Mark 3: 20 – 27
Family Ties
20 Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. 21 But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, “He is out of His mind.” 22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebub,” and, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.” 23 So He called them to Himself 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 cannot stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. 27 No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.
Now, as you know there were two other documents in circulation and they were the Gospels of Luke and Matthew. As you know, Matthew was an apostle who was with our Lord Jesus Christ for over three years and was an eye witness to all that our Lord said and did. Luke, on the other hand was a friend and fellow traveler with the apostle Paul. He later came back to Israel and interviewed the eye witnesses to this event.
So, to get a full picture let us take a quick look at both Gospels and see if there is any other information that would bless us.
Matthew 12:20-30, “22 Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. 23 And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?” 24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.” 25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. 28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. 30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.
Luke 11:14-23, “14 And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled. 15 But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.” 16 Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven. 17 But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls. 18 If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub. 19 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 20 But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. 22 But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils. 23 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
Today we are all going to be detectives. We are assigned the task of putting together three reports that deal with a certain event and then writing up a report on what actually happened.
20 Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.
From our last study we understand that our Lord Jesus Christ was mobbed all the time now. People not only from Israel but from other nations had heard about Him and brought all their friends and family members who had physical deformities, ill heath, diseases, and were possessed by demons. In His compassion our Lord would not turn away anyone.
We read in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke that the main thing that He was doing when this confrontation occurred was that He was casting out a demon from a person.
Matthew 12, “22 Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.”
Luke 11, “14 And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled.’
If you are in the ministry you can relate to the statement that Peter relates to Mark, ‘our Lord was so busy ministering to people that we all didn’t have any time to eat.’
Many people, including my wife, have a hard time understanding that in the service of others, many times you do not even have a spare moment to have a bite to eat.
My main goal in life is to help people understand that our Lord Jesus Christ Is the answer to everything that we need in life. But often it is hard to get people to accept that truth. In many instances illnesses and serious disease hinders their ability to hear the truth of His ‘Good News’. Add to this, the fact of emotional problems, and life difficulties such as marriage and financial problems, you can understand the heavy counseling load.
On many days I will have scheduled 6 or 8 appointments. Then you have to add the ‘emergency’ calls and walk ins. Can you see now how easily you can go without taking a break? Can you understand with the amount of people needing Jehovah Rapha’s – The Lord our Healer – help? It is easy to picture the endless line up of needy people. Our Lord isn’t persuaded by anyone to stop and take a break.
21 But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, “He is out of His mind.”
Well, my fellow detectives, we see the cause that sparked this evil response to our Holy Master. It was His family.
Only Peter remarks about our Lord’s family, who basically came to take Him back home to Nazareth.
Please note the wording ‘heard it’. News was constantly reaching our Lord’s family. As we find even today most news is distorted. You remember that His town folks wanted to kill Him because He had proclaimed that He Was God’s promised Messiah. So, you know they were not discussing favorable details regarding our Precious Lord.
Just as Mark lists that our Lord was working Himself to death, without taking proper care of Himself. He wasn’t eating right or getting proper rest.
In addition, news must have reached Mary and her sons and daughters that the religious leaders were out to get Him.
Perhaps they felt that if they informed the leaders that He was out of His mind, that they would back off their pursuit of dealing drastically with Him.
In the crowd of people who sought the Lord’s help in healing and the casting out of demons, were spies sent by the Pharisees. They were not moved in observing the wonderful acts of our Lord. They just seethed with hatred towards Him.
Please note that Matthew comments that people were remarking that our Lord Jesus was ‘The Son of David’. Well, anyone could have told them that. When you look at the Gospel of Matthew and Luke you see the genealogy of our Holy Majestic Adoni Yeshua. There were a lot of records available at this time which would prove that He was a descendent of king David. In reality the people were saying that the promised greater son of David, would come to the nation of Israel. The people were commenting that our Supreme Holy One Was in fact the Messiah.
This didn’t set well with all the religious phonies in the crowd. So, when they heard or noticed the comment of our Lord’s family, they used this as an opportunity to shout out accusations against our King.
22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebub,” and, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.”
Their response to the whole crowd, that this man who is performing these miracles is not from God, but is an envoy of Satan.
Please take note that these people without their knowing it are acknowledging that ‘miracles’ are taking place.
23 So He called them to Himself 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 cannot stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. 27 No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.
You cannot beat common sense. Our Lord merely pointed out that the religious leaders accusations are impossible, because Satan isn’t going to do things that will be against everything he is about. Our bibles tell us that Satan goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour. Stop and think, does Satan want anyone to be healed from emotional or physical infirmities? No, he hates us humans because of our Lord Jesus Christ. You might think to yourself now, ‘why is this so?’
Satan was created as the highest angel. He was perfect in every way. One thing I find quite interesting is that he was God’s ‘anointed’ one. You might feel that is wrong but look with me at the book of Ezekiel and see what our Wonderful Holy Spirit tells us about Lucifer, “Ezekiel 28:11-19, 11 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 12 “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created. 14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. 15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you. 16 “By the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence within, and you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones. 17 “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, that they might gaze at you. 18 “You defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your trading; Therefore I brought fire from your midst; It devoured you, and I turned you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who saw you. 19 All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you; You have become a horror, and shall be no more forever.”’
The Holy Son of God stepped up to the plate and became the correct ‘Anointed’ One from God. He reversed the damage that Satan caused by the shedding of His blood and by His death on the cross.
You see since Lucifer lost the opportunity of ever being forgiven, he hates our guts because we were not born perfect like him and throughout our lives sin. Yet, because of the amazing sacrifice by our Lord we are forgiven and can spend our eternity with our Creator. Wow!
Satan hates us for that so he would find nothing better than to kill off mankind so they will not hear the ‘Good News’ of our Lord Jesus Christ.
If you are reading this message, then I am assuming that you are a believer in our Lord Jesus Christ. I would ask you this one thing though. Please pass on the ‘Good News’ as often and to as many people as you can. May He bless all your endeavors.
