The Man and His Mission Mark 3:20-30

The Man and His Mission 
(or, "Forget the Duck, Remember the Cross!")

Mark 3:20-30

Introduction: A little later in His ministry Jesus will seize a teachable moment and pose a question to His disciples: “Who do people say that I am?” (Mark 8:27). That question is at the heart of this passage, and at the heart of Mark’s Gospel. We’ve been listening to Mark, as he tells the story of Jesus, answer three questions: 1) Who is Jesus? (the Christological question); 2) Why did He come? (the soteriological question); and 3) What does it mean to follow Him? (the “discipleship” question). In this passage, he’ll touch on all three questions. The first question is addressed initially. Is Jesus Lord, liar, or lunatic (or something worse)? C.S. Lewis famously addressed that question in Mere Christianity…

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. . .  Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God. (Mere Christianity, 55-56)

He is God the Son, fully man, and fully God. Jesus himself also addresses the second question: Why did He come? He came to build a church that would assault the gates of hell -  He came to bind the “strongman” and set free those he held captive… The issue is sin… Jesus came to do for us what we could not do for ourselves… “…all sins will be forgiven the children of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter…” We often minimize the gravity of our situation. Fallen humans are lost, spiritually dead, blind to the truth, unable to understand the things of the Spirit of God. Aside from that things are great! But God’s grace is greater than all our sin.  The LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

         Satan is a liar, and the father of lies. So many times, the enemy would whisper lies in the ears of the sons and daughters of Adam… “God knows the truth about you… He could never forgive YOUR sins… He could never love someone like YOU…” THAT is a lie. Jesus said “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” God showed us His love, He spared not the Son but delivered Him up for us all. God’s grace is greater than our sins. Praise the Lord! And that is…

The Maine* Idea:  Jesus came to rescue us from sin and from Satan, and in so doing He revealed Himself to be the Son of God.

I. Misunderstood by His own: His family and friends did not at once recognize who He was and what He had come to do (20,21).

²⁰ Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat.  ²¹ And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, "He is out of his mind." 

       There are a couple of details in the translation here that I am still wrestling with. Did Jesus “go home” or “enter a house”? Did His family hear and come out to “seize him” or was it his friends, or “His own people”?  Let’s look at the second issue first. The ESV translates “…his family heard it…”  Based on the context, it could be referring to his family (3:20a, 31f.), but that is really more of an interpretation than a translation. The phrase is more literally translated by the NASB and NKJV, “…his own people…” It could be referring to people from the town who knew him, or to his relatives, or even to some of the “fringe” disciples who were following Him.  We know from John’s gospel that Jesus’ half-brothers did not initially believe (John 7:3-5). Surely Mary, his mother, knew beyond question His identity (cf. Luke 1:31ff). This is probably more akin to what we’ll see in Mark 6:1-4, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country…” Notice the context, the crowds were getting so big, the ministry so pressing, that “they could not even eat bread…”  Were some getting worried that this was getting out of hand, maybe even concerned for Jesus’ well-being?

       The fact that some want to “seize” him sounds like an intervention!  The word is used in positive contexts in Mark of Jesus “taking” the hand of people He was about to heal. It is also used in a negative sense of arresting John and then Jesus (6:17; 12:12).  Whatever the intention, they did not understand, as of yet, who He is and what He came to do. Ministering to the multitudes in Galilee was part of God’s plan.  We’ve been talking about evangelism quite a bit lately. I would urge you to not be discouraged if your friends and family just don’t seem to understand when the subject shifts to spiritual things.  Some of those closest to Jesus didn’t immediately understand and believe either!

       We’ve been emphasizing this year reaching out to the people around us, the people we interact with on a day-to-day basis: family, relatives, co-workers, classmates, neighbors… God has guided both your life and theirs purposefully, and you are His ambassador right where you are. Do you ever feel misunderstood by your oikos, the people in your sphere of influence? Get over it! Jesus was misunderstood, don’t be surprised if you are! Keep loving, keep praying, and be ready to share your faith, to give a reason for the hope that you have in Jesus. And keep inviting! Statistics tell us that 95% of the people who visit church and eventually come to faith were initially invited by someone they know!  We know the truth, and it is Good News: Jesus came to rescue us from sin and from Satan, and in so doing He revealed Himself to be the Son of God.

II. Hated by the rulers: The leaders were so blinded by hate, they could not distinguish the work of God from the work of the devil (22).

²² 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."  

       Those bringing this terrible accusation against Jesus had “come down” from Jerusalem. (Jerusalem was south of Galilee, but for the Jews, even though it is built on a modest hill, you always “go up” to Jerusalem, and come down from it!). By the way, remember from the Fourth Gospel Jesus’ words in the upper room,

¹⁸ “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.  ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you…” (John 15:18-19).

There may be… no, there will be, a cost to following Him. Later He will state it explicitly, “…take up your cross and follow me…” John said in his first letter, “Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you…” (I John 3:13).  A great illustration of this is the story of the man born blind in John 9. He is miraculously healed by Jesus. The leaders investigate, they question the man, then they question his parents, then they question the man again. The miracle could not be denied, yet the leaders would not believe. Finally, the healed man is teaching the leaders, “Here is an amazing thing, you don’t know where he came from, yet He opened my eyes!” (9:30). The one who had been blind, sees. The leaders who thought they could see, are shown to be blind!

       Do you experience some “pushback” when you share your testimony or seek to present the gospel? Remember I Peter 4:12…

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”

Don’t be surprised. And don’t take it personally! Keep praying for opportunities to share – keep laser focused on those 8 to 15 people that God has strategically placed in your close sphere of influence… Pray for them, love them, and with gentleness and respect look for opportunities to give a reason for the hope that is in you! After all, Jesus came to rescue us from sin and from Satan, and in so doing He revealed Himself to be the Son of God.

III. Yet, He “so loved the world”: Jesus warned that it was irrational—even nonsensical—to imagine Satan fighting against Himself! In fact, Jesus had come to plunder the house of the evil one, setting captives free (23-30)!  He starts with…

      A logical defense: A kingdom divided cannot stand (23-26)!

²³ And he called them to him and said to them in parables, "How can Satan cast 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 will not be able to stand.  ²⁶ And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 

       We’ll get more into discussing “parables” in a few weeks in Mark 4, here the word has the sense of an analogy, or an illustration and not the sense of a full-blown parable like the Sower (Mark 4) or the Good Samaritan (Luke 10). Jesus is using a logical argument to refute the charge of the leaders. It was foolish to say that by the devil’s power Jesus was casting out demons—that would mean Satan was fighting against himself!

·        The Kingdom of God is overwhelming the domain of Satan (27)!

²⁷ 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 is contrasting the illogical argument that He was empowered by the devil. The word “but” that begins v.27 is a strong adversative, “on the contrary…” Not only was Jesus not in league with the enemy, but He had broken into his house in coming into this fallen world, and He had bound the “strong man,” because He, Jesus, is the STRONGER man. And His ministry of casting out demons and healing the sick and preaching the good news was an all-out assault on the gates of hell! 

·        Jesus came to offer forgiveness to all who will believe (28-30).

²⁸ "Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter,  ²⁹ but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin"-  ³⁰ for they had said, "He has an unclean spirit."

       Let’s start with the positive in v.28, “…all sins will be forgiven the children of man…” He is saying God’s grace is bigger than your sin.  One of the common issues in counselling is people struggling with the burden of past sin. There is a story that illustrates how sin can enslave us and forgiveness can set us free…

…A little boy visiting his grandparents is given his first slingshot. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit his target. As he came back to Grandma's back yard, he spied her pet duck. On an impulse he took aim and let fly. The stone hit, and the duck fell dead [Reminds me of my first experience with a Red Rider BB gun!].

The boy panicked. Desperately he hid the dead duck in the woodpile, only to look up and see his sister watching. Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing. After lunch that day, Grandma said, "Sally, let's wash the dishes." But Sally said, "Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen today. Didn't you, Johnny?" And she whispered to him, "Remember the duck!” So Johnny did the dishes.

Later Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing. Grandma said, "I'm sorry, but I need Sally to help make supper." Sally smiled and said, "That's all taken care of. Johnny wants to do it." Again she whispered, "Remember the duck." Johnny stayed while Sally went fishing. After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's, finally he couldn't stand it. He confessed to Grandma that he'd killed the duck. "I know, Johnny," she said, giving him a hug. "I was standing at the window and saw the whole thing. Because I love you, I forgave you. I just wondered how long you would let Sally make a slave of you (Richard Hoefler, Will Daylight Come?).

Satan loves to whisper to us, “remember the duck!” (or whatever it might have been in your case!).  Satan loves to make a slave of us. We should respond, “Remember the cross!” Think of H. Spafford’s hymn, “It is well with my soul…”

My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought,

my sin, not in part, but the whole,

was nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Oh my soul!

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…” (Rom 8:1)! I have occasionally spoken with people through the years who worried whether or not they had committed the unpardonable sin. Have you ever worried if God could really forgive you? Dr. R.C. Sproul suggests,

“Worrying about [whether one has committed the unforgiveable sin] is one of the clearest evidences [that the troubled person has] not committed this sin, for those who commit it are so hardened in their hearts that they do not care that they commit it…” (R.C. Sproul, Mark).

In the context, the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit referred to these leaders, who saw Jesus’ acts of power and rather than recognizing God working in Him they attributed the miracles to the devil. They were determined in their unbelief. Blasphemers against the Holy Spirit, like Pharaoh of old, are hardened in their hearts, they won’t be concerned about sin or about offending the Holy One. “God demonstrated His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us…” (Rom 5:8). That is good news!

What is God saying to me in this passage? Jesus came to rescue us from sin and from Satan, and in so doing He revealed Himself to be the Son of God.

What would God have me to do in response to this passage? If we recognize who Jesus is, we can rejoice in why He came: to bind the strong man, to set captives free, to make a way for fallen humans to be reconciled to Holy God. Have you trusted Him…? If we have decided to follow Him, we shouldn’t be surprised by the misunderstanding and the “push back” we encounter. Remember the world is in rebellion against the King, so don’t take it personally! Our calling is to speak the truth in love, and with gentleness and respect, to give a reason for the hope that is in us. This week our town will be out in masse, and visitors will also be flooding in for the Windjammer events. Let’s be alert to opportunities—take a handful of invitation cards, and look for openings to give them out to people at the parade and other events this week. We’ve embraced the motto, “A Light-house of God’s Grace and Truth.” Let’s determine to shine brightly! God is still on the throne, Jesus is building His church, and He would use us to bring the Word of Life to the people we encounter this week.                           AMEN.