In brief: These so-called "teachers" come to the brilliant conclusion that Jesus is possessed by Satan, and Satan is using Jesus to cast out his own army of demons from possessing others, thereby weakening Satan himself.
Psychologists would call it self-loathing, self-hatred, or some kind of deeply-rooted guilt expressing itself.
I'm no fan of intellectualism. Generation to generation, age to age, the intellectuals have failed in society. Yet today, it's 'on the throne' - people look up to those who have advanced degrees from highly respected institutions, and who speak as though they have all the answers. Honestly, they have no sense at all.
Jesus wasn't an intellectual. He was God walking among us. Intellectualism is not wisdom. All wisdom comes from God. When we are in awe of God - when we fear Him - we're ready to start on the lifelong journey toward wisdom. Most of us - regardless of our Christian maturity - never get to the point of true awe - the healthy fear of God.
So here's Jesus being criticized by these intellectual fools for crippling Satan and demonstrating His authentic wisdom through His acts of compassion. His own family is so diluted by these 'teachers' that they believe Jesus is 'out of His mind'.
Is that what's going on today in our homes, our jobs... even our churches? Are we shooting ourselves in the foot by allowing those intellectual fools to guide our decisions?
Foreign to our society is the value of prayer, Bible study, and of love for our enemies. We don't pray, study or love in order to become intellectuals - we do so to be humbled to a point of healthy fear of the Lord. We don't do it for a short time and then graduate. We practice it all our lives to our last day on earth. And we share what we learn boldly, so that others may search the scriptures, pray and love.
Content:
Crowds gather at a home as Jesus' own family attempt to restrain Him and Scribes accuse Him of being a demon. Jesus brought them together and told them how their logic was faulty through the use of parables.
Divisions:
- Jesus' family and scribes speak out against Him (Mark 3:20-22)
- A kingdom, house, or Satan cannot stand against itself (Mark 3:23-26)
- Strong man = single-minded, cannot be acted against unless bound (Mark 3:27)
- All sins are forgiven except blasphemers against the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:28-30)
Subject Sentence:
Jesus illustrates the futility of double-mindedness, terms of forgiveness
Aim:
To cause the audience to regard their salvation higher than anything else