Mark 3:16-35:
“Intro To Individual Disciples / Jesus Accused Of Casting Out Demons By
Beelzebub / Jesus’ Mother And Brothers Come To Get Him”
By
1.
INTRO:
2.
In our last study, we looked at verses
1-15 of chapter 3.
2.1.
We discussed that
Jesus has been on a collision course with the Pharisees thus far during His
ministry because He hasn’t played by their rules and has challenged their
legalistic traditions. We looked at all
of the ways that Jesus had angered the Pharisees thus far in our study.
2.2.
We saw that Jesus
again angered the Pharisees by healing on the Sabbath, and then by saying that
it would be wrong (a sin) on the Sabbath to not do good to someone in real
need.
2.3.
Jesus healed a
man with a withered hand by telling him to stretch it out to Him, the very
thing the man is unable to do. We looked
at what is illustrated in this miracle.
2.4.
We saw an
unlikely partnership develop between the Pharisees and the Herodians for the
purpose of killing Jesus.
2.5.
We saw Jesus
appointed 12 to be with Him, and that He gives them authority over demons.
3.
In today’s
message, we are going to look at verses 16-35 of Mark chapter 3.
3.1.
Mark is again
showing Jesus in action, as Jesus is again revealing who He is by the things He
is doing.
3.2.
We will identify
each of the twelve disciples chosen by Jesus, discuss what scriptures tell us
about them, and, we will discuss the three groups within the twelve.
3.3.
We will discuss
this incident in which the Pharisees accuse Jesus of casting out demons by the
power of Belzebub, the prince of the demons, and we will discuss what Jesus meant
when He told them that all manner of sin will be forgiven a person but that of
blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
3.4.
We will look at
this incident that occurred when Jesus’ mother and brothers came to get Him and
take Him home because they thought He had lost His mind, and when they came to
visit Him but He did not receive them because He was busy about the Father’s
business, and besides He knew that His mother, brothers, and sisters were those
who heard the word of God and did it.
4.
VS 3:16-18a - “16 And He appointed the twelve:
Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter), 17 and James, the son of Zebedee, and John the
brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, “Sons of
Thunder”); 18 and Andrew,...” – Mark identifies the inner first group of four disciples that Jesus
chose to be part of the twelve disciples (soon to be apostles): Simon, James, John and Andrew
4.1.
The first three
of these disciples, Peter, James and John, comprised the innermost core of Jesus’
disciples. They had special privilege
and calling and alone were allowed to be with Jesus during the most critical
events in Jesus ministry, for instance:
Raising of Jairus’ daughter, Jesus’ transfiguration, Jesus’ suffering in
the
4.2.
These first four
disciples were originally followers of John the Baptist, and they and their
fathers worked together with each other in a fishing business in
4.3.
Simon Peter.
4.3.1. The brother of Andrew, he is the first of the
disciples that are identified by Mark here.
Of Jesus’ disciples, Simon Peter was called to the single most important
role, and thus it was appropriate that he be mentioned first. His brother Andrew brought him to Jesus, but
nonetheless Simon became the leader and spokesman for the group, and later
after Jesus’ resurrection he was called to be the leader of the group.
4.3.2. The name ‘Peter’ means ‘a rock’. Jesus gave him the name of ‘Peter’
after he had answered Jesus’ question about who he thought He was by saying, “You
are the Christ the Son of the living God’.
Jesus went on to say, “upon this rock I will build my church.”
(Matt. 16:16-18)
4.3.3. He was from the city of
4.4.
James the son of
Zebedee.
4.4.1. James was the brother of John, and these two men were
called by the name of ‘Boanerges’ which means “sons of thunder.” This name was reflective of the time when
Jesus and His disciples were traveling through
4.4.2. James is listed before John because of his
importance. James was the first of the
twelve to be martyred after Jesus’ resurrection, as he was killed with the
sword by Herod after giving testimony to the Lord.
4.5.
John the son of
Zebedee.
4.5.1. John was James’ brother and these men were sons of a
man named Zebedee.
4.5.2. Even though they were named “sons of thunder”,
over time James and John were transformed to be more like Jesus Christ, and in
fact John who lived to a ripe old age is now known as being “the disciple of
love” because of his emphasis on the love of God in his three epistles he
wrote.
4.5.3. John wrote the gospel of John in his old age, and that
gospel has been called “the spiritual gospel” because of its emphasis in
explaining the spiritual truths that Jesus sought to teach. Likewise, John wrote three epistles which
bear his name. And, he likewise wrote
the book of Revelation which is the biggest book of prophecy in the scriptures.
4.6.
Andrew.
4.6.1. Andrew was an evangelist, for he initially brought his
brother Simon to Jesus.
4.6.2. His name means “manly”.
4.6.3. When Jesus fed the 5,000, He told the disciples to
feed the people rather than send them away, and Andrew was the one who made
this suggestion in John 6:9, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two
fish, but what are these for so many people?” Andrew brought to Jesus what
he had in order to minister to the people, and Jesus used what he brought and
multiplied those loaves and fish to feed the people. This is a picture of what all ministry for
Christ should be.
4.6.4. Though not part of that innermost group of three,
Andrew still had a ministry and calling that was key to the ministry of the
twelve for he was part of the innermost group of four.
4.6.5. He was from the city of
5.
VS 3:18b - “and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas,” - Mark identifies the second
group of four disciples that Jesus chose to be part of the twelve
disciples: Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew,
and Thomas
5.1.
Philip.
5.1.1. John 1:44 tells us that he was from the city of
5.1.2. He also was an evangelist and brought his brother
Nathaniel to Jesus (John 1:45-46): “45
Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in
the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of
5.1.3. He faltered in his faith some as we see from John
14:8-9: “8 Philip said to Him, “Lord,
show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I
been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He
who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the
Father’?”
5.1.4. He is not the man who became
the deacon at the church in
5.2.
Bartholomew.
5.2.1. This is probably the disciple who is also called “Nathaniel”,
which is perhaps his proper name. It has
been suggested by many that ‘Bartholomew’ may have been his father’s
name. Harper’s Bible Dictionary mentions
the following corroborating evidence for this, “Bartholomew is never
mentioned in John, nor is Nathanael in Matthew, Mark, or Luke”.
5.2.2. When his brother Philip found him, notice what Jesus
said to Bartholomew (Nathanel): John 1:45-51, ““45 Philip found Nathanael and
said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the
Prophets wrote—Jesus of
5.3.
Matthew.
5.3.1. He was the Jewish tax gatherer under employ of
5.3.2. He is also called “Levi”, and ‘Matthew’
may be the name that Jesus gave him, especially since it means, “gift of
Jehovah.”
5.3.3. He wrote the gospel that bears his name.
5.4.
Thomas.
5.4.1. His name means “a twin.”
5.4.2. He has been called “doubting Thomas” because of
his depressive attitude and slowness to believe Jesus and His claims, as seen
in a couple of incidents:
5.4.2.1.The
raising of Lazarus: John 11:11-16, “11 This He said, and after
that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen
asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.” 12 The disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has
fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that
He was speaking of literal sleep. 14 So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and I am glad for your sakes that I was
not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.” 16 Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his
fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.””
5.4.2.2.Jesus’
appearance to the disciples after His resurrection: John
20:24-29, “24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not
with them when Jesus came. 25
So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he
said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my
finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not
believe.” 26 After eight days His
disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having
been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be
with you.” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach
here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but
believing.” 28 Thomas answered and said
to Him, “My Lord and my God!” 29
Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have
you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”” Note that after Jesus’ appearance to him that
Thomas actually expresses more worship of Jesus than any other disciple ever
expressed.
6.
VS 3:18c-19 - “and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon
the Zealot; 19 and Judas Iscariot, who
betrayed Him.” – Mark identifies the third group of four disciples
that Jesus chose to be part of the twelve disciples: James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon
the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot
6.1.
James the son of Alphaeus.
6.1.1. He is also know as “James
the less.”
6.1.2. He is the author of the
epistle that bears his name.
6.2.
Thaddaeus.
6.2.1. ‘Thaddaeus’ is his surname. He is also called “Judas” and
mentioned in John 14:22, “22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him,
“Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and
not to the world?”” He is likewise mentioned in Luke 6:16: “16 Judas the son of James,
and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.”
6.2.2. ‘Thaddaeus’ means “courageous” or “large-hearted.”
6.3.
Simon the Zealot.
6.3.1. He was evidently part of a
group of Jewish zealots committed to overthrowing
6.4.
Judas Iscariot.
6.4.1. He was a man from “Kerioth”
and was of the tribe of
6.4.2. He is the man who betrayed
Jesus to the Pharisees and then went and hanged himself. Jesus told His disciples that it would have
been better for Judas that he had never been born, and in another situation
called Judas, “the son of perdition” (hell).
6.5.
By picking the men
that Jesus picked to be His disciples, it is obvious that He wanted to show
that He can use regular people in great ways, if they simply allow Him to work
through their life. With perhaps the
exception of Judas Iscariot, Jesus could not have picked any men who whom the
world would think would be least likely to be great leaders and statesmen for
His church. When we read the stories
about these twelve men and how they are so slow to catch on and understand His
purpose, it is encouraging to us because we are all often slow to understand
God’s ways. Some have joked that Jesus
picked these twelve men because He wanted to keep an eye on them. But, it is obvious that the twelve did go on
and do great things for God fulfilling the role of apostle.
7.
VS 3:20-21 - “20 And He came home, and the crowd
gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal. 21 When His own people heard of this, they
went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “He has lost His senses.”” – Mark tells us that Jesus came home and that the crowds were so great
that they could not even eat a meal and that when his own people heard of this
they came out to take custody of Him because they thought He had lost His
senses
7.1.
Here we see that
Jesus ‘came home’ which is evidently a reference to Him again returning
to
7.2.
Because of Jesus’ zeal and how He at this time was drawing all of the
people to Himself, His mother and brothers thought that He had ‘lost His
senses’ or was mad. Jesus’ mother
and brothers came to Him ‘to take custody of Him’ and take Him home
where they hoped He might come to Himself and get over His Messiah complex...
7.3.
There is another story in the gospels involving His brothers and which
tells us that His brothers were not believing in Him at this time: John
7:1-5, “1 After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He
was unwilling to walk in
8.
VS 3:22-27 - “22 The scribes who came down from
8.1.
This was a horrible accusation that these scribes were making of Jesus,
that He was only able to do any of the miracles that He did because He was
possessed by the Devil.
8.2.
Notice first of
all that Jesus affirms the literal existence of Satan as a personage in the
spiritual realm. Likewise, the scribes
refer to Satan as a personage calling him ‘the ruler of the demons’. Jesus did not deny this title and inference
for Satan.
8.3.
“Beelzebul”
is a title for Satan. Harper’s Bible
Dictionary has the following entry for this word:.
“Baal-zebub
(bayʹuhl-zeeʹbuhb; also Beelzebub [bee-elʹzi-buhb]), a god worshiped
by the Philistines at Ekron (2 Kings 1:2-16). The original form and meaning of
the term are unclear. Originally, it may have meant ‘lord of the lofty abode’;
then, because this god was considered by the Hebrews to be an unworthy rival to
Yahweh, it may have been revised to ‘lord of flies’ (Baal-zebub). Later, it was
altered even further to Beel-zebul, meaning ‘lord of dung.’ In the
intertestamental period, when numerous names were used to designate the leader
of the forces of evil, one of the names selected was Baal-zebub (or the
alternative form Beel-zebul). In the Gospels, Jesus denies that he casts out
demons by Beel-zebul, ‘the prince of demons’ (Matt. 12:24-27; Mark 3:22-26;
Luke 11:15-19; cf. Matt. 10:25).”
8.4.
Mark only includes three of the four answers that Jesus makes to these
scribes when they accuse Him of casting out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of
the demons:
8.4.1. Satan cannot cast out Satan,
nor can its kingdom be divided against itself, otherwise it would fall.
8.4.2. Satan cannot cast out Satan (singular).
8.4.3. No one can enter the strong
man’s house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man. Luke in his gospel explains this even more
clearly: Luke 11:21-22, “21 When a strong man, fully armed,
guards his own house, his possessions are undisturbed. 22 “But when someone stronger than he
attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away from him all his armor on which
he had relied and distributes his plunder.”
8.4.3.1.Satan is the ‘strong
man’ who was in control of this world at this time.
8.4.3.2.He is referred to as “the
prince of the power of the air” in Eph. 2:2.
8.4.3.3.Even though Satan was
conquered by Jesus upon the cross, he is still in control of this evil world
that is in rebellion against God until Jesus returns and casts him into the
Lake of Fire when He establishes His Millennial Kingdom: 1 John
5:19, “19 We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies
in the power of the evil one.”
8.4.3.4.In fact, the scriptures tell
us that in the case of all of those who do not believe in Christ that Satan is
blinding their minds: 2 Corinthians 4:4, “4 in whose case the god of
this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see
the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
8.4.3.5.In scripture Satan is
referred to as Apolloyon, Abbadon, the Destroyer, and Rev. 12:1-11 Satan is
referred to as the great dragon that deceives the whole world: Revelation
12:1-11, “1 A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the
sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; 2 and she was with child; and she cried out, being
in labor and in pain to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having
seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. 4 And his tail swept away a third of the stars of
heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who
was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.
5 And she gave birth to a
son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron;
and her child was caught up to God and to His throne. 6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she
had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one
thousand two hundred and sixty days. 7 And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the
dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, 8 and they were not strong enough, and there was no
longer a place found for them in heaven. 9 And the
great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and
Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his
angels were thrown down with him. 10
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and
the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have
come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them
before our God day and night. 11
“And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the
word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with
death.”
8.5.
Though the Devil
is ‘the strong man’, we who are Christians need not fear him because he
was conquered and disarmed by Christ on the cross (Col. 2:14-15; John 12:31;
Heb. 2:14), and because we have been given authority over the Devil through
Christ (Mark 3:15). We may cast him out
of those possessed and make him leave those whom he oppresses.
8.6.
An addition
answer not recorded by Mark that Jesus gave to the Pharisees about this
accusation that He cast out demons by the power of Beelzebub is:
8.6.1. Matthew 12:27, “27 “If I by Beelzebul
cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason
they will be your judges.””
8.6.1.1.There were Jewish exhorts
around in Jesus day, and these are who Jesus refers to here. Jesus isn’t inferring that these Jewish
exorcists actually could cast out demons, but rather that they attempted to
cast them out, and even believed that they could cast them out. Jesus is making the argument then that if He
is casting out demons by the ruler of the demons then should not they also
accuse their Jewish exorcists who claim to do this of the same thing, casting
out demons by the power of Beelzebul.
9.
VS 3:28-30 - “28 “Truly I say to you,
all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they
utter; 29 but whoever
blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an
eternal sin”— 30 because they were saying,
“He has an unclean spirit.”” – Jesus warns these scribes
that they were in danger of blaspheming the Holy Spirit, an unforgiveable
eternal sin
9.1.
The Pharisees
were in great peril. They had seen Jesus
perform miracles and wonders, things that only God could do. Yet, we saw that they attributed those works
to Satan.
9.2.
Jesus refers to ‘an
eternal sin’ here. This must refer
to a sin that separates one from God for eternity.
9.3.
Over the
centuries, there have been all kinds of explanations given as to what this sin
really involves. Further, many
Christians have feared that they have committed it. Because of the severity of this warning as
well as the fact that many fear that they have committed it, it is important
for us to discuss what this meant.
9.4.
Here are some of
the interpretations of what this sin is that people have come up with:
9.4.1. That the sin was a denial of the divinity of
Christ.
9.4.2. That it was a denial of the divinity of the Holy
Spirit.
9.4.3. Augustine said that he thought it was basically the
alienation of God caused by the resisting the wooing and working of God in our
life.
9.4.1. That it is seeing the mighty works of God but then
attributing them to something or someone other than God, just as the Pharisees
were doing on this day. This is the
most straight forward and sensible interpretation although Augustine’s
interpretation holds some truth as well.
9.5.
It is important
to keep in mind that if a person has committed this sin then they are not
interested in God or being the person that he wants them to be. In other words, God has stopped striving with
them and has given them over to a reprobate mind, just as Paul wrote about in
Romans chapter 1: Romans 1:18-30, “18
For
the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident
within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible
attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood
through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor
Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and
their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God
for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed
animals and crawling creatures. 24
Therefore God gave them over in the
lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored
among them. 25 For they exchanged the
truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the
Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading
passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is
unnatural, 27 and in the same way also
the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire
toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in
their own persons the due penalty of their error. 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge
God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which
are not proper, 29 being filled with all
unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit,
malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful,
inventors of evil, disobedient to parents.”
9.6.
It is important
to realize that it is only not believing in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior
that will send a person to hell.
9.7.
It is also
important to recognize that the scripture tells us that God will forgive any
sin that we confess (thus it is only the sin that is not confessed that He will
not forgive): 1 John 1:9-2:2, “9 If we confess our sins,
He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have
not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. 1 My little children, I am writing these things to
you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but
also for those of the whole world.”
9.8.
It has been
pointed out by many that if a person is grieved or concerned that they have
committed the sin of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit that this is evidence that
they have not in fact committed it.
10.
VS 3:31-35 - “31 Then His mother and His brothers
arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called Him. 32 A crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to
Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You.” 33 Answering them, He said, “Who
are My mother and My brothers?” 34 Looking about at those who were sitting around
Him, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers!
35 “For whoever
does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.”” – Jesus mother and brothers arrived and called for Him, however Jesus
refused to see them and told those gathered there that those sitting around Him
were His mother and brothers, for whoever does the will of God is His brother,
sister, and mother
10.1.
When Jesus’
mother and brothers arrive on the scene here, Jesus refuses to see them, and
this indicates that He would not be persuaded by earthly attachments and
relations. He would only be led by God
and fulfill His perfect will, not the bidding of those who have earthly
motivations.
10.2.
Just as when
Jesus was 12 years old and stayed behind at the temple in Jerusalem when His
parents had headed home and then when they found Him and chided Him He
questioned them as to why they didn’t understand that He had to be about His
Father’s business, so too here Jesus had to be about His Father’s business, and
He could not allow earthly relations to keep Him from that.
10.3.
Jesus answers
those who tell Him that His mother and brothers are wanting to see Him that His
mother and brothers are those who do God’s will, not those of His physical earthly
biological origination.
10.4.
Are you His
mother, brother, or sister? That is, are
you committed to hearing God’s word and doing it?
11.
CONCLUSIONS:
11.1.
Well, we looked at these ones who were called to be disciples, and will
one day be apostles.
11.2.
We discussed why Jesus could not have been casting out demons by the
power of Beelzebub, and we looked at how Satan in the scriptures is ‘the
strong man’. You do realize that God
has given you authority over the Devil and through Christ you too may cast him
out of one who is possessed, right?
11.3.
We looked at Jesus’ mother and brothers who were not believing and who
had come to take Him home because they thought that He had lost His mind. We have to ask ourselves whether or not we
are part of that true family of God (His mother, brothers, and sister), for are
we truly hearing the word of God and doing it?