Mark 3 opens with Jesus healing a man on the Sabbath (Mark 3:1-6). As Jesus went into the temple, there was a man with a physical infirmity, but the Pharisees had their attention focused on what Jesus was doing. They were not focused on the worship of the Creator, or the needs of the man...but on what the other "religious guy (Jesus)" was doing in the room.
Their goal was to affirm their belief that Jesus was a bad guy and would break the Jewish Law. The only healing that was permitted on the Sabbath was that which saved a life. Jesus used the event as a teachable moment. The motives of the Pharisees were revealed when Jesus asked them a question which they would have to agree to...and they did not respond (Mark 3:4). He wanted to know from them, was it right to do good...or to do evil?
Obviously it was right to do good and wrong to do evil. Jesus is pointing out that to do nothing (not to do good) was to, in fact, do evil. They could not respond without becoming trapped in their own words, or repenting. So, they said nothing. Jesus became angry at their self-serving hardness of heart. Rather than be proven wrong, they would simply sit by and wait for him to act. They were faced with a crossroads of decision...and they refused to step across. So, Jesus healed the man anyway. This infuriated the Pharisees...to the point...that they went out and "conspired with" the Herodians against Him. (These two groups had nothing in common...except their common enemy, Jesus.)
Jesus' fame continued to spread (Mark 3:7-12). He continued to work miracles of healing and exorcism...not because it was his ministry, but because it authenticated his message and bore witness to the claim, "the Kingdom of God is at hand." Many of those who benefitted from His healing were not true disciples. They were not there to become Christ-followers. They simply wanted to be healed. Jesus healed them anyway.
Something that struck me was this: Jesus never sought out these people to demonstrate his goodness toward them. You don't find where He had a game plan to go find people who did not care about the Kingdom...in order to bless and heal them. These folks found Him and He ministered to them. SOMETIMES today, we find ourselves going out in search of opportunities to do nice things for people unsolicited. We might even do it without presenting the gospel (or the intention of presenting the gospel) and say that we are just "being the Body" of Christ. Are we? Were we commanded to seek out opportunities to do social ministry without the gospel? Where? When? How?
Jesus certainly did "social ministry," but always in the context of proclaiming the Kingdom (the Rule and Reign of God in the heart...and the challenge for men to repent and follow God.)
One last observation in the chapter: Responding to the accusation that Jesus' power (as opposed to the claimed power of the Pharisees) came from Satan rather than God (Mark 3:20-23), Jesus told a parable.
Mark 3:24-30 is the parable where Jesus proposes the principle that if the physical infirmities of the people are the result of Satan (as the Pharisees proposed and was commonly accepted), then Jesus' power had to be from God...since Satan could not stand against himself and survive. The Pharisees had to either admit their flawed theology of sickness (the sins of a person or his ancestors are the cause of his illness.- See John 9:1-3), or agree that Jesus was working according to God's power. They again responded with hardness and Jesus introduces the sin unto death.
What is the sin unto death? It is essentially the sin of unbelief. The Pharisees would rather attribute Jesus' actions to some other power than to admit their failure and believe in Him. The verb tense indicates a perpetual state of unbelief. It is not a one time confession, 'I do not believe in God." It is an ongoing attitude of explaining away God's actions so as not to acknowledge Christ as Lord. I am asked from time to time, "Pastor, have I committed the 'blasphemy of the Holy Spirit sin' in rejecting Christ through the years?" Here is the answer I have become pretty comfortable with. IF YOU ARE ASKING THE QUESTION, IT IS NOT TOO LATE FOR YOU NOW. If you go on asking the question, it may become too late. All sin is forgiven to those who repent and believe.
The chapter closes with Mark 3:31-35. Here, the family of Jesus comes to get Him. He makes an incredible statement about allegiences. For a Christ-follower, the closest connections and familial relationships exist between those who know and do the will of God. The bond between believers is stronger than even the bond of blood relatives. This seems hard...and should not be "pressed" too far; but, for those who have ever experienced the bond of Christian family...it makes perfect sense.
Proverbs 13:24 is the takeaway today. Discipline is an act of love. To withhold discipline or to apply it inconsistently is to act with hate/"unlovingly" toward a son. To love our children requires at times that we desire their good character over their popular award of "best friend." When they grow up, they really respect and give the "best friend" award...only this time, it really means something.
Grace,
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You can really see the fear that the religious leaders have concerning Jesus. He poses a serious threat to their way of life and their belief. Christ is all knowing and all powerful and that scares even me. The authority that Christ speaks from has never been seen before on this level and the only recourse is to secure their way of life. As believer’s we know what the obvious answer is and should be LOUD and PROUD of our salvation. You can also see the opportunist taking advantage of the kindness of Jesus’ heart and love for his children. It is like today but how do you discern who it true and who is false? I found out that I let God handle the decisions. I just try to be faithful and let God deal with the out come. I use to find it extremely harsh on how Jesus responded to his family but after learning what they thought of him they deserved it. The called him crazy, out of his mind, and other derogatory words. He did love them but he had a new family. Like us we have a new Christian family when we become believers. Not to say we need to abandoned our family, but don’t discount your spiritual family.
My son is one of the most special gifts God gave me. I don’t always know what to say, how to act, or even be the perfect example all the time but I do have an unconditional love for him and do my best to keep him in the fold so he can grow. He drives me over the edge from time to time but I have learned that he is my twin but younger in a lot of respects so more patients is required from time to time. Thank you Lord for your special gift.
Thanks for the lesson today. Always like to follow your blog.
Bob
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