Mark 3: The Family of God

Transcription

1 1 Mark 3: The Family of God There is much confusion today about what it means to be in the family of God. How many of you have heard someone say, We are all children of God? Many of my friends in Central Asia often say, All of us are created by God and we are all his children. There are simply many different roads to know Him as Father. This statement is somewhat understandable for those who have never read the Bible. However, there are scores of people in this country who have Bibles in their homes and have even been taught as children, but still believe the same so called truths concerning the family of God as do my friends in CA. Today, I hope we will get a clear understanding as Jesus teaches some fundamental truths about the family of God. I have 3 truths with some applications to follow. Before moving to these truths, let s consider the context. In verses 20 and 21 Mark tells us that Jesus went home. According to Mark 2:1 this home wasn t Jesus house in Galilee where his family lived, but instead Capernaum. And, as usual, the crowds were so thick that Jesus couldn t even eat a meal. Then, Mark says, that his family heard it and they went to seize him because they thought he was out of his mind. It is important to know that many Bible translations do not use the word family in this verse simply because Mark doesn t say family in the Greek. It is simply the words those alongside him. And although this phrase is sometimes translated as family, it usually means friends or kinsmen or relatives or even those who know him well. Therefore, I do not believe family is the best translation. Instead, they were friends and possible relatives, people who knew him well. As they came to him that day, they thought, He s the carpenter s son. He is Mary s firstborn. He s from the village over in Galilee. His mother and my mother have had tea together. We all have relations like this. Here is somewhat of an example. Many of us have known Joe for many years. What if Joe, all of a sudden, started preaching and teaching a message he claimed was from God. What if he started casting out demons and healing people? What if he started to go against cultural norms, correcting the leaders of the community? What if he started calling men to follow him? What if he claimed to be the one who could forgive sins? Here is what would happen. Look at verse 21. Some of us would want to seize him and say, What are you doing? You are doing some good things, but do you realize where you are heading. You will be killed if you keep this up. Are you out of your mind? Look at v. 22. The Pharisees were sure he was possessed by the devil himself. John tells us that they thought he was a demon possessed Samaritan. In all honesty, if Joe were in this same situation, I would have to sit him down and do everything in my power to get him to rethink his position. To top it off, Jesus tells the Pharisees who had been sent from Jerusalem (the Holy City), You commit an eternal sin that will not be forgiven (v. 29). Wow! This brings us to verse 31. Enough is enough. At this point, his mother and his brothers come to talk some sense into him. I believe that Mary knew this man, Jesus, her firstborn, was sent from God because the Bible tells us that after Jesus was born and the shepherds came to worship Him Mary pondered these things in her heart (Lk. 2:19). She knew he was special and destined for greatness, but at this time, with his radical message, and the offense he was making in the community, she was simply concerned for his safety.

2 2 1. The family of God is known by the way it looks. As Jesus mother and brothers could not enter the room to get Jesus because of the crowds, they instead called out to him. I imagine it was more like, Could you please tell my son, our brother, we are here to see him. Do you think you could pass the message to him that he needs to get out here right now? We have some important matters to discuss. Instead of rushing out to them, he takes the opportunity to teach. Looking around at those listening to his words, he says, These are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother (vv ). Here Jesus makes a very clear distinction between those who obey the will of God and those who do not. Here is a clear example. Do you remember what the Apostle John said in chapter 8 when the religious leaders came to him? Jesus began to speak to them about the Father. In verse 38 he said, I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father. They answered him, Abraham is our father. Jesus said to them, If you were Abraham s children, you would be doing the works of Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works your father did... Jesus said to them, If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God... You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father s desires (8: 39-44). In this same chapter he also told them, If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (8: 31-32). Jesus was saying, you know what a family is like by the works it does. I am sure there are certain things we do in the Sherrill family that sets us apart. You might say, They are the ones that always drive that purple van. You might say, You know the Stienbargers. They like board games. You may look at the Morton family and think, Mike likes football, their girls are always dressed beautifully and they eat out a lot. You may look at the Blackledge family and say, Hey, they re having more children. But, you might say that about a lot of others as well. The point is this: You know a tree by its fruit. You know the family of God by its works; and the primary characteristic of God s family is they do the will of God. Now, I have a question. Is Jesus simply speaking of good works? The Pharisees did all kinds of good works. From the standpoint of good works, the Pharisees were the ones who would surely make it to heaven. But, Jesus looked at everyone in that room (including the Pharisees) and said, Here s my family. The ones to whom Jesus referred were fishermen, at least one tax collector, those who had been freed from demon possession, maybe prostitutes, and so on. What were they doing that was so different than the Pharisees? The answer: They were doing the will of God. What is the will of God? And, how do we know those who do it? These are the most important questions you will ever answer. Jesus gives us the answer in John 6:40, This is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life. This is where we must start when answering these questions. Those who do the will of God believe in Jesus! The Pharisees were trying to kill him. Those to whom Jesus referenced in that room were sitting, listening, and believing his words. They loved him. They understood him. They hung on his every word. Today, if you are in the family of God, you will love Christ. You

3 3 will search out the Scriptures to know more about him. He will be the most beautiful person in your life. You will do whatever it takes to serve him, to know him, to learn about his qualities. When his name is mentioned, you will rejoice in your heart. You may say, I m not an emotional person. But, if you have never wept over your sin when you consider the work of Christ on the cross; if you have never been moved over the Gospel of Christ; if you are ashamed of his name; maybe you ve missed the will of God. Believe on him today. This is the will of God! There is another aspect of doing the will of God that flows from believing in Jesus. Paul said to the Thessalonians, This is the will of God, your sanctification (1 Thess. 4:3). In other words, the child of God will always be growing in godliness. There will be a love for Christ like no other love, and the evidence of this love will be good works through the means of faith from now throughout eternity. If you are in the family of God, you will be known by your fruits. And, let me say there is a great assurance that follows from doing the will of God. Paul writes at the end of Colossians, and he sends greeting from Epaphras. Listen to these words from Col. 4:12: Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. Epaphras prays for the church at Colossae that they will be mature, fully assured in the will of God. There is maturity and great assurance for those in God s family. This is my desire for myself. This is my desire for my family. This is my desire for all of you. One of my responsibilities as your pastor is to consider your works and question them according to the Word of God in order to make sure you are not a Pharisee, and to do whatever I can to make sure you know what a real child of God looks like. I don t want you to be on the outside of God s family in the judgment day. This is why I say, Children obey your parents in the Lord. This is the will of God. Fathers, lead your family. Don t provoke your children to wrath. Love your wives. Guard them. Protect them. Make them beautiful. This is the will of God. Mothers, nurture your children in love. Make sure they get the gospel of Christ. Wives, respect your husbands. This is the will of God. Older women, make sure you make it your business to get involved in the wives of younger women to teach them to love their husbands and raise godly children. This is the will of God. This is why I ask you from time to time, How is your heart in regards to anger? Are you growing in godliness? Are you doing the will of God? Men, how are your eyes? Are you controlling your lusts? What about your laziness? Are you growing in these areas? Brothers and sisters, work out your salvation with fear and trembling! Do you love Christ today? Do your works prove this love? If so, you can have assurance you are in the family of God. These next two points are secondary implications from the text. 2. The Family of God is a Spiritual Family. In other words, there is something about the family of God that is more fundamental than flesh and blood. Remember, Jesus was inside a crowded place and his mother and brothers could not enter. So, they called out to him. The crowd made sure he knew that his family was calling him and he used this opportunity to teach a very

4 4 important truth. He did not deny his mother and brothers were his flesh and blood, but instead looked around at those listening to his words and said, These are my family. I cannot look at Jimmy this morning and tell you he is my brother or my cousin or my nephew. He is not my flesh and blood like the rest of my family sitting in the back. However, I can look at Jimmy and say, this is my spiritual brother. In fact, there is something even deeper in our relationship than members in my family that are not in Christ. In other words, the family of God is a spiritual family. We understand one another in a way the world cannot understand. We are related in a way that cannot be explained by the world. I remember just before our family left Russia. I went to a village about 8 hours from our home. There were three of us and we went to visit a lady who had believed in Christ a couple years earlier. She lived in a remote Muslim village. The snow was higher than my waist. It was getting dark and I had to be careful not to run off the road. We could have stopped in a larger city, but had to reach this lady before dark. I ll never forget the experience. We had never met her, but the excitement upon our arrival was unlike anything I had experienced. She was the only Christian in a village of about 300 people. She was greatly persecuted; evidenced by her stories. I could not have imagined a woman who was more excited to see her brothers and sister in Christ that evening. I also remember the 30 potatoes, cheap caviar, onions, and endless sunflower oil she served us for supper. We take one another for granted because many of us only have Christian friends. She had none. And, her face and her heart glowed with joy to see her real family, the first Christians she had seen in months. She said, You are my family. I love you. I could tell you of many stories like this, spiritual family members of mine of whom the world is not worthy. According to Eph. 2:19, if you are in Christ, You are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. Today, if you are in Christ, your house is in heaven. Your family is a spiritual family. Whether it be a black man from Kenya, a white man from Northern England, a shorter dark skinned man from east Asia, or a plump woman from a Muslim village in Tatarstan, your relationship to other believers in the world goes deeper than your own family because it is spiritual. One day there will be gathered from every tribe, every tongue, every nation a spiritual family, true worshippers, gathered around the throne of God, singing, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come! (There is much I could say here.) 3. The basis of the family of God is Christ and His work. This is another implication from this text. Jesus said, Here is MY brother and sister and mother. The family of God is the result of Christ s Person and his Work. I just read Eph. 2:19. Now, listen to verses which says, [the family of God] is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. When I preach, I preach Christ and Him crucified. I preach to you what the Scriptures say, For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day

5 5 in accordance with the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:3). He is the foundation of everything I preach. He is the foundation of the family of God. It is his person and his work that is the basis for this family. You might say, Jon, are you ever going to move on to other things besides the Gospel? NO! Christ is my hope! He is my life! He is my righteousness! Because of Him, I can say, God is MY Father. I am in his family. I have 3 quick applications. 1. No matter what you are going through today, the Son of God is in your family. When you are ashamed or down, or persecuted by your family, or when your faith seems that it will end, remember, you are the brother or sister of Christ, who loved you and gave himself for you. He is your redeemer. He is your friend. He is mighty and he will plead your cause. 2. If you are in the family of God, you will be misunderstood. Jesus own family misunderstood him. They thought he was out of his mind. They thought he might have been some kind of religious fanatic. If they misunderstood our Lord, they will misunderstand us. 3. If you are in the family of God you will be persecuted. If they persecuted Jesus, they will persecute his followers. If they ridiculed Christ, they will ridicule us. If they killed Jesus, they will also kill us.