Mark 3:13-35 The True Family of Jesus Café Church 29 th May-16 Intro/What makes family, family? To begin with tonight? What makes a family? How do we define a family? [Open to answers] Definition [Powerpoint 1 Definition of Family] a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household. all the descendants of a common ancestor. In tonight s passage Jesus describes what a true family is The Chosen Company (vv13-19) In verses 13 to 19 Jesus selects/chooses 12 men? 12 apostles = called ones! [Powerpoint 2 Chosen Company] Why 12? When God s people Israel became a nation it consisted of 12 tribes the 12 tribes of Jacob 12 tribes = God s people Now Jesus is establishing His Church And the 12 apostles will represent God s people And there is a hint that God s people won t just be people from Israel the Jews Why are the 12 needed? Page 1 of 7
1) To make His message permanent as He knew He was going to His death. These men would carry on Jesus work Jesus mission to make disciples 2) To spread His message far and wide in an age when there was no printed books or newspapers or emails or Facebook or phones or TV/radio He needed men who had Jesus message on their hearts and in their minds This is the beginning of Christianity And isn t it great to know it began with a small group of like-minded followers of Jesus Isn t that a picture of our church? And our growth groups/bible study A bunch of Christians following Jesus and like-minded and committed and dedicated to following Jesus and His teaching And committed to fellowship with one another and caring for one another and praying for one another and studying God s word with one another Then growing together in love for Jesus so that we will be motivated to spread His message like the 12 did And notice the 12 were a very mixed group Matthew a tax-collector Simon the zealot was a bit of a rebel and a fanatic then Simon Peter and Andrew were fishermen as were James and John the sons of Zebedee Isn t it interesting that Christianity started by Jesus insisting that a bunch of men from very different backgrounds and education meet and travel together This is possible because the 12 are living for and with Jesus And it s the same for us in our church different people different backgrounds, wealth and education but we have the common bond of Jesus that s how we can survive together Page 2 of 7
And notice that Jesus called these 12 for 2 purposes: 1) To be with Him (Jesus) to be His steady and consistent companions. Others might come and go but these 12 were to identify their life with Jesus and live with Him It s the same for us that s why we are called Christians a Christian who is a teacher, or a plumber but a Christian first and foremost 2) 2 nd purpose to send them out they were to be Jesus herald and he equipped them with 2 things - a) A Message - Which is that Jesus is the Son of God the Messiah And to proclaim to people that their sin and rebellion separates them from a proper relationship with God and that they need to repent and confess their sin and rebellion to Jesus - The One who saves people from their sin and gives forgiveness by his death on the cross The One who was raised to life to offer the gift of eternal life in Heaven b) Power They had power from Jesus to cast out demons. Now we might not have the need to cast out demons. But in a sense we do by teaching people to come out of the darkness and evil of sin and in to the light And Jesus has given us the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) - That s what it looks like to be in Jesus chosen company? Hopefully that s each one of us here tonight Rejection by His Own Family (vv20-21) But what about His own family? In verse 20 Jesus and His disciples go into a house where there is a crowd gathered and there are some many demands made on Jesus and His disciples they barely have time to eat? And when His family heard about this they went to take him (by force if necessary) and they say He (Jesus) is out of His mind! Page 3 of 7
[Powerpoint 3 Rejection] Why would they say that? 1) Jesus has left the carpentry business to be a wandering preacher and teacher no money/support no permanent place to live who would do that? 2) Jesus was cruising for a head-on collisions with the Pharisees and Jewish leaders and teachers of the law no one in their right mind would do that would they? 3) And Jesus had started his own little group of men and they were a peculiar bunch not the sort of people that a sensible bloke would hang with 4) And Jesus also hung out with the social outcasts of society even people who were disliked by everyone else like tax collectors and prostitutes and adulteresses Jesus basically gave a way three things that the world values: Security Safety Peoples opinion of Him The 12 did that They tossed in their jobs and made Jesus a priority in their life They faced danger in Jesus name They would bear the brunt of people s opinion of them and cop abuse for being with Jesus Jesus own family weren t prepared to do that just yet? They were still learning Sometimes our families don t get why we put Jesus first, why we come to church not just on Sunday but several (if not every) days of the week Page 4 of 7
Jesus true family put Jesus first no matter what it costs Rejection by God s Chosen People (vv22-30) [Powerpoint 4 Rejection God s People] Now even God s chosen family the people of Israel the Jews they don t get Jesus either In verse 22 they accuse him of being possessed by Beelzebul Name originally came from the Philistine God Baal and Beelzebul means Lord of the Flies and the name later came to be used as a name for the prince of demons Satan Jesus has no trouble dismissing this accusation He says if Satan is actually making war with his own demons then Satan will effectively finished as a force Kingdoms don t last when there s a civil war the kingdom gets destroyed Can t rob a house until the able bodied strong man is tied up The strong man is a picture of the stronghold of sin in our lives And Jesus is the only one who can defeat the stronghold of sin and in doing so He defeats Satan not because He is possessed by a demon but because He is God! Now the teachers of the law are on very dodgey ground by accusing Jesus of being possessed by Satan They were saying the cures and miracles Jesus was doing were not being done by the power of God but the power of Satan These teachers of the law were able to look at the love of God in bodily form in the form of Jesus and say think He was the bodily form of Satan himself By doing so the teachers of the law Jesus says in verse 29 these teachers of the law are committing the unforgiveable sin By identifying the source of all goodness as being the source of evil they ve gone too far they are a moral wreck for which there is no cure! Page 5 of 7
You can t believe God and His Holy Spirit, Satan and get away with it! And you ll never get in Jesus family! Conditions of entry into Jesus Family (vv31-35) In verse 31 and 32 Jesus own family turn up at the house and send a message that they have come for him But Jesus doesn t leave the house Instead He gives the conditions of entry to be in His family [Powerpoint 5 Conditions of Entry] It s not solely a matter of flesh and blood Sometimes we can feel closer to someone who s not flesh and blood can t we So Jesus lays down what makes you part of His True Family He says to be part of God s family we need to God s will So what is the will of the Father, God? 1) Basic level to repent of our sin and rebellion towards God 2) Acknowledge that Jesus is the only way we can be forgiven and the only way to have eternal life 3) 1 Thes 5:18 says it is God s will that we should give thanks in ALL circumstances 4) 1 Peter 2:15 we are to do good works 5) 1 Thes 4:3 says we are to be sanctified made holy by holy spirit = fruit of spirit 6) Romans 12:2 says don t conform to the world be transformed by the renewal of your mind then you will be able to test and prove God s perfect will for you so you become a person for God not the world 7) As we continue to walk faithfully with the Lord as a guide we will be given the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16) 8) Follow the Great Commission (Matt 28) Page 6 of 7
By doing the will of the Father practically it will look like a) Having common Christian experiences going through stuff with people good times bad times laughing, weeping, grieving, rejoicing b) Having common Christian interests desiring to know more about Jesus, God, God s word praying together for common causes c) Having common Christian goals our mission our vision discipling evangelizing pastoral care Conclusion To finish off then Who do you identify yourself with in this passage? The 12 apostles? Jesus mother and brothers? The Teachers of the Law The people listening to Jesus who Jesus said You are my mother and my brothers Let s pray Page 7 of 7