READ Mark 3:20-35 KIDS What is the FOURTH possibility of Who some say Jesus is?

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1 Mark 3:20-35 Liar Lunatic LORD November 11, 2018am Ne w Hope R oad Joelton, TN READ Mark 3:20-35 KIDS What is the FOURTH possibility of Who some say Jesus is? If I were to ask each of you Who was Jesus of Nazareth, I imagine that I would get a broad spectrum of answers. Those more historically rooted would probably answer somewhere along the lines of a teacher who lived in Israel during the first century, and they would be correct. Those that are more theologically minded would probably answer something like, The only begotten Son of God Who ministered and died for the sin of the world, and they would be right. The more relationally bent might answer something like, My Savior and Best Friend. All of those would be correct, some more thoroughly correct. If we went outside the walls of the church, though, I imagine that we would probably get a lot more diverse answers. If I had to guess, the majority of answers would probably include the historical (a teacher who lived in Israel during the first century), but they might also state something like, He was just a good man and teacher. Corey M. Minter Page 1 of 11

2 That people often answered that way (that Jesus was just a good man/teacher) bothered one 20th century author, C.S. Lewis. Jesus could not be a good, moral teacher and make the claims that He did. The Gospel accounts are filled with Jesus s claims to be the Son of God, and no rational, good, moral teacher would ever claim to be god if he were not. He would no longer be good or moral if He were lying when He said, I am the Way the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. While Lewis is more popular for his children s books (The Chronicles of Narnia), he was actually a prolific Oxford professor who often times delved into Christian Apologetics a defense of the Christian faith. During the height of WW2, Lewis was asked to give a series of talks for the BBC radio where he could give some hope (and maybe a little distraction) to Londoners about Christianity. In these talks that have now been compiled in his book Mere Christianity, Lewis proposed what many people have called The Trilemma: Jesus was either a liar, a lunatic or Lord. He cannot just be a good, moral teacher. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any Corey M. Minter Page 2 of 11

3 patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.... Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God. 1 Well, about nineteen hundred years earlier, there were some people around Jesus who did not reach the same conclusion as Mr. Lewis, and they are just about to confront Jesus with what they believe. Matthew and Luke s Gospel accounts fill us in on the setting. Jesus has just exorcised a demon from a man who was both blind and mute, and He has healed the man, causing many people around Him to ask, Is this man the Son of David (the Messiah)? The crowd is so pressing that many of Jesus s family members believe that He is in danger. Mark 3:20 Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. 21 But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, He is out of His mind. 22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, He has Beelzebub, and, By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons. In just three short verses, we see those who believe that Jesus is a liar or lunatic. Let s focus in on those who hold that he is a liar. The scribes (of the Pharisees) realize that they cannot just let this go. Jesus has exorcised a demon (which was in their law divine proof of being from God) 1 Lewis, C.S. Mere Christianity Corey M. Minter Page 3 of 11

4 so they cannot stand idly by and allow Him to sway the people away from them. They have a choice. They can either follow along as His disciples, believing everything that He is teaching, or they can claim that His undeniable power does not come from God but from Satan. They said that He was of Beelzebub. That was a title which was used in the Old Testament Beelzebul Baal, the prince by Baal worshipers. The Old Testament Jews hated Baal worship so much that they changed one letter in the name and changed the meaning altogether. No longer did they say Beelzebul Baal, the prince. They called it Beelzebub prince of dung or lord of the flies (on the dung). It was a crass term to say the least, and standing in front of Him, these spiritual hypocrites (the Scribes of the Pharisees) accuse Jesus of doing the very work of Satan by healing and exorcising demons out of the oppressed crowd. Jesus is not intimidated one bit by their accusation. In fact, He quickly goes on the offense in order to show everyone the ridiculousness of their claim. Jesus gives two answers: an argument of division and of strength. 1. Division 23 So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. Corey M. Minter Page 4 of 11

5 How can Satan cast out Satan? Or really, why? Jesus points out how preposterous it is to even suggest that He is of the Devil since He casts out demons. Why on earth would a tool of Satan go around healing and exorcising demons from people? At best, it would be counter-intuitive, but really, it more than that. The casting out of demons was destructive to Satan s cause. That is exactly why Jesus had come: to bring an end to Satan s hold on people; so if He is from Satan, this is the most illconceived, dumb plan ever. 2. Strength 27 No one can enter a strong man s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house. I love the word picture here. Jesus has come into Satan s domain, and in order to plunder all of Satan s goods (Satan s stronghold on the people of Israel), He is going to first bind him. That is what Jesus is doing every time He faces off against a demon; He is loosening Satan s hold on the hearts of people. Jesus comes in and binds the strong-man (using His terms). What does that say about Jesus? He is not from Satan; He is GREATER than Satan. Since the people have just leveled this accusation of His being from Satan (I believe almost like grasping at straws finding any way to discount Him), Jesus gathers them even closer, and He explains to them how treacherous an allegation that really is. Corey M. Minter Page 5 of 11

6 28 Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; 29 but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation 30 because they said, He has an unclean spirit. You may have heard of the Unpardonable Sin before, but I believe read within the right context, we get the correct understanding of this difficult text. Again, I think the Scribes have tossed accusation after accusation against Jesus trying to discredit Him: almost like throwing spaghetti at a wall trying to see what will stick. Nothing sticks to Him. He is clean, but they have crossed over into no-man s land with this latest claim. They have just called Jesus, the Son of God: Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer of mankind, the lord of a dung heap That cannot go unnoticed or glossed over. All sin is forgivable, but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness. [Gulp] I have to imagine that the scribes physically shrink away at that point. But what about this unforgivable/ unpardonable sin? I think we need to talk a little about this because it is often times misrepresented. Is Jesus saying that if I say the wrong thing about the Holy Spirit then I am not a Christian, and I am in danger of hell fire? This is not a one-and-done kind of sin. This is not an accidental sin either. This is a lifelong, knowing the truth about God (like the Scribes) and Corey M. Minter Page 6 of 11

7 choosing to believe something else about God. One author wrote it best, The unpardonable sin is the one you will not confess. Have you committed the unpardonable sin? You may be in the very act of it right now. You know the Truth of Christ, but you are willing and wanting to believe anything and everything else aside from the truth. You look at Jesus, and you say, You are a liar. I do not believe you. I do not want you in my life, and by so doing, you are blaspheming the Holy Spirit s conviction and convincing you of Christ. You are on dangerous ground. But Can I remind you of Saul of Tarsus? If anyone had ever gone too far, he came dangerously close. Hating the thought of Jesus, disgusted with His teachings, Saul made it his life s mission to erase the name of Christ from off the globe; so he tracked down Christians. Breathing threats against the church, he pulled families apart and sent many of them to prison and possibly even a martyr s death. But Jesus showed Himself to him on the road to Damascus AS he was going to oppress more Christians, and Saul repented and was forgiven. The chief of sinners became the saint of Christ. As long as there is breath in your lungs, forgiveness is standing by for you. Do not continue down this path. This life of blaspheming God, calling His Son a liar, will not end well for you when you stand before Him naked at judgment. Almost as a cut into the tension of the moment, the crowds are shoved to the side and Corey M. Minter Page 7 of 11

8 31 Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. 32 And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, Look, Your mother and Your brothers [some manuscripts include sisters ] are outside seeking You. Why were they here? Well verse 21 introduces them as the second group of people: those who thought Jesus was a lunatic. 21 But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, He is out of His mind. I do not think Mary can be included in the group that thought Jesus was crazy. She had already professed her faith in Him as the Son of God in her Magnificat. I believe she came that day out of fear for her child s life. So pressing was the crowd, so bent were the scribes that she knew Jesus s life was in danger; so as a concerned mother she comes for Him. But His brothers (James, Joses, Simon and Judas we have as their names in Matthew) and sisters are not as convinced as their mother of Jesus s legitimacy. They do not know what all happened before they were born, but they had been told the story I am sure, and it had caused them to be spurned from society as well I am sure. Jesus conceived by the Holy Spirit. Jesus the Son of God. Jesus Who never did anything wrong. Just stop for a moment and think about how difficult it would have been to grow up with Jesus as your brother. He is out of His mind, mom! Joseph has most likely passed away at this point. Jesus had been in charge of the carpenter s shop, but He had left it all He had left all of them to go walk around teaching for over Corey M. Minter Page 8 of 11

9 a year at this point. I am sure that is a backstory. I wonder about all of the conversations that He had with His siblings. He loved them all, but I am sure that their feelings toward Him may have been disdain, anger or pathetic sympathy. When faced with the question of "Who is Jesus, His brothers and sisters answered, He s a lunatic. And you may think a similar thing you my think that Christians are crazy. People who try to live their lives, obeying an ancient book. It all seems ridiculous to you. You look at Jesus as a kind of teacher with savant syndrome, able to teach deep moral truths but with obvious God delusions. You pass off His teachings about His being the Son of God almost like you would a beloved professor s eccentricities. You do not know the Bible, then. Jesus does not come to teach morality. In fact, He is the One Who often times is eating with the dregs of society while berating the behaviorally moral Pharisees. Heaven, Hell, Truth, sin, redemption are His keynotes not His subtitles. Jesus s brothers and sisters knew this, and that s why they believed He was not just eccentric but insane. At least, they did while He was alive. But for now, they have come to Lay hold of Him (literally to arrest Him ), and they are outside the house hoping to lure Him out; so they can take Him to safety. Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You. And Jesus gives them the most reasonable answer, not one of a madman. Corey M. Minter Page 9 of 11

10 33 But He answered them, saying, Who is My mother, or My brothers? 34 And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, Here are My mother and My brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother. Jesus is seated around those who have accepted Him, those who have walked by His side for months now. They have heard His sermons. They have seen His healings, and their conclusion of Jesus is that He is Lord. To them, He gives the best promise. You are my brothers and sisters. Sins forgiven. Lives accepted. Family extended for all those who hold Him as Lord. Some critics have come along, and they have tried to poke holes in Lewis s Trilemma, adding a fourth L. They hold that Jesus was not a liar, lunatic or lord. Rather, they believe Him to be a legend. Not a legend inasmuch of questioning His existence but in His claims. They hold that the apostles and others gathered together and contrived the whole story. To these, I point to the lives of the Christians who came after Christ. Even Jesus s own family who believed He was insane ultimately claimed Him as Lord. We are not told of all their stories, and we do not even know how it all came to pass for the couple that we do, but His brother James and Judas (we know him as Jude) penned New Testament books. In them, do you know how they introduce themselves? James, a bondservant of God and of Jesus Christ. Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ. Corey M. Minter Page 10 of 11

11 James professed faith in Christ and became one of the first pastors of the church in Jerusalem. I have heard some skeptics teach that James was just trying to get in on some of the fame of His brother. Really? Some of that fame that lead Jesus to the cross? That kind of fame? In fact, James would meet a terrifying end, himself. Annanus, the Jewish High Priest, had James taken up to the pinnacle of temple and thrown down in reference to one of Jesus s claims. Still alive after the fall, the Jews began stoning him until one man beat him to death with a club. Just a brief overview of human history will tell you that people are willing to die for just a few things: romantic love, honor, money or power. James and the apostles died having none of those things by the world s standards. Most died penniless, powerless and disgraceful deaths, having seen some of their own family (wives and children) killed before them. Something happened that made them change their mind about their half-brother Jesus. What was it? The resurrection. That which seemed so preposterous (Jesus as the Son of God) seemed so reasonable in light of His resurrection. He is no liar. He is the truth. He is no lunatic. He is omniscient, allwise King. He is no mere legend. He is Lord of All, and He offers you a place in His family: 35 For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother. Corey M. Minter Page 11 of 11