Mark 3 - Why Don't You Like Spam?

Big Idea:

To carry the name of Jesus (be a disciple) is to obey His will.

Intro:

Hi Church Online. Thanks for joining us.

A few weeks ago, my cousin sent me a podcast on Spam. No, not on unsolicited and sketchy emails, but on the beloved (or maybe not-so-beloved) meat.

I love Spam. My kids love Spam. But I’m fully aware that you might have a radically different opinion of the mysterious meat. And part of this podcast discussed why there is a varied response to Spam, especially across different cultures.

For example, many Asians love Spam. I - being half Asian - can attest to this. And the podcaster, who was of filipino decent (I’m also part filipino), wanted to research why Spam became such a beloved part of her culture. And to save us some time, I’m going to jump straight to her conclusions...

At least for Pacific Islanders (like filipinos, hawaiians, guamanians), the meat-in-a-blue can was a sign of hope and freedom. During WW2, when the Japanese took over territories like the Philippines, things became really difficult for the native people. And there wasn’t a lot to eat. But one day, tanks and soldiers wearing the red, white, and blue rolled thru the streets… forcing out the Japanese and freeing the Filipinos. And these soldiers began distributing much needed food, including - you guessed it - Spam!

And for many Pacific Islanders, Spam was associated with the peace! In a sense, as they caught the little blue cans being thrown to them from tanks, with it came the thought, “We are saved!” And for a generation, there were memories of salvation tied to Spam. Additionally, since it was cheap and didn’t need refrigeration, it soon became a beloved staple in their meals, for generations to come.

At the same time, it produced an opposite reaction in the American soldiers. The same men distributing the cans of hope, viewed the meat with disgust. They hated it because they were forced to eat it as meal rations. And when the soldiers returned home, they passed their anti-Spam judgments to the next generation.

And according to this podcast, your view on Spam is likely heavily influenced by the generation before you, regardless of whether you’ve actually tried the mystery meat.

And it’s here we find a connection to our passage today out of the Book of Mark. In this section, Mark shares an important lesson Jesus taught about discipleship - that following Jesus doesn’t happen on our own terms. Furthermore, our willingness to receive these instructions on how to follow Jesus can be influenced by the generations before us, and the culture around us.

Let’s jump in and read it for ourselves… Mark 3, verse 7...

Mark 3:7–19 ESV

Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea 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. And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” And he strictly ordered them not to make him known. And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons. He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Exegesis:

Sometimes, it can be more helpful to study God’s word by looking at broader, big picture concepts, instead of breaking down the passage verse-by-verse. I believe this is one of those times. Because when you look at this passage as a whole, you see one big lesson being taught…

Point number 1 for today is...

1) There are two types of people [in this world]: disciples & the crowds.

The best way to see this distinction is to examine the words used to describe each group. If you read the passage again, you’d see that Mark describes the...

Disciples with words like called, desired, appointed. Named! To be named in this culture meant something. It gave power and purpose. You see phrases like “with,” send, and gave authority.

Yet, when Mark describes the crowds, he uses words like “great” - referring to the numerical largeness. That the crowds were coming because Jesus was “doing” stuff for them. We also see that because of the crowd, Jesus warned there was the potential for him to be crushed. And associated with this part of the passage, even comes a strict command, from Jesus, to not “make Him known.” While Jesus still engaged with the crowd, and even did miracles, overall, Mark gives the impression that this was a negative experience.

On the other hand, the SMALL group of disciples are described positively. The original language actually emphasizes them.

In Verse 7, when Mark writes, “Jesus withdrew with his disciples,” this phrase is in - what’s known as - the emphatic position. It’s important!

In Verse 13, when he writes, “And [Jesus] went up on the mountain” and called the disciples to Himself, the idea of a mountain brought significance to the story. In God’s word, the mountain was a place of divine revelation. Many times, what happened on the mountain was important!

What this tell us is that, if the Greek language had exclamation points, highlights, bold-lettering, and underline, Mark would’ve used them to emphasize the disciples. Why? Because they were important.

And here’s the point: There is a DIFFERENCE between FOLLOWERS OF JESUS and the CROWD(or people in general). That’s because the Kingdom of God is DIFFERENT. Meaning, God does things differently than world.

The words of the prophet Isaiah summarize it well...

Isaiah 55:8–9 ESV

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

And when it comes to the comparison between the disciples and the crowd, this is a key to understanding what Jesus is expecting from those who want to FOLLOW Him...

Because - like today - the Jewish world loved the crowd!

The crowd is exciting and fun!

The crowd was popular!

The crowd offered visible validation. Because obviously what’s popular is what’s best. Even the religious people of the day knew that. The best Pharisees had the most disciples.

We understand this too, right? Currently, I work with the Youth in our church (6th-12th grade) and I see this principle at work in their generation...

Let me first stop and say… I’m not picking on them as if it’s only a problem with this current young generation… we too were influenced by the crowd their age. It just looked differently.

But think about what happens when you invite a young person to an event. Like, “You coming to Youth Group? You going bowling? You going to the Youth Retreat?” What’s their first question? “Who’s going?” Which typically means, if the crowd ain’t going, I’m not either.

How bout this one… on Instagram, if you have more than one post, you’re doing it wrong. All the young people have zero or one post. Why? I’ve asked about this and the only explanation I’ve received is, “That’s what everyone our age is doing.” That’s what the crowd is doing. That’s what the culture - our generation - is doing.

The crowd can be a powerful influence!

Just to be fair, let me pick on the adults in church too...

Right or wrong, there exists a principle in church planting (starting a church) called, “critical mass.” Basically, it means that if you don’t have enough people to fill the room, it will seriously hurt the chances of people coming to your church. Why? Because people prefer the crowds.

Therefore, the correct way to start a new church is begin with a core team of at least 50 people. And not just because that many people will help fill a room (because people like crowds), but also because… that’s the strategy the generations before us used.

Just in case you’re wondering, The River Church started with 7 adults and 6 children. That’s wouldn’t qualify as critical mass...

But, in a way, it’s very similar to people’s views on Spam. It’s not just whether you’re hungry and need food. It’s not necessarily if it’s good for you. Our perspective (whether it’s a youth, in the church, or anything else) is influenced by the culture and generations around us - the crowd.

Nevertheless, Mark is showing us another lesson: The Kingdom of God isn’t determined by the crowd, but by Christ.

And what did Christ do? He made disciples. And He started with only 12, which - even back then - would’ve been viewed as a failure.

And that brings us to point number 2… but FIRST, let’s read more of the passage...

Mark 3:20–35 ESV

Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.” 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.” And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 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. “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.” And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

Again, in this passage, we see things when we don’t get bogged down in the details...

For example, looking at the passage as a whole, we see Mark uses a literary device known as a “sandwich formula.”

In this passage, we start with Jesus’s family, and we end with Jesus’s family, but sandwiched in-between are the scribes (people who should’ve belong to God’s family). And the 3 parts come together to form a “Jesus-is-crazy-sandwich.”

Let me explain… Look at verse 21 and 30 together...

Verse 21: And when his family heard it, they went out to seize Him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”

Verse 22: And when the scribes (again, supposed to be part of God’s family) came down from Jerusalem (literally the City of God) they said, “He is possessed by [the prince of demons].

Both the bread and meat are saying the same thing - they are part of the same sandwich: Jesus is crazy. And the implication is summarized in John’s gospel...

John 10:20 ESV

Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?”

Jesus is crazy. Therefore… why listen to him? When you bite into this sandwich, that’s one thing you taste.

Additionally, and I don’t want us to miss this… both the perspectives of the family and scribes are influenced by the crowds.

The scribes formed this opinion because Jesus did things differently than how the current religious leaders did things. And their opinions of Him were influenced by popular religion and generational teaching, based on cultural tradition.

Now, think about this… included among Jesus’s family (the one’s calling Him crazy) was His mother Mary. At this point of the story, even this godly woman was influenced by the opinion of her family; if you will, the crowd of relatives.

And let me give you a couple of reasons why this matters...

First, I can confidently tell you that in this world, the crowd is often wrong, especially if popular opinion is not rooted in God’s absolute truth. Therefore, being influenced by the crowd can have serious, and even eternal, consequences. The Jerusalem scribes, influenced by their peers, said Jesus’s miracles were sourced for the devil from Himself.

And what does Jesus tell them?

Mark 3:28–30 ESV

“Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

I need to explain this a little bit...

When the scribes said Jesus accomplished things by the devil’s power… they were actually saying (intentional or not) that the Holy Spirit (who was the power behind Jesus’s works) was Satan.

To use modern vernacular, Jesus was like, “Bro… watch your mouth.” Actually, this is a good spot for me to finally share our second and final point for today...

2) Watch how you talk about Jesus.

How you respond to Jesus matters. It reveals your heart. And here, the religious leaders revealed that their heart was hard towards Jesus, because that’s what the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (or the unforgivable sin) is about… It’s about a hard-heart. And it describes a heart that is bent towards rejection and consistently moving in the direction of rebellion.

Many wonder if the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is an actual sin that once committed, can never be forgiven. I don’t believe that is what Jesus is teaching here, nor do I believe that’s what the entirety of Scripture teaches. What’s being discussed here is a warning.

It’s a warning that a hard heart only gets harder apart from repentance and the grace of God.

And if you die with that hard heart - if you die rejecting the work of the Holy Spirit (who is trying to make you right with God) - that’s the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. If you die rejecting His work, you die unforgiven. And there remains no other hope for you. You enter eternity in an unforgivable state and destined to spent it separated from God.

Simply put, don’t let the crowd send you to hell. Therefore, watch how you talk about Jesus!

But, here’s some hope for today: Even if that’s the current perspective of your heart, it doesn’t need to remain that way. Remember, Jesus’s family is part of the same sandwich. They too held the conclusion that, “He’s crazy!” But they didn’t finish that way!

We know that His mother, Mary, and even His half-brothers, like James and Jude, did not keep these views. James and Jude went on to write books of the Bible… following their “crazy” Brother as Lord and Savior.

And the hope for you is: If you’re alive, you haven’t committed the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. You may have rejected Jesus all your life, even called Him crazy, but today the Holy Spirit is working on your heart and maybe something is different. His living water has softened that hard soil. If that’s the case, respond to Jesus. Turn from your sin and put your faith in Him. Follow Him. Become different! Become a disciple!

…Let me begin to finish up with another reason why this sandwich-story matters...

This sandwich isn’t just a warning,. it gives instruction on how to have a right heart. We see it in the very last verse in our passage… Jesus says...

Mark 3:35 ESV

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

People who truly follow Jesus are different. And what makes them different is they obey the will of God. They listen to what Jesus says, regardless of what the crowds, culture, and generations around them say… Again, Jesus said...

John 14:21 NLT

Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”

Those who follow Jesus talk about Him (and live) like He’s their Lord and Savior. They obey Him. That’s what disciples do. Disciples let Jesus determine their direction and destination.

Response:

As we close, let’s put it all together...

Jesus is teaching us that to follow Him is to obey Him. And that’s still an important lesson for us today because...

Today, the crowd is still wrongly responding to Christ. When you leave today, I dare you to ask the crowds about Him. My confident guess is their opinions would be way off… or flat out rejection!

Even some of the church crowd respond incorrectly.

Many in church only want Jesus for the miracles.

Many only want Him to fix the problems.

Many think it’s crazy to obey Him, especially if it’s not popular!

But that’s the kind of discipleship Jesus is calling us to. But like our opinions toward Spam, our perspective is influenced by our experience. You love it or hate it based on cultural and generational voices. Does that describe how you live out your faith? Is your life influenced by the crowd or Christ?

Two suggested responses to end:

Check your heart. 2 Corinthians says, “Examine yourselves, to see whether your are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? - unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” (2 Cor. 13:5) Is your heart hard or soft and responsive towards Jesus?

Ask yourself if you live like Jesus is your Lord and Savior. Do you obey what He says? Do you even know what He says? Or is the power of the crowd pressing in on you to crush you?

That being said… it is my faith-filled expectation that we will all take steps towards Jesus today. That God has a plan and purpose for this message, and our church, in 2022. That God’s will is to use His Word, Spirit, and Church to draw people into His presence and make us a people who “obey His will.” To make us part of us family!

Let’s pray...

Father, we desire to be part of Your family today. We desire to a different people, a special people. A people known for following and obeying Jesus. Forgive us for all the times we haven’t lived that way. Forgive us for the times we’ve talked about You in a borderline blasphemous way, especially when it was sourced from our valuing people’s opinion over Your truth. By Your Holy Spirit, do a miracle in our hearts. Cleanse us and teach us to follow Your Son Jesus. In Your name, amen.

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