1 Samuel 8.4-15 Mark 3.20-35
Last week I gave an introduction to the diverse society in which Jesus lived - Greek heritage, dominant Roman Empire, several different religions with factions within the Jewish faith, struggling to maintain the importance of the Temple, their identity as God’s chosen people, hoping that Yahweh will restore the land to them. We then looked at the reading from Mark’s gospel in which Mark is revealing Jesus as lord of the Sabbath, pointing to his divinity - for God had ordained the sabbath and only God can be lord of it. Jesus is bringing in something new which will be beyond rules, pointing to a new relationship with God, a relationship of love and without fear. Bit by bit Mark is opening up the fullness of Jesus’s identity, dismantling the faith scaffolding that people had constructed their lives around.
In today’s passage Mark opens up more of who Jesus is and it starts with a misidentification of Jesus by his family and by the scribes, the teachers of the law.
I wonder if you have ever been embarrassed by a family member? There is something that they say or do which makes you squirm, sends shivers down your back? You die of shame and want a big hole to swallow you up or preferably swallow them up. I knew of a family with two daughters and a son who was rather a rogue. In the village setting that they lived, whenever some wrong had been done, the finger was always pointed at that son, much to the embarrassment and chagrin of the daughters. Eventually he had to leave the country but one of his sisters especially never got over the fear of the gossip, the sideways looks, the whispered conversations, the pointing of the finger. In some societies it is even worse, with blatant accusations, harsh words, insults, swearing and even violence against you and your family. We have all heard of the honour killings that families do to each other in some cultures. And it can start so easily - I remember the isolation of Coventry in a school setting - Not talking to a boy, avoiding his company, and acting as if he no longer existed. Being afraid of difference, of standing out from the crowd, of bucking the trend are fears that drive families to isolate individuals, lock them away, strap them down, silence them so that society does not condemn. This is what it seems Jesus’ family wished to do to him. They went out to restrain him - and the Greek verb is a violent one - for people were saying “He has gone out of his mind”.
That is a huge accusation, an enormous condemnation which in some societies would result in you being put away in a lunatic asylum. What had Jesus done? He had forgiven the sins of a paralytic - something only God could do - and then healed him. He had taught about the Kingdom of God being present, God being real and among us. But his teaching was contrary to the Torah, which represented the revealed will of God. So in the eyes of the scribes, and these were important scribes from Jerusalem, he could not be from God. So although he backed up his teaching with demonstrations of immense power including over demonic spirits, the scribes’ only conclusion was that he was using demonic powers. This was so contrary to the truth. The demonic spirits recognised him, declaring that he was the Son of God (see Mark 3.11, 5.7). They knew him and he could recognise them, and communicate with them. That was spiritual discernment, a gift that some Christians have. (Demonic spirits still exist today and we deny their presence at our peril.) Jesus had complete control over them, they had no alternative but to obey him. Mark is revealing the divinity of Jesus. But the scribes were out of their depth and did not understand how Jesus could do this. Driving out demonic spirits is a supernatural gift, and it can be frightening. You cannot do it without the authority of Jesus. If you try in your own strength then you risk running into the same problems that the seven sons of Sceva ran into - read it in Acts 19.13-17 (the man with the demon turned on them and beat them up.)
In answering the scribes’ accusations Jesus tells them a parable, pointing out that if Satan is casting out his own demons then Satan’s kingdom is divided, he cannot stand and his end has come. This is absurd. Satan’s kingdom is not breaking up from internal strife but, and the but in verse 27 leads to this, “but no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man”. Satan’s kingdom is being broken by someone stronger - Jesus. Mark is declaring the sovereignty of Jesus not just over individual demonic spirits but over all of Satan’s authority and kingdom. And that is still true today.
In the next verse, Mark then follows this with a strong statement from Jesus, introduced by the word, truly - i.e. what I am about to say is of utmost importance and you must believe it - “whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.” From the context, Mark is interpreting this as the deliberate refusal to acknowledge the activity of God’s Holy Spirit in Jesus’ ministry. It is the attitude that makes a man attribute the work of God to Satan and thereby confuse goodness and evil, truth and falsehood. This fixed obstinate attitude forms a permanent obstacle between the man and God. Sadly the scribes, the guardians of orthodoxy and upholders of the Torah fall into this category, and by their attitude are themselves condemned.
The final verses return to the waiting Mary. Visits, especially those made out of concern or vulnerability, can bring personal insight and a renegotiation of the relationship. It seems that Mary may have waited some time to connect with her son and then gets what seems a rebuke, a turning away from her, the one who had borne him and raised him. But the point that Jesus makes is one of more, not less connection and an extension of family rather than a rejection of blood relatives, even if they disagree with him. Mary is a constant and strong presence in the gospels, right up until the end, when the witnessing of the torture and execution of her son must be more than a mother can bear. She has learned to share Jesus with everyone else, a painful and no doubt disorientating vocation for any mother. Mary is a figure for the rest of us to find inspiration in, as she bears God into the world, and carries the presence of Christ as the first evangelist in a waiting world.
So what about us? Remember that Jesus is Lord over all evil, Satan cannot touch us because Jesus has claimed us for his own. We are his. That does not mean you can go and do what you like, and sin and sin again. No, we are called to love God and each other and in that to receive God’s love and allow that to change us so that we do not sin. Declaring and thanking Jesus for what he does for us is important, so thank him for those answered prayers, that help you received, that peace, that joy, that healing, that guidance and support. Finally remember we are all part of Jesus’ family. Jesus connects with each one of us. Praise him for each other, we are brothers and sisters together, and if one of us is rather absurd about their faith, has spiritual experiences that seem outlandish, pray for guidance for them and grace for yourself. It may be that God is doing a new work of the Holy Spirit, that the experiences are authentic and from God, revealing more of his passionate love for us, for this world that he created.
Amen.