Jesus In Trouble?

Preached: 6 June 2021 at Christ Church, Billericay

Reading: Mark 3:20-35

Celebrity

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Jesus is already a celebrity. Here he is having healed a man who was mute, if you read the

similar passage in Luke. News of these events travels fast, and people are curious. More than

that, in a time when medical science doesn’t exist and doctors can offer no cure for such

ailments, miracles, are the only hope. It’s not surprising then that Jesus has become well

known really quickly.

Celebrity Pressures

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Everyone wants something from him, so crowds gather in no time at all, and He can

hardly move around to perform his ministry. There’s also the expectations to consider. “Is this the messiah?” they will be asking. After all, he’s doing and saying the things that the messiah would do and say. Normally, if you entered a house, the host would provide food and drink, but here there

are so many people, normal hospitality is impossible.

Family and Authorities

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His family soon get wind of what is going on, as do the authorities.

Family

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From the family’s point of view, this is not how it is supposed to go. Sons, particularly eldest

sons, are supposed to grow up and join the family business. That’s how you honour your

family, and become a good Jew. They are not supposed to abandon their home and start an

itinerant preaching ministry.

Mary

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Mary’s reaction is particularly interesting, after all she knows that Jesus’s birth was

miraculous, and she knows where his interests lie. Remember, when he was twelve the family

had to stop its journey home and return to Jerusalem because Jesus was missing. They

found him debating with the scholars in the temple, and He was surprised that they didn’t

know where he was. Perhaps difficult teenagers are not such a recent invention and she had just assumed that it was all a passing fad.

Genuine Concerns

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What ever her beliefs about her son were, the news she hears convinces the family that Jesus

is really in trouble and needs their care. They believe He is having some sort of mental

breakdown, so they decide to go and get him and take him home.

Walk of Witness

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Sudden religious activity can have that effect on families. I remember when I told my mum

I was going on a walk of witness on Good Friday, sometime back in the early 1980s I was

met with a very suspicious response – something along the lines of “Are you sure you

haven’t joined a cult?” This is from someone who was considering becoming a missionary in

her youth. A walk of witness is nothing compared to what Jesus is doing.

Authorities

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The authorities are also concerned about what Jesus is doing. Here is an unknown man going

around, apparently healing people and picking up a large following. What is he teaching

about God? Is what He is doing true to the faith? He certainly hasn’t been trained by them, that much they do know. How would we react if something like that were to occur now? Miraculous healings occur, and a large gathering of people going to hear someone teaching about Jesus. We’d want to be sure that they were really from God, and really had the Holy Spirit, wouldn’t we. No

doubt the Archbishop would send some of his experts to review what is going on and report

back. That is what the authorities in the temple in Jerusalem did, they dispatched some teachers

of the law to go and take a look.

Authorities threatened

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What they see is the chaos around Jesus and an unauthorised preacher. He’s not one of us,

so he must belong to Beelzebub. So, “He is possessed by Beelzebub. By the prince of

demons, he is driving out demons.” Hopefully that will make the crowd disperse.

Now he’s identified as the enemy, they can do whatever is needed to shut him down.

Response

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Their statement, like so many political statements throughout the ages, defies logic.

Jesus is quick to pick up on this. He knows why He has come, He’s well aware of His

mission. A kingdom or a family divided against itself cannot stand. Civil war is not the way to

advance a cause. So Jesus concludes that Satan’s end has come. It’s a clever response.

Jesus is saying that, even by their own flawed logic, He is still achieving His mission. Satan’s

end is coming.

Strong Man

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Jesus’s next words give a hint of His mission. The strong man has arrived and is reclaiming

his possessions, robbed from Him by Satan. The healings and the exorcisms that people are

seeing is a sign that the Kingdom of God has arrived and Satan’s reign is coming to an end.