Pentecost 3 (4)

Mark 3:20-35 (NIV) 20  Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21  When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind." 22  And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons." 23  So Jesus called 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; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house. 28 I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin." 30  He said this because they were saying, "He has an evil spirit." 31  Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32  A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you." 33 "Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked. 34  Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."

Last week we had been reminded of the importance of rest whether it was physical rest for our bodies and minds or spiritual rest for our souls. I hope that you were able to find some much needed rest this past week and have returned here today to receive some rest for your soul.

But sometimes we aren’t able to get rest either because of circumstances or because of our own determination to get something done. You may been so engrossed in a project that you just didn’t have the opportunity to get much needed rest and the may have affected your sleep or eating patterns. Recall times when you have been so hard pressed that you worked right through the night or through one or more meal times.

Although Jesus would often intentionally take time to rest (often spending that time in prayer with his heavenly Father), we have here an example of how he was so hard at work preaching, teaching, and healing the sick that he seemed to be overworking himself to the point of exhaustion or worse (or so his family thought). Elsewhere Jesus would explain his determination.

John 5:16–18 (NIV84)

16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. 17 Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” 18 For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

John 9:1–5 NIV84

1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

This would cause controversy because Jesus did this miracle on the Sabbath.

In Mark Jesus was so hard at work that he propelled himself through at least one meal and caused concern for his family either because they did not fully grasp who he was (his brothers did not yet believe in him) or because they were concerned about his health.

1. Charged with insanity (3:20–21)

20–21 Jesus again was being pressed by the crowds. The house (probably Peter and Andrew’s; cf. 1:29) was so packed with people demanding his attention that both he and his disciples were prevented from eating (3:20). When Jesus’ family heard that he was so engrossed by his work that he failed even to care for his physical needs, they decided to go to Jesus and “take charge of him” (v. 21). This probably means that they wanted to take him back to Nazareth. This would remove him from the strain of having so many people constantly pressing on him to meet their physical and spiritual needs. The verb translated “take charge” is kratēsai and is used of arresting someone in 6:17; 12:12; 14:1, 44, 46, 49, and 51. The reason Jesus’ family wanted to do this was because they feared that overwork had affected him mentally—he was “out of his mind.” These are shocking words, but as C.L. Mitton says, “If they reveal his family’s failure to understand him, they are also a measure of their concern for him” (The Gospel According to Mark [London: Epworth, 1957], p. 26).

Wessel, W. W. (1984). Mark. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke (Vol. 8, p. 644). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

The teachers of the law were more suspicious of Jesus and sought to undermine him.

Possessed by the devil. This is a very strong and damaging accusation leveled by the teachers of the Law. Mark 3:22 ( NIV ) 22And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebub£! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”

Beelzebub: Beelzebub, also called Baalzebub, in the Bible, the prince of the devils. In the Old Testament, in the form Baalzebub, it is the name given to the god of the Philistine city of Ekron (II Kings 1:1–18). Neither name is found elsewhere in the Old Testament, and there is only one reference to it in other Jewish literature. Those who were subjected to reading the classic English novel, Lord of the Flies, will realize that the novel is named after this but has little connection to it.

Why would the teachers of the law say such a thing? They are trying to discredit Jesus. It is a power struggle and a test of faith. These were the power brokers of the Jewish faith and even though the heart of the Old Testament were the 300 Messianic prophecies, they had exchanged the gospel for the law and couldn’t see past all the rules and regulations. And so when Jesus challenged their system, they had to put a stop to him. One way to lessen someone’s influence is to discredit them. Have you ever noticed that with political campaigns? We are told about all the faults and failures of a candidate so that we will not support them in an election.

Jesus would not let these false accusations stand. He immediately retaliates with good sound logic. How can he be possessed by the devil if he is actively undoing the devil’s work? Surely a kingdom cannot stand if it is divided against itself.

On the other hand, Jesus would often emphasize his unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit and how as followers of Jesus, we are to be united to each other.

Jesus then teaches about the sin or blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The one unforgivable sin. What does this mean?

Jesus then warns why the teachers of the law is of such damage to themselves and to others. Rejecting Jesus as the Messiah is a rejection of the promises of God for salvation through his son. This is unbelief in the promises of God – especially in regard to what he says about salvation. Without explanation, Jesus calls this the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Many Christians have wondered what this unforgivable sin is and have been conscience stricken as to whether or not they have committed it. Here is an explanation and reassurance to those who are wondering and a warning to those who don’t care.

3. The one sin for which there is no forgiveness is not a sin against Christ, but a sin against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31-32). Why? There is one simple reason given in Scripture. The Holy Spirit is the Person who works in the heart of man; it is He who "convicts the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment...." (John 16:8-11). There is a single word that is very descriptive of His work: conviction. A man sees, feels, or hears about God's goodness and love and of his own need to surrender to God. The Spirit takes those evidences and uses them as convictions. He convicts a man's heart to believe. A man may go on and on...

 insisting on his own way.

 refusing to acknowledge God and surrender his life to God.

 choosing to be blind to what he sees, feels, and hears (the convictions of the Spirit).

Such a man eventually becomes so hardened that he cannot recognize God's truth and goodness. He reaches such a point of hardness that he no longer sees God or feels God or hears God. This man has blasphemed God's Spirit and counted His convictions as worthless. He has abused, reviled, neglected, ignored, and hardened his heart to the promptings of God's Spirit permanently. He has blasphemed God's Spirit and such blasphemy is unforgivable, Christ says.

4. Note what the unpardonable sin is. In the simplest and clearest of terms, it is stubborn rejection, stiff-necked refusal, obstinate unbelief. Such results in a dead spirit and apparently a rooted malice (Matthew 12:23-24; cp. Matthew 23:13. See Deeper Study #4—Matthew 12:24.)

When the Spirit convicts a man to turn to God, and that man...

 rejects and rejects, his rejection becomes stubborn.

 refuses and refuses, his refusal becomes stiff-necked.

 disbelieves and disbelieves, his unbelief becomes obstinate.

That man deadens his spirit against the convictions of the Spirit and develops a rooted malice against God. He insists on his own way too long and refuses to surrender to God while his heart is still soft enough to be touched.

What a warning to creatures of conditioning and habit—a warning against conditioning ourselves to reject and reject God. And what a call to stir a reverence and repentance toward God! How much we need to surrender to God while our hearts are soft enough to be touched!

5. In trying to determine just who it is that commits the unpardonable sin, two things are known.

 The blood of Christ cleanses from every sin. There is not a single sin that cannot be forgiven—except obstinate unbelief against the convictions of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31-32).

 There is no hope for salvation except through Christ and the convicting power of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, to reject or blaspheme the convicting power of the Holy Spirit is to deprive a person of salvation through Christ. Of course, a man who is concerned about having committed the unpardonable sin has not. His very concern shows that he can still come to Christ.

— Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible - Commentary

This even closes with Jesus teaching about how strong the relationship is between those who share a common faith in him. We have all heard the phrase “Blood is thicker than water.” Some of our closest human relationship are between those with whom we share a common DNA. These are most likely the people we have known and interacted with the most in our lives. This was true in biblical times as well. And yet, there were exceptions. You may recall Jesus saying that Matthew 10:34–39 (NIV84)

34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn “ ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— 36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ 37 “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Jesus teaches that allegiance to or disowning of him will sever even the closest of human relationships if those people are not united in faith. Experience has shown that it difficult to dispute such clarity. We may have blood relatives with whom we are in sharp dispute with it comes to religion.

On the other hand, Jesus confirms that those who are not related by blood can enjoy a very strong unity in faith.

Mark 3:34–35 NIV84

34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

The early Christian church certainly understood the close relationship between fellow Christians.

Fellow Christians are addressed or referred to as “brothers” repeatedly throughout the New Testament. The Greek (according to grammatical practice) will use the term “adelphoi” which is translated in English as “brothers” but we should not this this only refers to male. It is meant to include both genders. Some questioning of how the Bible was translated came up when the latest NIV translation translated it as “brothers and sisters.” The Evangelical Heritage Version which is in part a Lutheran response to the NIV translates it accurately as “brothers” with the footnote about the grammar involved: “When context indicates it, the Greek word for brothers may refer to all fellow believers, male and female.” I think we still understand that “He” doesn’t always mean just males or that “man” includes all of mankind.

The point Jesus is making is that we can and do enjoy a deep relationship with our fellow Christians regardless of DNA, gender, age, ethnicity, or any other factors other than being united in faith. This unity is emphasized here: Philippians 2:1–4 (NIV84)

1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

We experience this in our somewhat small synod. Those who become members of a congregation where most of the members are not related to each other on a genealogical chart will enjoy being together with, worshiping with, working with, praying for, and encouraging each other.

I am kind of a social guy. Over the years I have made friends with fellow plastic modelers, people I play pickle ball with, members of the band, Lions club. But the closest relationships I have enjoyed have been with fellow members of congregations in Wisconsin, Washington State, North and South Dakota. Because as fellow believers in Christ we are Jesus’ brothers, sisters, mothers, cousins, etc. Because he is male and the son of God who is our father, our most common way of referring to him is as our brother. His statement here that we are his brother and sister and mother is in contrast to his own biological brothers, sisters, and mother who were on earth at the time.

Conclusion: Today we saw several teaching about the ministry of Jesus.

He was diligent in carrying out his work and put the needs of others above his own personal needs. At times we will sacrifice our time, talents, and treasure to help those who need it.

Although questioned and even attacked, Jesus defended his ministry.

Denying Jesus is the one unforgivable sin because as long as we do that we reject the grace of God.

We are united with our fellow Christians through faith in Jesus and enjoy a deep unity with one another.