In these days when we are seeing a reversal of values in people’s attitudes throughout the world, we might wonder why that is so and how could we correct it. For example, in recent days we have seen people in western countries refusing to condemn the atrocities committed by the terrorist group Hamas. One wonders how they could call “good” what was obviously evil.
However, in our gospel reading for today, we can see how that could take place at any time in any part of the world. When some people [the scribes] were faced with perfection, they chose to ignore the obvious and attributed the good Jesus did, to an evil source. It began with the scribes denigrating the person of Jesus.
DENIGRATING THE PERSON OF JESUS. 3:20-21
Mark 3:20 ‘Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. 21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”’ The last phrase is also translated as “beside Himself” [KJV] which is one meaning of [existēmi; ἐξίστημι meaning literally to stand beside oneself, to put out of its place; to lose or be out of one’s mind.] In other words, the crowd thought that Jesus wasn’t thinking correctly. They denigrated Him and His ministry. So His family went out to rescue Him.
BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT
How The Scribes Saw His Ministry. 3:22
3:22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” [“Possessed” is from echō; ἔχω meaning to hold or possess. Two translations use the words “He has Beelzebul” [HCSB and NRSV] but the majority have “is possessed by” or “controlled by” Beelzebul. Both mean that Jesus was being accused of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul. In other words they were saying that He was an agent of Satan and was casting out demons by the power of Satan.
How Jesus Showed The Impossibility Of That Charge Being True. 3:23-27
Mk 3:23 “And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.”
Jesus answered their criticisms in two ways. Firstly He stated that it was sheer nonsense for them to think that Satan would act against himself. Using the analogies of a kingdom and a house He described how any division within them would weaken them. Secondly, He described how His Ministry was setting people free from the power of Satan. The reason He had power over Satan was that He had bound the strong man, Satan, and people could now be free through His ministry.
THE DANGER OF COMMITTING THE ETERNAL UNFORGIVEABLE SIN. 3:28-29
Mk 3:28 “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
Jesus was saying that every sin humans commit and every blasphemy they utter can be forgiven. The writer to the Hebrews put it like this, 10:10 “And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” Jesus’s death paid the penalty for all the sins of the world. So why does He say here that there is a sin that can never be forgiven?
The sin was “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.” Jesus spoke of the coming ministry of the Holy Spirit in John 16:8-9, “And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me.” The Holy Spirit would convict people of their sin and especially the sin of not believing in Jesus. Jesus’ opponents obviously did not believe in Him, nor did they respect His ministry, as they saw it coming from an evil source. Mark emphasises this in verse 30 where he wrote, “for they were saying.” This verb is in the imperfect tense meaning that they were continuing to say, ‘he has an unclean spirit.” It wasn’t just a sudden outburst, but an ongoing attitude in their minds expressed in their words. There was no sign that they felt any repentance for what they said. His opponents needed to repent if they were to be forgiven of any sin, especially the sin against the Holy Spirit. As Jesus said to other opponents, “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Luke 13:3. While Jesus’ opponents refused to believe in Him and to repent of their sins, there was no way they could ever be forgiven. Jesus was later to say that His ministry of casting out demons was by the power of the Holy Spirit, “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” Matthew 12:28.
Jesus’ opponents saw the power of God’s kingdom at work by the Holy Spirit through His ministry and in their bias against Him attributed that power to Satan. They were calling the good that Jesus was doing by the Holy Spirit, coming from an evil source. They were in a sense calling the Holy Spirit evil and that constituted blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
JESUS’ TRUE FAMILY. It is Made Up Of All believers. 3:31-35
When Jesus was told by the crowd that His mother and brothers were outside calling for Him, He raised a question and then answered it with a very precious answer, ‘And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” 33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”’ Mark 3:31-35.
Jesus certainly had a human family comprising his mother and his brothers but He also included in His family His followers who were doing the will of God by believing in Him.
What an amazing truth that is, that those who believe in Jesus, are seen by Him as His brothers and sisters in His family.
The writer to the Hebrews expressed this truth in these words, 9 “But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honour because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. 10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, 12 saying, “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.” Hebrews 2:9-12.
God brought many sons to glory through Jesus’ suffering leading up to His death. Those who believe in Him become His brothers, members of the family of God. Those who reject Him and the salvation He came to offer, who refuse to repent of their sins, will be excluded from the family of God, forever.
Blog No.551 posted on Wednesday 08 May 2024.
holbeck 
551. Sermon Notes on Mark 3:20 – 35. “The Unforgiveable Sin.” Gospel for Sunday 09June2024
In these days when we are seeing a reversal of values in people’s attitudes throughout the world, we might wonder why that is so and how could we correct it. For example, in recent days we have seen people in western countries refusing to condemn the atrocities committed by the terrorist group Hamas. One wonders how they could call “good” what was obviously evil.
However, in our gospel reading for today, we can see how that could take place at any time in any part of the world. When some people [the scribes] were faced with perfection, they chose to ignore the obvious and attributed the good Jesus did, to an evil source. It began with the scribes denigrating the person of Jesus.
DENIGRATING THE PERSON OF JESUS. 3:20-21
Mark 3:20 ‘Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. 21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”’ The last phrase is also translated as “beside Himself” [KJV] which is one meaning of [existēmi; ἐξίστημι meaning literally to stand beside oneself, to put out of its place; to lose or be out of one’s mind.] In other words, the crowd thought that Jesus wasn’t thinking correctly. They denigrated Him and His ministry. So His family went out to rescue Him.
BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT
How The Scribes Saw His Ministry. 3:22
3:22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” [“Possessed” is from echō; ἔχω meaning to hold or possess. Two translations use the words “He has Beelzebul” [HCSB and NRSV] but the majority have “is possessed by” or “controlled by” Beelzebul. Both mean that Jesus was being accused of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul. In other words they were saying that He was an agent of Satan and was casting out demons by the power of Satan.
How Jesus Showed The Impossibility Of That Charge Being True. 3:23-27
Mk 3:23 “And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.”
Jesus answered their criticisms in two ways. Firstly He stated that it was sheer nonsense for them to think that Satan would act against himself. Using the analogies of a kingdom and a house He described how any division within them would weaken them. Secondly, He described how His Ministry was setting people free from the power of Satan. The reason He had power over Satan was that He had bound the strong man, Satan, and people could now be free through His ministry.
THE DANGER OF COMMITTING THE ETERNAL UNFORGIVEABLE SIN. 3:28-29
Mk 3:28 “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
Jesus was saying that every sin humans commit and every blasphemy they utter can be forgiven. The writer to the Hebrews put it like this, 10:10 “And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” Jesus’s death paid the penalty for all the sins of the world. So why does He say here that there is a sin that can never be forgiven?
The sin was “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.” Jesus spoke of the coming ministry of the Holy Spirit in John 16:8-9, “And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me.” The Holy Spirit would convict people of their sin and especially the sin of not believing in Jesus. Jesus’ opponents obviously did not believe in Him, nor did they respect His ministry, as they saw it coming from an evil source. Mark emphasises this in verse 30 where he wrote, “for they were saying.” This verb is in the imperfect tense meaning that they were continuing to say, ‘he has an unclean spirit.” It wasn’t just a sudden outburst, but an ongoing attitude in their minds expressed in their words. There was no sign that they felt any repentance for what they said. His opponents needed to repent if they were to be forgiven of any sin, especially the sin against the Holy Spirit. As Jesus said to other opponents, “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Luke 13:3. While Jesus’ opponents refused to believe in Him and to repent of their sins, there was no way they could ever be forgiven. Jesus was later to say that His ministry of casting out demons was by the power of the Holy Spirit, “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” Matthew 12:28.
Jesus’ opponents saw the power of God’s kingdom at work by the Holy Spirit through His ministry and in their bias against Him attributed that power to Satan. They were calling the good that Jesus was doing by the Holy Spirit, coming from an evil source. They were in a sense calling the Holy Spirit evil and that constituted blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
JESUS’ TRUE FAMILY. It is Made Up Of All believers. 3:31-35
When Jesus was told by the crowd that His mother and brothers were outside calling for Him, He raised a question and then answered it with a very precious answer, ‘And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” 33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”’ Mark 3:31-35.
Jesus certainly had a human family comprising his mother and his brothers but He also included in His family His followers who were doing the will of God by believing in Him.
What an amazing truth that is, that those who believe in Jesus, are seen by Him as His brothers and sisters in His family.
The writer to the Hebrews expressed this truth in these words, 9 “But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honour because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. 10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, 12 saying, “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.” Hebrews 2:9-12.
God brought many sons to glory through Jesus’ suffering leading up to His death. Those who believe in Him become His brothers, members of the family of God. Those who reject Him and the salvation He came to offer, who refuse to repent of their sins, will be excluded from the family of God, forever.
Blog No.551 posted on Wednesday 08 May 2024.
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About Jim Holbeck
Once an Industrial Chemist working for the Queensland Government but later an Anglican minister in Brisbane, Armidale and Sydney. Last position for eighteen years before retirement in 2006 was as the Leader of the Healing Ministry at St Andrew's Cathedral Sydney.