then its significance will necessarily remain hidden from all but the few whose eyes God has opened. But one day they will be able to see that, despite apparent failure and delay, God’s kingship has come with power.

The gospel message goes forth as people believe the message delivered by the foolishness of preaching. In my pastoral ministry, I often meet people who are looking for assurance behind the back of Scripture embraced by faith. They are desiring some experience, some proof that Jesus is real and that God has saved them. In looking away from Scripture to some other witness, they are looking for assurance where assurance can never be found.

France, R. T. The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary on the Greek Text. New International Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press, 2002.

From His Family who Try to Deliver Jesus

They clearly think he has lost his mind....so they try to save the Savior.

Mark 3:20–21 ESV

20 Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. 21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”

We know from John’s gospel, Jesus’ brothers James and Jude were deeply skeptical, perhaps even hostile to his mission...

We know from John’s gospel, Jesus’ brothers

James

Jude

Were deeply skeptical, perhaps even hostile to his mission...

“After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand. So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” For not even his brothers believed in him.” (, ESV)

James came to believe in Jesus only after his resurrection.

1 Corinthians 15:1–9 ESV

1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

How does Jesus respond to these pressures?

He does so with a combination of Practical and Spiritual Wisdom.

Jesus’ Response is Instructive

Practical Wisdom

Moving Away from Enemies

Jesus clearly sought to put distance between himself and the Pharesees, There is neither virtue or wisdom in making oneself an open target. In His book, five English Reformers, in which he details some of our theological heroes during the bloody reign of Mary Tudor during the 1550’s. He says that many of the deaths could have be avoided through judicious tactical retreat. There is no virtue in throwing your life away to Martyrdom. John Allen Chau might have been well-served to think through this principle before he paddled up onto the shore of the North Sentinel islands off the coast of India. Initial reports suggest went there with no back up, no accountability to a missions organization or a Church, no idea how to speak the language, no real knowledge of their cultural sensitivities. Apart from the fact that he died in the attempt, there are not really many parallels between John and Jim Elliot and the men martyred by the Auca Indians back in 1956.

Moving away from the Shore

JC Ryle 5 English Reformers

Luther’s Wartburg Exile

Moving away from the Shore

He had his disciples prepare a boat as, Presume an improvised pulpit. We see the same practice in

Matthew 13:1–3 ESV

1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow.

Matthew 13:1–2 ESV

1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach.

Interesting Jesus used a boat. He didn’t deploy invisible forcefields, or call upon the angels to exercise crowd control. He used sanctified common sense.

Matthew 13:1–3 ESV

The Ship

No Invisible forcefields

No Angels sent to exercise crowd control

sanctified Common Sense

Spiritual Wisdom

Presumably a means to speak to the people`

“That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach.” (, ESV)

Silencing an Unclean Witness

Why? Well for one thing the character of a witness matters. You can’t have good testimony from an evil witness. You wouldn’t want a wicked man speaking well of our ministry in Greensboro and neither would Christ. He neither needs nor desires the devils’ assistance.

And as we shall see in a moment, from the Pharisees, any connection or association drawn between Christ and demons will prove counter productive. So Jesus nips it off at the bud.

Selecting True Witnesses

Mark 3:13–19 ESV

13 And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons. 16 He appointed the twelve: 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, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Notice the Source of their Ministry

He Made the Twelve (v.14, 16). And He also Named them...

The initiative in creating and naming the Twelve belongs to Jesus, as it belongs to God in creating, naming, and choosing humans (, the Lord “created” and “summoned by name”).

Isaiah 43:1 ESV

1 But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.

The Twelve have symbolic significance, pointing to the restoration of the twelve tribes of Israel, and Jesus stands over them as leader. Implicit in the choice of the Twelve is a renunciation of the powers that be in Jerusalem. We have had new wine, and new wineskins, and now we have a new Israel!.

Notice the Learning of their Ministry

They learn their ministry being with Jesus. Living in His presence. It’s also possible that this reference has a dual reference— Jesus felt the need of their companionship (like he did in Gethsemane).

Notice the essence of their ministry

Mark 3:14–15 ESV

14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons.

John 3:14–15 ESV

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

He does not mention healing, though they did undoubtedly heal? I wonder is Jesus deliberately understating what the crowd are overstating. The real business these men are called to do is to battle the forces of spiritual darkness shackeling the world in sin.

Notice what these twelve are sent out to do

Speaking Truth

Jesus takes the focus of the bodies of men and puts it were it needs to be on the souls of men. In essence the Pharisees have been asking, of which Spiritual family is Jesus a part? We think He is from the devil? Jesus turns the tables on them, and asks the real question, “Of which Spiritual family are you a part?” Because you can recognize a child of God? They are committed to living a life of principled obedience to the will of Almighty God. Dees that describe you?

Because these Pharisees are resisting the Spirit of God… labeling an obvious work of the Spirt of God as the work of the devil. it seems they knew what they were doing… An act of deliberate and rebellious deceit.... A Dangerous thing to do… As CS Lewis reminds us.

Ever since the animals had first appeared, Uncle Andrew had been shrinking further and further back into the thicket. He watched them very hard of course; but he wasn’t really interested in seeing what they were doing, only in seeing whether they were going to make a rush at him. Like the Witch, he was dreadfully practical. He simply didn’t notice that Aslan was choosing one pair out of every kind of beasts. All he saw, or thought he saw, was a lot of dangerous wild animals walking vaguely about. And he kept on wondering why the other animals didn’t run away from the big Lion. When the great moment came and the Beasts spoke, he missed the whole point; for a rather interesting reason. When the Lion had first begun singing, long ago when it was still quite dark, he had realized that the noise was a song. And he had disliked the song very much. It made him think and feel things he did not want to think and feel. Then, when the sun rose and he saw that the singer was a lion (“only a lion,” as he said to himself) he tried his hardest to make believe that it wasn’t singing and never had been singing—only roaring as any lion might in a zoo in our own world. “Of course it can’t really have been singing,” he thought, “I must have imagined it. I’ve been letting my nerves get out of order. Who ever heard of a lion singing?” And the longer and more beautiful the Lion sang, the harder Uncle Andrew tried to make himself believe that he could hear nothing but roaring. Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed. Uncle Andrew did. He soon did hear nothing but roaring in Aslan’s song. Soon he couldn’t have heard anything else even if he had wanted to. And when at last the Lion spoke and said, “Narnia, awake,” he didn’t hear any words: he heard only a snarl. And when the Beasts spoke in answer, he heard only barkings, growlings, bayings, and howlings. And when they laughed—well, you can imagine. That was worse for Uncle Andrew than anything that had happened yet. Such a horrid, bloodthirsty din of hungry and angry brutes he had never heard in his life. Then, to his utter rage and horror, he saw the other three humans actually walking out into the open to meet the animals. “The fools!” he said to himself. “Now those brutes will eat the rings along with the children and I’ll never be able to get home again. What a selfish little boy that Digory is! And the others are just as bad. If they want to throw away their own lives, that’s their business. But what about me? They don’t seem to think of that. No one thinks of me.” Lewis, C. S.. The Chronicles of Narnia Complete 7-Book Collection (Kindle Locations 1702-1723). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

Lewis, C. S.. The Chronicles of Narnia Complete 7-Book Collection (Kindle Locations 1702-1723). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

at a certain point, if commit your life to trying to make yourself stupider than you really are, very quickly you will find that your strategy works, and if you are not extremely careful yo uwill find yourself passing the point of no return… and your sin will become eternal and you will never again want to come to Christ for forgiveness....

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