The Secret of the Kingdom

Mark 4:1-34
Introduction

Today is Super Bowl Sunday. Millions of people will spend their evening watching the game. Many will watch because they like football, some because they are interested in the commercials and some because it is such a big deal. And when it is all over, either the Ravens and their fans or the 49ers and their fans will celebrate. This is a major event for a lot of people.

            Do you remember three years ago when the Winter Olympics took place in Vancouver? Remember how proud we were when Canada did so well? Remember how we cheered when both the Canadian men and women won hockey? Many across the world watched the Olympics and celebrated the victory of the medal winners. For Canada it was a great celebration, a significant event in our history.

            Jesus Christ has conquered death and been raised from the dead and established a new kingdom and most people in the world shrug their shoulders. Compared to the Super Bowl or the Olympics what Jesus did is so much greater, and yet fewer people actually get excited about it. If God has such a great kingdom, why does it seem like it is a small thing? Why isn’t it celebrated with trumpets and banners around the whole world?

            Mark 4:1-34 answers that question. Jesus was on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and there was such a large crowd that he used a boat from which to speak. The themes which Jesus spoke about were the nature of the kingdom of God, the secrecy of the kingdom of God and the need for true hearing. In this context, he answered the question “Why is the kingdom of God not recognized by everyone all over the universe?”

I.                Why Secrecy?

A.              The Kingdom Is Meant To Be Disclosed

This is the kind of oil lamp which they used in the time of Jesus. They put oil in the bowl and a wick in the spout and that is where they lit the lamp. In Mark 4:21-23, Jesus asks, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket, or under the bed, and not on the lampstand?" It would not make sense to do that. When we light a lamp, its purpose is to give light. What is the point of this image? What Jesus was communicating was that God’s intention is not to hide the message of the Kingdom of God. It is God’s intention to display that kingdom for all to see.

B.              Yet Seeing, People Are Not Seeing

But the passage seems to confuse us on this issue. In the verses which precede this we find that God seems to deliberately hide the message of the kingdom. In fact, in 4:11 Jesus actually speaks about “the secret of the kingdom of God.” We also read that Jesus spoke in parables. In vs. 2 it says, “He began to teach them many things in parables.” In verse 34 we also read, "he did not speak to them except in parables” As we see, however, the parables were not used to help people understand things, but they had the effect of veiling things. After Jesus told the first parable in Mark 4:3-8, the disciples came to him, in verse 10, and “asked him about the parables.” They did not understand why He would use such cryptic language. And it is true that Jesus used parables to deliberately hide the truth about the kingdom of God. In Mark 4:11, 12, Jesus quoted a verse from Isaiah 6:9, 10. There we read, "And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that ‘they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven."

Similar ideas are found in Jeremiah 5:21which says, "Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but do not see, who have ears, but do not hear." They are also found in Ezekiel 12:2 where we read, "“Mortal, you are living in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see but do not see, who have ears to hear but do not hear; for they are a rebellious house.” These verses help us understand that parables are hidden to those who listen to Jesus with unbelieving hearts. Parables give them the message of the kingdom, but they don’t hear with believing hearts and so the message of the kingdom is veiled to them. Two words for seeing are used in Mark 4:12, so that what it says is, they see, but don’t see. The Message puts it this way, “These are people—Whose eyes are open but don’t see a thing, Whose ears are open but don’t understand a word, Who avoid making an about-face and getting forgiven.” There is deliberate irony in this verse. God wants them to turn and repent, but their hearts are not in the place to believe so they listen to all the messages, but they don’t get them. They see, but they don’t perceive. They hear, but they don’t understand and so the message of the kingdom remains a secret to them. Jesus was teaching and healing and casting out demons, but some, like his family and the Jewish religious leaders mentioned in the previous chapter, did not understand what this meant because their hearts were hardened against Jesus.

C.              The Call to Listen!

Thus the explanation for why the victory of Jesus is not celebrated by everyone worldwide is that God intends it to remain hidden from those who do not come to him with hearts of faith. The message of Jesus is that the evidence of the kingdom of God is clear enough, but only to those whose hearts are ready see it.

The intent of this message, however, is not to judge, but rather to call people to pay close attention and see with eyes of faith. He begins the parable of the soils with the word “listen!” in Mark 4:3. When he has told the parable, he concludes, in verse 9, with the words, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” After the parable in Mark 4:21-23 about hiding the light, Jesus once again says in verse 23, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” So it is clearly evident that Jesus wants people to understand what He is about, but the message of the kingdom of God is revealed only to those who have eyes to see and ears to hear and so the appeal is to listen with eyes and ears of faith.

God is always at work. His Word is available to all. He speaks through His Spirit. But if our hearts are hard, we will not understand or perceive what God is saying or doing. Each of us must ask, "Is mine a heart of faith, open to God?"

II.             Whoever Has Ears Let Them Hear

A.              Why People Don’t Listen

In spite of this appeal, not every heart is open to God. Why is that? Why don’t people get it? Why are they not able to hear the truth about the kingdom with open hearts? The parable of the soils speaks about that question.

As Jesus stood on the shore of the lake, he could look out on the surrounding hills and perhaps in the distance he saw a sower casting seed. When a farmer sows with a discer or air seeder he can determine where every seed lands quite accurately, but if a farmer has a small field and uses the broadcast method of sowing, it is inevitable that some of the seed will fall on the path where the ground is hard and birds may come and take it away. Other seeds will fall on soil that has rocks underneath the surface. These plants sprout, but they have no depth of soil and don’t last long when the sun gets warm. Still others fall among the thorns and when the weeds grow up they take all the nutrients and moisture and the plant does not do well. But many of the seeds fall on good soil where they sprout and grow and produce a harvest.

When Jesus was together with his disciples, he explained this parable. Although he did not indicate why different people’s hearts are in different places, the reality is that they are.

Some people hear the word but the problem is, as Jesus says in Mark 4:15, that their hearts are hard. They are totally closed to the message of the kingdom and Satan is there quickly taking away any hope of hearing. Their hard hearts and Satan’s enmity combine to prevent the message from penetrating their hearts. This was the condition of many of the Jewish religious leaders.

Some people gladly hear and receive the word, but the truth of the kingdom does not penetrate deeply into their hearts. When things get difficult because of persecution, which the Bible tells us is inevitable for the people of God, they do not have roots deep enough to keep them faithful. We have heard of believers in North Africa who are being arrested for their faith and churches which are being broken up by enemies of the faith. If these believers have no depth of soil, they are in danger of falling away. If their faith is shallow that will be revealed when the pressures of persecution come. If the message of the kingdom has not penetrated deeply enough into their hearts to fully grasp the truth they will not remain faithful.

Still others are like the seed sown among the weeds. They receive the word, they understand it, but there is so much other stuff in their life that the word of God has little chance of deeply impacting their life. Jesus mentions three “thorns.” First of all he mentions the thorn of worry about this life. If we are filled with fear about all the things that could happen in life, then we will not allow the message of God's love and care to penetrate into our hearts. The second thorn he mentions is the thorn of the deceitfulness of wealth. The Bible has a lot of warnings about the danger of the desire to get wealthy. If this desire is rooted in our life, it prevents us from hearing the message of God's mission. The third thorn he mentions is the desire, or lust for other things. Anything in our life that is more important than the kingdom of God will not allow us to truly hear the message of Jesus. All of these thorns will choke out God’s word in our life. It is no wonder that so many people don’t understand the message of the kingdom. When I read this, I have to admit that it hits really close to home, particularly the part about the weeds.

Yet there are those who do get it, whose hearts are ready to hear the message. Jesus says three things about these people. They hear the word. They accept the word and they produce a crop.

Jesus asked the disciples a question in Mark 4:13, “How will you understand any parable?” The answer, given by this parable is, “By correct hearing.”

This helps us understand why people don’t accept the message of the kingdom. God wants the message known, but he wants it revealed to those whose hearts are in a position to receive it. So the message of the kingdom is a secret revealed only to those who are ready to hear it.

When Jesus completed the parable he said in Mark 4:9, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” So once again in this parable we hear an invitation to listen, to desire to understand it and to hear with hearts of faith. Is your heart in a place where you can hear the message of the kingdom?

B.              Whoever Listens Will Be Given More

This invitation to hear is repeated in Mark 4:24, where we read "And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear…" To this call to hear, Jesus attached a promise when He said, "…the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you." In Mark, these verses are not a strategy for getting wealthy, but about hearing the message of the kingdom. Those whose hearts are open to hearing what God is saying will increase in their understanding. Those who refuse to listen to the message of the kingdom, will have even the little they have understood taken away from them.

So the message is a very serious one. It affirms the need for careful listening to the message of the kingdom of God. It warns us that we cannot neglect or ignore the message. Basically it says that the understanding of the message of the kingdom will increase for those who receive it and decrease for those whose hearts are hard. Cole says, “…failure to apprehend will lead us further and further into the fog.”

C.              A Hundred Times More!!

In fact, for those whose hearts are good soil in receiving the message of the kingdom, God promises to produce a harvest which is amazing.

I have asked farmers and have found that normally wheat is sown at the rate of about 1.5-2.25 bu./acre. In today’s farming conditions with the way soil preparation is done, the way fertilizer is used and weed and disease control is possible, it is not unusual to get a crop of about 50-60 bushels per acre. That is a harvest about 20-40 times as much as was sown. Now, we need to remember that this was spoken to a much different farming situation. At that time, they did not have the same kind of weed control or disease control and a harvest of 20-40 times what was sown would have been an amazing crop. If that is the case, what does it mean when Jesus says that the fruitful soil will produce 30 times as much, which in that day might have been possible, but certainly was an extremely good crop. What does it mean when He goes on to indicate that the good soil will produce a crop 60 or even 100 times as much which would even be a huge yield today?

There is a deliberate expression of excess here. Jesus is saying that soil which receives the message of the kingdom of God and produces a crop will produce a crop that is ridiculously good. This is a marvelous promise. It tells us that because of the power of God, the kingdom of God will come in a way that is much greater than expected. The people who receive the message of the kingdom will do stuff that is way beyond the expectation of what is normal. God will multiply the harvest in amazing ways.

So once again we have an encouraging call to hear the message of the kingdom with open hearts and ears and eyes and rejoice that God will take that and multiply it greatly!

III.           What Is Really Happening?

Mark 4:1-25 is a series of sayings which explain the secrecy of the kingdom. These verses help us understand why every home doesn’t have a “Super Bowl” Party for Jesus. Although God wants the message of the kingdom revealed, there is a deliberate secrecy about the kingdom of God because the understanding of the kingdom is given only to those whose hearts are ready to receive it. People refuse to receive the message of the kingdom because their hearts are hard or their hearts don’t take the message into any kind of depth or because they are distracted by many weeds. Those who do receive the message will grow in their understanding more and more and by the miracle of God’s grace their understanding will produce a harvest that is way out of proportion to what would normally be expected. So we are invited to hear the message of the kingdom. In the rest of the chapter, Jesus gives two more parables which encourage us to seek God’s kingdom because in the end it will be worth it.

A.              The Kingdom Is Growing All By Itself

In Mark 4:26-29, Jesus tells another parable about seed. He speaks of a farmer who sows the seed, but then what does the farmer do? I know what farmers in Manitoba do. They go out and regularly check their crops. They go to Regina for the Farm Progress Show. They take their kids to the lake for a week. They go to bed every night and wake up every morning and go to the coffee shop and talk to other farmers. But what they do not do is make the crop grow!! The phrase “of itself” in Mark 4:28 comes from the Greek word, “automate.” In other words, “automatically” the crop grows – “first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head.” In the end, there will be a great harvest.

The kingdom of God is like that. The message of the kingdom is sown. But we don’t make it grow. In fact, we hardly even see it grow. In spite of inauspicious beginnings, in spite of the fact that we cannot see the kingdom of God mightily displayed in the world at this time, in spite of being hidden among the small pockets of believers scattered all over the world, the kingdom of God is growing. We don’t see it grow; we hardly see it present in our world, yet quietly, secretly, the kingdom of God is growing all by itself and it will continue to grow until Jesus returns and the final day of harvest comes.

So we are encouraged to listen with open hearts to the kingdom message because in the end, God will reap a great harvest that is now hardly visible in this world. This encourages us not to give up on God, on His kingdom, on the church, on doing God's work, on continuing to learn to follow Jesus because God's kingdom is growing and in the end there will be a great harvest!

B.              The Kingdom Will Become the Largest

The final parable, in Mark 4:30-32, is also about the kingdom of God. It compares the kingdom to a mustard seed. A mustard seed is a tiny seed, but when it grows, it spreads out quite a bit and becomes one of the largest garden plants. We are not that familiar with mustard plants, but if we think of a plant we are familiar with, we may understand. Although we mostly plant tomatoes as bedding plants, we know that they actually start with a very small seed. Yet that seed grows and late in the season if we don't have an adequate stake to hold it up, it can easily fall over because the plant has grown into a heavy and bushy vine.

If we can imagine such a picture, perhaps we can get what this parable is all about. In it Jesus promises that even though the kingdom of God has a small beginning, it will become the greatest kingdom on earth. This would have been a mysterious saying when Jesus spoke it because at the time they were a very small band of disciples. Today, we know that God's kingdom extends around the world, yet when we compare it to what is popular in the rest of the world God's kingdom does not seem that great. We see the influence of Hollywood around the world. We see the influence of the United States all over the world. We hear about the United Nations. But how often do we hear the story about God’s victory in the world? Yet the promise of God is that this little kingdom will grow to be an amazingly large kingdom which will be greater than “all the other plants in the garden.” Once again we are called to hope in the message of the kingdom and to hear it with open hearts, eyes and ears; for in the end, the kingdom of God will be the greatest and in fact the only kingdom.

Conclusion

The intended audience of Mark 4 isn't only the disciples. Jesus was also speaking to the Jewish religious leaders. Their hearts were hard and Jesus invited them to hear with faith so that they could understand the message God had for them. Some today still have hard hearts which reject Jesus, but Jesus invites them to also hear.

Jesus was also speaking to what one writer calls "the arounders." They were people who were hanging around Jesus, but were not yet following Him. The nature of parables is that they catch us off guard and so are able to penetrate our heart. He spoke to them in parables hoping that something in the parable would awaken a heart of faith so that they could hear and understand. Today there are some who observe Jesus and are interested. The words of Jesus invite them also to respond with a heart of faith.

Because their hearts were in the right place, most of the message of this chapter is for disciples. We who follow Jesus are encouraged to keep on proclaiming the message, or as the image says to sow the seed, even when it doesn't seem to get a response because we never know when it might fall on good soil. We are encouraged that God's kingdom is growing. Although it is hidden from many, it is growing and in the end will be the greatest kingdom of all. This encourages us to continue to be faithful in all kingdom work and not to become tired of serving God.

As we listen with ears of faith, may we continue to serve in God's eternal kingdom.

Following Jesus

Mark 3:7-35

Introduction

Have you seen the car commercial in which a family follows a bearded man who takes them to all kinds of crazy places. The commercial is promoting how great the 4x4 is because it can drive anywhere. That may be so, but I think I would be pretty careful about following a random individual to crazy places. I am not sure I would trust them to get me there safely.

Last summer we drove the "Going to the Sun" road in Glacier National Park. It was under construction and we got to a certain point where we had to wait until all the vehicles had come through because there was only one lane of traffic. Then we were able to follow the pilot vehicle through this area. It was comfortable to do so because we knew that even though there was only one lane, we would not drive into oncoming traffic. We trusted the pilot vehicle. You have to be careful who you follow.

When Jesus began his ministry, people saw by what He taught and by the way he healed that He was a unique individual, but many did not understand who He was and struggled to trust Him. In Mark 3:7-35 we have four stories which do two things. First of all they help us understand who Jesus was which is the basis of trust on which we can follow Him. Secondly, these verses help us understand what it means to follow Jesus.

I.                Who Is He?

I attended a seminar at CMU a few months ago and saw a man walking back and forth between the front and the sound booth. His appearance and what he was doing seemed to suggest that he was the sound guy. When the meeting began they introduced the speaker and this guy that I thought was the sound guy came to the front and began to speak. His actions and appearance confused me about who he was. In the early chapters of Mark, we have read about Jesus’ ministry. Because we have read the Bible to the end of the story we have a pretty good understanding of who Jesus was, but as people in that day observed Him for the first time, they didn’t yet have complete information. The things he did and said did not fit into any category they had ever encountered before, so there was a lot of confusion about His identity. The stories in today’s text reveal this confusion, but also reveal who He was.

In Mark 3:6 we read about the plot of the Jewish leaders to kill Jesus. Mark 3:7 seems to respond to this rejection when we read that “Jesus departed with his disciples to the sea.” If we study the locations of Jesus’ ministry, we notice that before this Jesus was in the synagogue several times, but after this he appears in a synagogue only once more. Instead, we find that his ministry takes place around the lake. Because of the rejection of the religious leaders it was better for him to change the location of his ministry.

But rejection did not mean rejection by all. In fact, in Mark 3:7-10 we find that his popularity increased even more. In Mark 1:28 we read that news about him spread all over Galilee. Now we see that “a great multitude from Galilee followed him” but there were also people coming from many other places. They came from as far east as the other side of the Jordan, from as far south as Idumea and Jerusalem, as far west as Tyre and Sidon and as far north as Galilee. There were many people who were curious about Jesus and sought him for healing. His popularity spread all over and people came to see what He was all about. But did they really understand who he was or were they just interested in him because of what he could do for them?

Among them were those who were possessed by evil spirits. These evil spirits recognized who Jesus was. They cried out that He was the “Son of God,” but Jesus told them to be silent. It may seem strange to us that Jesus refused their recognition and “he sternly ordered them not to make him known.” Why did Jesus refuse their testimony? The reason is that although they knew who He was, they did not follow Him. Cole says, “The Lord wanted men to find out who He was by listening to His words and by watching His deeds.”

Even though He was rejected by some, there were many who followed Jesus, who were beginning to understand who Jesus was and in Mark 3:13-19, Jesus chose twelve of them to be apostles so that they could grow in their understanding. Geddert suggests that a change of leadership was taking place. The scribes and Pharisees had been the leaders of God’s people, but they had rejected Jesus and now Jesus was choosing a new group of people who would lead God’s people and these 12 were the foundation of this group.

After he had chosen and commissioned the 12, he went into a house and the crowds gathered once again. Among those who came to see what was happening was his family. We only realize that it was his family at the end of this section. It is a case in which the story begins in verses 20, 21, but another story comes in between and the story about his family isn’t completed until verses 31-35.

When they saw what was happening, his own family had a hard time understanding who he was. For 30 years Jesus had been an ordinary man, a carpenter, a son, a neighbor. All of a sudden he changed completely. He never came home any more. He never worked in the carpentry shop any more. He worked so hard that he didn’t have time to eat. He taught things that were radical and he healed all those who were coming to Him. When His family saw this, they could not understand who He was and Mark 3:22 tells us that they "were saying, 'He has gone out of his mind.'”

Before Jesus had a chance to respond to them, however, we read that “the scribes” who had come from Jerusalem, possibly as an official delegation, also had an opinion about who Jesus was. Just as his family “were saying” he was crazy, the teachers of the law “were saying” He is demon possessed and by the prince of demons is driving out demons. They had two accusations - one related to who he was the other to the source of His power. They clearly did not accept Jesus. This opinion of Jesus stuck and in Jewish literature written after His ascension, there is a quote about Jesus which says, “Yeshu of Nazareth was hanged on the day of preparation for the Passover because he practiced sorcery and led the people astray.”

            But in defending Himself from this accusation, Jesus reveals a powerful truth about who He was. First of all he told them that it made no sense that he was casting out demons by the power of Satan. If that were true, that would mean that there was civil war in Satan’s camp and if that were the case his reign could not stand. He further clarifies the true meaning of his identity and reveals what was really happening. His power to cast out demons indicated that a change of times was happening. His authority indicated a victory over Satan and the beginning of the eternal victory of God. Geddert says that this means that “Jesus the stronger one has arrived” and that “Jesus is plundering the house and releasing Satan’s captives.”

            In these stories we see that there were many opinions about who Jesus was. Some saw Him simply as a healer, some recognized that He was someone to follow and some thought He was either crazy or demon possessed. As Jesus responded to these different opinions, we begin to get a picture of who He really was. We discover that He has power to heal and that He is the Son of God. We learn that He has authority to call out a new people of God. And we rejoice to know that He has power to defeat Satan and establish the eternal reign of God.

II.             How Do We Follow Him?

Since that is who Jesus is we have a foundation upon which to trust Him. Since Jesus is the Son of God He deserves respect and honor. Since He is establishing a new eternal people of God He is worth following. Since He is defeating Satan, we might as well live on the winning side. As we examine this passage once again with some understanding of who He is we also come to understand what it means to follow Him.

A.              By Being with Him

When Jesus chose the twelve to be apostles, he chose them out of the many who had begun to follow Him. However, later we discover that we are all called to the same kind of following as these 12 were called to. If we understand that we too are chosen by God to be disciples then this section helps us understand what following means.

We notice, first of all, that he chose them “to be with him.” We often think that they had a privilege that no one else has ever had. They were physically with Jesus 24/7 and saw everything he did, how He responded, what His goals were, His power and heard all of His teaching. The call to discipleship hasn’t changed and because of the Spirit of God it is still possible for us also to be with Jesus 24/7. In fact that is a large part of what it means to be a disciple. Following Jesus means spending time with Jesus, being in the presence of Jesus. In Matthew 28:20 Jesus promised, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

How are we with Jesus? Do we set aside special time to acknowledge His presence and communicate with Him? Do we have a constant awareness of His presence? Do we always recognize that we are in His presence as we work, play and make decisions? That is what it means to be a disciple. It means being with Jesus and letting Him influence us.

B.              By Proclaiming Him

As disciples they were also called by Jesus "to be sent out to proclaim the message.” In Mark 6 we read that they actually  did this. The twelve were sent out by twos and preached from village to village. But we would be mistaken if we thought that this intent was fulfilled in that preaching mission. When Jesus was with His disciples just before He ascended into heaven He told them in Matthew 28:19 to “go and make disciples of all nations, teaching…” In Acts 1:8 we have a similar commission when he said to them, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses … to the ends of the earth.”

This also is what it means to be a disciple today. If we are followers of Jesus, we are those who have been given the task of making the name of Jesus known. That is why we send missionaries.  That is why it is good for us to find out what God is doing in mission all over the world by attending Missionfest Manitoba. But that is also why we as a church are always seeking ways in which we can create opportunities to share the message of Jesus. May we be motivated to follow Jesus into His mission.

C.              By Having His Authority

The third intent of Jesus in calling the disciples was that they would “have authority to cast out demons.” It is interesting that casting out demons is presented in Mark as an authority issue. In Mark 1:27, Jesus had just cast out a demon and the crowd observed that this was “…A new teaching—and with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” Jesus indicated that He had authority over evil Spirits and demonstrated that authority by casting them out.

Jesus gave that authority to his disciples and in Mark 6 when they went out to preach, they also demonstrated that power. Does this authority also pass down to us? It does if we believe Romans 16:20 which says, "The God of peace will shortly crush Satan under your feet."

Not only do we continue to have authority over evil spirits, but we do all of our ministry in the authority of Jesus. In Matthew 28: 18-20, Jesus says, “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” On the basis of that authority statement, Jesus commissions all disciples to go and make Him known. So we see that we also go out into the world in the authority of Jesus.

            In Acts 1:8, Jesus promised the disciples power. In Acts 3:12, after having healed a crippled man and being questioned about it, Peter responded by saying that they had not accomplished this by their own power, but that they had healed by the power of Jesus. Then when they were arrested and were being tried, we read once again in Acts 4:7 that they recognized that they were working, teaching and doing their entire ministry in the authority and power of Jesus.

            Today as we live in this world and serve Christ in this world, we also do not do so in our own strength or by the power of the church or any other power. Our authority for living, ministering, teaching, serving is the power of Jesus. May we recognize and rely on that power and authority.

D.             By Recognizing His Divine Spirit

As we have already seen, the Jewish leaders did not get who Jesus was. But when we hear them suggest that Jesus "has Beelzebub and by the ruler of the demons He casts out demons" we realize that their opposition is pretty serious. In fact, Jesus calls their statement "an eternal sin" and warns that their blasphemy “will never have forgiveness?”

What was so serious about what they were saying? In Mark 3:30, we read that they were saying that Jesus had an unclean or evil spirit. Because they did not believe in who Jesus was, they could not explain the power with which Jesus cast out demons. Therefore, they attributed it to evil spirits. But in Mark 1 we learned that the Spirit who descended upon Jesus in order to empower Him for His work was the Holy Spirit. What they were doing by their accusation was calling the Holy Spirit evil. Their “eternal sin” was the sin of refusing to recognize the presence of God. It was the sin of declaring the good work which Jesus was doing in the power of God as having an evil source. In other words, they were calling God evil and rejecting Him. That is the sin that cannot be forgiven because it refuses God's forgiveness. Geddert says, “Those who attribute the work of Jesus to Satan and satanic power cannot simultaneously receive the forgiveness that depends on recognizing Jesus as God’s agent for salvation.”

The root of the unpardonable sin is the inability to see the divine in Jesus. 1 John 4:15 says, “God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God.” Following Jesus begins in and must continue with the recognition that Jesus is God. Apart from that recognition, it is not possible for us to trust Him for forgiveness. Apart from that recognition it is not possible for us to know that God continues to do His work in us. Philippians 2:13 (NIV) affirms this when it says, “…for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

Therefore, being a follower of Jesus, means being able to see the divine in Jesus. It is the recognition that it is the Spirit of God who is at work in us to bring us to God and to cause us to grow in Him.

E.              By Being Part of His New Family

The story of Jesus’ encounter with his family may puzzle us. Does His reply to them imply that Jesus rejected his family? It is more accurate to recognize that his family was rejecting Jesus. They did not understand what Jesus was all about and who he was. Yet when Jesus answered the inquiries of his family, we learn some more important things about what it means to be a disciple.

When Jesus looked at those seated around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers,” he was indicating the existence of a new family. He did not reject his family because we see in John that he still cared for his mother when at the cross he assigned John to look after her. But we also recognize that the family to which Jesus calls all those who follow Him is not limited to a biological family, but rather is the family of those who follow Him. Jesus introduces a new family and being a follower of Jesus means recognizing that family.

Chuck Smith writes, “I was over in New Guinea and I had this native chieftain come up to me. He had to speak to me through an interpreter. And he had these spears in his hand. He said, "I used these to kill men. But," he said, "now that they have brought me this," holding up his Bible, "I don’t need these any more, and I want to give them to you." And there came an instant bonding between this chieftain and myself. My brother in Jesus. Though we could not communicate linguistically, we communicated spiritually, as he grabbed hold of me and I grabbed hold of him and we began to embrace each other in the love of Jesus Christ. And how I felt God’s love just pouring out from that man to me. And how I was bonded to him in the Spirit, as I realized, "This man’s my brother in Jesus." It was a tremendous spiritual experience for me, being bonded by the Spirit to this native who just not too many years ago was a cannibal. But now, because of the work of God’s grace in his life, he’s a brother in Christ. And though we are culturally worlds apart, though linguistically we cannot communicate, yet there was such a spiritual communication and a spiritual bond that I’ve never felt quite that experience of bonding before as I did with that native chieftain as we stood there in the village and embraced each other.”

The new family of His followers is further identified by Jesus in Mark 3:35 when he says, “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” Geddert says, “His true family does not stand outside and seek to control him. Jesus’ true family gathers around him and learns from him what it means to hear and do the will of God.”

This has implications in a church such as ours where many are connected to one another in biological families. It challenges us to make sure that we do not create walls by our biological connections. It challenges us to learn to treat our spiritual brothers and sisters as just as much family as our biological family.

Conclusion

Just as we are comfortable following a pilot vehicle through the instability of a construction site, so we have reason to follow Jesus through the instability of life. Because He is the Son of God who has come into this world to overcome Satan and to create a new people of God, we can trust Him. If we do, then the things we have learned today will be true of us.

We will desire to be with Him.

We will want to make His name known.

We will work in His authority and power.

We will recognize that the work of Jesus is divine work and continues to work in us.

We will recognize His family as the family of those who obey Him and we will rejoice to be a part of that family.

May we know Him and follow Him.

New Wineskins

Mark 2:1-3:6

Introduction

Many things have changed in our lifetime. I remember milk being delivered to our house in glass bottles. Today you can buy milk at stores on almost every street corner any time of day or night. I remember when each home had one black dial telephone. Today if I asked to see a phone almost everyone here would put their hand in their pocket or purse and produce a phone.

Many of the changes that have occurred have required changes in the way we do things. About ten years ago Carla and I went on vacation to Banff. I bought about 3 rolls of film and was very careful about how many pictures I took with our film camera. After we got back home we had the pictures developed and finally got to see how they turned out. Carla put the 70 or so pictures in an album and it is stored in our cupboard along with many other albums. About five years ago, we took a trip to Israel and Europe and with our digital camera, we took over 2000 pictures. At the end of each day, we looked over the pictures. When we got home we had a few printed, but mostly we have looked at them on the computer and I have occasionally used them in power point presentations. The invention of digital cameras has greatly changed the way we take pictures and what we do with them.

Changes are not always easy and different people have varying degrees of success at making changes. Jeremy and many of his generation don't even have a home phone, they do everything with their cell phones. I have not made that shift and only have a cell phone for emergency use.

            No change has ever been as radical as the change in thinking which came when Jesus appeared on earth. When Jesus first came, some, especially the Jewish leaders, had a great deal of difficulty accepting that a shift was taking place. Sometimes I wonder if we have successfully made that shift. Mark 2:1-3:6 helps us think about the change which Jesus preaching about God's kingdom has brought.

I.                What is Mark’s Point?

In writing the gospels, the writers did not write everything that happened to Jesus. Although what they wrote is a historical account, it is not a detailed account written just to give the details. As they wrote, they chose to record those things that communicated some teaching. Each gospel writer was writing with a specific audience in mind and with a specific message to communicate. What is Mark’s point in Mark 2:1-3:6? Why is this a text unit?

A.              Escalating Conflict

There are already hints in Mark 1 that there was a conflict brewing between Jesus and the religious leaders. When we read in 1:22 that Jesus taught, “…not as the scribes...” we can guess that trouble was on the horizon. One of the things that happens in Mark 2:1-3:6 is that Mark mentions how the conflict escalates to the point at which Jesus' life was in danger.

            In Mark 2:6, 7, we read that the teachers of the law were “questioning in their hearts, 'Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy!'” This is the first hint of conflict, but it is not outward, it is simply in their hearts. The next level of conflict is revealed in 2:16 where we read that the teachers of the law, “…said to his disciples…” At this point, they were not bold enough to address Jesus, but they were getting agitated enough to talk to the disciples. In 2:24, they became bolder and actually confronted Jesus about the supposed transgressions of his disciples. Then in 3:2 we have a sense that their anger and suspicion is growing as we read that “They watched him … so that they might accuse him.” Finally, in 3:6, the conflict has escalated to the point where they even collaborated with their enemies in order to plot, “…how to destroy him.”

            Besides the passion story itself, there are two sections in Mark which speak about the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders. This is one of them and it seems quite deliberate that Mark wrote these stories in the way he did to reveal this growing conflict. Mark presents a rapid deterioration and although Jesus did not provoke them to anger, he did not hide from faithfulness to his call. Why did the person and work of Jesus provoke the Jewish religious leaders?

B.              New Wineskins

The answer is that what Jesus was teaching and living was radically different from what the Jewish leaders were teaching and living. The significant change in the way of God's kingdom threatened their way and they reacted against Him.

1.              Chiasm

            There is a particular way of writing Scripture, which, if we understand it, helps us come to a clearer understanding of what certain texts are saying. The literary device is called a chiasm. The way it works is something like this. An idea is given, a second idea is given, then a third idea is given. Then the second idea is repeated and then the first idea is repeated. There are varieties to this pattern, but one thing that this literary device does is function like a funnel. A funnel brings everything to the center and this literary device draws our attention to the center in order to understand that the main idea which is being presented is at the center of the text. The middle is the heart and interpretive center of the passage. This style of writing was very common in the literature of the Jewish people and we find it quite often in the Psalms and also in other writings. In our culture, we are not really familiar with this way of writing and so we need to have it pointed out to us, but the Jewish people who read this would have immediately seen that this was happening and would immediately have perceived that the main point of the passage was at the center of the passage. In this section, there are five stories and it is the center one which is the main point of this section.

2.              A New Way

            So the main idea of this passage is what is stated in Mark 2:21-22. We have already seen that this passage presents an escalating conflict between Jesus and the Jewish leaders. A moment ago I asked, “Why was there a conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders?” The answer is found in these two verses. The religious leaders were steeped in the “traditions of the elders.” Although what they taught and lived was based on the Old Testament, it had had so many layers of ideas added to it that at this point it was already beyond what God had intended in the first place. The Jewish leaders were the teachers and keepers of the traditions of the elders. As Jesus began to teach and demonstrate the power of God they began to realize that what He was teaching was contrary to what they were teaching.

            In this statement, Jesus was saying that their teaching and his teaching were incompatible. He speaks of clothing and points out that if you have an older piece of clothing and you want to patch it you don’t use new material to patch it. With the fabrics we have today, this is less of a problem, but at that time, it was well understood that a new piece if material would shrink and tear the older part of the garment and you would have a bigger problem. An old piece of clothing with a patch made of new material was incompatible. In a similar way, if you put new grape juice which had not yet fermented, into an old container, it would ferment and stretch the old container beyond its breaking point. The containers for wine were skin containers and an old one would already have stretched and the new wine would cause it to expand beyond the breaking point and you would lose both the container and the wine. In other words, an old container and new wine are incompatible.

            What Jesus was saying in this section is that He was bringing a new way of thinking. His teaching was compatible with the teaching of God in the Old Testament and a fulfillment of it, but it was not compatible with what the religious leaders were teaching. That is the explanation for why the spiritual leaders had a growing conflict with Jesus. They were not ready for the change which Jesus was bringing. Their worldview and that of Jesus just did not fit together.

II.             The Way of God’s Kingdom

Jesus' message of the kingdom brought a new way of thinking. Throughout the passage that new way of thinking is being described through the teaching and ministry of Jesus. It is very important for us to understand the way of the kingdom of Jesus because we live in this new kingdom. What are the principles of the kingdom which Jesus was introducing? Jesus was preaching good news, gospel. What is that gospel? As we examine these stories, we will learn three important aspects of the gospel message and as we are reminded of them, we need to ask ourselves, “Have I made the change to the new kingdom?” Sometimes I wonder if the conflict the religious leaders had with Jesus is not also the conflict we have with the way of the kingdom. Is it possible that we share the worldview of the Jewish religious leaders? Have we made the shift in thinking to fully embrace the kingdom of Jesus?

A.              Forgiveness of Sins

The story at the beginning of Mark 2 is one that Sunday School teachers love to teach because it is so visual. As we read the story, we imagine the great crowd at the house in Capernaum. We can see the friends of the paralytic walk around the house and try desperately to find a way to get in, unsuccessfully. Although we have no adequate reference point to know how it would be possible for someone to “unroof the roof” it makes for a great story and feeds our imagination to think about how they could have done it. We love to read about the compassion of the four friends and their diligent efforts and feel affirmed about Jesus that he acts on behalf of the paralytic because of the faith of the four friends. These are all great parts of the story, but what the story is really about is revealed in the statement of Jesus in verse 5, “your sins are forgiven.” This is the event which triggers the questioning of the Jewish leaders. This is where the conflict is first mentioned. This is the new message of the kingdom which Jesus was bringing.

Jesus challenged their thinking by asking them, "Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and take your mat and walk’?" We discover in that statement what the kingdom of God is really all about and what is at the heart of what Jesus was teaching.

I have been reading the book, The Sunflower, by Simon Wiesenthal. In it he tells the story of what happened to him while a prisoner in a death camp. One day he and others were sent on a work assignment to a hospital where they were assigned to clean up garbage. While there, he was selected to go to the bedside of a dying Nazi soldier. The soldier wanted to talk to a Jew. The soldier told him a story about how he had been involved in killing a whole bunch of Jewish men, women and children in a horrible act of genocide. Now he felt guilty and confessed his wrongdoing and wanted Simon to forgive him on behalf of the Jewish people. Wiesenthal was not able to do so and the rest of the book discusses whether it is possible to forgive another who has not wronged you personally. The Jewish religious leaders were wrestling with a very similar problem.

It is not hard to say, “I forgive you.” If someone wrongs us and asks forgiveness, it is possible for us to say, “I forgive you.” It was the job of the priests at that time to say, “I forgive you” if someone confessed sin and offered the sacrifices which God had prescribed. What was hard for someone who was not a priest to say was that He could guarantee the forgiveness of another person who had not wronged him personally. It implied an authority that belonged only to God. Geddert says, “The issue is whether Jesus can know that the person is being forgiven by God and can pronounce the man forgiven apart from any of the prescribed ceremonies and sacrifices – apart even from an explicit confession on the part of the sinner.”

It was also not hard to say, “…be healed.” Many people have said, “be healed” and a few of them have actually been successful, but what was hard was to back that up with a guaranteed healing. Who but God has the authority to guarantee healing?

So the new thing was that Jesus was claiming the authority to guarantee forgiveness of sins and He demonstrated that He had that authority by healing the paralytic.

What a marvelous new message of the kingdom of God as brought by Jesus. This is still a key principle of the kingdom of Jesus. It means that we do not have to walk around with guilt in our hearts because there is a guaranteed way of forgiveness. It means that we don’t have to wait until we can go to the temple before we know that we have been forgiven. It means that every day, every hour, as soon as we have sinned, we can confess and begin again with a clean slate. As we remember that this guarantee of forgiveness is backed up by the death of Jesus on the cross, we know that we don’t have to confess hard enough or make restitution before we receive forgiveness. It also means that we can offer forgiveness to anyone who confesses their sins to God.

When we beat ourselves up because of our sins, when we fail to go quickly to God in confession, when we live with guilt as a way of punishing ourselves, or when we fail to announce the message of forgiveness to others, we have not caught the intent of the new thing which the kingdom of Jesus brings. It guarantees forgiveness on earth through Jesus. Are we living in this change?

B.              A Welcome for Sinners

Last week we noticed that Jesus called Andrew, Peter, James and John to be his disciples. Once again Jesus was at the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Capernaum is right on the shore on the north side of the lake. While walking along the shore, He came upon Levi, who was a tax collector, and invited him to join the group of disciples. Whether there were already others or not we don’t know. In Mark 3:13 we learn that there were 12 whom he identified as disciples. But the calling of Levi is mentioned because of his background and it becomes the opportunity for Jesus to introduce another of the principles of the Kingdom of God and another of the new things which the religious leaders had a problem with.

It wasn’t long after Jesus called Peter that he was at his house eating. Was this a pattern? Here again, after calling Levi, we find that he was at Levi’s house eating. But the crowd here was quite a different crowd. It is likely that the crowd at Peter’s house was a crowd of religious people. Levi also invited his friends for dinner, but the text tells us that they were “tax collectors” and “sinners.” This was the point of contention for the religious leaders. Just after Jesus declared Divine authority to forgive sins, in the previous story, it is shocking, at least for the religious leaders, to hear that He was eating with sinners. Tax collectors were collaborators. They were Jews who had made friends with the Roman enemies. They had sold out to the occupying power. Worse than that, everyone knew that they were greedy and dishonest. When we read the story of Zacchaeus, we find a similar implication. How could anyone be together with them? The Pharisees, with their great concern about ritual purity would have considered such contacts as defiling. How could one who claimed to be God contaminate Himself in this way? The Scribes, with their political considerations would have considered such contact as inappropriate. Yet Jesus clearly did not consider contact with sinners as defiling or inappropriate.

And so Jesus answered their question by saying, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.” That is gospel! That is good news! It is interesting that Mark records that Jesus did not say that he had come to “call the sinners to repentance” as in Luke 5. Although repentance is needed, Mark's focus was not on the need of the sinners to change, but rather on the offer of forgiveness. He is proclaiming the good news of the kingdom!

The change required by anyone who embraces the kingdom of Jesus is to remove the distinctions between clean and unclean. It means to open one’s heart to the outcast. It means to have a loving and welcoming attitude to all, even those who are morally or physically dirty. When we meet them with a “holier than thou” attitude, we are not doing things in the way of Jesus. When we meet them with compassion and an offer of forgiveness, we show His grace. One of the best stories I have ever heard about this radical value of the kingdom is the story told by Tony Campolo in the book, "The Kingdom of God is a Party." After a late evening of ministry in a city far away from home he was hungry and went to a diner for something to eat. He was surprised to find himself in a diner, which also happened to be frequented by prostitutes who had just completed their evenings work. As he sat eating his meal, he overheard one of them lament that she was having a birthday the next day, but that no one cared. She was deeply moved when he returned the next day in order to celebrate her birthday. He got it. He understood that we are called to go to the least and the lost and extend grace to them.

Have we got it? The Jewish religious leaders were unable to make this change. Are we? Are we prepared to move out of our “holy clusters” in order to live in relationship with people who are sinners? Are we prepared to relate to the world with grace on our lips? Are we prepared to offer grace on the basis of Christ’s gift, not on the basis of a person’s merit? Paul said in I Timothy 1:15, “The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost.”

C.              Doing What Is Good

On the other side of the center of this passage, we have a few more stories which make another point about the new thing which Jesus’ kingdom brings, but which the Jewish religious leaders also did not get.

The main context of these two stories has to do with Sabbath keeping. Sabbath keeping was a highly regarded value by the Pharisees. They had defined and explained every detail of Sabbath keeping to a high degree. Now they caught Jesus’ disciples violating one of their principles of Sabbath keeping. Jesus came into conflict with them by telling them that there was a higher principle at play than Sabbath keeping when he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for humankind.” They had defined Sabbath keeping as a law to be kept in order to honor God. Jesus was telling them that Sabbath keeping was a gift of God given to bless people.

In the second story, Mark 3:1-6, that principle is further explained. When Jesus was being watched by them in the synagogue, he was aware that they were watching him critically. He confronted them with the question, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill?” What Jesus was doing was setting aside rigorous obedience to law and encouraging His followers to seek God for what is good. The Pharisees lived by the law and had extensive lists of laws. Jesus looked at a situation and asked, “What is good?” “What does God want?” and lived by that. The principle of the kingdom introduced here is that a radical change has taken place in the kingdom of Jesus. Instead of living by law, Jesus invites us, in the power of the Holy Spirit to live by what is good and what will save life. Sometimes it is hard to answer the question about what is good and what gives life, but Jesus has not left us to answer that question alone. He has given us His Spirit, the community of faith and His Word to help us answer that question. But the contrast between asking what is law and asking what is good is significant. The Pharisees couldn’t make that change and so came into such conflict with Jesus that they were ready to kill Him. By plotting to kill him they showed their belief that the Sabbath is OK for doing evil. What irony!!

Conclusion

The way of the Pharisees was incompatible with the way of Jesus. They were unable to make the shift. In this passage, we discover three principles regarding Jesus’ kingdom. It is a kingdom in which forgiveness is guaranteed on earth through Jesus. It is a kingdom in which grace is offered to all and sinners are welcomed. It is a kingdom in which the way of living in a relationship with God is not by law, but by seeking God’s will.

As I see what Mark is saying to us here, I wonder if I have made the shift. Some have sometimes asked whether as Christians we are more like the Pharisees or more like Jesus. At times I fear that I am quite comfortable to follow the "traditions of the elders." My prayer for myself and for all of us is that we will be able to make the shift to faithfully live by the values of the kingdom of Jesus.