Cautionary Tale
One day while walking downtown, a human resources woman was hit by a bus and was tragically killed. Her soul arrived in Heaven where she was met at the pearly gates by St Peter himself. "Welcome to Heaven "said St Peter, "Before you get settled in though it seems we have a problem. You see, strangely enough we've never once had a HR manager make it this far and were not really sure what to do with you"
"No problem, just let me in " said the woman. "Well I'd like to but I have higher orders. What we're going to do is let you have a day in hell and a day in Heaven and then you can choose whichever one you want to spend an eternity" the Saint replied.
"Actually I think I've made up my mind......I prefer to stay in Heaven".
"Sorry we have rules."
And with that Saint Peter put her in the elevator and it went down-down-down to hell. The doors opened and the HR manager found herself stepping out on to the putting green of a beautiful golf course. In the distance was a country club and standing in front of her were all her friends - fellow HR Professionals that she had worked with. They were all dressed in evening gowns and cheering for her. They ran up and kissed her on both cheeks and they talked about old times. They played an excellent round of golf and at night went to the country club where she enjoyed an excellent steak and lobster dinner.
She met the devil who was actually a really nice guy and she had a great time telling jokes and dancing. The HR manager was having such a great time that, before she knew it, it was time to leave . Everybody shook her hand and waved goodbye as she got on the elevator.
The elevator went up-up-up and opened back up at the pearly gates where St Peter was waiting for her. "Now its time to spend a day in heaven " he said. So the HR Manager spent the next 24 hours lounging around in the clouds and playing the harp and singing. She had a great time and before she knew it her 24 hours were up and Saint Peter came and got her .
"So you've spent a day in Hell, and you've spent a day in Heaven. Now you must choose your eternity " he said. The HR manager paused for a second and then replied: "Well I never thought I'd say this. I mean Heaven has been really great and all, but I think I had better a better time in Hell "
So St Peter escorted her to the elevator and again the consultant went down-down-down back to hell. When the doors of the elevator opened she found herself standing in a desolate wasteland covered in rubbish and filth. She saw her friends were dressed in rags and were picking up rubbish and putting it in sacks for the evening meal . The devil came up to her and put his arm around her and laughed at her! "I don't understand ,"stammered the HR manager. "Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and a country club and we ate lobster and we danced and had a great time. Now all there is is dirty wasteland and all my friends look miserable "
The Devil looked at her and grinned. "That's because yesterday we were recruiting you, but today you're staff".
Chapter 3
Chapter 3 of Mark should ideally be studied as a whole rather than in chunks, otherwise we lose the sense of it all, so it's important that we try and put everything in its context. It is generally a rather depressing passage because it deals with the rejection of Jesus, but it is one with a kernel of hope that is highlighted in a very Jewish literary fashion. That seed of hope is the choosing of a new Israel.
We see the reactions of three groups of people to the ministry of Jesus, and I will turn briefly to each in turn.
Crowds
In v20 Jesus is plagued by crowds of people coming from all over the country, drawn to him for hispowers of miraculous healing. They want a doctor and Jesus is the best practitioner around. Jesus is acclaimed by everybody when he does these miracles. Ironically, when he does his unique saving work on the cross to heal the real wounds of the wolrd's people the crowds have spurned him.
Crowds are notoriously gullible. Dick Lucas says,
“Popularity, crowds and public attention (and there’s quite a lot of that to do with religious things today) are no safe guides whatever in assessing if God is at work….The majority is nearly always wrong.”
Therefore, we need to beware of mass movements, social fads and fashions. The principle is to stop and use our heads first and feet second. In fact, it’s a principle that extends to everything in the Christian life. When the 'Toronto Blessing' was sweeping the churches in the Nineties, those who kept their heads were those who stopped to examine the evidence before joining the rush to this new-fangled nirvana of 'super-spirituality'.
Family
In v21 the family of Jesus come to arrest Jesus (interestingly the same word used by Mark when he describes Herod arresting John), and again in verses 31-35 they come looking for him. It may seem strange that Jesus' earthly family should want to restrain him and stop his ministry. They are ashamed of him when people say, “He is out of his mind,” and they do not dispute it.
Imagine a young person who starts to take the things of God seriously. Quite often the non-believing family thinks they’ve lost their senses. One can picture the mother chatting to her neighother lads. He’s actually becoming quite pious! I mean it isn’t natural, is it?’ Then the father tells him to snap out of it. It demonstrates of course, that the world wants us to behave like the world, and when we don't it unsettles them.
Had they succeeded in arresting Jesus, his ministry would have been impeded, so again we have a group of people who have acted before really thinking about what they are doing.
Scribes
Interwoven with the narrative about the family is one about a group of 'teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem' (v 22). What is interesting about them is that they appear to be an official delegation sent down from the capital, Jerusalem, as a court of enquiry as it were. In British terms it is a Royal Commission, a parliamentary select committee.
They do not do a good job and deliver a twofold verdict, namely that Jesus is possessed by the devil (Beelzebub means literally ‘lord of the house’) and that he has a hellish power to cast out demons
In verses 23-26 Jesus responds to their assessment with simple logic. As to his supposed possession by Beelzebub, well that amounts to calling black white because it clearly does not match the facts. And as for using a hellish power he says that such a civil war is never constructive but destructive. Even an eleven year old could see through this logic, couldn’t they?
I: Kingdoms: what happened to the unity that Tito built in Yugoslavia? What every General and politician knows is that Divide and Rule is a very effective policy.
II: Homes: if parents fight and become divided, then a family cannot stand and operate effectively.
III: If Satan is divided then this is a self-contradiction and violates his very existence.
Yet again we have seen a group of people who failed to engage their reason first, to assimilate the facts and come to a right conclusion.
Work and Word
Mark has shown us three groups of people; crowds, family and religious establishment. Two of these groups focus on the miraculous, on the healings and the driving out of demons. The third appoints itself policeman and issues a warrant for the arrest of Jesus. They had all reached conclusions, but these conclusions were wrong. Why? They didn’t really listen to what Jesus was saying, but rather concentrated on his deeds.
Moreover, they didn’t look at the facts, the evidence properly, but were too quick to confirm their own prejudices.
Most people to whom we evangelise will know that Jesus was born to a virgin, that he was a miracle worker, that he told interesting parables and that he died on the cross before rising on the third day. In other words they too will tend to look at only the deeds of Jesus and then rush to make up their minds about him. Sadly, they too will fail to listen properly to the words that explain the deeds. Somehow, we must appeal to people to ensure that all the evidence is assessed. The work and word of Jesus go hand in glove. Unless people read the Bible they will not understand the earthly ministry of Jesus and the significance it has for them personally. To do as the three groups of peopl ein our story did will result in the Rejection of God’s Messiah and the sure hope of eternal life. The stakes are extremely high.
John 1:11 says,
“He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”
This means that Israel, God’s chosen people, rejected their long-awaited Messiah when he came. This chapter of Mark highlights that rejection. People today still reject God’s answer to our problems and so the problems that sin causes both now and for our future life go on and on. The passage also highlights the response of Jesus to that rejection. He responds in both deed and by word. Just prior to this story Jesus has established a new Israel under the twelve Apostles, and that was his deed. In the story we are looking at now the Lord responds in word.
The Strong Man
Jesus uses argument to refute unbelief and the Christian should learn to do so too. He tells the parable of the strong man (verse 27). The strong man is clearly Satan and Jesus is saying he has already bound Satan. The point Jesus is making to the scribes is that Jesus must have bound up Satan because he has, as the text says, ‘robbed his house’ because he has been releasing people from demonic possession. After all is said and done, that is the evidence of their own eyes! Can they deny it? Furthermore, if Jesus has tied up Satan, then this tell the scribes that Jesus is an even stronger man, and his clearin-out of Satan’s house must mean that he is opposed to Satan’s doings.
The Family
In verses 31-35, Jesus talks about family - specifically the Christian family, standing in contrast to his earthly family in the earlier verses. In the Old Testament the nation of Israel starts as a family, the family of Jacob who had twelve sons. We can infer that the New Israel of the apostolic faith is also a family.
The old family seemed to be based on flesh and blood, being born to the ‘right’ family, having the ‘right connections’ but the mark of the new family is somewhat different. They are recognised according to verse 35 as those who do God’s will. Other families have physical traits that are similar and so we can recognise them. The Christian family has spiritual traits in common by which we may recognise them.
We only know what God's will is by listening to him! The very thing his family, the crowds and the scribes were not doing. The apostles were later sent by the Lord to preach the gospel. At the centre of this New Testament family of God is the word of God. The Sriptures is probably the greatest work of the Holy Spirit whose purpose is to point us always to Jesus.
The Unforgiveable Sin
'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 3:28-30)
These verses have caused many a Christian to worry about their salvation so I propose to spend a little time clarifying their meaning. For some this statement can be the cause of much heart-searching and pain. The rector of a large teaching church in London tells of a senior executive in a financial firm who went through four years of great distress because he was convinced that he had blasphemed the Holy Spirit and thus committed the unforgivable sin. I’m sure most of us don’t lose sleep over the matter, but this sad tale shows that some Christians can become convinced that they have lost their salvation.
It appears that Jesus was all too aware of the potential for this statement to torment Christians down the ages, and so he prefaced it with another statement that we tend to overlook when we read this rather gloomy chapter of Mark,
“I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them.”
Seemingly there is a contradiction in the two sentences: if there is one sin that cannot be forgiven then Jesus should not make the promise that all sins will be forgiven. Clearly we must find a way through this apparent contradiction. The Lord does not make such mistakes!
We have seen that this chapter concerns itself with opposition to Jesus’ ministry. The religious authorities and the political administration plot to discredit and kill him, and even his own family call him crazy and come to take charge of him. John says in his gospel account, “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him,” (John 1:11) meaning that Israel, God’s chosen people, rejected their long-awaited Messiah when he came. Jesus responds to their rejection by establishing a new kingdom, replacing the foundation of twelve tribes with twelve apostles (Mark 3:13-14) that he has described as new wineskins for new wine (Mark 2:22).
“Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division…” (Luke 12: 51-53)
There is no sitting on the fence about Jesus: either you love him or you reject him, you are saved or you are damned. Bearing that in mind, let’s consider the Trinity. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are one and the same with God the Father. To reject Jesus is also to reject the Holy Spirit, and reject God. That is the ultimate blasphemy. To have your mind set so firmly against God utterly precludes any possibility of God being able to forgive you. Rather he must judge and condemn you for your sin.
I hope you will see where this is leading now. It is all a matter of faith. You may slip and blaspheme God, for example by using his name in an unsuitable way, but if you are a saved Christian, then you can, and will be forgiven for the believer lives a life of on-going repentance and faith. Christ died for all our sins. But if you remain a non-believer, then you blaspheme the Holy Spirit and cannot be saved. Jesus is giving his hearers a choice: either you can have all your sins forgiven or none of them. That was true for the family, crowds and scribes of Mark 3 and it is still true today.
The highly respected Christian teacher Don Carson brings comfort to those who fear they have damned themselves by blaspheming the Holy Spirit when he says the very fact that it bothers them in the first place is a sure sign that they have not committed the eternal sin.