The Madness of Jesus
Mark 3:20-30
"And He came home, and the multitude gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal. And when His own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, ‘He has lost His senses.’ And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, ‘He is possessed by Beelzebul,’ and ‘He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons." And He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in parables, ‘How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished! But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house. Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they upper; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin’ – because they were saying, ‘He has an unclean spirit.’" (Mark 3:20-30)
He is out of His mind! He’s lost His senses! He’s crazy! He’s flipped out! I believe He’s insane! Would these be the reactions of our contemporary society to Jesus Christ, we He among us today? Many people think that our world would welcome Jesus Christ into their midst; that Jesus would appear to them to be sensible and sane, the perfect balance of every human characteristic.
But human characteristics are fatally flawed as a result of the Fall. Our perspective on things is warped, and I fear if Jesus came along today, our reaction to Him would be one of rejection. But it was so in Jesus’ day, even by the members of His own family.
If there were insane asylums in Jesus’ day, He would have been committed. The men would have been dispatched to place Him in a straight-jacket and take Him away. And the ones who would do the committing would be His own family. For that is precisely the opinion they express about Jesus in the first few verses of this passage we’re studying today.
After all, what would your reaction be to a man who was flouting your traditions, preaching as if He has some special authority and revelation from God? What would you think if He claimed that people were tormented by demons and then proceeded to cast them out? And what if he were your relative, perhaps your son? Well, that was precisely what Jesus was doing. But instead of praising God because of the good He was doing, His own family though He was mad. They thought He had taken leave of his senses, that He was a madman.
"And He came home, and the multitude gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal. And when His own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, ‘He has lost His senses.’" (vv. 20-21)
After all, a little religion was a good thing. But He had taken this too far, and He wasn’t even following the traditions of the elders. He had become a fanatic. He was suffering from delusions of grandeur. So, the only thing left to do was to go and bring Him back home, where He would be out of the public eye, and try to get Him some help.
This was their reasoning. But to those who were used to seeing the limited vision of that day, this was not a wild conclusion. Only those who were willing to see from God’s point of view would come to see Christ as a man sent from God. His family could not see. But there were many of His day, most notably the scribes and Pharisees, who could have seen, but chose not to. So, His opposition from those who would not or could not see increased. And in this passage, we have this opposition coming from two camps: from His own family, and from a delegation of scribes from Jerusalem.
Let’s take a closer look at this passage today. Imbedded in it are several important principles useful in our walk with the Lord.
Peril
Let’s look firstly at the peril of a divided house.
"And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, ‘He is possessed by Beelzebul,’ and ‘He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons." And he called them to Himself and began speaking to them in parables, ‘How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished!" (vv. 22-26)
Notice the scribes’ accusation. They had not come as objective observers. They were a delegation sent from Jerusalem to accuse Jesus of error. And their minds were already made up before they arrived.
You see, Jesus had been mounting a frontal assault on the kingdom of Satan. Never before had one so aggressively undertaken to destroy Satan’s work. When Jesus had come upon demon possessed individuals, the demons could not keep quiet, but had to make themselves know. And when they did, Jesus dealt with them. He delivered those who were demon oppressed and cast the demons out.
For some reason, this upset those religious leaders who were witnessing these events. And so, they leveled their simplistic and illogical charge at Him. "He is possessed by Beelzebul . . . He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons."
Notice Jesus’ reply. It was so simple and so logical. Basically all He said was that a house divided cannot stand. He said that Satan would not oppose himself. Satan would not be that stupid. It was not logical. How could the devil make any progress if his kingdom was always at odds with itself? It simply could not survive under those conditions; and neither can any organization, business, family, or group.
This is a principle of life. It is built into the order of the universe. To oppose yourself is to fail at what you are trying to do. Where there is opposition from within, all manner of problems arise. It is like a cancer to the body. It is a part of the body, but the cells are growing out of control and draining the life of the body, Cancer is the body at odds with itself. And it can end in death if not corrected.
Many a malignancy exists in the organizations of men; and when they go unchecked, the demise of such organizations is sure. Even in many churches do such cancers eat away at the unity of the Spirit. And in some sad cases, they quench the Spirit’s working in that body.
A house divided cannot stand. This is the peril of a divided house. If we would enjoy the benefits of success in the Kingdom, we need to put unity and common vision on the list of our top priorities.
Do you know why so many churches fail in their mission? It is because they are not going anywhere together. Every member has his or her ideas of what ought to be done. Everyone has their own agenda. There is no common goal, no common vision. Many times, they end up opposing each other. They become a house divided.
I often wondered why, in my study of church growth, that although the growing churches which were studied differed in many respects, in every case there was one thing in common. They all had strong pastoral leadership. I believe I know why now. It is a matter of vision. Where the vision has been set, and where the people have caught the vision, the churches move forward, united in a common set of goals, working together.
Jesus had the vision for those who heard Him. Those who were willing to be open to that vision and catch that vision, saw by faith and believed in Him as the Messiah.
These scribes never considered that the reason Jesus could cast out demons was that He was the Messiah, sent from God. They were not open. Their minds were already made up. This man did not fit their theology.
How about you? Is your mind already made up? Are you quick to dismiss things based on the fact that they do not fit your ideas of how things ought to be? We must catch the same vision and unite behind the person of Jesus Christ. We must avoid getting hung up in peripheral issues and unite behind the goals that really count, lest we find ourselves to be a house divided.
If there is something that the Church at large needs today, it is to be consistent, united behind a common vision, moving together toward the same goal. 1 Corinthians 1:10 says,
"Now I exhort your, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and there be no divisions among you, but you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgement."
The peril of a divided house is that a house divided cannot stand.
Preeminence
Next, let’s turn our attention to the preeminence of a victorious Savior.
"But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house." (v.27)
Jesus has bound the strong man. Notice the illustration Jesus uses. The strong man is obviously Satan, so for Satan’s house to be spoiled, he must first be bound. And that is what was happening. Satan’s house was being plundered by the Lord Jesus every time He cast out a demon. So, the obvious conclusion was that Jesus was the stronger man who had bound the strong man of the house. We see here the preeminence of a victorious Savior.
The power of the enemy had been broken. Here is another principle of the Kingdom of God. Jesus has broken the power of the enemy in our lives. And we must see that fact and walk from that position. But most Christians do not see that fact; much less walk from that position. In fact, most of what is ours in Christ, we neither see nor walk in.
The Bible says that we are dead to sin in Christ. But do we live as though that were true? The Bible says that we are free from the dominion of the sin principle in our lives, that our old man has been crucified with Christ. But do we reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to God?
Well, we don’t do any of this if we don’t see it and believe it. But whether we see it or not, it is true. God has given us great and precious promises in Christ which are all yea and amen in Him. As we discover these with openness to Him to make them real for us, our lives will begin to change in dramatic ways. We will begin to walk by faith and not by sight. And the victorious life will be there for us.
It all begins with understanding that Jesus is the victorious One. He has bound the strong man. Satan is a defected foe at the hands of Jesus Christ. The hounds of hell cringe at the very mention of His name. The enemy cowers as a defected foe at the mighty hand of Jesus. And we, by faith, can enter into that victory, but we must begin to see ourselves as part of the victorious army of God. And by faith, we must begin to exercise the diving prerogative we have to walk in that victory won for us by Christ himself. The preeminence of victorious Savior means that all the promises of God are a resounding "yes" to us.
Presumption
Finally, let’s turn our attention to the presumption of a blasphemous attitude.
"Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin’ – because they were saying, ‘He has an unclean spirit." (vv. 28-30)
Notice what the scribes had done. They had attributed the work of God to Satan. They had called the work of the Spirit of God the work of the devil. Their presumptuous and blasphemous attitude was putting their souls in eternal peril.
Many today do this same thing. And it is usually the same kind of people who do it – religious people. When the Lord begins a work in the lives of people and they cannot fit it into their theology, they are quick to say it is of the devil. But this is exactly what the scribes did, and it is very dangerous. We must be extremely careful before we attribute what may be the work of God to the devil. You see, your attitude makes all the difference.
Jesus points out here that this attitude which the scribes exhibited is the same attitude which resides in those who commit the unpardonable sin. It is the attitude of rejecting the Spirit’s work and witness.
Many people have had long discussions as they try to determine just what the unpardonable sin is. I believe we receive tremendous insight from the lips of Jesus here. It seems that the unpardonable sin is a continued, willful rejection of the Spirit’s witness of Jesus. The Spirit has been given to bear witness of Jesus. He comes to you to convict you of the sin in your life, and to convince you that Jesus is the way of salvation. When you harden your heart against that witness and say no, you are in essence calling the Spirit a liar. When a person continually does that, there can be no forgiveness, for they will die in their sin and be forever lost in eternity.
The forgiveness of Christ is infinite. There is no sin outside the bounds of His redemptive work. All sins, even what we consider to be the most horrible, can be and are forgiven by Christ. But this attitude of rejecting the Spirit’s witness to Christ can never be forgiven because it keeps one from coming to Christ. If you do not come to Christ, you place yourself outside the boundary of His redemptive work. You can never be forgiven because you have rejected Christ. It begins as an attitude of self-reliance, self-centeredness. It is saying no to the Spirit’s appeal and pleading in our lives.
Now, we as Christians also sin against the Holy Spirit. Our sin as Christians is not the unpardonable sin of rejecting Jesus, but it is sin nonetheless.
When we hear the voice of God speaking to us from whatever source, and do not respond, we are quenching the Spirit. When we choose self over the Holy Spirit’s will that He has revealed to us, we grieve the Spirit.
Now you may say, "I would never do that. If I heard the voice of the Spirit speaking to me, I would obey Him. But I’m not going to do something because man says it." Well, you are never going to hear what the Lord says to you if you have that attitude. I’m sure the scribes were willing to hear God if He were to speak to them as He spoke to Moses. But they were not willing to hear a man, Jesus.
If you would hear the Spirit speak, you will have to be open to hear Him speak through others, because that is how God speaks to us many times. For some reason, God has chosen to use people to communicate His message. Now, that is not to say that it does not confirm His Word to your heart inwardly; He certainly does. The inward witness of the Spirit and the objective witness of the written word all confirm words of guidance received from others. But the Spirit delights to you through those around you.
It is a good thing to have to hear God speak through others. This works the character of Christ into our spirit. You see, you must become humble in order to receive from others. Your arrogant self-reliance must go. There is an acknowledgement of your dependence on the rest of the body of Christ. All of these things are things we need as believers.
Your attitude makes all the difference. The unpardonable sin is a blasphemous attitude of rejecting the Spirit’s witness to Christ. Taken in its fullest sense, it is the unpardonable sin. We must be careful as Christians, however, not to allow any attitudes which are cousins to this blasphemous attitude to enter our lives. To go our own way is to quench and grieve the Holy Spirit. It is to sin against Him.
We must have the attitude that all we are and all we have is the Lord’s. We must have the attitude of surrender; the attitude which causes us to abandon our lives into the hands of Jesus.
When we hold anything to ourselves, we are sinning against the lordship of Christ. If He is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all. Let me ask you: is there any area of your life you are not holding onto apart from God? Has the Spirit of God told you what you need to do in that area and you have not done it? Let me say something rather direct to you: You are living in willful disobedience to the Lord. That may sound rather harsh, but it really isn’t. It’s true, and we must face what we are doing before we go too far.
Sin separates us from fellowship with the Lord. And when we hold even one area apart from God, we put ourselves in a dangerous position. You see, when we know what we ought to do, and do not yield that area, we take ourselves out of the place where God can bless us and use us. Sin separates.
You say, "Well, I’m just struggling over some things in my life, that’s all." And you may be. Sometimes there is a struggle to understand the will of God. But in those areas where God has spoken to you, you must yield in humble obedience, if you would receive the fullness of what God desires to do in your life. To do anything less is to live in disobedience to the Lord.
But the Lord has not given us this warning to cause us to plummet to the depths. He has shown us these things that we might soar to the heights. It is only when we become stiff-necked that we suffer loss. If we hear His voice and harden not our hearts, we will enjoy abundant life, life as it was meant to be.
However, we need to hear and obey. Some of you have been struggling with your own selfish desires for too long. You have been unwilling to give up unconditionally to the Lord. You have certain pet areas in your life you still cling to. You have certain opinions in which you think you are right and you will not yield. You are forever fighting for your rights, not knowing that you must lay down your rights to have any.
Perhaps today you have seen the need to be a uniting factor in the local body here. You see you have been anything but positive and supportive, and you need to make that right. A house divided cannot stand. Catch the vision. Commit yourself to it. Decide that you will walk hand in hand with the other brothers and sisters here to see God’s work accomplished in this place.
Perhaps you see in your life some of the cynical attitude the scribes held. Perhaps you see that you have been guilty, not of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, but of quenching and grieving the Spirit. If today you have come to understand that because of your unwillingness to yield to Him, you have been missing out on the abundant life, then yield to Him today. Don’t let another moment go by without drawing close to the Lord. Ask Him to give you faith-filled attitudes instead of cynical ones. As you draw near to God, He will draw near to you.
Thanks to JD Hoke for the source material.
