Whoever does God’s will  Mk3_20_35_PKim

Mark 3:20-35

Key Verse: 3:35

   “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

Jesus’ ministry was gaining popularity. It was because Jesus welcomed all kinds of sinners and served them whole heartedly until they were fully restored physically, mentally and spritually. It was not the only reason. It was also because there was nowhere to go for the wounded souls, but Jesus. So, after much prayer, Jesus appointed the twelve to raise them as shepherds who could take care of God’s flock like himself. Disciple-making is God’s will, and God’s wisdom to reach to the ends of the earth and save sinners. It was a great work of God to call the Twelve and organzie them into a dream team to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth. Among us, God is also doing great work through forming small group meetings – Students meeting on Thursday, Dream, Vision, and Innovation team. They are the hope of God for this campus and this nation for the gospel of Jesus will reach to the ends the earth through them.

Where there is a great work of God there is also a great work of Satan. In today’s passge, the enemise attacked the work of God in two ways; through the accusation of the religious leaders, and the misunderstanding of his family members. As we serve in disciple masking ministry, Satan hinders us in many ways – through health issies, housing challenges, family struggles, job pressures, financial difficulties, relational conflicts, and rumors or slanders. When we are under Satan’s attack, we can be discouraged and lose our calling to raise disciples of Jesus. Through this bible study, we may learn two spiritual turths that lead us to victory. First, Jesus is the strong and mighty resucre who sets us free and gives us victory through the power of the Holy Spirit. Second, Jesus invites disciples into his family members who are called to commit themselves to God’s will and serve God, the Father in heaven.

First, Jesus, the mighty savior (20-30)

Now Jesus entered a house, perhaps that of Peter and Andrew in Capernaum. The moment Jesus’ presence was known, a crowd gathered again. Some came with serious life problems, such as sickness or demon possession. Others came to hear Jesus’ teaching. Some came out of curiosity to see miracles, while still others came to spy on His ministry.  V20 says that  Jesus and his disciples were not even able to eat because of the crowd gathered. Again Jesus healed their sicknesses, drove out demons, and taught the life-giving words of God to them. He could not but skipped many meals, serving them one by one. As they followed Jesus in serving the needy, the disciples fasted unintentionally. What a beautiful scene it was.

Then, the news of Jesus’ fame reached His family members in Nazareth where he grew up. They might hear unbelievable miracles he performed, but also rumors about him like “He thinks he’s God who can forgive sins; He ignores the laws and regulations, challenges the authority of the religious leaders, and stirres up the people. He is gathering young people and forming a gang with sinners, including tax collectors and prostitutes. Then the family assumed Jesus was out of his mind. False rumors distorted the facts and misrepresented the beautiful work of Jesus as the work of one crazy man. Jesus’ family did not want him to be hurt or completely go insane. They wanted to protect him. So, they traveled 30 miles, from Nazareth to Capernaum, in order to take charge of Jesus. 

Unlike the family members, there were enemies with malicious intentions to destory the work of God. Look at verse 22. Some Teachers of the law came down from Jerusalem all the way to Galilee to check out Jesus. It was because they felt threatened for the fast-growing ministry of Jesus. What did they do? They spred a poisonous statement about Jesus. “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.” Since there was evidence and  many witnesses, they could not deny that Jesus had driven out demons. Instead, they accused him of casting out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons. In this way, they discredited the work of God as the work of devils and associated Jesus with Satan. It seems that they had neigther met Jesus nor witnessed His ministry firsthand. Yet they were already spreading  the accusations publicly – like posting on Twitter, Tiktok, and Facebook. They did not truly care about the truth; their only purpose was to ruin Jesus’ reputation and then his ministry. In truth, they were instruments of Satan and doing Satan’s work, destroying the work of God.

How did Jesus deal with them? Jesus called them over to him, not to pick a fight, but to speak to them in parables. Look at vrse 23-26.  Jesus said, “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 response, Jesus first asked a question: “How can Satan drive out Satan?” It simply means that the accusation is completely illogical and makes no sense. To prove that, Jesus made three “If” statements. If a kingdom or a house or an evil is divided aginst itself, it cannnot stand – its end has come. Isn’t it common sense? “United We Stand”  Evn children in kindergarten know this. Consider our Civil War, when brothers, colleagues, friends, and families fought one another to the death. The nation was torn apart. Without President Lincoln’s leadership, the United States might not have survived as one nation. Under Alexander the Great, the Greek became a powerful empire. However after his sudden death, the empire was divided among his 4 generals. Instead of remaining united, they fought against one another. Over time, the once-great empire weakened and eventually fell to Rome. 

Satan is evil, not stupid. Division is one of the most powerful and effective strategic weapons Satan uses to destroy the work of God and the church of God. Satan knows our weaknesses very well.  He uses those – our greed, envy, or jealousy and even financial problems – to cause us to misunderstand, fight, hate and eventually divide our community. We do not need to search far for examples. We have seen Satan’s divisive work even within our own community. But, do you know what Jesus’ new command was given to us? “A new command I give  you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (Jn13:34)  This is not a suggestion or  an option. But it is a command from our Lord.  When we obey this command, we choose forgivness instead of retaliation, we choose kindness instead of hatred, unity instead of division,  Obeying this command, we defeat Satan’s schemes. Division is Satan’s weapon, but Love is God’s weapon. When we love one another, we can be united and become one and serve His salvation work with one mind. We can do so, not because we have become perfect without weaknesses or  flaws, but because love covers multitudes of sins and empowers us to be united and be one under the one  Fahter, one Spirit, one God, and one Savior, Jesus. Thank God for blessing the NA Staff conference with this new command “Love one another.” Obeying this command, we may practice His love in our homes, fellowships, and communities. 

Satan is smarter, and more powerful than any human being. Then, how could Jesus drive out demons? Look at verse 27. Jesus answered it by telling another parable. “In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house.” In this parable, the strong man represents Satan, who holds peopple captive through fear, despair, guilt, shame, lust, addictions, depression and so on. Under Satan’s power, we become slaves to sin. When we are under the power of sin, we have no peace; no true happiness – even if we have planty of money, eat gourmet food, wear fine clothes, and enjoy luxurious entertainment. It is because we are slaves without freedom. In Romans 7, Paul cried out “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?” (Ro 7:24)  Self-discipline or education or medical treatment or medication alone cannot ultimately solve the root of their suffering. Even if we try to escape, it is impossible on our own because he is stronger than we are.

Then, who can rescue us from the devil’s oppression, harassment and stronghold? One who is stronger than the strong man, Satan – He ties the strong man and then plunder the strong man’s house. Here the stronger one is Jesus. Jesus – with his divine power and authority – is incomparabley and infinitely more powerful, and completely and forever able to and will bind Satan and plunder Satan’s captives. Rev19:16 declares that Jesus is King of kings and Lord of Lords. Jesus is the mighty, the Chain-breaker who set us free. Through his death and resurreciton from the dead, Jesus resuces all who trust in him as Lord. Jesus is the Mighty who saves us from the devil’s strong hold by the power of the holy Spirit. Hebrews 2:14-15 says, “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” Let’s accept Jesus as our deliverer, Lord and Savior so that we may have true freedom, peace and victory.

Jesus concluded his teaching to the teachers of the law, who were deliberately and persistently opposing Him, giving a great promise and a serious warning. Look at verses 28-30. “‘Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.’ He said this because they were saying, ‘He has an impure spirit.’” The great promise is that there is no sin that will not be forgiven. There is no sin that is beyond God’s ability to forgive. When we are living in this world, we commit many sins in word, thought, and deed. We forget God’s grace, are unthankful and self-glory seeking, and rebel against authority. We lie, cheat, steal, envy, complain, blame, hate, lust, commit adultery and murder even. But there is no sin that is beyond God’s ability to forgive. In the blood of Jesus, there is power to wash away all our sins and make us white as snow. Isaiah 1:18 says, “Come now, let us settle the matter, “ say the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” All we need to do for forgiveness is to confess our sins, turn from them in repentance and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” When we acknowledge and confess our sins and believe in Jesus, then Jesus forgives all our sins. This is the gospel of Jesus. Amen. 

Then, what is the warning? There is a sin that cannot be forgiven. It is the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. “but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.” (v29) What is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? Blasphemy by definition is slander – arrogant opposition. So, Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is a deliberate and arrogant rejection of the work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is our savior and our way to foregviness, salvation, and eternal life in the kingdom of God. Yet if they persist in their unbelief and rejection of Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit, there will be no forgiveness. There cannot be forgiveness for those who reject Jesus who is the way, the truth and the life. The proper way to respond to the Gospel is repentance of our sins! The sin that weighs most heavily on me is the sin I have committed repeatedly. Even though I have repented many times of lust and of having indifferent heart toward those I am called to love and care for, I have fallen into the same sins repeatedly. These failures allowed doubt to seep into my heart and tempted me to stop fighting against sin. Yet, Jesus is the mighty Savior. My repeated failure is not stronger than the grace and the love of God in Christ Jesus. My weakness does not cancel His mercy. Even when I fall again, Jesus does not abandon me. Instead of giving up on me, He calls me to come back, to confess honestly, and to receive His forgiveness once more. His blood is not exhausted by my weakness. His love is not worn out by my struggles. Victory is not found in my willpower, but in abiding in Christ daily. When I look at myself, I feel discouraged. But when I look at Jesus—His cross, His resurrection, and His patient love—I find hope again. Paul declared the victory in Christ in Romans 8 – “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? … in all these things – trouble, hardship, perectuion, famine, nakedness, danger or sword – we are more thatn conquerors through him who loved us. Nothing – neither death nor life, neighter angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, height nor death, nor anything else – will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Though the battle may be repeated, His grace is greater. I will not give up resisting sin, because Jesus has not given up on me. There is no sin that cannot be forgiven by Jesus’ blood. However, those who reject him are guilty of an eteranal sin. As a result, they will face eternal condemnation.

Second, Jesus’ true family (31-35)

As Jesus had finished his teaching, his mother and brothers arrived. The crowd was so large that they could not get to Jesus. So, standing outside, they sent someone in to call Jesus (31b). A crowd was sitting around him. Then, the messenger told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.” Across all cultures, especially Jewish culture, family relationships carry profound and overarching importance. Family relationships are natural and lasting bonds forged through generations by blood ties, shared upbringing and common experiences of joy and sorrow. They are foundational to all other relationships. So, naturally people would have expected Jesus to stop what he was doing and go out to welcom his family, especially his mother. 

But, Jesus did the unexpected. Look at verses 33-35. “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” Who are Jesus’ family? Are we the family of Jesus? Yes! This family was not formed on the basis of DNA, marriage, Business, Political alliance, ligal adoption, common interest or sorcial media connection. How do we become Jesus’ family? It is formed of those who do God’s will; those who live in obedience to God. This begins by accepting Jesus as one’s Savior and Lord and following him as the disciples had done. John 1:12-13 says, “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” All Christians have one Father, God, and are all brothers and sisters. We all share the blood of Christ, the Son of God. We are bonded to each other by the blood of Jesus.

In Jesus’ answer, there are at least two important truths for us to hold on to. First of all, Jesus is challenging us to expand our definition of family. Our family is not only those we naturally love. We would fully expect a parent to give their life for their children, or a brother for his brother. But we often draw the ine there. Then, can we love him or her as deeply as we love a natural family? Can we be more forgiving, merciful, and  sacrificial as we are toward our natural family? Jesus commanded us to love one another as he did; forgive one another as he did; serve one another as he did; sacrifices for one another as he did. Jesus was so full of love for all people. We should also learn to embrace all kinds of people of all nationalities because Jesus’ family includes people from every tribe and language and nation (Rev 5:9).

Secondly, we must put first priority on our relationship with Him. Jesus said in Matthew 10:37, “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” This does not mean that Christians should ignore and neglect their family members. As Jesus was dying on the cross, in the midst of extreme pain, he was concerned about his mother. So he entrusted her to the care of Apostle John. We, too, should take care of our family members. However, here, Jesus’ point is that our relationship with him always takes priority over any other relationship. Ties of natural affection, business contracts, ligal or political ties should not take priority over our commitment to God. As we practice this truth, our family relationships can become Christ-centered. Jesus looking at the people surrounding  him, said “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” Jesus is inviting His disciples into God’s family. Jesus lived and died to expand our definition of love and of family. 

In our own ministry there are many who left their homes to obey Jesus’ world mission command.  Then God has blessed us with brothers, sisters in Christ Jesus. Campus students and your nighbors are our family who we love, respect, protect, provide for, care for and help out. When we live with a Christ-centered view of family, we can be a blessing. Jesus wants us to put first priority on our relationship with him so that we may continue to learn from him and grow to be like him. When we live Christ-centered life, the love of Jesus will fill our community. Students will know that we are disciples of Jesus for they smell and taste the love of Jesus among us.  Being Jesus’ family member is a great privilege and blessing. Let’s put our first priority in our relationship with Jesus.