Mark 3:22-35
It’s been a few weeks, but we are back in the book of Mark and it’s go-time for Jesus and His disciples. Jesus has just named the 12. Their purpose was simple: spend time with Jesus, learn from Him, then go out and preach His message. And right away, opposition comes.
Read Mark 3:22-30
Matthew adds a key detail to this account that I think is important. In Matthew 2:22-24, he says, “Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” Apparently the scribes want to get in on the action as well, and together they bring up this accusation against Jesus, and it’s quite a serious offense.
The Accusation (22)
Something to note here though, and it’s very interesting. They obviously recognize that Jesus has some sort of power, and that the miracles he’s performing are really happening. They are witness to demons literally being cast out of people’s bodies. But, like we’ve talked about, these religious leaders are starting to lose their grip on their influence so the best way to try and turn others against Jesus is to attack His nature and defame Him. So they attribute the power by which He performs these miracles to Beelzebul.
The name Beelzebul means “lord of the house” and is a reference to Satan as the “king of the underworld.” One commentator compares Satan’s army to the mafia in which Beelzebul (Satan) was the godfather who gave the orders. So you have Jesus’ family who thinks that He is out of His mind, and now you have the religious leaders attributing His power to the work of Satan.
Defense (23-27)
I love this next part. Jesus doesn’t come up with some complicated defense. In fact, He uses pretty basic logic to prove their accusations horribly inaccurate and impossible. “I mean, come on guys, really?! Just think about what you are saying for a minute, Satan using me to cast out demons?! You know how ridiculous that sounds? Satan essentially casting himself out? No? Alright, well let me break it down for you.”
Imagine a kingdom, and it’s a powerful kingdom. And this kingdom has great aspirations of conquering other kingdoms. There’s just one problem. The people within that kingdom are fighting against each other. There is so much division that they won’t even be able to attack outside the city walls! This is what we would call a civil war. They will destroy each other before taking up battle arms against the real enemy!
And Jesus is like, “no? Still don’t get it? Alright let’s make it more personal.”
The New Living Translation paraphrases verse 25 like this: “A family splintered by feuding will fall apart.” Families that disagree to the point of infighting will most likely end up fractured and broken. It just doesn’t make sense! Satan cannot rise up against himself. If his kingdom were divided and there was fighting in the midst of his minions, the kingdom would fall, his family would fracture and break. Satan is smarter than that! His purpose is to seek, kill and destroy.
However, look again at verse 27. Read vs. 27. There is a way, Jesus says, to overthrow Satan’s attempts at infiltrating and conquering humanity. And this is what I am doing. If you want to take someone’s property, you have to first bind the strong man so he cannot stop you.
What Jesus is saying is that He is in effect binding Satan and plundering his possessions by casting demons out of people who are possessed, in essence a possession of, Satan. They are his property. They are being held captive by Satan’s demons. When Jesus casts these demons out He frees them from captivity, breaking the chains of possession.
The charge of collusion has been eradicated. Case closed.
But Jesus doesn’t leave it there. What Jesus says next is a terrifying warning directed at His accusers. He wants them to know how dangerously close they are to crossing an eternal line that you cannot come back from.
Eternal Sin (28-29)
Read vs. 28-29
This is a passage that causes many people great angst and unnecessary worry. If we really understand what Jesus is saying, and the truth behind this idea of an “unforgivable sin,” then we as Christians would find comfort in the power of the extent of forgiveness in Christ.
At first glance though, it does seem a bit hard to understand. Jesus says that all sins will be forgiven, including blasphemies that are uttered. However, a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. What exactly is Jesus saying here? What is the nature of this unforgivable sin?
The word blasphemy means to “speak harm and verbal abuse against someone, calculated to hurt or smite the reputation of another.” It is to speak “reproachfully, to utter malicious, injurious things. When directed against God, it denotes hostile speech that is derogatory of God’s honor and power.”
Most scholars would agree that the specific sin that Jesus is talking about here is not a single decision or single thought against the Holy Spirit, but as Matt Chandler puts it, “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is a knowledgeable, willful, and continued rebellion against the ministry of the Holy Spirit.”
John Piper preached on this years ago, and had a great comparison between verse 28 and 29. Blasphemy that is forgivable, and that which is not. Here’s what he says:
“If we blaspheme and reject the Father and the Son, there is still hope, for the Spirit may yet work within us to humble us and bring us to repentance. But if behind the Father and the Son we see and taste the power of the Holy Spirit and reject his work as no more precious than the work of Satan, we shut ourselves off from the only one who could ever bring us to repentance. And so we shut ourselves off from forgiveness.
What then is it? The unforgivable sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is an act of resistance which belittles the Holy Spirit so grievously that he withdraws forever with his convicting power so that we are never able to repent and be forgiven.”
One more really important thing. The term “unforgivable sin” is not found in Scripture. So when people talk about the unforgivable sin, it sounds like a sin that is committed that cannot be forgiven. That’s not true. Over and over in Scripture we see the exact opposite. I mean, he just said it in verse 28: ALL sins will be forgiven, even blasphemies that are uttered.
What we find in the Greek is the term “eternal sin.” Sin that has eternal implications. And the only sin that keeps us separated from God is the sin of unbelief. And in that truth, as Christians, we find great hope. Listen, if you are a Christian, you will never have to worry that you have committed the “unforgivable sin.” If you have experienced Jesus, and believe that He has the power of God to forgive sins, and has done that through His death on the cross, and was raised to life to defeat sin and death, then you have eternal security.
Romans 8:38-39 - “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
And here’s a little more encouragement for us this morning. Read vs. 31-35.
Jesus is not disrespecting His own family with this statement. What He is doing is telling people that there is a greater work at play that will have eternal, relational implications. There is a unity that goes beyond mere flesh and blood. And all of this is connected for us this morning, because as Christians we have been adopted into the family of God. We are spiritual brothers and sisters, and one day we will be presented to our spiritual groom (Jesus) and spend eternity with our spiritual Father. Security through the blood of Jesus.
Application
That same Holy Spirit that empowered Jesus to perform miracles, to heal the sick, to make the lame walk, to bring the dead back to life. The same power that brought Jesus back from the dead, is the power that lives in us.
Romans 8:10-11 - “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”
Listen, as Christians, we have nothing to fear. We have been fused together with Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. There is nothing that we can do that puts us too far outside the forgiveness of Jesus. However, knowing that there is an eternity of separation from God in hell for those who reject the gospel should cause us to greatly dismay.
It should drive us to our knees in prayer for our family members that don’t know Jesus. It should drive us to our knees in prayer for our neighbors. It should drive us to our knees in prayer for our co-workers. It should drive us to pray every day for the gospel to infiltrate our culture, to infiltrate our schools, to infiltrate our homes, to infiltrate the hearts of those who do not yet know Jesus.
It should cause a great awakening in our hearts and minds to be more intentional with how we live. I mean guys, just think about this. Have you ever been in a really dark place in your life, where you feel like God is not there? And it’s painful, and it’s lonely, and it’s scary. Now take that feeling, and multiply it times a million, and then stretch it out for eternity. Like, never ending separation from God. Never ending turmoil and darkness. For those that don’t know Jesus, this is their destiny!
But it’s not the fear of hell that should drive our witness. It’s the joy and fulfillment and love and acceptance and purpose found in a relationship with Christ that should drive us. It isn’t a fire and brimstone gospel, it’s a sacrificial love offered for you on a cross so that you could be snatched out of darkness and into light, being adopted by God the Father and called His sons and daughters gospel.
We rest in that truth, with no fear that anything we do will separate us from the love of God.
