Sermon Notes: Mark 3:22-30
Mark 3:22-30
The Big Idea: Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus has bound Satan and will soon crush his head. Jesus is restoring what the rebellion has spoiled. For anyone to attribute this work of Jesus to Satan is to sin eternally.
Observation: What does our text say?
Key words and phrases:
Scribes from Jerusalem / He is had by Beelzebul, prince of demons, Satan, strong man / Plunder / Parables / Blasphemies, blasphemes / Holy Spirit / Forgiven, forgiveness / Eternal sin
Contrasts or comparisons:
Comparison (drawing on the previous text we studied) – The scribes accuse Jesus like Jesus’ family accuse Jesus.
Comparison/Contrast – Both Jesus’ family and the scribes are trying to make sense of Jesus, but their accusations are not equal. I recognize this is a little interpretive not just observation.
Contrast – Jesus’ family believes Jesus is out of his mind. They don’t believe. Contrast that with the scribe’s accusation that Jesus is doing his work with Satanic power. These accusations are not equal.
Contrast – We need to contrast Jesus’ actual work with people’s perception of his work. Jesus is Yahweh in the flesh, and he is not crazy or had by Beelzebul. As Yahweh in the flesh, Jesus is operating in his own power with the Father and Spirit’s fellowship and help.
Perception is not reality, in spite of what we hear as a “truism”. Perceptions, if wrong, need to be adjusted or withheld until people know facts. People only say that when they are justifying their own perceptions they have not bothered to question.
Believing Jesus to be crazy or Satanic are both sins, and the sins are not equal, but nonetheless, sin.
Expressions of time:
In verse 27 Mark uses “then” to connect the actions of binding the strong man to plundering the strong man’s house. In other words, only after binding the strong man can one then plunder his kingdom. Binding must precede plundering. Jesus binds then plunders.
This expression of time shows us order or sequence of action.
NOTE: What did Jesus tell us in Matthew 16 and 18 about gospel work and dealing with sin? Bind then loose.
Purpose clauses/terms of conclusion:
In verse 30 John Mark uses the purpose clause “for” to make clear the reason the scribes had committed an eternal sin.
The scribes were saying Jesus has an unclean spirit, particularly the prince of demons, Beelzebul, who Jesus equates to Satan.
What does the text say? Summary of the text.
Scribes have come from Jerusalem because the word about Jesus has spread far and wide. But the scribes have come to accuse Jesus of being possessed by Beelzebul as the reason he’s able to do the miraculous works of healing, casting out unclean spirits, and speaking with authoritative power.
Jesus calls “them” to himself, and it seems the “them” includes the scribes as well as others who have been gathering around his home, and he answers the scribe’s accusation in the form of parables. Jesus does not owe them an explanation, but he answers them in stories to set beside their accusations in order to show the folly of what they are accusing Jesus of.
Jesus tells them it does not make sense for Satan to cast himself out of his kingdom/house. In fact, Jesus tells them the only way Satan is getting the boot is because he, the strong man, is being bound by the stronger Son of God, Jesus.
Jesus tells “them” that God is gracious to forgive all manner of blasphemies. A blasphemy is slander or defamation of someone or something. God is gracious to forgive all manner of slander against himself that men commit.
However, to accuse Jesus of doing the work of his kingdom by the power of Satan is to accuse the Son of God of high treason, of not being powerful enough to overcome one of his own rebellious creatures, of being on the same level as a creature, and thus bowing down to and capitulating to Satan by using his power. Jesus calls this blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, an eternal sin.
The eternal sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit is not merely unbelief (interpretive).
Jesus is gracious and kind to pardon unbelief, he does that all the time when an unbeliever repents. However, to accuse Jesus of ruling by the power of Satan is an eternal sin, one that necessarily leads to death (see 1 John 5:16).
Interpretation: What does our text mean?
1. The sin of the scribes is not the result of a lack of proof.
I’m concluding this because we have almost three full chapters of Jesus doing works for the eyes of people, testimony of his work by synagogue leaders and people all over.
The scribes have not sinned like this because Jesus has not provided enough proof.
We can also say, I believe, unbelief in general is not the result of a lack of proof.
Jesus has been proving himself in front of the eyes of multitudes of people. His family, the scribes, and other leaders have seen the same miracles, exorcisms, and heard Jesus’ preaching like others who believed.
Unbelief is a function of a heart being owned by the dark kingdom and refusing to repent and worship Jesus. Unbelief is a function of being bound to Beelzebul, and that person is in need of Jesus plundering the kingdom of Beelzebul and setting that captive free through them hearing the good news and repenting.
Unbelief is rooted in a cold heart of stone that is dead to God, and unless it is quickened by the preaching of the good news, it will stay dead to God in unbelief.
No amount of proofs can rip out a heart of stone. Proofs may assist the proclamation of the good news. Faith is not blind, if it were, God would not have given us the witness of the gospel of Mark.
Faith is always reasonable. But reasonable, logical proofs are never enough by themselves to vanquish unbelief.
2. Jesus is the Son of God, and it makes no sense to accuse him of being empowered by Satan. V. 23-27
The scribes accuse Jesus of being (echei) had, under the power of, Beelzebul.
See the appendix for a little more insight on who Beelzebul is.
Do know this, Beelzebul means “lord of an exalted house”, and the fact that Jesus responds in verse 27 to this accusation of being had by the “lord of an exalted house”, by declaring what he’s doing by plundering the “lord of an exalted house” is just epic. This is a verbal smackdown of the scribe’s accusation that matches his actual plundering of Beelzebul and his minions.
Jesus is declaring he is the One, and it’s evident that he’s the Son of God by his work.
Jesus teaching that to accuse him of operating in Satan’s power is to slander the Holy Spirit tells, us something important.
That’s the next interpretive point.
3. The Holy Spirit witnesses to Jesus’ identity as the Son of God (see John 14-16), and to make the accusation that Jesus is operating by Satan’s power is to slander the witness of the Spirit, and Jesus says this is an eternal sin.
Listen to James Edwards comment: “This is “an eternal sin” (v. 29) since anyone who, willingly or not, cannot distinguish evil from good and good from evil, darkness from light and light from darkness, is beyond the pale of repentance. “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness” (Isa 5:20).”[1]
What the scribes are accusing Jesus of is not merely unbelief. Jesus’ family does not believe, but James the Lord’s brother, will become the first martyr for his belief in Jesus. James will repent of his unbelief, and he will be saved.
So, unbelief is not an eternal sin. Unbelief can be cured by the regenerative work of the good news.
Jesus is clear that the Lord forgives all sins and slanders against God, except one.
1 John 5:16 (ESV) 16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that.
According to John, there is sin that does not lead to death, and there is sin that leads to death, and is not something we pray for.
This is not an indication of any lack of power in the good news. It is an indication that God himself is holy, he has boundaries, and he is completely good.
The world’s tendency is to try and tame Jesus or ignore some of his preaching that doesn’t fit the Jesus the world has created in its own image and sensitivities. Jesus does not allow that. We must not allow that.
That is what the scribes wanted. They wanted a Jesus who would be king over Ceasar and under their thumb and in their image and likeness, not a King who is God in the flesh and would rebuke their system of believed lies. So, they accused Jesus of being filled with Satan.
Jesus said this sin slandered the person of the Holy Spirit, and this sin is eternal, a sin there was no coming back from.
4. Jesus has plundered the kingdom of Satan, and he has taken captive a host of those who will repent and believe. V. 27
Jesus makes a strong statement about who he is as the Son of God and what he has done.
The strong man is Satan, and the fact that the Son of God is casting out unclean spirits is evidence that Jesus is the Son of God and has bound Satan’s power, and that the good news is the news about who he is and his powerful rule.
People don’t have to be enslaved to the dark kingdom anymore.
Good news connection: How do we see the person and work of Jesus?
1. Jesus is the unique Son of God, Creator, God in the flesh, and he has put his foot on the head of the Serpent Dragon, crushed him, and his plundering his kingdom by saving his captives and healing what has been broken.
Application: What does our text require of me?
1. Believe!
Don’t persist in unbelief.
2. I need to have a holy and healthy fear of what I say about Jesus and attribute to Jesus.
It is a little shocking that the scribes can just pop in and see the obvious power of God and attribute it to Satan. No fear of God cloaked in a fake fear of God.
It’s far too easy to co-op Jesus to my thing or my sensitivity to justify myself. Be careful to not do that with Jesus.
Jesus won’t let that stand for long. If Jesus won’t let the elements of the Supper be mistreated, how much more misusing his name by wrongly applying it to something he’s not for.
“Holy is your name”.
Further, if I go too far and attribute to Jesus something that is Satanic in nature, I’m stepping into a place that is dangerous, and frankly I can’t tell you that will be ok.
3. I need to make sure I join Jesus and fully get myself on his agenda and get rid of my agenda.
The scribes have been coopted by the Pharisees, and the scribes have allowed the dark agenda of the Serpent to infiltrate whatever good they were about, and that infiltration has resulted in their work and their individual selves to become “had” by the Serpent in such a way they are sons of the Serpent. They are now doing is bidding, and they believe they are doing God’s bidding. Completely deceived.
I need to always make sure I am on God’s side, working according to God’s agenda.
How do I do this?
Psalm 119:11 (ESV) 11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
Repetition is how I store up God’s word in my heart, and when I let his word have its way in me, I can be sure I am learning to walk in God’s agenda.
Appendix:
Who is Beelzebul?
The identity of Beelzebul is found at the intersection of Canaanite religion, Israelite arguments against the false religions of Canann, and Second Temple Judaism’s teaching about demons. Beelzebul is the Greek version of Ba’al Zebul.
You may run across the name Ba’al Zebub sometimes. The difference between these two is Zebul versus Zebub. Ba’al Zebub means "Lord of the flies". This entity is the god of Ekron mentioned in 2 Kings 1:2-6. In 2 Kings 1:2-6, Ahaziah is said to have consulted Ba’al Zebub rather than YHWH.
The original Canaanite name associated with Ba’al was Ba'al Zebul, which means "Lord of the exalted house". Zebul in Hebrew means "lofty dwelling" (1 Kings 8:13; Hab. 3:11; Ps. 49:15 LXX). This would make Ba'al Zebul a title of cosmic rule. So, the Beelzebul Mark and Matthew mentions is the Ba’al of the Old Testament who is believed to be a deity by Canaanites, and the one Israel has to constantly battle.
Beelzebub is an intentional Israelite demeaning of Ba’al Zebul. What the author is doing is calling Ba’al Zebul, Ba’al Zebub, and that is to say Ba’al is lord of the flies on a pile of dung. He’s demeaning Ba’al by making fun of his name and equating his kingdom to that of dung and the flies that swarm that pile.
By the time of the NT, Beelzebul has become a title for the ruler of demons. So, Beelzebul is the son of El and Ashera or Dagon and Ashera (not clear which couple he is the son of) who rules over the demons.
Now, we have already identified the demons. No need to do that again. And Jesus' response in Mark 3 equates Beelzebul with Satan: "Ho can Satan cast out Satan...", meaning the Pharisees' accusation that Jesus is held (exei) by Beelzebul and by that power Jesus is casting out demons and healing people. This is a serious accusation. They are witnessing the Son of God, Yahweh in the flesh, the Second Person of the Trinity, Creator Jesus, do the work of his kingdom, and rather than believe, they attribute his work to the Canaanite counterfeit son of El, Ba’al.
[1] James R. Edwards, The Gospel according to Mark, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2002), 123.