Mark 3 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00Mark 3:1 [music]
2. 0:02He entered again into a synagogue, and a
3. 0:05man was there whose hand was withered.
4. 0:08They were watching him to see if he
5. 0:11would heal him on the Sabbath so that
6. 0:14they might accuse him.
7. 0:16He said to the man with the withered
8. 0:18hand, "Get up and come forward."
9. 0:22That's an [music] emphatic statement.
10. 0:24It's got an exclamation mark because it
11. 0:26is a command. It's not an invitation.
12. 0:28It's a command.
13. 0:30And he said to [music] them, to the
14. 0:33watchers,
15. 0:34"Is it lawful to do good or to do harm
16. 0:40on the Sabbath? To save a life or to
17. 0:45kill, but they kept silent."
18. 0:50After looking around at them with anger,
19. 0:54grieved at their hardness of heart, he
20. 0:57said to the man, "Stretch out your
21. 0:59hand." And he stretched it out, and his
22. 1:02hand was restored.
23. 1:04The Pharisees went out and immediately
24. 1:07began conspiring [music]
25. 1:08with the Herodians against him as to how
26. 1:11they might destroy him.
27. 1:14Jesus withdrew to the sea with his
28. 1:17disciples and a [music] great multitude
29. 1:19from Galilee followed and also from
30. 1:21Judea.
31. 1:24So in this equation the Pharisees
32. 1:27believe that to perform any labor or
33. 1:31action on the Sabbath is to break the
34. 1:34rule. And they didn't assess themselves
35. 1:38in terms of their connection and
36. 1:40relationship with God. They assessed
37. 1:43themselves [music] according to their
38. 1:45adherence to rules. So if they were
39. 1:48keeping the rules, they were [music]
40. 1:49righteous. And if you were not keeping
41. 1:51the rules, you were evil. And so they
42. 1:54don't like Jesus because he's taking a
43. 1:57lot of the people's attention away from
44. 1:59them to himself, to the Lord. So they're
45. 2:03watching to see if he's going to heal on
46. 2:05the Sabbath. And they think healing is a
47. 2:08work that is going to violate the rule
48. 2:11not to work on the Sabbath.
49. 2:13And Jesus knows that this is what
50. 2:16they're doing. And he stages the moment.
51. 2:20He has the man get up and stand in front
52. 2:22of them. And he makes them stare at this
53. 2:25guy in all of his hurt and pain and
54. 2:30hopelessness.
55. 2:32And he hasn't performed the miracle yet.
56. 2:35And he asks them,
57. 2:37is it lawful to do good or do harm on
58. 2:42the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?
59. 2:47Now that is not the equation that they
60. 2:49had in their minds. They thought the
61. 2:51question was, is it lawful to act or not
62. 2:55act?
63. 2:57But Jesus feels that if God has given
64. 3:01you the means to help someone and you
65. 3:03don't help them, then you have acted.
66. 3:07Inaction for him is committing sin as
67. 3:12surely as action is committing sin when
68. 3:15against God. So this is the difference
69. 3:18between a sin of commission, you
70. 3:20committed something, or a sin of
71. 3:22omission, you left something out that
72. 3:24should have been done. James would later
73. 3:27say, to him who knows to do good and
74. 3:30does it not, to him it is sin. So Jesus
75. 3:34sees inaction as evil. And he says that
76. 3:39if he doesn't help the man
77. 3:42whom he has the power to help, he is
78. 3:45doing him harm. If he doesn't give life
79. 3:48when he has the power to give it, he is
80. 3:50killing.
81. 3:52That's a complete rearrangement. There's
82. 3:55no safe place. We're either obeying God
83. 3:58by acting and obeying God by our
84. 4:00inaction or we're disobeying God.
85. 4:03There's no middle ground.
86. 4:06They don't answer him. They keep silent
87. 4:08because they can't answer this equation.
88. 4:11And Jesus gets angry at them. He looks
89. 4:14around at them with anger, grieved at
90. 4:18their hardness of heart.
91. 4:21They are so focused on the rules. They
92. 4:24don't see this man that he's just put
93. 4:27before them. They don't see his pain.
94. 4:29They don't see his fear. They don't feel
95. 4:31his anguish.
96. 4:34And he calls that hardness of heart.
97. 4:37And so he says to the man, "Stretch out
98. 4:40your hand."
99. 4:42Notice he always tells the afflicted to
100. 4:46do something. He never just says, "Hold
101. 4:49still and let me show what I can do
102. 4:51without you." Because faith
103. 4:55is activated through obedience. It's not
104. 4:58faith until it acts. But when you start
105. 5:01to act on his word, that's when the
106. 5:04miracle is yours.
107. 5:07Jesus withdrew to the sea with his
108. 5:10disciples and a great multitude from
109. 5:12Galilee followed and also from Judea and
110. 5:15from Jerusalem and from Edumia and
111. 5:18beyond the Jordan and the vicinity of Ty
112. 5:21and Siden. A great number of people
113. 5:24heard of all that he was doing and came
114. 5:27to him.
115. 5:29And he told his disciples that a boat
116. 5:32should stand ready for him because of
117. 5:34the crowd, so that they would not crowd
118. 5:37him. [clears throat]
119. 5:38For he had healed many, with the result
120. 5:41that all those who had afflictions
121. 5:43pressed around him in order to touch
122. 5:45him.
123. 5:47Those who touch and connect with God are
124. 5:50the afflicted.
125. 5:52Those who sit by and watch and judge are
126. 5:56the self-satisfied.
127. 5:58And the reason people are pouring in
128. 6:00around him is because he's healed
129. 6:03people. He's changed lives. And the word
130. 6:07is spreading. This is where my need was
131. 6:09met.
132. 6:12Whenever the unclean spirits saw him,
133. 6:14they would fall down before him and
134. 6:16shout, "You are the son of God."
135. 6:20And he earnestly warned them not to tell
136. 6:22who he was. Why does Jesus not want the
137. 6:25demons saying this? And why do the
138. 6:27demons want to say it every time?
139. 6:31He doesn't want them to say it because
140. 6:34they're not the best messengers of his
141. 6:37messianic mission. But why do they want
142. 6:41to preempt his message?
143. 6:44It is a principle of the devil to get
144. 6:48the wrong people spouting the right
145. 6:52truth and thereby tarnishing the truth
146. 6:55and poisoning it when it comes through
147. 6:57the wrong vessel.
148. 6:59And when a demon-possessed man is saying
149. 7:01it, everybody else is going to be less
150. 7:04likely to repeat it. So that's why
151. 7:06they're doing it. They're trying to
152. 7:08preempt him so that they are poisoning
153. 7:10the well and others won't be as likely
154. 7:13to believe it. Because after all,
155. 7:14remember a demon-possessed man thought
156. 7:16that
157. 7:19it was strategic sabotage.
158. 7:23And he went up on the mountain and
159. 7:25summoned those whom he himself wanted.
160. 7:27And they came to him. And he appointed
161. 7:2912 so that they would be with him and
162. 7:32that he could send them out to preach
163. 7:36and to have authority to cast out the
164. 7:38demons. And he appointed the 12, Simon
165. 7:41to whom he gave the name Peter and James
166. 7:44the son of Zebedee and John the brother
167. 7:46of James to whom he gave the name
168. 7:49Boanurgis
169. 7:50which means sons of thunder.
170. 7:54Jesus had a nickname for two of the
171. 7:55disciples. If they were called sons of
172. 7:58thunder, I think we can infer that they
173. 8:00were not tenderfoots.
174. 8:04and Andrew and Philip and Bartholomew
175. 8:07and Matthew and Thomas and James the son
176. 8:09of Alphus and Thaddius and Simon the
177. 8:11Zealot and Judas a Scariot who betrayed
178. 8:14him. And he came home and the crowd
179. 8:16gathered again to such an extent that
180. 8:19they could not even eat a meal. When his
181. 8:22own people
182. 8:24heard of this, they went to take custody
183. 8:28of him, for they were saying, "He has
184. 8:30lost his senses.
185. 8:34envy.
186. 8:37Envy.
187. 8:38He's healing people. He's appointing
188. 8:42companions.
189. 8:43And the crowd is so great that they
190. 8:47can't even eat a meal. And that's the
191. 8:50moment that his family says, "We need to
192. 8:53go take custody of him because he's lost
193. 8:55his senses."
194. 8:58They're sore that they're not part of
195. 9:01it. They're sore that he's getting all
196. 9:05of this role and recognition. They don't
197. 9:08see what's going to follow after the
198. 9:10cross. The scribes who came down from
199. 9:12Jerusalem were saying, "He is possessed
200. 9:15by Beelzebub."
201. 9:17[clears throat] And he casts out demons
202. 9:19by the ruler of demons.
203. 9:21And he called them to himself and began
204. 9:24speaking to them in parables. He wasn't
205. 9:26cowardly, was he? Someone says he's
206. 9:28demonpossessed and he says, "Why don't
207. 9:30you come over here and let's let's have
208. 9:32a conversation."
209. 9:34He began speaking to them in parables.
210. 9:36And he said, "How can Satan cast out
211. 9:39Satan?
212. 9:41If a kingdom is divided against itself,
213. 9:44that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is
214. 9:47divided against itself, that house will
215. 9:48not be able to stand.
216. 9:51If Satan has risen up against himself
217. 9:53and is divided, he cannot stand but is
218. 9:57finished.
219. 9:58His point is, you're crazy. Why would
220. 10:01the devil cast out himself?
221. 10:06His kingdom would have an immediate end
222. 10:09if he went around casting himself out of
223. 10:11people and delivering people from his
224. 10:13control. He's saying that doesn't that
225. 10:15doesn't make any sense. The devil would
226. 10:16never do that.
227. 10:19Jesus goes on, "But no one can enter the
228. 10:22strong man's house and plunder his
229. 10:24property unless he first binds the
230. 10:27strong man, and then he will plunder his
231. 10:29house. Truly I say to you, all sins
232. 10:32shall be forgiven the sons of men, and
233. 10:34whatever blasphemes they utter. But
234. 10:37whoever blasphemes against the Holy
235. 10:39Spirit never has forgiveness, but is
236. 10:42guilty of an eternal sin." because they
237. 10:45were saying he has an unclean spirit.
238. 10:49So Jesus tells them here that the only
239. 10:54way you can enter a strong man's house
240. 10:56and plunder his goods is by first
241. 10:59binding up the owner of that house. And
242. 11:02in this story, the devil is the owner of
243. 11:05that house. So Jesus is binding the
244. 11:08devil and the house is the person that
245. 11:11he has lived in, the person that he has
246. 11:13controlled. Jesus is plundering that
247. 11:15house. He's setting that person free
248. 11:18from the devil's bondage. But then he
249. 11:20tells them that every sin and blasphemy
250. 11:25has a a chance of forgiveness except
251. 11:28one.
252. 11:30And that is if you blaspheme against the
253. 11:32Holy Spirit. He says there is never
254. 11:36forgiveness.
255. 11:38Mark adds that he said this because they
256. 11:40were saying he has an unclean spirit. So
257. 11:44blaspheming the Holy Spirit is calling
258. 11:47the work of the Holy Spirit the work of
259. 11:50the devil and convincing others to be
260. 11:52afraid of what is actually the grace and
261. 11:55love and help of God.
262. 11:58That's blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Why
263. 12:01is that the one sin that cannot be
264. 12:04forgiven?
265. 12:06It makes us think of the the
266. 12:09commandment, the fourth commandment. You
267. 12:12shall not take the name of the Lord your
268. 12:13God in vain. For God will not hold him
269. 12:15guiltless who takes his name in vain.
270. 12:19That commandment amounts to
271. 12:22using God's authority to do something
272. 12:25that is not actually God. And this is
273. 12:27the flip side of that. This is making
274. 12:31people fear what is God and making them
275. 12:34think it is the devil. And this is so
276. 12:38poisonous in the minds of people. This
277. 12:40is so damaging to the grace and mission
278. 12:44of God in how it scares people away from
279. 12:47the answer and how it ruins faith,
280. 12:51suffocates hope, and turns people away
281. 12:54from salvation. that he makes it the
282. 12:57only sin in the entire Bible that has no
283. 13:01forgiveness.
284. 13:03Blaspheming the Holy Spirit in this
285. 13:05equation is something you do that hurts
286. 13:09the chances of others to make it to
287. 13:13salvation.
288. 13:15Then his mother and his brothers
289. 13:18arrived.
290. 13:21Standing outside, they sent word to him
291. 13:24and called him.
292. 13:26Please go tell Jesus we are out here and
293. 13:29we need to speak. You can just hear.
294. 13:35A crowd was sitting around him and they
295. 13:37said to [music] him, "Behold, your
296. 13:39mother and your brothers are outside
297. 13:41looking for you,
298. 13:44thinking that [music] you're insane."
299. 13:46Mark's already told us in a few verses
300. 13:49earlier that they said he's lost his
301. 13:51senses and we're going to go take
302. 13:52custody of him.
303. 13:54Answering [music] them, Jesus said, "Who
304. 13:58are my mother and my brothers?"
305. 14:02Who? Who are you talking about? He's
306. 14:05basically saying, "That's not my mother.
307. 14:09Those aren't my brothers."
308. 14:11Looking about at those who were sitting
309. 14:13around him, he said, "Behold, my mother
310. 14:17and my brothers,
311. 14:19for whoever does the will of God, he is
312. 14:23my brother and sister and mother."
313. 14:28This is a terrifying passage because it
314. 14:32shows how the envy in his own family
315. 14:36made them rise up against him and come
316. 14:39and try to take custody of him cuz they
317. 14:42said he'd lost his mind.
318. 14:45But it also shows how
319. 14:48he's not willing to submit to the
320. 14:50authority of family above the authority
321. 14:52of God. and that whoever is willing to
322. 14:55put God in his word and his way first,
323. 14:58that's going to be his family.
324. 15:01This is the fulfillment of what he spoke
325. 15:03about in Matthew 10 when he said that he
326. 15:07came to bring a sword to divide
327. 15:09households, division. Oh, this is the
328. 15:12sword dividing him from his own
329. 15:14household.
330. 15:17[music]
331. 15:28>> [music]