Jesus sought to take possession of men's hearts and souls.
In Mark 3:14 (NIV) Jesusappointed the twelve apostles, "...that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach." Mark 3:15 (NIV) says that the apostles were to, "have authority to drive out demons." Mark 3:20 says that Jesus then returned to the house of Simon and Andrew.One thing is for certain. In Mark, Jesus isn’t soft-peddling his kingdom. He sought to take possession of men's very hearts and very souls. There is intensity in Jesus' call to salvation and to ministry."Repent, for the kingdom of God is near.""Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."
We’re not comfortable having such lines drawn in the sand. We want to stay the way we are. We do not want torepent. We don’t want to be changed. We don’t want to obey Jesus absolutely. We don’t want to be enlisted into his service. We want to follow Jesus on our ownterms. We want Jesus to conform to our lifestyle and expectations. But Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords. His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are above our thoughts.
Inner conflict occurs with Christ's call on your life.
Inevitably, with Christ’s call there is great conflict. First, there is an inner conflict between our old nature and our new nature. In our old nature our core ambition was, "gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts." Ephesians 2:3 (NIV) But our spiritual nature (our new self) wants to be set free from sin. In Christ, we're no longer governed by the desires, impulses, thoughts, and feelings of the flesh. We've been transferred from the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of the Son who God loves, Jesus Christ.
This doesn’t mean we no longer sin. But it does mean thatwe hate to sin. Our core ambition has changed. Jesus hasnow captured our hearts. Romans 6:17-18 (NIV) says, "But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness."
With Christ’s call comes family conflict.
In Mark 3:20-21 (NIV) we read, "Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, 'He is out of his mind.' "
There is an interesting play on words hidden behind your English translation. Have you heard the expression, "He was beside himself!"Mark 3:21 literally says, "Those who were beside Jesus were saying, 'He is beside himself.' "
It’s not the people far from uswho deter us from following Jesus. It's those closest to us. It’s your spouse, your children, parents, friends,people who know you best, andpeople whose lives are now being disrupted because you’ve chosen to live for God.
Those who wereclosest to or"beside" Jesus accused Jesus of being "beside himself". They thought hewas out of his mind! J. Vernon McGee observes that, "If a man devotes his life to some noble but earthly cause, he is applauded. The musician, the athlete, the businessman, the artist, or the statesman who gives himself to his work is recognized for his total devotion. But if a man gives himself in total dedication to the cause of God, he is branded as a fanatic." D. L. Moody was called Crazy Moody. In Acts 26:24 Paul was called insane.
Those closest to us can be a source of joy and encouragement as we serve God. But they can also feel threatened by our devotion to Jesus. Jesus’ own mother and brothers sought to take charge of him. This literally means that they sought toarrest him! They were concerned about their family name. They saw the pressure he was under, and they saw the growing hostility of the religious leaders. With good intentions, they sought to save Jesus from himself. But Jesus would not allow them to take charge of his life.
In Matthew 10:34-39 (NIV) Jesus warns us, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.' Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Sounds pretty crazy, doesn’t it!
In following Jesus, there will be spiritual warfare.
In following Jesus, there will be inner conflict and family conflict. But there will also be spiritual warfare. In Mark 3:22 (NIV) the, "...teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said (of Jesus), 'He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.' "
Basically, the teachers of the law are accusing Jesus of gaining his power from sorcery— by relying on Satan himself. Beelzebub, the prince of demons, were all euphemisms for Satan. They accused Jesus of being in collusion with Satan.
Let’s unpack the seriousness of the charge. In Mark 1:7-8 (NIV) John the Baptist said of Jesus, "After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
Upon Jesus’ baptism Mark 1:10 (NIV) vividly describes, "...heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on Jesus like a dove."Mark 1:12-13 (NIV) describes the influence of the Spirit on Jesus after his baptism."At once the Spirit sent him out in the desert, and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan."
In Luke 4:18-19 (NIV) Jesus claims of himself, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor."
People accused Jesus of being possessed by Satan.
Jesus wasn’t possessed by Satan, but he was filled with the Spirit of the Living God! But in Mark 3:22 the teachers of the law are attributing the holy works of God’s Holy Spirit to Satan himself! What do you do when someone is so blinded byhis prejudices and unbelief that he would attribute the very works of God to Satan himself?
Isaiah 5:20 (NIV) says, "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter."
As a Christ-follower, you will encounter those who think that the way of Jesus is not only crazy, but somehow bad for society. There are those for whom evil things are good, and good things are evil.There are some for whom the truth of God is a lie, and all lies are truth. There are those who will scoff at your good works, mock your praise, ridicule your beliefs, provoke you to sin, and coerce your silence. There are those who will try to save you from following Jesus, and brazenly insult the Spirit of Christ within you.
As terrifying as it is to be persecuted for righteousness, there is something infinitely more terrifying at play in those who persecute us. In Mark 3:23-27 (NIV) Jesus asks, "How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house."
The strong man is Satan. The strong man’s possessions are those people who he’s taken captive to his will. Satan doesn’t surrender a single soul. He doesn’t surrender even an inch. He never opposes himself. His house is never divided. His guard is never down. The only way for our soul to be rescued is for Satan to be bound. Then we can be stolen back to God. But here is Jesus’ point. What hope is there for us if we insult the only power that can snatch us from the grip of Satan? What hope is there for us if we insult the only powerthat can help us overcome our sinful nature?
The unforgiveable sin.
In Mark 3:28-30 (NIV) Jesus offers a dire warning. " 'I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.' He said this because they were saying, 'He has an evil spirit." "
Mark 1:29 has caused many Christians a great deal of fear. When I was a teenager, we used to play the game "Truth or Dare." "Truthor dare." I picked truth."Have you ever ......? Are you madly in love with.....?" That night, instead of telling the truth, I spoke a bold lie. My friends, knowing I had lied, asked me to swear against Christ’s name that I wasn’t lying. And I swore. Then I prayed all night to God asking for forgiveness. Maybe you’ve wondered if you’ve committed the unforgiveable sin?
Divorce. Adultery. Lies. Betrayal. Greed. Murder. Abortion. Homosexual acts. Suicide. Theft. Arson. Anger. All of these sins are bad, but they are not unforgiveable.
Most scholars believe that the unpardonable sin is not so much an isolated act, as it is a settled condition of the soul. It’s the culmination of a long history of repeated and willful acts of sin. And the unforgiveable part isn’t so much that God refuses to forgive. But it is more that the sinner refuses to repent orask forgiveness.
J.C. Ryle said, "There is such a thing as a sin which is never forgiven. But those who are troubled about it are the most unlikely to have committed it." On the other hand, those who actually do commit the sin are so dominated by evil that it is unlikely that they would be aware of it.
J. Vernon McGee said, "The attitude and state of the unbeliever is unpardonable— not the act. When a man blasphemes with his mouth, that is not the thing that condemns him; it is the attitude of his heart, which is a permanent condition— unless he stops resisting. This is the sin against the Holy Spirit: to resist the convicting work of the Holy Spirit in the heart and life."
Let us pray that we be attuned to the Spirit’s inner working in us, that we remain true to Christ in our closest relationships, and that not insult the Spirit of Christ, but surrender to him.