Mark 3:20-35 - Jesus's True Family

Message Introduction

How do you deal with rejection?

How do you deal with accusation railed against you?

What is your real opinion of Christ?

What do you know about forgiveness?

Are you passionate about trusting Jesus and obeying Jesus?

How charitable are you in the judgment you make of others/

I knew it!

Judging is necessary, but very dangerous

We have to discern, interpret, evaluate all things

But in light of God’s word

Critical judgments come natural to us

God calls us to judge charitably

Give the benefit of the doubt

Believe the best

We are to avoid

Negative appraisals of people’s words

Negative appraisals o people’s attitudes and motives

Root of our critical judgments

Selfishness

Pride

Self-righteousness

Insecurity

Jealousy

Self-pity

Prejudice

Unforgiveness

Lack of love

What is the answer to our critical judgments?

Christ

Gospel

Gospel-centered living

Message Outline

Four Groups

Crowd

Family

Leaders

True Family

Responses

Crowd - Curious

Family - Concerned, Critical

Leaders - Condemning

True Family - Christ-Centered (Trusting and Obeying)

Two Accusations

Lost His Mind

League with the Devil

One Defining Quality

Obedience

Outline

Jesus’s Rejection - Mark 3:20-22

Jesus’s Response - Mark 3:23-27

Jesus’s Remarkable Proclamation - Mark 3:28-30

Jesus’s Real (True) Family - Mark 3:31-35

Message Exposition

Jesus’s Rejection (Mark 3:20-22)

Curious Crowds

Mark 3:20 ESV

Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat.

Concerned and Critical Family

Mark 3:21 ESV

And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”

Condemning Leaders

Mark 3:22 ESV

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.”

Jesus’s Response (Mark 3:23-27)

Jesus asks a question

Mark 3:23 ESV

And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan?

Jesus calls them to Him

Jesus confronts them in front of all

Principles of confrontation

Go one to one

Go with one or two

Go to leaders

However, public sins need public rebuke and restoration

Rebuke the demons - silence them

Rebuke the leaders - shames them

Jesus was a man

who dwelt among us

who was full of grace (mercy, kindness, compassion, care)

who was full of truth

Jesus gives two illustrations

Illustration # 1 - Kingdom Divided

Mark 3:24 ESV

If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

Illustration # 2 - House Divided

Mark 3:25 ESV

And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.

Powerful Conclusion

Mark 3:26 ESV

And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end.

Real Explanation

Mark 3:27 ESV

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.

Jesus’s Remarkable Proclamations (Mark 3:28-30)

Good News: Jesus begin with a precious promise

Mark 3:28 ESV

“Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter,

Truly - verily, verily - amen and amen -

It is interesting to note that when Jesus is saying truly, He is not marking some difference in His character but marking the certainty and power of the message He is about to give. We say, truly, because many times we are not truthful. That is never the case with Jesus

All sins

Deal with specific acts of sin in your life. Take an account for the sins that are in your life.

Sins against God – Psalm 51:4

Disobeying God’s Commands

Idolatry

Loving this world

Misusing of my time or gifts/talents

Not believing God

Questioning God’s character

Rebellion

Serving God not in the spirit of love

Serving God with the wrong motives

Sin of Personality

Anger

Anxiety

Bad Temper

Complacency

Cowardice

Crankiness

Fear

Greediness

Impatience

Irritability

Jealousy

Lust

Pride

Selfishness

Vindictiveness

Worry

Sin Against Others

Critical spirit

Deceit

Dishonesty

Failure to use my influence for God’s glory and other’s good

Grudges

Hatred

Hatred of others

Hostility

Indifference

Lack of forgiveness

Malice

Prejudice

Refusal to reconcile

Spite

Unkind word

Sin of Neglect – What are some of things that I have neglected to do?

Forgiven

Biblical Principles Regarding Forgiveness:

“Many Christians have the wrong idea about forgiveness. In addition, the discussion of forgiveness is commonly neglected because everyone thinks they understand it when actually they do not.” [1]

Following are some principles regarding forgiveness that give us insight into this powerful tool of God, which is to be used to “pursue and restore relationships.”

Understanding God’s forgiveness:

1. The nature of God is to forgive sins

Nehemiah 9:16–17 ESV

“But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments. They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them.

Psalm 86:5 ESV

For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.

2. When God forgives, He forgives completely

Jeremiah 50:20 ESV

In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, iniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.

Romans 8:1 ESV

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

3. God’s forgiveness costs us nothing,

Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

but it was very costly to God

Isaiah 53:4–12 ESV

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

4. God never withholds forgiveness when sins are confessed in a sincere biblical manner

Psalm 51:17 ESV

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

1 John 1:9 ESV

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

JC Ryle - encourage us by saying, “free pardon, full forgiveness, complete remission, without money, without price, lay hold of this doctrine without delay”

Doctrine of forgiveness, grace, mercy, reconciliation

Be amazed at such a great salvation. Praise Him

Free - Larnelle Harris

Freedom, I long for the day When I could say I have freedom But Jesus came my way What a happy day Walk in the darkness to the light He set me free, He gave me the right To say that He, He whom the Son sets free Is free indeed

Freedom, well, I long for the day When I could say I have freedom But Jesus came my way What a happy day Walk in the darkness to the light He set me free, He gave me the right To say that He, He whom the Son sets free Is free indeed

I'm free from the chains that bound me Free, since the day He found me Well, He opened up the way He brought a better day I was living in sin, had no peace within Jesus set me free when I let Him in And He whom the Son sets free is free indeed

Well, I'm free Free as a bird in the sky Yes, I'm free Soon I'm gonna fly, fly away Because I'm free No longer a slave to sin Yes, I'm free Ever since I let Him in

I'm free from the chains that bound me Free, since the day He found me Well, He opened up the way He brought a better day I was living in sin, had no peace within Jesus set me free when I let Him in And He whom the Son sets free is free indeed

Well, I'm free from the chains that bound me Free, since the day He found me Well, He opened up the way He brought a better day

Yes, I'm free from the chains that bound me Free, since the day He found me Well, He opened up the way He brought a better day...

Whatever blasphemies

Bad News: Jesus’s Devastating Judgment (Solemn Warning)

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit: What is it?

Mark 3:29 ESV

but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”—

Never has forgiveness

No hope

No rescue

No salvation

No security

No peace

No pardon

No forgiveness

Guilty of an eternal sin

Condemned to hell

Under God’s wrath forever and ever. With no end

Mark 3:30 ESV

for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

Jesus’s Real (True) Family (Mark 3:31-35)

Mark 3:31 ESV

And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him.

Mark 3:32 ESV

And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.”

Mark 3:33 ESV

And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?”

Mark 3:34 ESV

And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!

Mark 3:35 ESV

For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

Discussion Questions

What new thoughts have you had since reading and studying Mark 1:21-45 or from Hearing James’ message on the passage? What verse from this passage will you commit to meditating on and memorizing this week? Write it down. Share it with others.

Bringing It Home

Pondering the Passage:

What is the main point? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Learn

What did I learn?Where has my thinking, beliefs, and values been challenged in this passage?Do I find any of the characteristics ways of thinking or behaving of the ungodly in my life?List and describe those areas in which I struggle.

Love

What does this passage teach me about God?Has my thinking about God changed?How have I learned to love God more and others selflessly as a result of this passage?Have I learned ways that I have acted unlovingly towards others that I must change?

Live

What are the practical steps that I can take to apply to what I have learned in this passage?Where must I change?What do I need to repent and confess?How will pondering and personalizing this passage change how I live my life today and moving forward?

Praying the Passage (ACTS)

What specific things can I pray adoring God because of what I learned in this passage?What specific things do I need to confess based on what I learned from this passage?What specific things do I need to thank God for based on what I learned from this passage?What specific things do I need to request in prayer (supplication) based on what I learned from this passage?