A Kingdom Divided March 12
Mark 3:22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebub,” and, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.”
23 So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan?
The scribes, speaking among themselves, acknowledge Jesus’ power to cast out demons. Since Jesus does not act according to their beliefs, He must be using the powers of the devil. They use the Hebrew word Beelzebub, “Baal (lord) of the flies,” a Philistine god.
“By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.” Rather than giving God the glory through Jesus, they assign the miracle to one who opposes God.
We assign a proper name to Strong’s Greek G457 or Hebrew H7854, “satan.” The word means adversary. In the Old Testament, an article such as “the” or “an” is often supplied when speaking of adversaries to men, but the article is dropped when speaking of this adversary of God. The proper name “Satan” is used.
For lack of evidence to support their own superiority over Jesus, the scribes resort to name calling. When ammunition for a good argument fails, we have a tendency to resort to personal attacks.
Based on His knowledge of one Creator and one Creation, there is but one kingdom. This has been true from the Beginning. Jesus neither becomes angry nor resorts to alienating slurs.
Jesus calls the scribes back to God’s kingdom. He calls them to Himself, as He calls each of us.
Plundering Satan March 13
Mark 3:23 So He called them to Himself 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 cannot stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. 27 No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.
The scribes live in a scary world. They attribute to God’s adversary great power, and there are none on earth to overcome that power. Not even the righteous of Israel can perform such deeds.
The scribes, Pharisees, and others who stand before the people in opposition to the true nature of God are satans, literal adversaries. God is love, goodness, and mercy. Those in opposition to Him stand against these attributes.
If those in opposition to God also oppose themselves, their whole movement must collapse. An adversary cannot war against his own forces.
In verse 27, Jesus states that the scribes’ acknowledgment that He has cast out demons is proof that Jesus has bound the “strong man,” Satan. The Pharisees inadvertently confirm that Jesus has overpowered Satan.
The Kingdom of God has indeed arrived. The house of those opposed will fall. This is a warning to those who stand against the trinity of love, light, and truth.
Jesus has plundered Satan’s goods, freed men from the hold of the adversary of God.
All Forgiven March 14
Mark 3:28 “Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter;
Jesus says, “I say to you…,” as a preface to a new doctrine, one that has not been taught. And we can imagine His tone changing as He makes a new promise at the same time that He gives a stern warning.
Jesus makes an extraordinary statement here when he says, “all sins will be forgiven…” This is an assurance that many people do not accept at face value.
When we ask forgiveness of people, we sometimes will find we are not forgiven. Jesus’ statement assures us that God forgives ALL sins.
This is not a totally new doctrine, for there are multiple statements in the Old Testament to this effect. A few follow:
“As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Ps. 103:12).
“’Come now, and let us reason together,’
Says the Lord,
‘Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool’” (Is. 1:18).
“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake;
And I will not remember your sins” (Is. 43:25). And Is. 38:17, Ez. 18:22)
God sees a picture much larger than we can imagine. He sees the context of our lives and knows the frailty of our hearts.
But God does not force heaven upon us. We can choose. So He makes an exception to the “all sins will be forgiven.”
The Exception March 15
Mark 3:29 …but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”— 30 because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
The conjunction, “but,” lets us know there is an exception to what God will forgive: “…but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation.”
Matthew 12:31-32 and Luke 12:10 also state the unpardonable sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 12:24 and Mark 3:22 both show an example of what blasphemy against the Spirit might look like. The Pharisees attribute the divine work of the Holy Spirit through Jesus to being the work of the Satan. This is blasphemy.
In verse 30, Mark explains “because they (the scribes) said, ‘He (Jesus) has an unclean spirit.’” Therefore, they were ascribing the work of the Spirit to Satan. Mark says this is blasphemy against the Spirit.
This is Satan’s sin against God. It is the serpent’s lie in the Garden. It is Satan’s assassination of God’s character, replacing it with his own.
Verse 30 leads us to believe that only this particular sin is unforgiven. ALL other sins are forgiven if we understand this correctly.
This is where we must tread carefully, because we are told multiple times in the Gospels of another sin that is unforgiven.
The sin of unforgiveness is also unforgiven: Matt. 6:15, Matt. 18:35, and Mark 11:26. Perhaps we can reconcile this with the fact that while we are holding the spirit of unforgiveness, we are refusing the Holy Spirit to have presence within us. This keeps us from being one with God.
Also consider: Can God hold unforgiveness without damage to His character?
Pray for understanding on this. Be open to understanding these words in Mark so that there is no conflict when we read other verses in Mark or in other Gospels that may seem to conflict.
Family March 16
Mark 3:31 Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. 32 And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You.”
We saw in Mark 3:21 that Jesus’ brothers have heard what Jesus is doing and have come to, shall we say, rescue Him. They believe Jesus has lost His mind, speaking against the religious authorities and causing a stir among the people. This is crazy, and they must prevent Jesus from further embarrassment of Himself and His family.
Mary, Jesus’ mother, is with them. She loves her son like a mother and will be where He is should He need a mother’s support. The brothers’ agenda and hers are different.
In this passage, Jesus’ mother and brothers have arrived after the crowd has filled and surrounded the building. The brothers are on the outside. This is both literal and figurative.
The brothers are among those who do not know or do not comprehend their brother. They do not attempt to enter, to understand Him, but send someone else to tell Jesus they are outside. Indeed, their focus is on the outside, and they refuse to go within.
Jesus has made a choice. He was born again and spent forty days in the wilderness shedding the skin of His old life. He has a larger family now, and He will welcome all as family, but none have authority to change His course.
A Larger Family March 17
Mark 3:33 But He answered them, saying, “Who is My mother, or My brothers?” 34 And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.”
Jesus seeks first (and always) the kingdom of God (Matt. 6:33). This kingdom is populated by those who do the will of God.
This is not to be misconstrued as works oriented, that a person obeying the commands is automatically in fellowship with Christ as a brother or sister. We are to understand that relationship through the Spirit creates a spiritual family, and we will know them by their fruit.
Faith is the root and stem, obedience is the flower, and the fruit of the Spirit, love, flows forth abundantly.
Family, friends, and others who lay claim to a person often place roadblocks or detours on their journey to the Oneness with God that brings the peace that passes all understanding (Phil. 4:7). This peace is as foreign to the physical world as the miracles that Jesus has performed.
Jesus’ inner peace allows Him to respond with love to those who attack Him. He can also forgive those who think they are doing what is best for Him even as they try to hinder His mission.
Jesus breaks down the wall surrounding the concept of family. “Family” now encompasses everyone who does the will of the Father, all who love the Father and love one another.
We are always all family. Family members love one another through kinship, and we are all kin.
The Generous Sower March 18
Mark 4:1 And again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. 2 Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:
3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds [a]of the air came and devoured it. 5 Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. 7 And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8 But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
9 And He said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
Jesus is teaching, but He is using a parable as the medium for His message. Verses 10-12 tell us why He is using parables in His teaching. Verses 13 – 20 tell us the meaning of the types of soil upon which the seed fall.
The sower is God, at least in the sense that God is the Creator of all and the source of all. The seed is the Word of God.
Jesus is also the Word, showing us God made flesh (John 1:1-3). And here in the parable, Jesus is the sower of the seed. He has come to do the work of the Father, and to rightly represent Him.
And when Jesus leaves, He does not desert His followers but sends the Holy Spirit to guide them in sowing the seed.
The sower is generous in dispersing his seed. He does not determine in advance the nature of the soil. He will not allow any land to not be productive if it is capable of bearing fruit. And He will not prejudge.
Next day
Mark 3:22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebub,” and, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.”
23 So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan?
The scribes, speaking among themselves, acknowledge Jesus’ power to cast out demons. Since Jesus does not act according to their beliefs, He must be using the powers of the devil. They use the Hebrew word Beelzebub, “Baal (lord) of the flies,” a Philistine god.
“By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.” Rather than giving God the glory through Jesus, they assign the miracle to one who opposes God.
We assign a proper name to Strong’s Greek G457 or Hebrew H7854, “satan.” The word means adversary. In the Old Testament, an article such as “the” or “an” is often supplied when speaking of adversaries to men, but the article is dropped when speaking of this adversary of God. The proper name “Satan” is used.
For lack of evidence to support their own superiority over Jesus, the scribes resort to name calling. When ammunition for a good argument fails, we have a tendency to resort to personal attacks.
Based on His knowledge of one Creator and one Creation, there is but one kingdom. This has been true from the Beginning. Jesus neither becomes angry nor resorts to alienating slurs.
Jesus calls the scribes back to God’s kingdom. He calls them to Himself, as He calls each of us.
Plundering Satan March 13
Mark 3:23 So He called them to Himself 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 cannot stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. 27 No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.
The scribes live in a scary world. They attribute to God’s adversary great power, and there are none on earth to overcome that power. Not even the righteous of Israel can perform such deeds.
The scribes, Pharisees, and others who stand before the people in opposition to the true nature of God are satans, literal adversaries. God is love, goodness, and mercy. Those in opposition to Him stand against these attributes.
If those in opposition to God also oppose themselves, their whole movement must collapse. An adversary cannot war against his own forces.
In verse 27, Jesus states that the scribes’ acknowledgment that He has cast out demons is proof that Jesus has bound the “strong man,” Satan. The Pharisees inadvertently confirm that Jesus has overpowered Satan.
The Kingdom of God has indeed arrived. The house of those opposed will fall. This is a warning to those who stand against the trinity of love, light, and truth.
Jesus has plundered Satan’s goods, freed men from the hold of the adversary of God.
All Forgiven March 14
Mark 3:28 “Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter;
Jesus says, “I say to you…,” as a preface to a new doctrine, one that has not been taught. And we can imagine His tone changing as He makes a new promise at the same time that He gives a stern warning.
Jesus makes an extraordinary statement here when he says, “all sins will be forgiven…” This is an assurance that many people do not accept at face value.
When we ask forgiveness of people, we sometimes will find we are not forgiven. Jesus’ statement assures us that God forgives ALL sins.
This is not a totally new doctrine, for there are multiple statements in the Old Testament to this effect. A few follow:
“As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Ps. 103:12).
“’Come now, and let us reason together,’
Says the Lord,
‘Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool’” (Is. 1:18).
“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake;
And I will not remember your sins” (Is. 43:25). And Is. 38:17, Ez. 18:22)
God sees a picture much larger than we can imagine. He sees the context of our lives and knows the frailty of our hearts.
But God does not force heaven upon us. We can choose. So He makes an exception to the “all sins will be forgiven.”
The Exception March 15
Mark 3:29 …but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”— 30 because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
The conjunction, “but,” lets us know there is an exception to what God will forgive: “…but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation.”
Matthew 12:31-32 and Luke 12:10 also state the unpardonable sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 12:24 and Mark 3:22 both show an example of what blasphemy against the Spirit might look like. The Pharisees attribute the divine work of the Holy Spirit through Jesus to being the work of the Satan. This is blasphemy.
In verse 30, Mark explains “because they (the scribes) said, ‘He (Jesus) has an unclean spirit.’” Therefore, they were ascribing the work of the Spirit to Satan. Mark says this is blasphemy against the Spirit.
This is Satan’s sin against God. It is the serpent’s lie in the Garden. It is Satan’s assassination of God’s character, replacing it with his own.
Verse 30 leads us to believe that only this particular sin is unforgiven. ALL other sins are forgiven if we understand this correctly.
This is where we must tread carefully, because we are told multiple times in the Gospels of another sin that is unforgiven.
The sin of unforgiveness is also unforgiven: Matt. 6:15, Matt. 18:35, and Mark 11:26. Perhaps we can reconcile this with the fact that while we are holding the spirit of unforgiveness, we are refusing the Holy Spirit to have presence within us. This keeps us from being one with God.
Also consider: Can God hold unforgiveness without damage to His character?
Pray for understanding on this. Be open to understanding these words in Mark so that there is no conflict when we read other verses in Mark or in other Gospels that may seem to conflict.
Family March 16
Mark 3:31 Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. 32 And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You.”
We saw in Mark 3:21 that Jesus’ brothers have heard what Jesus is doing and have come to, shall we say, rescue Him. They believe Jesus has lost His mind, speaking against the religious authorities and causing a stir among the people. This is crazy, and they must prevent Jesus from further embarrassment of Himself and His family.
Mary, Jesus’ mother, is with them. She loves her son like a mother and will be where He is should He need a mother’s support. The brothers’ agenda and hers are different.
In this passage, Jesus’ mother and brothers have arrived after the crowd has filled and surrounded the building. The brothers are on the outside. This is both literal and figurative.
The brothers are among those who do not know or do not comprehend their brother. They do not attempt to enter, to understand Him, but send someone else to tell Jesus they are outside. Indeed, their focus is on the outside, and they refuse to go within.
Jesus has made a choice. He was born again and spent forty days in the wilderness shedding the skin of His old life. He has a larger family now, and He will welcome all as family, but none have authority to change His course.
A Larger Family March 17
Mark 3:33 But He answered them, saying, “Who is My mother, or My brothers?” 34 And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.”
Jesus seeks first (and always) the kingdom of God (Matt. 6:33). This kingdom is populated by those who do the will of God.
This is not to be misconstrued as works oriented, that a person obeying the commands is automatically in fellowship with Christ as a brother or sister. We are to understand that relationship through the Spirit creates a spiritual family, and we will know them by their fruit.
Faith is the root and stem, obedience is the flower, and the fruit of the Spirit, love, flows forth abundantly.
Family, friends, and others who lay claim to a person often place roadblocks or detours on their journey to the Oneness with God that brings the peace that passes all understanding (Phil. 4:7). This peace is as foreign to the physical world as the miracles that Jesus has performed.
Jesus’ inner peace allows Him to respond with love to those who attack Him. He can also forgive those who think they are doing what is best for Him even as they try to hinder His mission.
Jesus breaks down the wall surrounding the concept of family. “Family” now encompasses everyone who does the will of the Father, all who love the Father and love one another.
We are always all family. Family members love one another through kinship, and we are all kin.
The Generous Sower March 18
Mark 4:1 And again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. 2 Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:
3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds [a]of the air came and devoured it. 5 Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. 7 And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8 But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
9 And He said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
Jesus is teaching, but He is using a parable as the medium for His message. Verses 10-12 tell us why He is using parables in His teaching. Verses 13 – 20 tell us the meaning of the types of soil upon which the seed fall.
The sower is God, at least in the sense that God is the Creator of all and the source of all. The seed is the Word of God.
Jesus is also the Word, showing us God made flesh (John 1:1-3). And here in the parable, Jesus is the sower of the seed. He has come to do the work of the Father, and to rightly represent Him.
And when Jesus leaves, He does not desert His followers but sends the Holy Spirit to guide them in sowing the seed.
The sower is generous in dispersing his seed. He does not determine in advance the nature of the soil. He will not allow any land to not be productive if it is capable of bearing fruit. And He will not prejudge.
Next day