Family Matters
Mark 3:20-35
Introduction
- Pray for Rod: doing well, needs to rest and recover from fusion surgery
- Jesus is demonstrated in this book as a “servant”
-- He is the ultimate servant; giving Himself clearly for all who will receive
-- Key verse: Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
- Jesus is the ultimate example of servitude and something we must learn
-- If we are to truly experience Christ’s life, we must be willing to live like Him
- Today we continue to follow Jesus’ early ministry
-- From healings, to the crowds swelling, to the disciples called one thing remains:
-- Jesus, is still demonstrated as a servant showing us how we should live
- Read Mark 3:20-35
∆ Point 1 – Jesus is Teaching Again (20-21)
- Once again we have crowds swelling, even so much so they can’t eat (v20)
-- This is more than the mother’s day crowd we see at Ryan’s
-- This is to the point of chaos in a small home busting at its seams
- v21 shows us something very interesting that is beginning to happen
-- It is an internal look at those who support Jesus, but may not believe in Him
-- Many people of this time have seen “messiah’s” come and go
-- It’s at this time, that people are presented a choice: believe or not
- The family (sometimes referred to as associates) has come to retrieve Jesus
-- We aren’t sure if this is to protect Him, or perhaps save His family name
-- Nevertheless, Jesus is not concerned with EITHER of these issues
-- His actions show this; and teach us that we need to be willing to press forward
- The family, for whatever reason, is now stepping up to try to save face
-- Challenge: What would you say if this was “your relative”? (pause)
-- If anything, putting yourself in their position allows you to personalize it
- TRANS: Once again, cue the party poopers bent on slandering Jesus …
∆ Point 2 – Jesus Defends Himself (22-30)
- v22 shows the religious beginning to speak, to accuse, to rebel
They way Mark writes this is interesting, he uses the Greek word “elegon”
The meaning is to say something over and over; a repetition of sorts
Their accusations never end; as much of the world’s don’t today
- What they are accusing Jesus of being is being “Beelzebul”
-- Where do flies primarily reside? Garbage piles; dung piles; filth!
-- It means to be “lord of the flies”; the prince of things that are unclean
-- In essence, they are saying Jesus is king of this type of area: INSULTING!
- They are saying that Jesus, while not admitting He is casting out demons; is one
-- Their accusation will ring heavily with those in the area
-- It is the ultimate insult to be associated with such filth and despair
- In most cases, Jesus doesn’t defend Himself (the Word of God does that)
-- However, this is unique and He speaks directly to the nonsense being proposed
-- v23, “If I am Satan, how is it that I am able to drive myself out?”
- Jesus then reasons with them using logic (which will ALWAYS foil naysayers)
-- How can a nation stand divided against itself? Think Civil War implications …
-- How can a house stand divided against itself? Think diff family goals here …
- APP: Satan driving out himself would then signify the END of Satan
-- Remember: We’ve seen from Revelation study & know this has NOT happened
-- Therefore His answer is that He is not Satan, but MUCH more than that (v27)
- Jesus then brings to light something believers need to grasp today
-- v28, “truly” is an indication of something important: “listen up to this …”
-- People can be forgiven of ALL THEIR SINS and even of their words
-- APP: Huge application for us: We can be forgiven if we ask it
- However, v29 tells us what they can NEVER be forgiven of (unregenerate heart)
-- IMP: Jesus tells us we can be forgiven; but here is a warning to learn
-- APP: We literally have a limit to what we can and cannot do
--- God doesn’t have a limit, and we need to understand this today
- If the Scribes, Pharisees, and religious were so “right”, they’d know Jesus!
-- They have no idea who it is that they are railing against
-- To them, Jesus represents an “interruption” to their way of thinking
-- Their thinking is: He, and all of His ways, must be destroyed
-- Note: Satan’s thinking is the EXACT same way: “Did God really say …?”
- v30 gives us the full explanation of why Jesus decided to defend Himself
-- They attributed what God was doing through Jesus as sinful
-- Therefore, his defense was actually of the Father; not of Himself
-- Jesus came to show us the Kingdom; to glorify God; Repent! (Mark 1:15)
- APP: Paul will later write what sin is and what is does to all of us
--- Galatians 5:19-21, “When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.”
- TRANS: Defending it isn’t enough, we have to live it as a NEW family also
∆ Point 3 – Family Matters (31-34)
- Then we see (v31) that Jesus and His brothers have arrived (one would be James)
-- Since they could not get in, they send in someone to let them know
-- What happens next could be insulting … or it could encouraging to us
- Jesus’ response here was not to be harsh and cruel towards His family
-- Matter of fact, we know clearly that Jesus LOVED His mother
-- John 19:25-27, “Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.”
- Rather, Jesus asks those around Him a rhetorical question to challenge them
-- He is not insulting His family, but WELCOMING the hearer into His presence
-- By this, Jesus also welcomes us in to join with Him in this knowledge
- We are not outsiders IF we follow what God’s word is teaching us …
-- James 1:22, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. DO WHAT IT SAYS.”
-- 1 John 1:9, “IF we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
- His clarification is that blood relationships are not all that matters
-- We are hearer of a new doctrine, a new way of life, a way that is FREEDOM
-- Those that trust in Jesus will put their faith in Him; APP: He is everything
-- Hebrews 12:2, “… fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
- TRANS: So, what do we do with all this we’ve heard today? Two things …
∆ Big Ideas
- You must come to Christ for His freedom through God’s Grace
-- Jesus declared something later in Matthew 3:9 that is very interesting
-- Matthew 3:9, “And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.”
-- APP: Being the “sons of Abraham” is not enough to save you anymore
- v35: “Whoever does ...” -- this is critical for us to see and learn NOW
-- It’s not what we think it means; and it SURELY isn’t what religion says it is
-- It is doing what Jesus says without adding our own thing to it
-- WARNING: How do we know it’s us? We prefix with, “I think it means …”
- Jesus tells us clearly who He is; and He is not mincing words in this:
-- IMP: John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes …”
-- Our mission is not to apologize for what He says or even defend it
-- IMP: We are to tell it, live it, and walk it in everything we do
-- The Pharisees never got it (they’re planning on killing Him) … do we?
- Pray
