Sermon Tone Analysis

With Friends Like These - Part 2

Intro

‘Blood is thicker than water.’

Nothing comes between family.

Those of you who are part of an adoptive family know there are limits to that statement.

Our section of scripture today explores the connections and relations of people and of God.

We will look at an uncomfortable passage that might challenge our theology.

That’s good, we should let the Word of God stand in authority over us and our beliefs, not the other way around!

Pray

Eternal Sin?

Outline of Passage:

Disciples (Mark 3:13-19) (pretext)

Crowd (Mark 3:20)

Family (Mark 3:21)

Scribes from Jerusalem (Mark 3:22-30)

Family (Mark 3:31)

Crowd (Mark 3:32-33)

Disciples (Mark 3:34-35)

I want to explore this middle section first.

The interaction of the scribes and Jesus.

Ending with this proclamation of the un-forgivable sin.

This will likely leave us with the question: What IS the unforgivable sin?!?!

Some Scribes on the Wrong Side

This interaction is with a portion of the religious leaders.

Not all scribes; not all pharisees; not all; not all unbelievers.

The Accusation

‘Possessed by Beelzebul(b)’ and ‘cast out demons by the power of Beelzebul(b)’

These accusations are in summarized at the end of this interaction in verse 30.

They claimed “He has an unclean spirit.”

Jesus was Satan’s agent, not God’s

They called what was the work of the Holy Spirit is Jesus’ life as being enabled by Satan!

As evidence gave Jesus’ casting out demons.

What they get right is that there are evil spiritual powers and some are more powerful than others.

What they get wrong is that Jesus was controlled by them rather than in authority over them.

The question of allegiance is paramount to trust and belief, and integrity.

Pete Rose – His love and skill for the game of baseball is unquestionable.

But his inability to separate HIS interests from that of the game damaged his integrity and the game.

And lead to his lifelong ban from the game.

For Pete, gambling on baseball was the unpardonable sin.

They accuse Jesus of not only being in league with the devil, but of being under His Control.

Was Jesus the traitor about to be banned for life from God?

Jesus, of course, has an answer.

The Answer

Satan is evil, not dumb!

The parable of the strong man and his house is a direct refute to the scribes claims.

A kingdom, or a house, cannot stand if it is in direct opposition to itself.

In 2 Chronicles 20:20-23 The people of Judah are surrounded by a league of enemy nations - Ammon, Moab, and Seir.

They had come to destroy them.

Judah’s King, Jehoshaphat, seeing the oncoming enemy turned to God’s house, not to the weapons storehouse.

He proclaimed a fast, called all Judah to seek the Lord.

They saw God’s power to overcome the enemy was greater than three armies seeking their destruction.

A prophet spoke the words of the Lord:

So they went out the next day, Jehoshaphat encouraged the people and called them to trust the Lord.

And instead of ‘being prepared’ by taking up arms, they took up song and sang worship to the Lord for His victory.

What happened?

A kingdom, or kingdoms divided will not stand.

A house will not stand.

Jesus uses the image of a strong man’s house.

There is a wordplay going on with the identity of Satan.

The scribes call him Beelzebul, or possibly Beelzebub.

The reference is to Baal-The Lord of the House/Temple.

It was the name of the local god of the Philistine city of Ekron.

The Israelites didn’t want to ascribe this status to him, so they seem to have changed one letter changing it to Beelzebub – The Lord of the Dung Heap! There’s uncertainty which word the scribes used, but Jesus addresses the original name.

And He identifies Beelzabul with Satan, and then with the strong man in the parable.

Jesus’ claim is that even though the Prince of Demons is stronger that the scribes give him credit, Jesus is yet stronger still.

He binds the strong man and takes what He wills.

If we continue the passage in 2 Chron., we see that the Lord ‘bound’ the three armies, and the people of the Lord plundered the armies.

The scribes make a catastrophic error – they confuse the identities of God and of the Devil.

The Application

Don’t burn the bridge to Heaven

“Truly, I say…” This is certain, and spoken with authority.

Jesus starts out assuring us what IS forgivable.

Basically everything!

All sins… whatever blasphemies.

From Matthew and Luke, we see that includes blasphemies against the Son of Man – or Jesus Himself!

But there is a type, or an object, of blasphemy that can’t be forgiven – ever.

Does your theology allow for that?

Some people try to settle the two by saying blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is dying without Jesus.

The problem is there are three or four other scriptures that speak to this very subject that don’t allow for that answer.

Yes, dying without Jesus will condemn you to hell, but that’s not the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.

These are terrifying verses!

But they must be true.

Don’t try to mash them into a belief that is more comfortable to you.

If this was the only truth, we would live in a world without the Gospel.

Let’s back up in Hebrews a few verses.

Are we all on the verge of committing this sin?

Holding each other accountable and encouraging each other so we don’t, like a cliff climber, fall off the edge at any moment?

The short answer – no.

For the full answer…

What Actually IS Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit?

Let’s go back to the outline of the passage for clarity.

Disciples (Mark 3:13-19) (pretext)

Crowd (Mark 3:20)

Family (Mark 3:21)

Scribes from Jerusalem (Mark 3:22-30)

Family (Mark 3:31)

Crowd (Mark 3:32-33)

Disciples (Mark 3:34-35)

In these various groups are all sorts of sin and sinners.

Family, friends, followers, mockers, pretenders, and accusers.