Master Passion (11/27/22)
Mark 3:20-35
Good Morning,
Passion can be defined as an inclination or desire to do something a person likes to do or thinks is important.
The Spanish poet and theater director Federico Garciá Lorca used the word duende (Dwen-day), or life force, to signify a deep passion.
How can people start believing their lives are worth living?
Figuring out our passion is one way to do so and living life with on purpose to fulfill that passion makes life worth living.
Please open your Bible to Mark 3 as we continue in the verse by verse study of that Gospel.
Last time when we were in Mark, we learned how Jesus retreated up on a Mountain and called His Apostles to Himself.
Then Jesus gave these Apostles specific credentials and Kingdom authority.
These men were nobody’s; but, once empowered by the Spirit, they set the world on fire with the Gospel. He did not call them because of what they were, but He in spite of what they were!
We learned that once a Christian is called to a specific purpose, the believer’s job is to surrender to that calling.
If you are in Christ; God’s not done with you yet!
Today, we will learn how Jesus’ own people thought He was wasting His life, when in fact; He was living for His master passion, the most important mission, following the Father’s will.
I. Jesus’ family misunderstands.
Read Mark 3:20-21
Last time we saw that Mark 3:19 ended with telling us that Jesus and twelve Apostles went into a house.
Immediately following Jesus choosing the twelve Apostles, Jesus is back at a house and another large crowd shows up. The crowd was so large; there was not enough room to even eat.
This crowd was so big, with so many needs, Jesus and His disciples didn’t even have time to eat or rest regularly.
In the eyes of others, Jesus was not living a normal life.
Joseph had a carpentry business and Jesus should have been concerned with making a life for Himself; not just meeting the needs of other people, with no concern for His personal needs.
So notice what happens,
Re-read verse 21
In some of the other versions, it says, Mark 3:21 When his family heard what was happening, they tried to take him home with them. "He's out of his mind," they said. NLT
At the end of Mark 3 we again see Jesus’ mother and brothers trying to convince Him to go home and rest.
Jesus’ own family did not understand His mission at this point
Warren Wiersbe said, “Our Lord’s friends were sure that Jesus was confused, and possibly deranged!
The great crowds they saw following Him, and the amazing reports they heard about Him, convinced them that He desperately needed help.
“He simply was not living a normal life, so His friends came to Capernaum to ‘lay hold of Him’, or to ‘take charge of Him’”
They didn’t just go there to say, “Hey Jesus! Why don’t you come back with us and rest, having a little family time?”
Lay hold of Him means to “arrest, seize, or take possession of”!
The family went to forcibly take Jesus under their control and haul Him back home!
William Lane said “The word Mark used carries the sense of psychic derangement.”
Jesus appeared to be crazy because He was doing and saying things that put Him in direct opposition to the most powerful people in Israel.
Not to mention, the twelve men He just choose as His closest followers; and the family thought He was delusional concerning who He thought He was and about His mission.
Here, He is not eating regular, so the family needed to intervene.
God’s servants have been misjudged throughout history and called crazy for following a God they cannot see.
Dwight Moody was called “Crazy Moody” by many people in Chicago, and even the apostle Paul was called mad in Acts.
When I first gave my life to Jesus, I had many friends and even some family members who believed I lost my mind as well.
I went from a trouble maker in high school to a Jesus freak over night; so, many people thought I was crazy.
I even had a favorite aunt of mine write me off because of my faith in Christ;
Here’s the truth…
If my friends and family acknowledged Jesus was real and that He changed my life; then they would have to do something with Him themselves, because there is no middle ground with Jesus.
Jesus is the most divisive figure in history because it is divisive to proclaim there is an absolute truth for every single person.
While it is true that Jesus came to save lost sinners and provide a way for lost souls to be saved by His Grace alone, through Faith.
…everywhere Jesus went, He brought division, just as Simeon prophesied at His birth in Luke 2:34, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel. NKJV
If a person passively sits back and makes no choice to follow Jesus; they have already chosen to follow Satan.
As Jesus said…Matthew 12:30 “he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad”.
Jesus also said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. NKJV
G. Campbell Morgan has said, “Only two forces are at work in the world, the gathering and the scattering. Whoever does the one contradicts the other.” (Morgan)
Either Jesus is crazy and anyone who follows Him is crazy as well; or Jesus is who He said He is and if He is Lord; then we must submit to His leading and follow Him.
To make no decision about Jesus is a choice to deny Him and by the way; there are eternal consequences to the decision of denial.
This is why Jesus says to count the cost, and then follow Him.
When Jesus becomes so real to a person, they want to follow Him completely; it will seem strange to others around them.
Jesus’ family misunderstood Him and thought He was crazy; but, He is the long awaited Messiah, who came to save His people from their sin. Then the religious leaders come…
II. A divided house.
Read Mark 3:22-27
The Scribes were professional experts in the Old Testament Law and they were hired by people to draft legal contracts for marriage, divorce, loans, inheritance, the sale of land, etc.
They often aligned themselves with the Pharisees of the day; who were non-professional leaders of the synagogue, who interpreted the Law and the traditions of their fathers.
The Scribes came down from Jerusalem because they had heard of some of the miracles, healings, and the crowds that were following this guy named Jesus.
Their accusation against Jesus is that He is demon possessed and that His miracles had come from the ruler of the demons.
Because these religious leaders could not deny the miracles of Jesus, they attribute His power to the working of Satan.
Notice Jesus answers them because He knew their thoughts. This is more than discernment; this is the Lord God knowing all things including our thoughts and intents of our hearts.
Psalm 94:11 The LORD knows the thoughts of man, that they are futile. NKJV
So Jesus calls them and speaks to them with a parable.
In parables, Jesus used things familiar to the crowds in order illustrate a Kingdom truth and provoke a Spiritual hunger.
Jesus points out the logical conclusion that it makes no sense for Satan to cast out Satan, because his kingdom would not stand.
In Matthew’s account, Jesus asks them how their own Jewish exorcists cast out demons from people.
Matthew 12:27 if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.
Beelzebub, (lord of the flies) is another name for Satan which is first seen as a false god of the Philistines, in 2 Kings.
The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, “They wouldn’t say that Jesus was possessed by just any demon, but by Satan himself.
“This was an involuntary compliment to the exceptional power and greatness of Jesus.” (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary)
First Jesus’ own family misunderstands Him and then these Scribes, who hold a lot of authority in Israel, try to discredit Jesus by saying His work is powered by Satan.
Their hatred of Jesus was so deep they accuse Him of delivering people from demonic power, by using demonic power; saying, Jesus is powered by the lord of the flies the god of dung
So Jesus has a battle of wits with these Scribes asking, “How can Satan cast out Satan?”
Jesus asks, “Is Satan at war with himself? If I am working by the power of Satan, why would Satan defeat himself?”
A House divided cannot stand simply means if Satan’s kingdom were divided and fighting himself; he would never win.
Then Jesus says, “No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods.”
1 John 5:19, the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one; but, Jesus is mightier than the strong man, Satan.
gotquestions.org said, “Before Satan allows his domain to be “plundered,” he must be incapacitated. Jesus was not in league with Satan, as the scribes suggested,
Jesus had come to the earth, to what is essentially Satan’s “house”, in order to bind Satan and plunder his “goods,” which are the souls of men” (gotquestions.org)
Today the powers of darkness seem so powerful; so, it is important to realize that Satan has already been defeated.
If you are in Christ, there is nothing in your life that must stay under Satan’s domination.
Where did Jesus conquer Satan? How did Jesus bind the strong man? At the Cross
Colossians 2:15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. NKJV
The all powerful, sinless, creator God in the flesh; allowed sinful men to lead Him away in chains.
The One who spoke the universe into existence and even right now holds every single atom together in the universe
…allowed sinful men to brutalize Him and then fasten His hands and feet to a Roman cross with iron spikes.
In what appeared to be the ultimate display of weakness, something magnificent and mighty happened on the cross.
So, after speaking a parable, Jesus makes a statement about the unbelief of His family and the hostile Scribes.
III. The unpardonable sin.
Read Mark 3:28-30
According to Jesus, the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, also known as the unpardonable or unforgivable sin is unique; it is the one sin that will never be forgiven.
The scribes accused the perfect, sinless Lamb of God of being controlled by Satan; and they accused Him of evil.
Jesus warned the religious leaders that their rejection of Him, especially after they have witnessed so many miracles; was a complete rejection of the Holy Spirit’s ministry.
These leaders accusing Jesus of performing miracles empowered by demon possession; were committing the unpardonable sin.
The Holy Spirit’s ministry is to testify of Jesus, so He is warning these leaders that they were committing the unforgivable sin.
John 15:26 "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. NKJV
The Holy Spirit has many functions, but His main ministry is to testify of Jesus; so, when someone rejects the testimony about Jesus that is open blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
By rejecting the teaching and witness of the Holy Spirit’s pointing to Jesus, a person is basically calling the Spirit a liar.
G. Campbell Morgan said, “The sin against the Holy Spirit is the ultimate refusal to believe on the testimony of the Spirit concerning Jesus Christ.
The sin against the Holy Spirit is the persistent, determined and final rejection of the Spirit’s demonstration of the meaning of the Kingdom, and the power of the King.
So many people fear they have committed a certain sin that God will not forgive, and that there is no longer any hope for them.
The enemy would like nothing more than to keep people under that misconception. But the Lord says…
James 4:8, “Come near to God and he will come near to you”.
Clark has said, “Many sincere people have been troubled with apprehensions that they had committed the unpardonable sin;
But let it be observed that no man who believes the Divine mission of Jesus Christ ever can commit this sin: therefore let no man’s heart fail because of it.”
The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit was specific to the Pharisees’ situation; so it cannot be duplicated today.
Jesus Christ is no longer on earth physically; so, no one can personally see Jesus perform a miracle and attribute that power to Satan, instead of the Holy Spirit.
The only time a person commits the Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit today is if a person dies without accepting the free gift of Salvation, which will be spiritually fatal.
It is dangerous to hear the Gospel and to reject it. To hear of Christ’s love and forgiveness of sin, then to turn it down; will cost you your eternity.
The only unpardonable sin today is committed when a person dies in unbelief and refuses to accept Jesus’ free gift of Salvation by grace through faith.
There is no pardon for a person who dies in rejection of Christ.
IV. The plea of the family.
Read Mark 3:31-35
(Again) Jesus’ own family was convinced that He was “crazy”, so they came with the sole purpose of forcibly seizing Him, to take Him back to Nazareth.
Here, Mark clearly teaches the earliest opinion of the unbelieving world, concerning Jesus Messiah Son of God.
Those closest to Jesus totally misunderstood Him and came to the conclusion that He was insane. Jesus asks, “Who is My mother, or My brothers?”
You would think Jesus’ family would have special privileges; but, no. Later before His death in John 7:5, we are told, “For even His brothers did not believe in Him.” NKJV
Jesus is at a house teaching and His physical family was worried and waited outside the crowded house to speak to Him
Jesus informs His Disciples and others, yes earthly relationships are important; but, spiritual relationships are those that last.
From then on, He would be focused upon establishing those eternal relationships with everyone who trusted in Him.
Some religions teach that Mary stayed a perpetual virgin after the birth of Jesus; but, the Bible clearly teaches He had brothers.
According to the Expositor’s Commentary, the MSS manuscripts actually add sisters to this verse as well.
When Jesus said, “Whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother; Jesus was not being disrespectful to Mary…
…But, Jesus’ life passion was to do the will of the Father and no other relationship was going to hinder that goal.
Jesus is communicating that as He is fulfilling the will of the Father, His spiritual family and spiritual matters, take precedence over fleshly interests.
Someone asked Jesus in John 6:28 "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"
John 6:29 Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." NKJV
Mark 3 is communicating the religious leaders were in danger of damnation and Jesus contrasts that truth by offering an invitation to be part of His family, to all who would believe Him.
V. Practical Application.
Jesus’ family and the religious leaders misunderstood Jesus, because His master passion was to do the will of the Father.
Spurgeon said, “He who believes in Christ, finding himself completely pardoned as the result of his faith in the precious blood of Jesus,
Loves Christ, and loves the God who gave Christ to be his redemption. That love now becomes a master passion!”
So the main thing I would like to focus on as we conclude is having the call of Jesus as our Master passion in life.
Spurgeon also said, “Do not rest until love and faith in Jesus are the master passion of your soul.”
Passion can be defined as an inclination or desire to do something a person likes to do or thinks is important.
How can people conclude their lives are worth living?
Figuring out our passion is one way to do so and living life with on purpose to fulfill that passion makes life worth living.
When I gave up a career and many other things to go into ministry; I had family members tell me I was crazy as well.
Last week we learned how Jesus is the Good Shepherd and right before He said that in the Book of John, Jesus said,
John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. NKJV
The abundant life is offered to all believers; but, unfortunately many times we fail to grab a hold of that abundant life which is truly a life worth living.
We will never truly live the abundant life until we fully understand that once we are in Christ, we are given new life, free from the past hurts and failures of the old life.
The abundant life in Christ is a life lived passionately serving and worshipping Him. True worship is telling the Lord what He is worth, by living for the glory of God, the Creator of all things.
Romans 1:25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. NKJV
Idolatry is when a created thing is glorified; and becomes the source of our identity, our joy, and the object of our affection.
Timothy Keller said, “Since we were made to worship, we cannot eliminate God without creating God-substitutes.”
There are consequences to eliminating God as the object of our worship and replacing Him with God-substitutes.”
When you chose to not worship the True and Living God you will automatically worship someone or something else.
C.S. Lewis said, “Human history is the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy”
The Lord saves, washes, and renews us to make us vessels intended for worship.
Before Christ, we were wrecked by our own sin and the ruler of this world wants to bring an end to the worship of God.
But Jesus wonderfully saved, washed and made us new, so we can serve Him and enjoy Him forever.
Paul Tripp said, “God is in the center of his universe and when you put yourself there it only ends in relational brokenness and personal disappointment….
“God loves you too much to be willing to forsake his glorious kingdom of grace for your self-absorbed little kingdom of one.”
The fulfilled, abundant, joy filled life, is only possible when we start with Jesus at the center of our universe and as our master passion.
No believer will get to heaven and wish they would have lived more for themselves and less for the Kingdom of Christ.
When we truly know who Jesus is and the lengths He went to save us; we will want Him as our master passion.
