Mark 3: 19b – 30
26 June 2011
After a three week break, it is time for us to return to Galilee. When we left there last time, Jesus had just selected his close associates, the ones who would be responsible to spread the word of the Good News after Jesus was to leave, the apostles.
We rejoin him today, in a house, and as usual, there is a capacity crowd.
“Then Jesus went home; and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, ‘He has gone out of his mind.’ And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, ‘He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.’ And Jesus called them to him, and spoke to them in parables. ‘How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, it cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.
‘Truly, I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but who ever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin’ – for they said, ‘He had an unclean spirit.’
Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, ‘You mother and your brothers are outside, asking for you.’ And Jesus replied, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ And looking at those who sat around him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of the God is my brother and sister and mother (Mark 3: 19b- 34).’”
There is a lot of substance in this story. However, I think that there is a thread that holds it all together and that is how I’m going to approach this event. Because there is so much involved here, I will pursue the theme next week also. The thread in this story is really a question. Who is Jesus to you? That is the question Mark asks to the crowd, to Jesus’ family and to the scribes. And indirectly, he asks us, the hearer of this gospel, what our thoughts are.
There is no doubt that Jesus never left people indifferent. We have a proof of that in this passage. And still today, Jesus does not leave people indifferent. That, I think, is because he continues to ask, ‘Who do you think I am?”
Let's see how the players in this event thought of Jesus. The crowd that was in the house was, by all account, neither for nor against Jesus. The crowd was simply interested. People wanted to hear Jesus. They wanted to be healed. They wanted their demons to be cast out. They wanted to be near him to see what was going on. It would seem that for the most part, the crowd had not committed itself one way of another. For most people in the house Jesus was a powerful man who had some amazing abilities and had very interesting and authoritative things to say. They simply were attracted to Jesus. But at least, they were inside the house.
Jesus’ family, for their part, were on the outside. We'll see this more in detail next week. For Jesus mother and brother, Jesus was a person who had something seriously wrong with him. He no longer was looking after himself – unable to eat, unable to find peace, unable even to be alone. They had to grab him and restrain him in order to protect him from himself and quick. I will say more about Jesus’ family next week.
For the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, the capital and the seat of the Jewish religion, Jesus was a possessed man – possessed not by a low ranking demon but the master of the house himself, Beelzebub, also known as Satan. As they watched Jesus casting out demons out of people, people they understood to be deserving of the punishment they received, they simply could not comprehend that God would do such a thing. If anything, Jesus' powers were from the devil himself to confuse people and lead them astray. As far as they were concerned, Jesus was a wolf pretending to be a sheep. He was the devil disguising himself as a shepherd. The scribes could not have that happening on their watch. Jesus was nothing more than a charlatan who should be stopped.
This thought that Jesus was understood to be Beelzebul in person got Him hot under the collar. He called the scribes in so they could hear and see what He had to say. Looking them in the eye, I’m sure, He told them three quick lessons.
First, He said that if He were Satan, then the evil kingdom was falling apart. A kingdom that is fighting itself is nothing less than a civil war. And a civil war destroys a nation, if not completely, it greatly weakens it. The Scribes could certainly remember from their history what happened to Israel at the end of Solomon’s reign. There was a civil war when different faction tried to seize power. The result was the division of Israel in two: the southern kingdom, called Judah, and the northern kingdom called Israel. And the two even fought wars years later. Would Satan willingly and purposefully do this to himself?
The second point Jesus made was that if a house was divided, then how could it stand? Here Jesus is not speaking about a physical house but about a dynasty. He is referring to a prominent or a royal family. He remarks that if a dynasty is fighting among itself that it will weaken that family, perhaps even to the point of collapse. The scribes would most likely remember that this is what happened to the high priesthood less than one hundred years before when two brothers fought for the position. The result was the invasion of Jerusalem by the Romans to bring back order and peace. Was there internal fighting in Satan’s family? Is this what the scribes were insinuating? Of course it wasn’t. The scribes certainly would not argue that one. So what was happening to the demonic realm then?
This is exactly what the third point was about. If Satan was not fighting himself, if the evil was being fought off, then the fighting came from outside. There was someone who was stronger that was having the upper hand. Although the English does not reflect this, expert think that the name Beelzebul means the lord of the house. Thus Satan is the lord of the house. This explains why Jesus talks about a house in His third point. He is saying that someone is stronger than the lord of the house. And that someone can only be one person: God. He is the only one who can tie up Satan and get rid of the demons possessing people.
Then Jesus makes this formidable statement: “Truly, I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but who ever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.’
What Jesus is saying is very important. All manner of sins, all manners of blasphemies can be forgiven, except for one. Only one sin can never be forgiven and that is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. From what I have read, sins can be interpreted as doing wrong towards others. A sin, in this context, is breaking a relationship, a trust with another person. Blasphemy is something done against God. It is going against His will, His guidance. It is the breach of our relationship with Him. It is not uttering or saying a bad word or using God’s name in vain – although this certainly would hurt God’s feelings for sure. Blasphemy is more than that. It is our actions, our thoughts, our decisions which go against what we know God would want for and from us.
All of these things are forgivable Jesus says. They all are, that is, except for one. And that is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
What on earth is that, you may wonder. Does this mean that when I swear using God’s name – or Jesus’ name, I am an eternally condemned person? Does this mean if I wilfully do something that I know God does not agree with that I am doomed?
Mark gives us a clue as to what Jesus meant by His words. “‘Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin’ – for they said, ‘He had an unclean spirit.’” Blaspheming against the Holy Spirit is to deny that Jesus could possibly be God as He claimed to be.
“To suggest that Jesus’ authority over demons comes from the prince of all evil spirits is to deny the presence of the Holy Spirit of God. This is eternal sin. When the presence of the Spirit of God in Jesus is denied, how can God forgive? It is unforgivable to claim that the Holy Spirit of God is an unclean spirit because those making such a claim place themselves outside the domain of the all-forgiving God. They manifest an attitude of mind so fixed and obstinate that it forms a permanent obstacle between God and man (Francis J. Moloney, The Gospel of Mark p. 83).”
To blaspheme against the Holy Spirit is to deny God and His presence in the world and in Jesus. It is very serious. And that is the accusation Jesus is making toward the scribes. They were denying that Jesus was who He said He was. They were stating that what He was doing was through the power of Satan. They were saying that Jesus was evil.
Is this true that Jesus was evil? Is it true that Jesus was insane? These are the question that Mark is asking. Mark proclaims that Jesus is the son of God, inhabited by the Sprit of God, able to do miracles and having all the authority that belongs to God himself. Mark proclaims that Jesus is the stronger one, that He can, by His presence and will, eliminate evil and darkness. No one else can eradicate evil the way Jesus does. No one can because only God himself can triumph over evil.
Mark wants to know: Do you believe this to be true? He does – and I do too. What do you make of Jesus?
Thursday, June 30, 2011
What This Man Knows
1 John 2:28- 3: 3
19 June 2011 (Fathers’ Day)
What do men know? Well, according to a retired minister’s granddaughter, they don’t know much. He recalled recently a conversation that took place between the two of them.
“Mom has been telling me about how babies are born and I’m never going to have children,” she said. “It hurts too badly.”
Thinking about what the best thing to say would be, the retired minister replied, “Yes, it does hurt. But the pain goes away and you’re left with this beautiful child and you decided it was worth it.”
The girl looked her grandfather in the eye. “You’re a man. What do you know?”
Indeed what do men know?
This man standing here may not know that much either, but there are a few things he knows and he’d like you to know them too. He knows who he is, whose he is, what he is here for and where he is going.
Before I tell you more about these things I know, I’d like to tell you why I know them. I know them because not only have I heard them said, but also because I have read about them in the Bible. And I know them not just because I have read them in the Bible but because deep in my heart, I have experienced them to be true.
Let me give you a sample of what I have read about this. I’ll read to you from John’s first letter.
“And now, children, stay with Christ. Live deeply in Christ. Then we’ll be ready for him when he appears, ready to receive him with open arms, with no cause for red-faced guilt or lame excuses when he arrives.
Once you’re convinced that he is right and righteous, you’ll recognise that all who practice righteousness are God’s children.
What marvellous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it – we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are. But that’s also why the world doesn’t recognise us or takes us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he’s up to. But friends, that’s exactly who we are: children of God. And that’s only the beginning. Who knows how we’ll end up! What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we’ll see him -- and in seeing him, become like him. All of us who look forward to his coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus’ life as a model for our own (1 John 2: 28- 3:3 The Message).”
In God, I have discovered who I am. I am His child. This means He made me and knows me even better than I know myself. That’s why I can confide in Him. I can tell Him even my deepest secret and He listens. And so often, either through other people or events that take place in my life, He directs me in the right path. And when I am unsure of how to proceed, I go to the Bible because I believe that it is like a letter He wrote to me so I would know what to base my decisions on and how to ground my values and life in something truly meaningful.
Without a relationship with God and without relying on Him I am more like a cork floating in water. How do I know what is right and wrong? How do I know what really matters in life? I really do need God’s input because He is my Father, my creator. He is worth listening to. After all if He made me and the world, who is better placed than Him to help me figure out how life should be lived? Not only that, but because I know that I belong to God, I know that I am accountable to Him. And He tells me that I am accountable to others as well. That means that what I say and what I do affects not only God but it affect other people too.
Human beings are made for relationships. We relate with our parents. We relate to our children. We relate with our brothers and sisters. We relate with our friends. We relate with our co-workers, our teachers and the list goes on. Unless we understand how we are meant to relate, we are bound to hurt each other and misunderstand one another. God gives us the perfect example of what a good and wholesome relationship is all about in Jesus. Through what He taught and what He did, He showed us what it means to truly love and care for others. He taught us that life is not primarily about ourselves and what we can get out of it but it is about others and what we can give to others.
When we know that we belong to God, then we realise that our purpose in life is to live for the good of others – not our own good. That is what Jesus did when He came to earth. Everything He said, everything He did was for our good and the good of those who lived in His day. Even his death was for our good.
The Bible talks about sin and how sin destroys our relationship – with God and with each other. I don’t know if you have ever hurt another person or if another person has hurt you – not necessarily physically but emotionally too. I know have hurt others and been hurt. One of the first things we often say or hear when that happens is: “I’m sorry. How can I make it up to you?” Or we hear or say: “I’m sorry; I promise I’ll never do it again.” When we say those words, of course we mean them. But nothing we can do can undo the harm that was done. And when we promise never to do it again, sure enough, we do it again and our apologies start losing weight.
When we hear those words, we say to ourselves, “Sure you’re sorry but if you were really sorry you would put more effort into not hurting me.” We say to ourselves, “Sure you want to make it up to me, just don’t do it again.” And we keep on hurting each other.
God knows we keep on hurting Him by the way we treat each other, let alone how we treat Him. He knows there is nothing we can do on our own to make things better. I’m sure you know what happens when someone is convicted of a crime. They are punished. What do we do when someone does something wrong to us? We pay them back one way or another.
Well God says that is not really effective. That’s not how we are meant to live, being hurt and hurting back. Because a crime deserves punishment, God himself took the punishment in Jesus. He died – he was executed for all the wrong doings we may have and ever will do. And then God says:”There, the punishment is done. I now forgive you. Go and learn to do likewise. Forgive other people. Love then and care for them as freely as I love and care for you.”
That’s what I know life to be. It’s tough. It’s inconvenient. It’s humbling. But it is also freeing. I don’t have to carry a heavy baggage with me all the time because I know I am forgiven and with God’s help I can learn to forgive others.
As I learn to live this way, I know that if God were to come to earth today, I wouldn’t have to worry and wouldn’t have to be afraid. I’m not perfect but because I am His child, because I know I belong to Him and because I follow Jesus and seek to live the way He taught me and showed me to live, I am good.
Because I am good – not because of my actions but because I belong to God – then I don’t have to worry about my future. My future is in His hands. And I am not just talking about tomorrow. I am talking about eternity too. That removes a whole layer of anxiety in me. No matter what happens, whatever I may face in the future, I know that I will not face it alone. God will be with me. I will be with God. My soul is in good hands.
It’s true that I may not know much – after all I am a man! But these things I know. I am God’s child, belonging to Him, made for Him in such a way that I can love, forgive and care for others, seeking the good of others instead of just what is good for me. And because I know who I am, whose I am and what I am here for, I know where I am going. I am going to be with God today, tomorrow and for eternity.
Your Father in heaven wants you to know all that – And He has even more things to tell you about. Would you commit to know Him as He knows you? You couldn’t give Him a better Fathers’ Day present!
19 June 2011 (Fathers’ Day)
What do men know? Well, according to a retired minister’s granddaughter, they don’t know much. He recalled recently a conversation that took place between the two of them.
“Mom has been telling me about how babies are born and I’m never going to have children,” she said. “It hurts too badly.”
Thinking about what the best thing to say would be, the retired minister replied, “Yes, it does hurt. But the pain goes away and you’re left with this beautiful child and you decided it was worth it.”
The girl looked her grandfather in the eye. “You’re a man. What do you know?”
Indeed what do men know?
This man standing here may not know that much either, but there are a few things he knows and he’d like you to know them too. He knows who he is, whose he is, what he is here for and where he is going.
Before I tell you more about these things I know, I’d like to tell you why I know them. I know them because not only have I heard them said, but also because I have read about them in the Bible. And I know them not just because I have read them in the Bible but because deep in my heart, I have experienced them to be true.
Let me give you a sample of what I have read about this. I’ll read to you from John’s first letter.
“And now, children, stay with Christ. Live deeply in Christ. Then we’ll be ready for him when he appears, ready to receive him with open arms, with no cause for red-faced guilt or lame excuses when he arrives.
Once you’re convinced that he is right and righteous, you’ll recognise that all who practice righteousness are God’s children.
What marvellous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it – we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are. But that’s also why the world doesn’t recognise us or takes us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he’s up to. But friends, that’s exactly who we are: children of God. And that’s only the beginning. Who knows how we’ll end up! What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we’ll see him -- and in seeing him, become like him. All of us who look forward to his coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus’ life as a model for our own (1 John 2: 28- 3:3 The Message).”
In God, I have discovered who I am. I am His child. This means He made me and knows me even better than I know myself. That’s why I can confide in Him. I can tell Him even my deepest secret and He listens. And so often, either through other people or events that take place in my life, He directs me in the right path. And when I am unsure of how to proceed, I go to the Bible because I believe that it is like a letter He wrote to me so I would know what to base my decisions on and how to ground my values and life in something truly meaningful.
Without a relationship with God and without relying on Him I am more like a cork floating in water. How do I know what is right and wrong? How do I know what really matters in life? I really do need God’s input because He is my Father, my creator. He is worth listening to. After all if He made me and the world, who is better placed than Him to help me figure out how life should be lived? Not only that, but because I know that I belong to God, I know that I am accountable to Him. And He tells me that I am accountable to others as well. That means that what I say and what I do affects not only God but it affect other people too.
Human beings are made for relationships. We relate with our parents. We relate to our children. We relate with our brothers and sisters. We relate with our friends. We relate with our co-workers, our teachers and the list goes on. Unless we understand how we are meant to relate, we are bound to hurt each other and misunderstand one another. God gives us the perfect example of what a good and wholesome relationship is all about in Jesus. Through what He taught and what He did, He showed us what it means to truly love and care for others. He taught us that life is not primarily about ourselves and what we can get out of it but it is about others and what we can give to others.
When we know that we belong to God, then we realise that our purpose in life is to live for the good of others – not our own good. That is what Jesus did when He came to earth. Everything He said, everything He did was for our good and the good of those who lived in His day. Even his death was for our good.
The Bible talks about sin and how sin destroys our relationship – with God and with each other. I don’t know if you have ever hurt another person or if another person has hurt you – not necessarily physically but emotionally too. I know have hurt others and been hurt. One of the first things we often say or hear when that happens is: “I’m sorry. How can I make it up to you?” Or we hear or say: “I’m sorry; I promise I’ll never do it again.” When we say those words, of course we mean them. But nothing we can do can undo the harm that was done. And when we promise never to do it again, sure enough, we do it again and our apologies start losing weight.
When we hear those words, we say to ourselves, “Sure you’re sorry but if you were really sorry you would put more effort into not hurting me.” We say to ourselves, “Sure you want to make it up to me, just don’t do it again.” And we keep on hurting each other.
God knows we keep on hurting Him by the way we treat each other, let alone how we treat Him. He knows there is nothing we can do on our own to make things better. I’m sure you know what happens when someone is convicted of a crime. They are punished. What do we do when someone does something wrong to us? We pay them back one way or another.
Well God says that is not really effective. That’s not how we are meant to live, being hurt and hurting back. Because a crime deserves punishment, God himself took the punishment in Jesus. He died – he was executed for all the wrong doings we may have and ever will do. And then God says:”There, the punishment is done. I now forgive you. Go and learn to do likewise. Forgive other people. Love then and care for them as freely as I love and care for you.”
That’s what I know life to be. It’s tough. It’s inconvenient. It’s humbling. But it is also freeing. I don’t have to carry a heavy baggage with me all the time because I know I am forgiven and with God’s help I can learn to forgive others.
As I learn to live this way, I know that if God were to come to earth today, I wouldn’t have to worry and wouldn’t have to be afraid. I’m not perfect but because I am His child, because I know I belong to Him and because I follow Jesus and seek to live the way He taught me and showed me to live, I am good.
Because I am good – not because of my actions but because I belong to God – then I don’t have to worry about my future. My future is in His hands. And I am not just talking about tomorrow. I am talking about eternity too. That removes a whole layer of anxiety in me. No matter what happens, whatever I may face in the future, I know that I will not face it alone. God will be with me. I will be with God. My soul is in good hands.
It’s true that I may not know much – after all I am a man! But these things I know. I am God’s child, belonging to Him, made for Him in such a way that I can love, forgive and care for others, seeking the good of others instead of just what is good for me. And because I know who I am, whose I am and what I am here for, I know where I am going. I am going to be with God today, tomorrow and for eternity.
Your Father in heaven wants you to know all that – And He has even more things to tell you about. Would you commit to know Him as He knows you? You couldn’t give Him a better Fathers’ Day present!