BELIEVE! Mark 3:7-12

BELIEVE!

Mark 3:7-12   

Introduction: In our look last week at the Sabbath controversies in Mark 2:23-3:6 the question of the Law, and the spirit of the Law, was touched on. What is the heart of the matter? Rabbi Shammai said that Moses gave us 365 prohibitions and 248 positive commands in the Law. David in Psalm 15 summarized them in eleven principles. Isaiah 33:14-15 narrows it down to 6, and Micah 6:8 reduces it down to 3. Habakkuk 2:4 brings it all down to one: “The just shall live by faith.” As we talked about this passage at our Tuesday morning men’s meeting, Herb reminded us of the story of a man who…

…fell off a cliff, but managed to grab a tree limb on the way down. Hanging on for dear life, he called up:

   "Is anyone up there?" 

   "I am here. I am the Lord. Do you believe me?" 

   "Yes, Lord, I believe. I really believe, but I can't hang on much longer." 

   "That's all right, if you really believe you have nothing to worry about. I will save you. Just let go of the branch." 

   A moment of pause, then: "Is anyone else up there?"

Biblical faith is about believing God, taking Him at His Word. That means believing what He has said about who He is and about who we are, and trusting what He did for us, acknowledging His way as the only way, and our only hope, for reconciliation and peace with God. On the second missionary journey, Paul and Silas were imprisoned in Philippi (Acts 16). After singing and praying through the night, the place was shaken, their chains fell off and the doors opened.  The Jailer awoke, and in his desperation, thinking all the prisoners had all escaped, he was ready to take his own life. The missionaries intervened and stopped him from harming himself. In his brokenness he asked them, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved…” (Acts 16:31). What does that mean? Many people will say they “believe” in God, but what is saving faith? The religious leaders of Jesus’ day would have of course said they believed in God! Yet they were so far from God that they were blind to spiritual truth, and did not recognize the Son of God when He was right there in front of them.

       One writer defined the faith that saves:

“Saving faith may… be defined as a voluntary turning from all hope and grounds based on self-merit, and assuming an attitude of expectancy toward God, trusting Him to do a perfect saving work based only on the merit of Christ… (L.S. Chafer, True Evangelism, p. 55-6).

The Maine* Idea: Believing in Jesus is more than mere temporal faith or simple intellectual assent—it is believing that Jesus is God the Son, and trusting Him alone as Savior and Lord!

I. The Fallacy of purely “temporal” faith: Many people who don’t know God, look to “a god” for their needs or wants (7-10).

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. 

       The healing at the beginning of Mark 3 was on a Sabbath. Remember that these miracles gave a glimpse of the kingdom, but they were also revelation that attested to Jesus’ identity, they should have evoked a response of faith from those who saw them. John spoke of the writing of his own gospel account of the words and works of Jesus when he said,

“Many other signs did Jesus in the presence of His disciples which are not written in this book… these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, you might have life in His name…” (John 20:30.31).    

Even so, the leaders did not believe. In fact, we see here in Mark 3:6, in response to the miracle, they counseled together how to destroy Him. Rather than recognizing their own Messiah, they were plotting his death!  But His time had not yet come. And so in v.7 Jesus “withdrew” with His disciples. The word is sometimes used to describe a “tactical withdrawal” to prepare for the next stage of a conflict. God had a plan, and that would include a final confrontation with the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem. But it had to happen in God’s time. Jesus had more preliminary work to do. Revealing himself through His works and words. And training his disciples for the mission that would “ramp up” only after His departure, after his ascension and the sending of the Spirit. The very next paragraph he selects twelve and calls them His “apostles.”

       Notice the places mentioned… Jesus’ fame is spreading and people are coming from farther away, Galilee and Judea yes, but also from Idumea in the south and Tyre and Sidon on coast, north and west… and from across the Jordan. Despite Jesus’ limited travel so far, people who saw Him, brought the news, and the word was getting out that a prophet and miracle worker was there in Galilee. Think about it, why did the crowds come to Jesus? The text gives us some clues: The great crowd of people had heard reports about what He was doing, that He had healed many, and so they came, en masse, trying to get close to Him. It may be that a portion of the crowd wanted to see who this man was: could he be the Messiah?  And though Jesus was “…proclaiming the gospel of God,  ¹⁵ and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel…’” (Mark 1:14-15) many came for other things than to hear His preaching. Many had physical needs, some chronic illnesses, others, life threatening diseases, even demon possession.

     What did they hope He would do for them? Many, no doubt, came for healing. Many surely were coming not primarily to listen and learn and to know Him, they were coming to see what He could do for them.  A lot of people think of God in those terms today… they think of God like a Santa Claus to reward them with things they want or need, or like a genie in bottle to grant their wishes. God is God, we are His creatures. He makes the rules, He created everything, and He gets the glory.

       Don’t misunderstand, trusting God for healing, for help in the crises of life, for our needs day to day is not a bad thing, in fact we should ask Him for even our daily bread! But, if we are only trusting Jesus to meet our temporal needs, our faith falls short.

       The weather is getting nice, and imagine for a moment you decide to take a boat and head out into the harbor. It’s so smooth and calm you head out, passing the islands and lighthouses into deep water. The land shrinks away behind you, and you notice the boat seems to be riding low in the water… yes, it’s leaking badly, you turn back but it’s too late, the boat sinks and you are in the water, miles from land. There you are, treading water, too far to swim, losing hope. Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, a coastguard boat pulls up to you!  Would you say, “I am starting to get sunburned, could you throw me some sunscreen?” Would you ask, “I’m getting hungry and my lunch is soggy, could you give me a bite to eat?” Would you ask, “Which way is land? I want to give it my best shot!” No, you would say “Save me!” You would reach out for the life preserver they were throwing to you, and you would get in the boat! Here is a newsflash: People have a lot of problems! Our biggest problem dwarfs them all, and is at the root of them all. The Gospel is about God acting in history to solve the greatest problem of humanity: SIN. We read in Ephesians,

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins  ² in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-  ³ among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.  ⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,  ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ- by grace you have been saved-  ⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,  ⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus… (Eph 2:1-7).

We were without hope, and by grace, through faith, He made us alive, reconciled us to God by the blood of the cross! Trusting God to help us with our needs, or even our wants, is not a bad thing. But our deepest need is to be rescued, and to know Him, our Rescuer, to have a relationship with Him.  Believing in Jesus is more than mere temporal faith or simple intellectual assent—it is believing that Jesus is who He claimed to be: God the Son; and trusting Him alone as Savior and Lord!

II. The Fallacy of mere intellectual assent (11-12). Consider the example of the demons speaking truth in the context of their rebellion. James said “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe- and shudder!” (Js 2:19).

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… (Mark 3:11,12).

     We have seen these kinds of power encounters already in Mark. As Jesus was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum, his hearers were fascinated because he didn’t teach like the scribes, he taught with authority. And then we read in Mark 1:23-26,

²³ And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out,  ²⁴ "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are- the Holy One of God."  ²⁵ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!"  ²⁶ And the unclean spirit… came out of him.

The demoniac recognized Him as “The Holy One of God.” And then he was silenced and cast out. Here we are told a similar thing is happening: Demon possessed people were being met by Jesus, and immediately the demons cried out, recognizing Jesus as the Son of God.  This is what a lot of people mean when they say “I believe in God.” They believe He exists, they might affirm certain aspects of His attributes or nature. But they have no personal relation-ship, no trust that He is concerned with their deepest need, and (this is the heart of it) no intention of submitting to HIS authority as Lord and Master.

       There is a difference between knowing about God, and knowing Him personally and intimately. Some people think of “believing” in God like they think of “believing” that George Washington was a historical person. They have never seen Him, other than through written testimonies of others, maybe paintings that claim to capture his likeness, yet they believe He existed, the Father of our country, our first president. He was here “back then,” but they are not trusting him to do anything for them today.  Some people say they believe in God in the sense that they believe “a god” probably exists. For many people, rather than reading His Book, they get their ideas about “god” from their own mind or from popular culture. That is essentially idolatry.  If there is a God, what should your response be?   

       Think of what the demons were saying: “You are the Son of God!” They are affirming truth, right doctrine. They know who He is. What is the problem? What is missing?  James touched on this when he said in James 2:19,

“You believe that God is one, you do well.

The demons also believe, and tremble…”

Humans have eternity in their hearts, they have a sense that there is something beyond this life. Yet since the Fall we resist coming to God on his terms. That would mean relinquishing control, admitting that we are not autonomous, we don’t make the rules! If God is our Creator, if He is the Lord of the Universe, we owe Him our allegiance. To believe in Him must mean that we recognize who He is, and who we are. Sin separated humans from God. We were treading water, without hope, unable to save ourselves. He sent the Rescuer, Jesus, to offer a way to forgiveness and life. Imagine the Coast Guard comes up to you in the water... "Nice boat!" You say, "I believe you could carry me in without any problem!" Your rescuer extends his hand, "Come in the boat, be saved!" You believe they could save you, but you stay in the water. The faith that saves is more than intellectual assent, it is trusting our Rescuer, entrusting ourselves to Him. The hand of a drowning man, taking the hand of our Rescuer, trusting Him, Him alone, to get us home.

What is God saying to me in this passage? What does saving faith “look like”? What does my faith look like? Believing in Jesus is more than mere temporal faith or simple intellectual assent—it is believing that Jesus is God the Son, and trusting Him alone as Savior and Lord!

What would God have me to do in response to this passage?   Have I believed in Jesus, that is, have I put my trust in Christ alone for eternal salvation? Two questions can help you be sure: 1) Do you know for certain that if you were to die today that you have eternal life? If you are not sure, you can be sure. In fact, that is one reason the Bible was written (I Jn 5:13)! The second question can help bring clarity to the heart of the matter… 2) If you were to die and stand before God, and He were to ask you, “Why should l let you into my heaven?” What would you say? If you are not sure, why not make sure, now, today?

       It is as simple as ABC, Admit your need, that you are a sinner, and your sin separates you from God (Rom 3:23). Believe that Jesus died for your sins, and that He was raised the third day. Confess Him now as your Savior and Lord. The Bible says “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved…” In another place we read, “Confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, and you will be saved…”

       We have been entrusted with that message! Will we share that message with those in our “sphere of influence”? You knew I would get to that! There are people in your oikos, your household, your extended family and friends, who are lost. Let’s turn the Coastguard analogy around for a minute. You’re in the boat with the Coastguard, and pull up to one of your friends in the water, what will you do? Certainly not just wave, wish them a good day, and go on your way! You’ll throw out a lifeline! Be ready to share the Word of Life this week! Refresh your supply of invitation cards. Plan to give them out. Visitors, locals, Hannaford, the Y, wherever.  Be sure to point out the TrueLife.org website on the back. Take some gospel tracts and PTL Gospels, and give them out as you have opportunity. We are on a mission field. Throw out a lifeline! AMEN.  On this, a first Sunday of the month, we celebrate the Lord’s table, a reminder of the sacrifice that made possible our reconciliation with God… the sacrifice at the heart of the message we have believed…