Divided Kingdoms
Case Studies In Reading The Bible • Sermon • Submitted
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· 2 viewsThose who should know better did not recognise the works of Jesus as being the works of the Father. He was truly doing a new thing they could not control. They could only see in him the work of the Devil. May we be open to learning from our brothers and sisters by faith, without presuming theological superiority.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
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Over the past two Sundays, I have shared with you 5 principles —plus 1 bonus— for reading the Bible.
principles
The Bible Is a Collection of Books and Traditions
Our Understanding Grows With the Interaction
The Children Write the Stories
A Little Background Goes a Long Way
Read Everything in Light of Jesus
The Bible Was Written for Us, Not to Us
I have tried to make clear my firm conviction reading the Bible is helpful, “for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man [or woman] of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Ti 3:16–17). Additionally,
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For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures.
This is true despite the parts that make us uncomfortable and the dangers of reading verses in isolation from all the rest.
To bear with the discomfort and avoid the dangers, we need to be better readers of the Bible. That starts with appreciating we have been provided the Bible (also called “the Scriptures”) so we might know, and be known by, the Word of God, who is Jesus the Christ.
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A Muslim Journey to Hope
A Muslim Journey to Hope
To bring this impromptu sermon series to an end, I want to begin today by sharing with you the story of Afshin Javid.
Afshin Javid is an ex-Hezbollah Iranian Muslim soldier. After being caught with illegal passports in Malaysia, he ended up in prison. During a time of meditation on words from the Qu’ran, Afshin felt himself being choked by a spiritual presence in his cell. His calls for help to Allah went unanswered, but then a voice encouraged him to “breathe the name of Jesus”.
Freed from that oppression, Afshin was left confused as to his spiritual path. He began a period of intense prayer and fasting. In this clip, he shares his journey to hope…
testimony (0:8:18-0:12:43) —To watch the full video testimony, visit “Former Muslim Testimonies”, http://www.muslimtestimony.com/afshin-javid.html (accessed 20-Mar-21).
This faithful Muslim had never read a Bible yet had a powerful encounter with the Living Word of God who is Jesus. That encounter led Afshin to faith in Jesus and a Christian lifestyle.
Indeed Afshin is not the first person to have genuine faith and a committed Christian lifestyle without the Bible. Let us not forget the Bible only became available for ordinary Christians to read with the printing of The Gutenberg Bible (an edition of the Latin Vulgate) in the 1450s by Johannes Gutenberg in Mainz, in present-day Germany.
Why?
Why?
That we have such free and open access to the Bible is truly a blessing we should never take for granted. I would encourage all of us to read and meditate on it daily, to share our reflections with each other often, and to do so with gentleness and respect (1 Pe 3:15-16), so that we all may mature in our knowledge of Jesus (Eph 4:11-13), becoming conformed to his likeness (Ro 8:29), and please God (1 Th 4:1).
Exposition
Exposition
With all that in mind, let us now turn our attention to Mark 3:20-35.
Jesus began his public ministry in Mark 1:14. From that time on, his preaching —”proclaiming the good news of God”— was punctuated with displays of power:
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Jesus called disciples to follow him (Mk 1:16; 2:13-14; 3:13-19)
He taught with authority (Mk 1:22)
He drove out unclean spirits and demons (Mk 1:23, 39; 3:11-12)
He healed people (Mk 1:31, 40; 2:2-12; 3:1-4; 10)
He forgave sins (Mk 2:5)
He bested others in debate over the scriptures (Mk 2:16-17, 18-22, 23-27; 3:1-5)
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Jesus entered a house, and the crowd gathered again so that they were not even able to eat.
The news of Jesus’ ministry, about his preaching and his power, spread. Very quickly crowds gathered around him and even threaten to overwhelm him and his disciples —in other words, standing room only and no time for dinner! (Mk 3:7-9, 20)
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The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and, “He drives out demons by the ruler of the demons.”
Scribes then approached Jesus (Mk 3:22). These experts in the Jewish law would have had such a high degree of biblical knowledge that was unsurpassed, then and now. Yet, as Paul wrote, “knowledge puffs up”.
The scribes did not here challenge his teaching, but they challenged his displays of power, which far exceeded anything they had encountered previously.
These scribes accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of demons, which is absurd. They could not deny nor belittle his displays of power. They could only slander him, rather than thank God that people were being healed and delivered, etc.
Jesus later identified the problem with religious leaders such as these when he declared,
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Jesus spoke to them, “Isn’t this the reason why you’re mistaken: you don’t know the Scriptures or the power of God?
These scribes knew the Bible, but for them it was merely a mental exercise. They did not know the God whom the Bible reveals.
When all of us stand before the Judgment Seat, Jesus will not give us a Bible quiz. He will judge us by whether he knows us or not.
In a parable, Jesus made this clear:
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Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I don’t know you or where you’re from. Get away from me, all you evildoers!’
Even the apostle Paul wrote,
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Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, bearing this inscription: The Lord knows those who are his, and let everyone who calls on the name of the Lord turn away from wickedness.
The friends of Jesus know him and are known by him. You cannot purchase, earn, nor qualify for the free, full, and forever life he promises.
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In this story, the scribes could not deny Jesus’ power, but neither could they admit he had the power of God in him. Instead, they slandered him by claiming he was the prince of demons.
The scribes and other religious leaders were jealous of Jesus and his followers (Mt 27:18; Ac 5:17-18). So they maligned Jesus and, by doing so, either intentionally or inadvertently joined the kingdom of darkness.
As an aside, let me ask you: These words uttered by these scribes, are they the word of God? They are not uttered by God, nor any of his representatives, but we agree this blasphemous slander is, in fact, contained in the Bible. Can we agree then we would do well to be careful in our language about the Bible so as not to confuse those we are trying to lead in discipleship to a saving knowledge of Jesus the Christ?
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So he summoned them and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan?
Jesus then challenged them on the illogic of the scribe’s accusation (Mk 3:23-26). It is pretty obvious no group, church, government, or nation divided into factions cannot stand. Similarly, if the prince of demons casts out demons, then Satan loses.
In challenging Jesus in this way, the scribes were revealing themselves as complicit with Satan, pawns in his game, whether knowingly or not —he is the Father of lies (Jn 8:44), the accuser of believers (1Ti 5:14)!
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But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house.
Jesus then used a parable of binding a strong man to plunder his house (Mk 3:27). Jesus was, in effect, plundering the treasures of the kingdom of darkness. He could not perform such manifold displays of power without first binding the prince of demons.
Jesus was not always able to perform such miracles. It was the lack of faith in others that prevented him. For instance, the people of his hometown were offended by him (Mk 6:1-6).
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The scribes in this story could not recognise the work of God in their midst because their arrogance, jealousy and offence blinded them to the God they read about but knew little about. Sadly, this story shows these were not reading to know God but to promote their own success and agenda.
Application
Application
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Read Everything in Light of Jesus
Read Everything in Light of Jesus
These blasphemous slanderers were faithful to God, in so far as they understood what this required. What compelled them to slander? Was it a jealousy for God? Was it a slight to their honour?
The scribes, other religious and political leaders, and all the people needed Jesus to teach them what the Bible actually means, despite their best efforts at interpreting. Many times he said, “You have heard it said […] but I tell you …” (Mt 5:27-28). They, as do we, needed Jesus to demonstrate faithfulness to God, and to finally and perfectly reveal God. Therefore, we read the Bible in light of Jesus, in light of his teaching as much as by what he did (e.g. “do this in remembrance of me”).
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Read Everything to Connect with Jesus
Read Everything to Connect with Jesus
Interestingly, the apostle Paul was as intelligent as these scribes and similarly-minded when he persecuted the early Christians. It took a direct encounter with the resurrected Jesus to reorient his knowledge of God toward the Truth. This is why he wrote, “For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will come to an end […] For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:9–13a)
It is the Holy Spirit who “convicts the world about sin, righteousness and judgment” (Jn 16:8-11), who “will teach us all things and remind us of everything Jesus taught” (Jn 14:26), and who “guides us into all truth” (Jn 16:13). Let us read the Bible then not just to understand the words better but seeking the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and an encounter with Jesus.
title
I have shared with you 5 principles —plus 1 bonus— for reading the Bible. You may not like the way I express those principles just as you may not like my accent. But, surely, you can appreciate my meaning in and intention for sharing them with you.
I want you to read the Bible better. But if at the end of my ministry you are merely better Bible readers, then I will have failed miserably. If instead we are together equipped for the work of ministry, united in the faith and knowdge of God’s Son, and growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness (Eph 4:11-13), then I will have succeeded marvellously, to the glory of the One who calls us to become his own.