June 19, 2022
Pastor John Hering
Mark 3:20-35
Mark 3:20-35
20 They went into a house. A crowd gathered again so that they were not even able to eat a meal. 21 When his own people heard this, they went out to take control of him, because they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”
22 The experts in the law who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “He drives out demons by the ruler of demons.”
23 Jesus called them together 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 And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is finished. 27 On the other hand, no one can enter a strong man’s house to steal his possessions unless he ties up the strong man first. Then he can plunder his house. 28 Amen I tell you: Everything will be forgiven people, their sins and whatever blasphemies they may speak. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.” 30 Jesus said this because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
31 Then his mother and his brothers arrived. While they were standing outside, they sent word to Jesus, calling for him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him. They began to tell him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are outside looking for you.”
33 He replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 He looked at those who sat around him in a circle and he said, “Look, my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
We all know how easy it is to fall victim to rumors (can you say “evening news”). Imagine knowing what you know about Jesus from God’s Word today and being present in the crowds in the house back then. You would not have fallen prey to Satan’s lies because you have the viewpoint from 2000 years later. You know that time and distance brings clarity. It’s hard for us to imagine that anyone would call Jesus a madman, much less a devil. Even the unbelieving world today will usually give Jesus more credit than that! It disappoints us to see who it was that came up with these ridiculous conclusions—the religious leaders and his own family. While it is true that we would not be inclined to come to the same conclusions they did, we can learn from their mistakes in order to avoid similar conclusions about Jesus today. The answers that Jesus gives to their ridiculous conclusions help us understand even better just who Jesus is. Rejoice that the Holy Spirit has given you faith to realize
You Know Better
Jesus is not Satan
As it was then, so it is today that so many reject Jesus as the Savior of the world. But there are few people who say that Jesus is bad or even evil. But, the teachers of Jesus’ day went even further:
“22 The experts in the law who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “He drives out demons by the ruler of demons.”
Mark 3:22
This account is also recorded in Matthew and we learn that Jesus had just cast a demon out of a person when they made their derogatory comments. They couldn’t deny the miracle. Everyone saw it. So, what was their hang up? They saw Jesus as a threat to their leadership, position in society and prosperity. You Know Better! Jesus was casting out demons and his enemies didn’t want the people to put their trust in him. They had to come up with something to explain why the demon left. They claimed Jesus was possessed and in cahoots with the Devil was the best they could do.
Jesus’ answer makes it clear why their accusation made no sense.
“23 Jesus called them together 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 And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is finished.”
Mark 3:23-26
Anyone who heard Jesus would know better. This wasn’t Satan telling one of his demons to leave and go find someone else in order to deceive people into believing in Jesus instead of his enemies. You Know Better because you have read the Gospels and know that Jesus was casting out demons left and right. They were fleeing from Jesus by the legions—thousands—and forced to release hold on the souls of people. If Jesus were Satan casting out these demons then Satan was divided against himself. He would be fighting against the very thing he loved to do. Satan lives to mess with people, especially in Jesus’ day, by possessing them. He can’t fight back directly with God so he looks for people that he can gain for himself to join him in hell.
You Know Better! Jesus was showing and teaching the people to have every reason to trust his power with their souls and lives now and forever.
“27 On the other hand, no one can enter a strong man’s house to steal his possessions unless he ties up the strong man first. Then he can plunder his house.”
Mark 3:27
It is good for us to remember that Satan is strong and not to be fooled around with. It isn’t part of his strategy most the time, to make himself look weak. Satan wants people to know he is strong—even so strong that you can’t escape his grasp. There is a grain of truth here, because one on one we can’t stand up against him. Satan wants us to believe that we can’t avoid the temptation, that we can’t escape sin, and stirs up the guilty feelings that no sin will slip by the Lord’s condemnation.
But, You Know Better because you know Jesus isn’t Satan. Satan might be stronger than we are, but Jesus is stronger than Satan is. And Jesus has tied Satan up. This was shown when Jesus was tempted by Satan turn stones into bread, jump down from the temple, or bow down to him and defeated him at every turn. It is most clear at the cross where Jesus crushed Satan’s head, took all our sin’s punishment upon himself so Satan was left with nothing with which to condemn us. Then at the empty tomb Jesus showed his power over death forever. Therefore, all through Jesus’ ministry he showed he could tie up Satan and cast him out as the little demons went whimpering away. Yes, you want to be free from Satan’s power. You want to go to heaven. Right here Jesus is making it clear that he is the one to trust.
You Know Better—You Know Jesus Is Not Satan. And just as important as Jesus’ defense of himself, he also gives a warning to those who accuse him:
“28 Amen I tell you: Everything will be forgiven people, their sins and whatever blasphemies they may speak. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.” 30 Jesus said this because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
Mark 3:28-30
Many people called Jesus names, but to call him Satan is a sin of the worst kind. These men were staring right in the face of a miracle of God, something their own hearts couldn’t deny came from God. They were dangerously close to having their hearts hardened in such a way that they could only reject God’s forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ. They were telling God they didn’t want forgiveness for their sins from Jesus that would leave them with nothing but God’s punishment and wrath.
Just hearing this sounds ridiculous because we can’t imagine anyone rejecting God’s forgiveness in Jesus Christ. Or can we? Maybe you know someone, or have been tempted yourself to think you didn’t want forgiveness, because that would mean admitting you were wrong. We know receiving forgiveness is also accompanied by some effort to change. Therefore even though God loves us so much and forgives everyone, so many people just aren’t interested. It hurts pride, power, and earthly prosperity. The enemies of Jesus wanted God to love them for who they were—people who thought they didn’t need Jesus. It is a warning for us to heed as well, for we know better. But, we still have a sinful flesh that doesn’t like the idea that we need forgiveness.
The sin against the Holy Spirit has been called, “The Unforgiveable Sin,” and Christians worry if they have committed it. However, if one is worried about it, then they haven’t committed it. Those who have committed it, know they have and don’t care. The danger of this sin is not the size of the sin, but the nature of the sin—for it is the rejection of Jesus’ forgiveness. But, You Know Better! You know there is no sin so big that Jesus hasn’t forgiven it. If you have a sin that is bothering you, it is forgiven because Jesus is not Satan, he is your Savior!
I know people hear this and wonder who would be so crazy to give their own life for a bunch of worthless people? It is the very nature of grace. Jesus forgives us because Jesus Is Not Satan!
Jesus is not Insane
When we read this account we are sad that the religious leaders didn’t know better. Who knows God better than religious leaders, right? Well, Jesus’ family also didn’t know him very well. I know, I wonder how Mary could forget the visit from the angel that told Jesus is the Savior—that’s insane! But, sadly, they thought Jesus was insane!
“20 They went into a house. A crowd gathered again so that they were not even able to eat a meal. 21 When his own people heard this, they went out to take control of him, because they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”
Mark 3:20-21
Yes, Jesus had a family. Mary & Joseph, brothers and sisters are all mentioned in the Bible. And that may have been their trouble. How could God live with them? Maybe it was they knew Jesus hadn’t grown up with the type of training a great Rabbi would have. He grew up learning a trade (Carpenter – Mark 6:3). It’s easy for me to imagine them saying, “Now Jesus has turned his little preaching/healing gig into a career! It’s become an obsession with him! He won’t even stop to eat and sleep and take care of himself.” It made perfect sense to his family who didn’t yet believe in who Jesus really is. But, You Know Better. You know Jesus is not insane, rather he is so intent on fulfilling the mission his Father sent him to accomplish.
But, some today still look at devotion to the Kingdom of God to be madness. “What person dedicates their whole life to become a pastor or teacher and make serving the Lord the number one thing in their life? What a waste of time?” Maybe you’ve thought, “I would never marry a preacher because they have to work on Sundays!” It’s getting harder and harder to find young people who show an interest in full time ministry. It’s also getting more rare to find people who will arrange their schedules and family priorities to make God’s Word #1 at home, let alone to be involved in kingdom work at church. But, You Know Better. You know Jesus is not Insane, and neither are the people who follow him.
“31 Then his mother and his brothers arrived. While they were standing outside, they sent word to Jesus, calling for him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him. They began to tell him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are outside looking for you.” 33 He replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 He looked at those who sat around him in a circle and he said, “Look, my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
Mark 3:31-35
Jesus’ physical family was working to do what they thought would help Jesus get some rest. But, Jesus was busy at work giving people a place in his eternal family. Those who are living close to Jesus are those who live in his love and his blessings of forgiveness of sins, eternal life and deliverance from the devil’s power. These followers are closer to Jesus than his blood relatives. The last statement of Jesus brings it all home for us. “35 For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” What is God’s will? Jesus said in John 6,
“40 For this is the will of my Father: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life.”
John 6:40
These words were not spoken from someone who was insane, unless you mean he was insanely loving us. Jesus wants us to gather around his Word, believe it and live according to it. Jesus wants us to remember our baptism when we were made a member of God’s family. Jesus wants us to remember his forgiveness when we come to the Lord’s Supper. Jesus wants us to grow as members of God’s family. Nothing could be more sensible than that.
Jesus is not Satan. Jesus is not insane. That’s your conclusion because You Know Better. Yet, we also know that Satan will continue to spread rumors about Jesus to try and break our relationship with him. But You Know Better. You know and believe Jesus is your Savior. Now, live in his love, forgiveness, protection and peace—Because You Know Better. Amen.
