Two Journeys

Stephen delivers his dramatic and compelling defense against the false charges of the Jews. They respond by stoning him to death.

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Pastor Andy Davis preached the Parable of the Soils, Mark 4:1-20, and expanded on the central issue of how God's word is received and the responses to the truth of the Gospel.

 Turn in your Bibles to Mark chapter 4, we’re going to be walking through it today. In Luke 19:10, Jesus declared the central calling of his life, the reason that he entered the world. There are many such purpose statements that Jesus gives or that are given about Jesus. All of them tend toward the same thing, but in Luke 19:10, he said, “The son of man came to seek and to save what was lost.” He’s talking about human beings who have been lost through sin and who are in danger of being eternally lost through judgment and condemnation. Jesus came to save people from that.

He then committed to us the ministry of reconciliation. He committed to us the gospel ministry, as at the end of this beautiful gospel of Mark, in Mark 15 and 16, when he said to them, “Go into all the worlds and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. Whoever does not believe will be condemned.” He came to rescue individuals so that they will be saved and not condemn. That’s the central work that we’re left here on earth to do as a church and as individuals. It’s for this reason that I zeroed in a number of weeks ago, as we moved through the Gospel of Mark, on this marvelous statement, Mark 1:17, “Jesus said to his early disciples, ‘Come follow me and I will make you to become fishers of men.’” That’s been on our minds, and now as we come to Mark 4, we have a tremendous opportunity to learn more about that, what it means to be fishers of men. That’s just one metaphor. The metaphor today is agricultural, and regards what we’re left in the world to do. But now that question comes to us, “What should we expect as we do this work? What should we expect as we preach the gospel?” That’s a vital question.

It may seem strange to us as we look around the world that we live in, the 21st century world, that the gospel hasn’t done better over 20 centuries. That it seems like, percentage wise, the church of Jesus Christ is so small. The overwhelming majority of the people of this world do not believe in Christ. Very, very many of them have never even heard about him. How do we understand that?

In 1993, Christie and I took our two children at that time, Nathaniel and Jenny, with us as missionaries to the country of Japan. We flew into Japan, and we spent our first night in the Baptist mission home in Tokyo. Then we were there for a couple of days in that vast city. 10% of the Japanese population, roughly, lives in the city of Tokyo. It’s a massive city. We got a sense of the scope of that great city, there were over 12 million people living in Tokyo in 1993, closer to 14 million now. However, only 0.2% of the Japanese population are Evangelical Christians, 0.2%. That’s two out of a thousand, and Christianity has been in Japan since the year 1549. That’s almost five centuries, 500 years, 0.2%. If Jesus really is the son of God, then why are so few people in Japan Christians?

Worldwide, the generous estimate of people who do this kind of statistical work is that Evangelical Christians make up about 8% of the world’s population, eight out of a hundred. So when we come to the task of evangelism, we’re faced with the crushing fact that so few people that we share with respond favorably to the gospel.

So as we move ahead in a commitment to evangelism, our expectation is vital. If we assume that almost everyone who hears the true gospel will respond favorably, should respond favorably, and then they don’t - we see a scanty response - we might be strongly tempted to question our whole approach, including the message itself. We might want to change the message and methodology to make it more market friendly. Many so-called Christian leaders are constantly in a pattern, a feedback loop pattern of this kind of evaluation, to tailor the message and the methods to make it more popular for best results. The result often of that feedback loop processing is a synthetic seed coming out of the gospel of their imaginations, truly a false gospel, and all because they expected that the gospel of the kingdom of Christ, if it is the true one, would result in a vastly successful response in the human heart. Today’s text, the parable of the soils, has everything needed to destroy that false expectation. Three of the four soils described here produced literally no fruit, ultimately, for the kingdom. Three of the four result in no harvest, no crop, no fruit of eternal consequence. It doesn’t mean the sower of the seed did a bad job, or that there’s something wrong with the seed. This is Jesus’ expectation for the spread of the gospel, a realistic appraisal of what we can expect, what will happen as we evangelize until he returns.

Let’s begin by talking about the parables. This in Mark’s Gospel, this is where we begin. In Mark’s look at some of Jesus’s teaching ministry, you find that you get far more in the other Gospels than you do in Mark. Mark’s more of an action Gospel, but this is the chapter where you get a good extended look at some of Jesus’s teachings. The context of the parables themselves, as a manner of teaching, is the apparently poor response to the gospel even then. From the beginning, the response was less than we might have expected. Of course, there are huge crowds. I mean, you get it right away. Look at verse 1, “Again, Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around and was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out in the lake while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge.” But the more you look closely and you read other key passages of the scripture, analyzing what’s really going on in the hearts of those people, most of them weren’t there for the teachings, actually had very little interest in the teachings. They were near Jesus for the good stuff, that being the healings, the exorcisms, the miracles, and occasional feeding is nice, and a pretty dramatic show. I mean, there’s never been anyone like Jesus. Not to mention the feeling of desperation that comes on individuals that are hurting, physically hurting, and they’re in pain every day, or they’re incapable of working because they’re paralyzed, or they’re blind, or something like that. Or their loved ones, their caregivers, want that problem solved, and if somebody can address it, that’s all they care about.

So the question was pressing, “If Jesus really is the Son of God, then why are so few people really believing in him?” To the insiders who are in the house that Jesus is in at the end of Mark 3, he says, “Here is my mother and my brothers. Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” It’s just a very, very small group of people. So the answer to that question, “Why are so few people responding spiritually to the actual teachings Jesus was giving?” This parable, and the parables in general, look at verse 2, it says, “He taught them many things by parables.” Later in this chapter, it’s going to say, “He did not say anything to them without using a parable.” This was his teaching methodology. 

What is a parable? The word comes from the Greek “para” + “bole” which means “to lay alongside this”.  The concept is to teach something about the invisible spiritual kingdom of God by something that we do know in the physical realm of this world, and to lay the physical thing we are familiar with alongside the spiritual thing being illustrated, so we can understand the invisible spiritual kingdom of God. That’s what parables are. It’s a “laying alongside”. You’re taking something practical, something physical, something you do understand, and then from that, you can understand something about the invisible kingdom of God. That’s a parable. Basically, fundamentally it’s, “This is like that.” You can compare the two and you can get some aspect of the kingdom of God.

Parables both conceal and reveal. We’re going to talk about that more later in this very chapter in Mark 4.  Now keep in mind, Jesus is surrounded by enemies who oppose him, who actually hate him. Not everyone hated him, not at all, but he has some key leaders, the Scribes and Pharisees, who come down from Jerusalem who are evaluating his miracles. They don’t deny in any way he’s doing amazing miracles.  How could they? But they believe that the explanation, the source of his supernatural power, is Satan himself, as we talked about in the last couple of sermons. 

So Jesus begins now in Mark 4 to act in judgment, in judgment against those of his own generation for that evaluation. The parables are clearly portrayed as a work of judgment from God on the hearers. The judgment is the concealing aspect of the parable. He’s hiding things from them by teaching them only in parables. Look at it in verse 10-12, “When he was alone, the twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. He told them, ‘The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those on the outside, everything is said in parables so that they may be ever seeing, but never perceiving, and ever hearing, but never understanding. Otherwise, they might turn and be forgiven.’” That’s the language of judgment.

Jesus was dividing this vast crowd into two categories: outsiders and insiders. Both got the parables, but the outsiders only got the parables. The insiders also got Jesus’s personal, clear explanation of the parables, so that you can see what’s laid alongside what. This was to fulfill this work of judgment that God had spoken about centuries before through the prophet Isaiah, who is sent again to a stubborn and obstinate people who are not going to listen to him.  Isaiah in Isaiah 6 wants to know how long does he have to do this ministry. You have these same words, which are quoted of many times in the New Testament, “Be ever hearing, but never understanding, be ever seeing, but never perceiving. Make this people’s heart callous, make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise, they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears and turn with their hearts, and I would heal them.” It’s a work of judgment. By giving parables with no explanation, it fed the attitude of the hardness of heart of his opponents who thought he was crazy and demon possessed. So you actually do see this response to his teaching, like in the parable of the good shepherd in John 10. It’s a beautiful parable with lots of details. Unexplained, it is just a good shepherd and his sheep coming in and out, and finding passion and all this. In John 10:19-20, the Jews were getting divided, and many of them said, “He’s demon possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?”

 Try this out, go to a non-Christian person this week. Memorize a little parable here. Say, “I want to tell you a story.”  “A farmer went out to sew his seed. And as he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path and the bird…” All that, the whole thing. Then finish and  say something like, “He who has ears to hear, let them hear.” What do you think’s going to happen? They’re going to look like you’re out of your mind. “What’s wrong with you?” That’s what was happening back then. But then the insiders, they get the explanation. They get the details of the parables explained from Jesus’ own perfect lips, and then the parable  becomes an incredible teaching tool that makes certain aspects of the kingdom incredibly clear and memorable. That’s the power of the parables. Look at verse 13. “Jesus said to them, ‘Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?’” In other words, it seems like he’s saying, “If you get this one, I mean, you really understand it, you’ll understand all the parables.”

 It’s foundational, because it has to do with hearing God’s word and understanding it in your heart. This is foundational, dear friends, to our salvation, to God’s strategy for saving our souls from our sins, that we would be justified by faith and not by works so that no one can boast. So foundational to that is hearing with faith and believing to the forgiveness of your sins. As Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing the word,” and the word comes through the word of Christ. The message is heard through the word of Christ. As we will see, this parable has to do with the key moment in our entire lives, the moment of hearing the word of God. Do we hear it with faith, with a soft yielded heart, submissive so that we bear fruit for the kingdom? Or do we ultimately reject the word we hear and bear no fruit for the kingdom? Our eternity depends on that question. If we don’t understand this parable, how will we understand any parable?

 Let’s walk through the details of  the parable of the soils. Look at verses 3-8, “A farmer went out to sew his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among the thorns, which grew up and choked the plants so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying 30, 60, or even a hundred times.” First of all, just the agricultural nature of this parable would’ve been very familiar to them. Many of Jesus’ parables were agricultural. Jesus’ first century hearers were perhaps, many of them, farmers, and if they weren’t, they knew farmers. They were close to the soil. The Promised Land itself was called the “land flowing with milk and honey”, rich in agricultural blessings. It could be that you could even see some farmers scattering some seed while Jesus was telling the parable, off in a distance. The focus of this parable, the key with parables, is there’s generally a central idea. It’s not that details aren’t important. They are, but there’s usually a main central idea to the parable. The focus here is the soils, really and ultimately nothing else. The parable does begin with the sower. It literally says, “The sower went out to sow,” but then nothing else has said about the sower or his technique, whether he uses the overhand technique or the underhand technique. It doesn’t say anything. He’s not a wise sower, a faithful sower, a hardworking sower, an anything sower. He’s a sower. Also, nothing is said about the seed. There is only one seed, and we learn it’s the Word of God. In this parable, nothing’s said about it either. The focus is on the soils and the outcomes.

The soils fall into two categories, or four categories, or six categories, it depends which  commentator you read. This is the joy I get of reading commentary. So what is it, two? Is it four? Is it six?  First of all, simply it is two: bad soil and good soil. That’s the easiest categorization of the soil. It’s either bad soil or good soil. The whole thing depends on is their eternal outcome, harvest. If there is, it was good soil. If there isn’t, it’s bad soil. It’s a simple, clear way of understanding the two categories. Or you can break into four categories, which is the way we usually would read it. You’ve got the hardened path,  the rocky soil, the thorny soil, and then the good soil, that would be breaking up into four categories. Six categories would be to take the last, the good soil, and break it into three categories of its yield: 30, 60, a hundred. So three categories of bad soil and three categories of good soil. All of that I think is helpful, but especially the basic breakup of bad soil versus good soil. 

Let’s just walk through certain details. Soil number one is the hardened path. Farmland in Galilee was bordered by paths and roads that enabled people to travel by the farms without trampling on the crops. The paths and roads would’ve been hardened by constant travel, all the more since the climate was hot and arid. The road would’ve been hard as concrete. Any seed that fell on that hardened path would stay on the surface, right on the top, and within a short amount of time, Jesus said, the birds are going to come eat it up. It’s gone, like it was never scattered there.  Or as Luke 8:5 says, “the seeds would be trampled under foot,” like by horses or cattle, or carts, or people just walking, trampled. In any case, no impact whatsoever. Soil number two is the rocky soil. I grew up in New England and everywhere you look, as you get into the rural areas, you see stone walls, everywhere stone walls. Why? Because the farms “grow” stones. Every year they grow them. They come up with these subterranean pressures,  and before the farmer can do anything, he’s got to clear his farmland of these mini boulders that come up. Jesus is speaking about that, because the ancient near eastern farmers would’ve had the same problem, and they would’ve cleared their land of it. However much work it took, they would’ve gotten rid of them. That is not the problem. The problem is a subterranean layer of limestone, let’s say, really hard and like concrete, somewhat similar to that path only it’s a little bit down below a very thin layer of top soil. That subterranean layer of rock is not going anywhere,  so the seed can’t probe down and find water or nutrients. The seed springs up quickly because it just needs the sunlight and all. But when the sun comes up, the small plant scorched and  withers and dies because it have no root, because the rock below doesn’t permit it.

Soil number three is the thorny soil. Unlike the last two soils, clearly this soil is capable of supporting a crop. Everything’s there, the nutrients are there, the water is there. The conditions for growing are good. But the problem is that there are other plants. There are weeds that are there competing with the good seed for the nutrients and the water and the sunlight. Because the weeds grow up faster than the good plants, they block the sunlight, steal all the nutrients and they win, so the good seed can’t produce any crops. The plant that he talks about here is the acanthus plant. It has thorns, the same thorns that the Roman soldiers would viciously weave into a crown of thorns for Jesus to wear when they were mocking him. It reminds us also of the cursing of the ground that God gave Adam back in Genesis 3:17-18. “Cursed is the ground because of you. Through painful toil, you’ll eat of it all the days of your life and it will produce thorns and thistles for you.” That’s the thorny soil. Then the good soil, soil number four. There’s a powerful contrast between this soil and the others, in that this soil is called good. The seeds that fall on this good soil produce a staggering harvest. Jesus says, “30, 60, even a hundred times what was sown.” Now this is remarkable. Research into the ancient near Eastern expectations of a harvest is, at best, eight fold. That would be good, if you could get eight fold out of it. Maybe five was normal. Jesus is talking about a stunning level of fruitfulness in every case. Stunning level, 30 times what was sewn. Others even double that, 60 times, or even a hundred, unheard of, staggering levels of fruitfulness.

 Those are the details. What does it mean? Jesus begins with the call to hear. Look at verse 9, “Then Jesus said, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear.’” The central issue here is how we listen to God’s Word. He begins the whole parable with this call. Look at verse 3. How does the whole thing start? “Listen,” it’s a call to listen. This is almighty God through his Son, calling you to listen to him. “Listen. A sower went out to sow.” Then he says, “If you have ears, who he has ears to hear, let him hear.”  Jesus is already judging these people for their hard hearts by stopping the parable with no explanation. He’s furthering their unbelieving assumptions that he’s insane, but he’s calling on them to listen. They have ears, but do they hear?  I believe that one of the most helpful insights I’ve ever had concerning Jesus’ ministry and how we should think about it is the statement, “It’s not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I’ve not come to call the righteous, but sinners due repentance.” Jesus is our spiritual physician. That means his physical healings become living parables for the spiritual healing that we need. He healed literal physical blind people, so they could physically see. But what about the spiritual blindness that plagues all of us? He heals literal deaf people so they can physically hear, but there is a spiritual deafness that He really has to address for us to be saved. Psalm 115 speaks about how Israel’s idols represented them spiritually. Psalm 115: 4-8 says, “Their idols are silver and gold made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but they cannot speak. They have eyes, but they cannot see they have ears, but they cannot hear. Noses, but they cannot smell. They have hands, but cannot feel. They have feet, but they cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.” So it is with all unbelievers that yes, they have physical ears, they have physical eyes, but they cannot see or hear spiritually.

Jesus has a special ministry with his own. There’s a supernatural work going on in the insiders. He deals differently with his own sheep. In John 10 Jesus says, “My sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of my hand.”  Jesus gives them a private hearing. Along with that is the secret working of the Spirit in them to open up their spiritual ears and to hear it. Look at verse 10-11, “When he is alone, the twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. He told them, ‘The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you.’”  The word “secret” is also sometimes translated “mystery” in the New Testament. This is something that can only be understood if God, by his Spirit, reveals it to you. That’s what a New Testament mystery is, the mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you. That’s a tremendous privilege. The outsiders don’t get that. Verses 11-12, “But to those on the outside, everything is said in parables so that they may be ever seeing, but never perceiving, and ever hearing, but never understanding. Otherwise, they might turn and be forgiven.” So the purpose of the explanation is perception, it’s understanding, it’s insight, it’s truth.

What I’m going to do now is explain the parable briefly. I don’t know if you noticed the sermon title today, it’s part one. In part two, we’re going to go through these same explanations more in depth with more application, with more warnings to us as hearers. We’re going to do that work next week.  But just for the time we have left today, I just want to go through it quickly, the explanation Jesus gives for these soils. Look at verses 14-20, “The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sewn in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word, but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop 30, 60, even a hundred times what was sown.” Jesus’s personal, private, powerful explanation. Notice, it’s written down in the pages of the most famous book on earth. Does that make us all insiders now? It could. You could be an insider now, if you’ll listen with the ears of your heart. So we’re invited in. The explanation, it’s available, but you still have to have the working of the Spirit in your heart to get it, even with the explanation, to see it.

It begins with the farmer, the sower, and he sows the word. The first and primary sower in another parable is Jesus Christ himself. In the parable of the weeds and the wheat in Matthew 13, he identifies himself as the sower. “The one who sowed the seed is the Son of Man.” But here, no such thing. Jesus certainly began by preaching the gospel, but he also commissioned the church, and the church goes out and preaches the word everywhere. After he ascended to heaven, Mark 16:19-20 says, “After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and sat at the right hand of God.” Mark 16:20, “Then the disciples went out and preached the word everywhere.” They are the sowers there, and  as their spiritual descendants, we’re the sowers. Anyone who shares the word of God, anyone who evangelizes, brings up kids in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, shares the gospel with a lost coworker, we’re the sowers.

 The seed is the Word. What Word?  I think it’s safe to say it’s the gospel, the milk, the central teachings of the Bible. Paul says in I Corinthians 2:2, “I resolved to know nothing while I was with you, except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.”  Christ and him crucified, that’s the centerpiece of the word, the seed. Also, I Corinthians 15: 3, “For what I received, I passed onto you as of first importance, that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures. That he was buried, that he was raised on the third day, according to the scriptures.” That’s the seed that is the word.  The basic message of Christ, the incarnate son of God, fully God, fully man lived a sinless life, did amazing miracles, taught parables like this, but especially died on the cross as a substitute for our sins and was physically raised from the dead on the third day, ascends sins to heaven. And if you repent and believe in him, all your sins will be forgiven. That’s the seed, the Word, the Gospel. However, beyond that, Jesus doesn’t say it’s the Gospel, He says it’s the Word. So I think it’s anything, any truth that’s taught in the Bible, for all scriptures, God breathed and  useful. I actually think that this parable is permanently useful to all Christians, even this very moment, this very morning. Whenever you have the Word talk to you or the Word comes in, what do you do with it? I think it’s helpful. So that’s the sower and the seed.

 What is the soil? The soil represents  human hearts in their various conditions. We know this from Matthew 13:19, “When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one Satan comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.” That’s the seed sown along the path. The path equals the heart. Or on the other end of the spectrum, in Luke 8:15, it says, “The seed on the good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart.” Wow, doesn’t that sound good? A noble and good heart who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering, produce a crop. Again, the good soil represents a good heart. So all of the soils represent human hearts in their various conditions.

 Soil number one, the hardened response. Look at verse 15. “Some people are like seed along the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and snatches away the word that was sown in them.”  Matthew’s Gospel tells us they don’t understand the Word, they just don’t understand it. It makes no sense to them. They have no response at all. This, my friends, is the overwhelming response of those when they first hear the gospel. They don’t get. It doesn’t make any sense, it makes no impact, and it’s gone moments later, like it never happened.  Ephesians 2 says of those people that they are dead in their transgressions and sins, even while they live as citizens or subjects of Satan’s dark kingdom. As soon as they hear the word, Satan actively, creatively and skillfully, through his demons, takes away the impact of that encounter, so they do not fear God’s judgments. They don’t rejoice in God’s promises. They don’t marvel at Christ’s work. They don’t take to heart any of God’s commandments. It’s gone, like that moment just never happened. Satan’s activity here is so clever and powerful.  II Corinthians 4:4 says, “The God of this age has blinded their mind so they don’t understand.” He’s active, working, doing this all the time, so the sinner mocks the Word or deconstructs the Word, or counters the Word, or forgets the Word entirely. Ultimately, that’s what they do. More on this next time.

Soil number two, the shallow, emotional, temporary response. Look at verse 16-17, “Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.” So many people are very moved emotionally the first time they hear the Gospel. They’re not like the first category. It’s made an impact on them. Jesus said, “They receive it with joy.” Initial joy at the hearing of the word is a very good thing. So also conversely are tears and a sense of the danger that they’re in and emotions on that side. That can happen too. But the problem is there’s no depth to any of these emotions. They haven’t really grapple with or come to grips with the fact that they are sinners under the wrath of a holy God, not to that level. They’ve not understood that. They have no deep connection with the truth of the word of God. As Jesus is saying here, they have no root system. They may see the Gospel as a life enhancer, something like that, something to improve their life, make things better for them in some way, not as salvation for the eternal wrath of God. When trouble or persecution, Jesus said, comes because of the Word, they quickly fall away. That response is grievous to the evangelist who is so excited about their initial, joyful reaction. “Where are all those people that prayed the prayer?” That kind of thing. You can’t find them. “What happened to them?” When trouble or persecution comes, they quickly fall away. More on this one next time. 

Soil number three, the worldly, double minded response. Verse 18-19, “Still others, like seed sown among the thorns, hear the word, but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” The last soil type represents the world smacking around the person who hears the word: persecution, troubles, trials, that kind of thing. This represents the world offering benefits: prosperity, wealth, the positive benefits. This person is consumed by what he might lose or what she might lose if they really follow Jesus. If you really go after Jesus, look what you just might lose. What might happen to you if you become a faithful follower of Christ? These individuals want the comforts of money, possessions, and pleasures. They’re anxious about money, the worries of this life. They’re running after the deceitfulness of wealth, perhaps like the rich young ruler trying to harmonize an inner covetousness and a love for money, money as an idol, with Jesus, a love for Jesus. They’re trying to put it together and harmonize, but it can’t be done. This individual is a double minded person. The world’s siren call of worry and wealth, worry and wealth, worry and wealth, all the time. It crowds out the word of God, and it doesn’t bear fruit. The Word of God doesn’t get the resources, the time, energy, money, resources of that person’s life. Instead, they’re going after the things of this world, and it bears no fruit. More on this next time.

Soil number four is the eternally fruitful response. “Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the Word, accept it and produce a crop 30, 60, even a hundred times what was sown.” Friends, this is the point, the whole point of the Word of God: fruit. Fruit, it all comes down to fruit. Just like last week’s sermon on blasphemy against the spirit, fruit, it’s always about fruit. If there’s fruit in your life, it means you’re alive. The whole point is fruit. The variability of the fruit is noteworthy, but it’s not as significant as three things. Number one, all good soil produces some fruit. Number two, all three soils produce a staggering amount, a stunning amount of fruit. Number three, not all three produce the equal amount of fruit. There’s different levels of fruitfulness. So we’ll talk about all those, God willing, next time.

There’s a key statement that I’ve already highlighted. Luke 8:15, “The seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering, produce a crop.” Now, if I asked any of you if you would say that characterizes your heart, raise your hand or stand up. If you would like to say, “I believe that I have a noble and good heart,” would you stand up in front of everyone here? The Bible’s very negative about the natural state of the human heart. It says in Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” But here’s the thing, if you are a Christian, you fall under the Luke 8:15 appraisal of your heart as being a noble and good heart, but only because the Holy Spirit made it so. That’s what it means that “the heart of stone has been taken out,” and if we say in Ezekiel’s language, “the heart of flesh put in,” in Luke 8:15’s language, “a noble and good heart,” has been put inside you. The proof of that noble good heart is when you hear the Word, you love it, you delight in it. You want it more, and you yearn that it would produce good fruit in your life. Where did all that come from? To God be the glory, dear Christian brother and sister. More next time. I have that written every time, “More next time.” We’re going to do all that next time, this is just a flyover. So the central call here must be to seek a noble and good heart. “Oh God, would you give me one of those? Oh God, would you work in me a noble and good heart, more than ever before?” In verse 24 of the same chapter, Jesus is going to challenge us. “Consider carefully what you hear.” Consider carefully how you hear, consider carefully the content of this sermon. Consider carefully your mental approach as you’re sitting listening to a sermon. Consider carefully because, friend, it is the most important moment of your life. I don’t mean when hearing a sermon, it’s part of it. But I mean, when you read the Bible, whenever God's word comes into you, it is the most important moment. Consider carefully what you do at that moment, and seek a noble heart from the Holy Spirit, especially to the salvation of your soul.

I cry out to anybody who walked in here this morning unconverted, do not wait. Yearn after this. Say, “Oh God, I don’t want to be like that seed sown along the path or any of the other bad outcomes. I want to produce a crop in my life.” So I want to ask, what soil are you? How would you characterize yourself? It’s not prideful to say, “I believe I’m a genuine Christian producing fruit now. I want to go from 36 to 60 or from 60 to a hundred, but that’s who I am. But to God be the glory.” In any case, this is a time, friends, for deep self-evaluation through the working of the spirit. 

Close with me in prayer. Lord, thank you for the power of this parables. It’s powerful. And I pray that as we have a chance over this week to meditate on it and get ready to hear again, details and applications and have it pressed into our heart. So Lord get us ready. But I pray that even now the ministry of the word would not be fruitless in our lives. I pray that we would drink in God’s Word and produce more fruit than ever before. I pray for help, oh, Lord. We are living in a wealthy world here in America. And I worry about that third category, the thorns that grow up and choke the word, making it unfruitful, the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth. Help us to beware of these things so that we can bear maximum fruit for the glory of God. In Jesus’s name, I pray. Amen.

An introduction to the Parable of the Soils and the importance of Jesus's call to hear when He speaks. Are you ready to hear?

The post The Parable of the Soils, Part 1 (Mark Sermon 15) appeared first on Two Journeys.

Stephen gives his dramatic and compelling defense against the false charges of the Jews.

The post Acts Episode 14: Stephen’s Brilliant Defense: Part 1 appeared first on Two Journeys.

In this sermon on Mark 3:28-30, Pastor Davis explores Jesus' statement about the consequences of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

 Turn in your Bibles to Mark 3: 28-30.  The timeless allegory of the Christian life, Pilgrim's Progress, depicts the journey of a man from being lost, living in the city of destruction, through faith in Jesus Christ, and then through many dangerous toils and snares, finally, to crossing the river of death to live forever in the celestial city — an allegory of the entire Christian life. The author, John Bunyan, wrote it to instruct Christians about many aspects of the Christian life. In the allegory, the main character, a man named Christian, early in his pilgrimage spends time in the home of a man named Interpreter. In that man's home, he sees many symbolic vignette scenes that teach him important lessons that he's going to need for his journey. Probably of all of the vignettes seen in Interpreter's house, the most sobering, even terrifying, that he was shown was a very dark room with a forlorn man locked in an iron cage. This man's in a desperate condition because he's convinced that he has sinned his way out of heaven and there is nothing he can do at this point to be saved. He has, in some way, committed the unpardonable sin.  In the dialogue that happens, Christian asks him, "What are you?" The man says, "I was once a fair and flourishing Christian, both in my own eyes and in the eyes of others. I was convinced that I was going to the celestial city." Christian says to him, "That's good. What are you now?" The man answers, "I am now a man of despair. I am shut up in this iron cage. I cannot get out, oh, I cannot." Christian asked him, "How did you come into this condition?" The man answered, "I stopped being careful about watching over my soul. I gave free reign to my sin. I sinned against the light of the word and against the goodness of God. I have grieved the Holy Spirit, and He is gone. I have tempted the Devil, and he has come. I have provoked God to anger, and He has left me. I have so hardened my heart that I cannot turn."

Christian then asked him, "Is there no hope, but that you must be kept in this iron cage of despair?" The man answered, "No, none at all." Christian said, "Why? The son of the blessed is very merciful." But the man wailed, "I have crucified him to myself all over again. I have despised his person. I have despised his holiness. I have considered his blood an unholy thing. I have shown contempt to the Spirit of mercy, therefore I have shut myself out of all the promises of God and there now remains to me nothing but threatenings, dreadful threatenings, fearful threatenings of certain judgment and fiery anger, which will devour me as an enemy." Christian asked, "For what did you bring yourself into this condition?" The man answered, "For the desires, pleasures and gains of this world in the enjoyment of which I promised myself much delight, but now every one of them bites me like a burning worm." Christian asked, "But can you not even now turn to God?" The man cried out, "God no longer invites me to come to Him. His word gives me no encouragement to believe. God Himself is the one who's shut me in this cage, and no one in the world can let me out. Oh, eternity, eternity. How shall I grapple with the misery that I must meet with an eternity?" 

This is one of the most sobering and terrifying portions of Pilgrim's Progress. It raises the question of the unpardonable sin. That is a topic that's raised for us in this text today that we're studying in Mark's Gospel, raised by a statement made to Jesus Christ to his enemies, a sin that can never be forgiven in this age or even out into eternity. Look at verse 29, "Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. He is guilty of an eternal sin." The question that's in front of us today is, first and foremost, is there an unforgivable sin? Now, in some measure, this is surprising to us considering the wideness of the mercy of God. Jesus himself in this very passage asserted the width of God's amazing mercy. Look at verse 28, "Truly I say to you all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them." It's an incredible statement. Jesus begins it with a solemn oath, sometimes translated, "I tell you the truth," or, "Truly I say to you." The Greek is “amen.” Jesus often used this word, frequently doubling it such as “amen, amen”, which is “truly, truly,” something like that. Though everything Jesus said is worthy of close attention, when Jesus says this kind of thing, we're to pay special attention to the thing that he's saying. Pay very close attention. He's asserting here in verse 28, the width and breadth and depth of God's commitment to forgive sinners. "Truly I say to you all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them." We know from other scriptures, Jesus came into the world to forgive sinners. In I Timothy 1:15, the Apostle Paul said, "Here's a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the worst." Many scriptures testify to the wideness of God's amazing grace and mercy. Psalm 103:10 says, "He does not treat us as our sin is deserved or repay us according to our iniquities." Two verses later in that same Psalm, it says, "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." Beautifully in Micah 7:18-19 it says, "Who is a God like you who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us. You will tread our sins under foot and hurl all our in inequities into the depths of the sea."

The amazing track record of God's forgiveness stands for all time. Abraham's lying is forgiven, Moses' murder is forgiven, David's lust and adultery and blood guilt, all forgiven. Jonah's rebellion, his defiance in running the opposite direction from the will of God for his life, forgiven. Even it seems King Manasseh, the most wicked king of Judah, who sacrificed his own son and the lineage of David to the God Moloch, burning him in the fire, forgiven. It's incredible what God will forgive. Augustine, forgiven for his years of fornication, forgiven. Luther forgiven for his blasphemy where he said to his father, "Confess your love, God. I hate him,”, forgiven. John Newton, forgiven for his slave trading and for his dissolute drunken life and his blasphemy. All manner of sin and blasphemy will be forgiven. Heaven's going to be filled with repentant adulterers and fornicators and homosexuals and liars and thieves and murderers. “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.”

We should all be staggered and amazed at the first part of Jesus' statement, that all manner of sins and blasphemies will be forgiven in men. We should not read that universally as though Jesus is speaking of universalism, that everyone will be forgiven. He’s not saying that, but what he's saying is there is no category of sin that cannot receive forgiveness. There is hope of forgiveness for all of those categories of sin. That's amazing, but once that you take that in, the amazement swings the other way. It seems very stunning, therefore, that there could be a sin that God would not forgive ever, but Jesus clearly asserts here there is such a sin, an unpardonable sin. Look at verse 29. "Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. He is guilty of an eternal sin." Matthew's parallel account expands it a little bit more. In Matthew 12:32, "Anyone who speaks a word against the son of man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven either in this age or in the age to come."  I think no one in history has been as spoken against as Jesus Christ. I don't know how many times on planet earth in a single day his name is taken in vain. Somebody smashes their thumb with a hammer and out comes, "Jesus Christ," not as a prayer or worship, but just as a swear. It's a river of blasphemy gone toward Jesus Christ. Jesus said he's willing to forgive all that. It's incredible. But he said blasphemy against the Spirit is a sin that will never be forgiven even into eternity. In our text, Jesus says that person is guilty of an eternal sin. 

Human beings frequently overstate the level of their commitment to never forgive, never forget, so filled with rage over something that's happened. But then they later... things happen, they change their minds, and they give up on such a pledge. But God's not like that. If he says a sin will never be forgiven into eternity, it won't. It's more permanent than if it were engraved with a steel stylus on a slab of granite. It's never going to be forgiven. God's not going to later change his mind. The verdict is final. The answer to the first question must be, as we read the text, yes, there is such a sin as an unforgivable sin.

Second question: What is that unforgivable sin? The answer from the text is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Verse 29, "Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. He is guilty of an eternal sin." What is that, then? Blasphemy is verbal sin, it's something you say. Jesus makes it plain. In this case, the issue is it's something that flows from a heart state, a heart conviction up out of the mouth. The mouth reflects the condition of the heart. Listen to the words in Matthew 12: 31-37. "So I tell you every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven, men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Holy Spirit will be for forgiven, but anyone who  speaks a word against the son of man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or the age to come. Make a tree good and its fruit will be good. Make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you, who are evil, say anything good? For out of the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken, for by your words, you'll be acquitted, and by your words, you'll be condemned." It's the full account tied to the same matter, the same issue, the same incident.

 Jesus said it because of the words spoken about his ministry by the Scribes, the teachers of the law who had come down from Jerusalem to evaluate what was going on with Jesus. You remember they came down, they're evaluating. They heard about him, they wanted to see it with their own eyes and render an authoritative evaluation about Jesus. This was their verdict, Mark 3:22, "He is possessed Beelzebub. By the prince of demons, he is driving out demons." Beelzebub is Satan, and so by the power of Satan, He's driving out demons. Jesus responds, "I tell you the truth. All the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven then, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. He is guilty of an eternal sin." Then the clear explanation that Mark gives us in verse 30. "He said this because they were saying he has an evil Spirit." That's the reason why he said it.

The central issue here are Jesus' miracles. The Scribes were asserting that Jesus was doing miracles, specifically, especially exorcisms, driving out demons by the power of Satan. Jesus had been doing a river of signs and wonders and amazing healings. The best summary I found is in Matthew's Gospel, in Matthew 4:24, where it says, "News about him has spread all over Syria and people brought to him all who are ill with various diseases, all who are ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon possessed, the epileptics and the paralytics. And he healed them, all of them." By far the most spectacular healings were of demon possessed people. The demons would often make a big scene when they would come out. They would scream, they would cause the human being to foam at the mouth or writhe on the ground. It was spectacular and evil. It's obvious, as you're watching, that something very powerful is happening, and people were forming opinions about Him as these miracles were happening, the healings, but especially the exorcisms.

After driving out a demon from a young man in the synagogue in Capernaum in Mark 1:27, "They're all so amazed, they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching?" And with authority, he even gives orders to evil Spirits and they obey him." They're evaluating who is this man? How does he have this power? 

In the next chapter after the stilling of the storm [Mark 4:41], his disciples were terrified, and they were asking each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him." Mark 6, in his hometown with people who watched him growing up, "Where did this man get all these things? What's this wisdom that has been given to him that he even does miracles?" In Herod's court[Mark 6], King Herod heard about this, for Jesus name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, that's why miraculous powers are at work in him.” Jesus himself will ask his own disciples this key question: “What about you? Who do you say I am?” As I said, last week, this is the most significant question, the most significant issue that they will ever face, or any of us will ever face. It's clear that his ministry is designed to move people to the point where they can confess his deity, to confess He is the Son of God. On what basis will they do that? Jesus makes, therefore, many varied, overt claims to deity. Not one or two, many of them. For example, He claimed the power to forgive sins, the whole lifetime of sins by the paralyzed man. He didn't know him, had never met him, but said to him, "Take heart, son. Your sins are forgiven." Just like that. His enemies put their finger on it and said, "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" Jesus claimed to be Lord of the Sabbath which is something only God would ever say.  Later, in John's Gospel, He would say, "Before Abraham was born, I am." Any Jewish person knew very well what Jesus was claiming there, there's no doubt about it. He's claiming to be God.  He’s making this incredible claim. On what basis should I believe that? On basis of the miracles, that's the answer. That's scripture's answer; on the basis of the miracles we will testify to the deity of Christ to the salvation of our souls. With the paralyzed man, He said in Mark 2 , "You may know that the son of man has authority on earth to forgives sins." Then He said to the paralyzed man,’Get up, take your mat and go home.’ And the man got up and walked out in full view of them all.” Here's the logic: Because I do this miracle, you will know I have the authority to forgive sins. Miracle equals authority to forgive sin, the salvation for us. 

 Jesus also acknowledged that the signs and wonders were essential, they were necessary to our faith. Jesus said in John 4:48, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe." Again, in John 5, Jesus was accused of blasphemy because He called God, his own Father, making himself equal with God. In John 5, He gives many of his credentials. He goes through John the Baptist’s testimony, other things, and then He said this, [John 5:36], "I have testimony weightier than that of John, for the very work Father has given me to do, which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me." What is the work? Miracles and teachings. In other words, the miracles give us proof that Jesus is equal to God. To his own disciples, the night before He was crucified, He said the same thing. John 14:11, "Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father's in me," [that we're one] "or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves." That's the clearest statement you're going to find. The miracles give us evidence to testify to the deity of Christ. Then, as we say almost every week, the culminating statement in John's Gospel, John 20:30-31, "Jesus did many other miraculous signs, which are not recorded in this book, but these are recorded that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and believing you may have life in his name." It's not just the words in general, it's the miracles. For our salvation, God ordained that Jesus would do all of these miracles, and the miracles are the basis of our faith in the deity of Christ to the salvation of our souls.

The two central, essential miracles that you must believe to be saved are the incarnation and the resurrection. They're essential to our salvation. The incarnation, that Jesus was God in human body, and that the resurrection, that He was raised physically from the dead, are essential. Romans 10:9, "If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Here's the key to this whole issue today. All of the miracles connected with Jesus are done by the power of the Holy Spirit, all of them. There are no exceptions. Some of you may be surprised. I hadn't really worked this through, but do you think there was a single miracle Jesus ever did apart from the will and command of his Father? Never. Then, was there any miracle Jesus ever did with his Father and left the Holy Spirit out? What do you think? No. It actually isn't that hard to get there, but the Bible teaches it. For example, the incarnation. It was the Holy Spirit and his unique power on Mary's body that enabled the incarnation to happen. Remember how she said, "How can this be? I'm a virgin." The angel answered in Luke 1:35, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the most high will overshadow you, so the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God." The Holy Spirit is directly bringing about the incarnation. Then at the end, the resurrection also ascribed openly to the power of the Holy Spirit. In Romans 1:4, it speaks about Jesus, “Who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, the humanity of Jesus but was raised through the Spirit of Holiness and was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ, our Lord.” You're not used to the phrase, Spirit of Holiness, more common name Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus was declared with power, proclaiming to the world to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead, the greatest miracle of Jesus' life. Both of them, both the beginning and the end, miracles worked by the power of the Holy Spirit, but all the other miracles in between also worked by the power of the Holy Spirit. Peter testified to Cornelius in Acts 10:38, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power and how He went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the Devil because God was with Him.” Jesus is going around setting people free from the Devil by the power of the Holy Spirit, healing them, exorcizing demons by the power of the Spirit, rescuing them from Satan's dark clutches. Specifically, relevant to this issue, Jesus claimed overtly to be driving out demons by the power of the Spirit of God. He said in Mark 12:27, "If I drive out demons by Beelzebub by whom to your sons drive them out?" Very interesting question. How was that whole exorcism going before I came? "So then they will be your judges," [Matthew 12:28], "but if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." It's clear evidence of the advancing kingdom of God, the work of the Holy Spirit.

Now, here's the thing. The scribes looked at all this evidence, they looked right at it with their own eyes. They watched it happening, and what was their conclusion? It is by Satan's power that He is driving out demons. It could not have been further from the truth. The blasphemy against the Spirit, then, is to look at all the evidence that the Spirit has given for the deity of Christ, his signs and wonders, and then willfully and maliciously  choosing  to ascribe that power to Satan, that's the blasphemy against the Spirit.  Jesus said it would be a sin that would never be forgiven, not in this age or the age of come. Now you may say, "Why not? Why not? Why wouldn't it be forgiven?" Because there was something else that God was going to do to prove the identity of His son. It's as though God, through the Holy Spirit, is turning over cards, revealing cards, and He reveals the whole set and steps back and says, "All right, here it is. What do you think? What's your conclusion?" At the end of Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiastes 12:13 says, "Now all has been heard. Here's the conclusion of the matter."  This is the full set of the evidence God's going to give. What's your conclusion? 

The author of Hebrews says in Hebrews 10, "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we've receive the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God." Could someone in space and time have committed this sin and then still live many years on earth without any hope of forgiveness, no chance of forgiveness whatsoever? The answer is yes, it seems so. I'm not saying they knew that that was their condition, but I'm saying it is possible to commit that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and then live awhile after that, completely apart from the grace of God and any hope of forgiveness of sins. Jesus said in Matthew 12:32, "Anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven either in this age or in the age to come." The dreadful and terrifying conclusion is that there were people who did commit the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and who then walked in unforgiveness for the rest of their lives. Why? It's because God would not work in them, because He's not going to send the Holy Spirit to save them.

 Essential to our salvation is repentance, repentance of our sins, and that repentance cannot be in any single person ever except by the working of the Holy Spirit of God. "The time has come," [Mark 1:15], "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the gospel." That's done by the power of the Holy Spirit, not by your free will. Your free will was a slave. It was the Holy Spirit that set you free, if you're a Christian, so God will not work that. It says in Acts 11:18, "So then, God has granted, even to the Gentiles, repentance unto life." Do you see that? God grants repentance, God grants faith. These are gifts of God. And He works them by the Spirit, specifically repentance. It says in John 16:8, "When the Holy Spirit comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.” That's the Holy Spirit's unique and beautiful work. But if the person is ascribing all of Jesus' miracles to Satan, there is no further work the Spirit will do. They're willfully rejecting all the work of the Spirit point toward Christ as the Son of God. 

 Third point: How should we live in light of this teaching, in light of the concept of the unforgivable sin? Can anyone commit this sin today? Answer: I don't really know. There are different commentators who say different things. "Pastor, you're not ever supposed to say, "I don't really know," especially not an important question like this one." It may be that this sin was unique to that moment, to literally seeing with your own eyes the physical miracles being done, seeing many of them, a river of miracles, and then concluding that Jesus was doing all of that by the power of Satan. However, we do read in the book of Hebrews about the apostates there, in Hebrews 6:4-6. He says, "It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back against your repentance because, to their loss, they're crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace." When I preach through the book of Hebrews, I had to ponder this very important teaching very carefully. Many people are deeply troubled by it, Hebrews 6. I struggled especially with the words, “it is impossible”. Taking all the words out and just simplifying, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance. It's impossible to bring them to repentance. I struggle with that, especially in light of a statement Jesus makes in another place in Mark's gospel, Mark 10:27, talking about the salvation of the rich. “It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.” And they say, "Well, who then could be saved?" And Jesus said, "With man, this is impossible. But with God, all things are possible." When you get with God, all things are possible, connected to salvation, but then the author of Hebrews is saying it's impossible to bring the... I found that troubling. How do you put that together? But it does make sense, however, if God himself is telling you He will not work in those people, then we know it's impossible. With man, it's impossible. With God's working, all things are possible. But suppose God says, "Yes, but I'm not working in these cases. I'm not going to work." What do you think? Then they're not going to be saved.

The Hebrew people of that era had also physically seen signs and wonders in the apostolic age. In Hebrews 2,3, and 4, it says, "This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders, and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit, distributed according to his will." The apostles, after Jesus was sent to heaven, did similar miracles to Jesus. These people, this Hebrew congregation, had seen those apostolic miracles and were in that, therefore, possibility of the same condition concerning blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Perhaps blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is limited to the era of Christ and the apostles when the miracles are flowing by the power of the Holy Spirit.  But later in the book of Hebrews, it says, Hebrews 10:26-29, "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we've received a knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins remains but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who is treated as an unholy thing, the blood of the covenant that sanctify him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace." Did you hear that? Insulted the Spirit of grace.

It seems, at least, that the Holy Spirit wants to give us readers of the book of Hebrews a sense of lasting warning that's essential to our salvation. We need to drink in that warning in a healthy way and take it seriously. Sin is dangerous, dear brothers and sisters.  It is deadly dangerous. We never know how much we can play with it in our daily lives and reach a breaking point where the Spirit will not convict us and bring us back. 

 John Piper, in talking about this issue of blasphemy against the Spirit basically said the bottom line is run from sin with fear and trembling. The fact that there is an unforgivable sin, that there comes a point in life, in a life of sin after which the Holy Spirit will no longer grant repentance, that fact should drive us from sin with fear and trembling. None of us knows when our toying with sin will pass over into irrevocable hardness of heart. Very few people feel how serious sin really is. Very few people are on the same wavelength with Jesus when He said in Mark 9:43, "If your hand caused you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go to hell to the unquenchable fire." Piper says, “Many professing Christians today have such a sentimental view of God's justice that they never feel terror and horror at the thought of being utterly forsaken by God because of their persistence in sin. They have the naive notion that God's patience has no end and that they can always return from any length and depth of sin, forgetting that there is a point of resistance which belittles the Holy Spirit so grievously that He withdraws forever with his convicting power, leaving them never able to repent and be forgiven. They are like the buzzard who spots a carcass on a piece of ice floating in the river. He lands and begins to eat. He knows it is dangerous because the falls are just ahead, but he looks at his own wings and says to himself, ‘I can fly to safety in an instant,’ and he goes on eating just before the ice goes over the falls, he spreads his wings to fly, but his claws have been frozen into the ice and there is now no escape, neither in this age nor the age to come. The Spirit of holiness has forsaken the arrogant sinner forever.” 

The bottom line for me as a pastor today on this topic is, as has been said many times before, to comfort the disturbed and to disturb the comfortable. What does that mean? As I said in my pastoral prayer, some of you have some needs and other of you have diametrically opposed needs. How one sermon can meet both needs is a mystery that's beyond my ability to comprehend. I have had probably five or six conversations with troubled souls on blasphemy against the Spirit in my ministry. People come to pastors on this question frequently, and they're worried, "Have I committed this unforgivable sin?" I would say my instincts are almost nobody... I can't imagine a person being deeply concerned that they've committed that sin, that they actually have committed that sin. I don't see the scribes of Jerusalem deeply concerned about Jesus' words. Do you?

Now we come to just the issue of how do I attain a healthy assurance of my own salvation? That's the question, isn't it? It's not so much the arcane question of theology of blasphemy of the Spirit, the question is the health of our own souls, “Will I be there in heaven forever, feasting with Jesus or not? Or will I hear those terrifying words, ‘When I say to him, "Lord, Lord," and He says, "Depart from me. I never knew you,” and I get the biggest shock of my life.” That's the question that's in front, not so much this question about blasphemy against the Spirit, but the question is how do I arrive or attain to a healthy assurance of my own salvation? 

Therefore, I think we have to go to the theology of salvation and understand some key factors here, which I've said again and again, salvation comes to us in stages. The first stage is justification, forgiveness of all sins past, present, and future by simple faith in Jesus Christ. You must never let up on that conviction. Forgiveness of sins comes by coming to the cross with faith and trusting in Jesus, not by any good works you can do.

But then secondly, salvation, true justification always then produces sanctification, a journey of holiness in which you and the Holy Spirit work together on your actual thinking patterns and behavior patterns. An assurance happens in there. How can I know I'm justified by faith? What's going on with your sanctification? That's how the Bible does it. What's happening in your life? Assurance is salvation and starts with simple faith in Christ, like the thief on the cross. Can you, by faith, know you deserve to die? You are a sinner. If it weren't for Jesus, you would die, and you look over to Jesus with the eyes of faith and say, "Remember me when you come into your kingdom. I'm trusting in you.” You will be forgiven. If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." But that's only part of the answer. 

Secondly is fruit. What's the fruit of your life? What's happening in your life? The Bible presents negative fruit and positive fruit. Negatively, are you putting sin to death by the power of the Holy Spirit? We all battle sin, but this is what I think Paul means when he says at the end of his life, with some relief, "I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I've kept the faith." It's a marathon race of fighting. What do you think you're fighting? You're fighting sin by the power of the Spirit.  Romans 8:13, 14 says, "If you, by the Spirit, put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live." You have to fight sin by the power of the Spirit. You have to mortify sin. Wherever their sin in your life, wherever it is, you've got to be assaulting it, killing it by the Spirit. That's negative. Positively, do you see Christlike attributes growing in your life? What the theologians call the graces of Christ positively growing in your life, such as the fruit of the Spirit. Do you see love, Christlike love growing in your life? Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self control. Do you see these virtues, positive virtues, developing in you. Negatively killing sin by the Spirit, positively Christian graces growing in you. 

Then,  lifestyle actions. Evangelism, prayer, Christian giving, attendance at worship, the various commands of the Christian life. You're just obedient by the Spirit to the Christian life. That's how you'll have assurance. If those things aren't happening in your life, I can't give you assurance and be a good pastor. I would say you need to see these things in your life. That's where you get assurance. 

Finally, is there a role of a healthy fear of sin in the Christian life? I think so.  Right before I came up here, I looked up just to be sure it's not in my outline, but II Corinthians 7:1 tells us to perfect holiness in the fear of God. Friends, that's in the New Testament. Please don't tell me perfect love drives out fear and there is no fear, and then the Holy Spirit... If you have any fear, something's wrong with you. I don't know how you can say that and then have these other verses. There is most certainly a healthy fear of sin. Conversely, it is very unhealthy to say, "I have no fear of what sin can do in my life." Well, what would you do if a brother or sister ever said that to you? "Oh, that's so good. I wish I could get to that place in my life." No, that's not what you would ever say. It's like, "I fear for you." I feel, to some degree, we're all brought back, in some healthy way, to Mount Sinai with the fire and the earthquake and this terror. God says to the Israelites, "Do not be afraid. God has come to you to test you so that the fear of God will keep you from sinning." How can that not be a covenant work, a new covenant work by the Spirit? He works a healthy fear of sin in us so that we won't sin. That's part of the Christian life.  In Hebrews 3: 7-8 the Holy Spirit says this, "If today you hear his voice, don't harden your hearts." He then says a few verses later in Hebrews 3, "See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God, but encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." It is important for us to be vigilant on our souls, that we not be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. If any of you have heard the gospel time and time again, and still have not yet repented and trusted in Christ, let me ask you a question. How many more chances do you think the Holy Spirit is going to give you? You've heard the gospel today. I'm pleading with you, do not presume on a future day. Repent now while there's time. 

Close with me in prayer. Father, thank you for the word of God that gives a sweet hope and joy, but also necessary warnings and fear. And I pray, oh Lord, that this scripture today would do its proper work in us. Help us, oh Lord, too, to know the danger of sin and to flee to Christ through the Spirit day after day, trusting in him. We thank you for the sweet work of the Spirit in our lives and we pray that you would strengthen us for the fighting marathon we have to run until, finally, you rescue us from this sin-filled world. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Jesus speaks of an unforgivable sin: blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Here, we look at the consequences and what this means for us.

The post The Unforgivable Sin (Mark Sermon 14) appeared first on Two Journeys.

In this episode, Wes and Andy discuss the seven men chosen to address physical needs in the local church. Among them was Stephen, and we learn more about him.

The post Acts Episode 13: The Seven Servants and Stephen appeared first on Two Journeys.

"Who is Jesus?" Pastor Andy Davis preaches on Mark 3:20-35 to answer this question about the identity of Jesus.

 Please pray with me now. Lord, as we come into Your presence now by faith in Christ, I realize that the central great need that we all have is to see Him who is invisible, to see Jesus Christ, the great majestic God and Savior whom we confess. We as a church, individuals in this church, are going through a variety of life circumstances. Some of us are thriving and healthy and prosperous and successful. Some are growing fiercely more than perhaps than they ever have before and are doing well in their souls. Others are facing significant medical trials or financial trials or relational trials within the family. Others are struggling and wrestling with secret sin and feel very guilty this morning, and there are a variety of other conditions. Some feel lonely in life because of their life situation, wondering if anyone cares about them, wondering who will love them. Others feeling overwhelmed by their job, by the pressures of their employment, perhaps even dreading going to work tomorrow. But Lord, whatever our circumstance, there is no greater need that our soul has than to see Christ, the glorious Christ, to have the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ shining in our hearts. It solves everything. That we are reminded that this is the one who died for us, our sin are forgiven. This is the one who has promised heaven to us, saying nothing can snatch us out of His hand. This is the one whose death and resurrection puts in perspective all of the temporary trials that we're facing in life. And so, therefore, I pray that You would, Father, do a miraculous work here in this room today, that by the Spirit everyone here today would have far more exalted thoughts of Christ and a far clearer vision of Christ than they had when they walked in here by the ministry of the Word. That is in itself a miracle of grace, that words on a page that have been around for thousands of years can come alive, that we can come alive to them, and that You can strengthen our souls by this homely act of preaching, of hearing words. That it would be far more than that, that we would have a sense of the anointing work of the Holy Spirit of God in this place, and that work would be to one end, the exaltation of Jesus Christ in our minds and hearts. We pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. 

Turn in your Bibles as we continue our study, our walk through the Gospel of Mark.  As we look at the text, Mark 3: 20-35, we come to this section of Mark's Gospel to the most important question that we can ever face in life: Who is Jesus Christ? Who is He? Certainly, all of us face many important questions in life. Ultimate questions of being, of purpose, of identity. Who am I? Why am I alive? What is my purpose in life? Where am I going? What do I believe? Lesser questions come along the way also. What should I major in in college? What should my profession be? Who should I marry? Where should I live? What kind of car should I buy? Who should I vote for?  Of all the questions you will ever face, there is nothing more important than this one: What do I believe about Jesus Christ? Why is that question more important than any of the others? It's because your eternal destiny hangs on your answer. The right answer to that question results in you spending eternity in heaven with God. The wrong answer to that question results in you spending eternity in hell and torment. For all  the other questions I listed which mostly  shape your life experience temporarily here in this world, they  don't even come close to the significance of that question: Who do I believe Jesus Christ is? This is the ultimate fork in the road for all of us. 

This question is not overtly posed in this chapter, but it is actually the whole point, not just of this chapter, but of the entire gospel of Mark, and indeed of all the gospels. Later, we will come directly to this question in Mark 8:29, when Jesus said, "'Who do you say I am?' and Peter answered, 'You are the Christ.'" All four Gospels are written to bring you to the right answer from the heart, to give you sufficient reasons to confess that Jesus is Lord God, the Son in human form, and that His mission from heaven to earth was for your salvation from sin, personally. All four Gospels have that same ultimate purpose, to give you enough information to make the right answer. If you see His miracles properly, if you listen to His teachings properly, if you see all of this evidence, you'll come to the right conclusion: Jesus is God. Now, there are many faulty answers to that question. There were faulty answers then, and there are faulty answers now. In that same  chapter, Mark 8, Jesus and His disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea of Philippi. On the way, He asked them, "Who do people say I am?" And they replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, still others, one of the prophets." That list, those are all positive answers, generally positive, but insufficient., they speak well of Jesus but far less than they should have spoken of Him.

In our text today, we're going to see some toxic answers to the question, utterly poisonous, degrading Him to the lowest level, speaking very poorly of Jesus. In our day, if you just went around and talked to your non-Christian friends and coworkers and neighbors and family and ask them what they generally thought about Jesus, you'll find that Jesus has a generally good reputation. People generally think well of Jesus. The most common wrong answer about Jesus is that He was a great man, a great moral teacher.  Ligonier did a survey in 2020 on this very issue: who is Jesus Christ? Stunningly, 30% of people who identify themselves as evangelicals agreed with the following statement: Jesus was a great teacher, but He was not God. 30%, it's almost a third of people identifying as evangelicals would say yes to that statement: Jesus was a great moral teacher, but He was not God. This is a great danger for the so-called evangelical church, that people think it is enough to have a generally positive view of Jesus as a kind, loving leader who taught great things and who loved people, but who was not actually God in human form. Actually, I think this is the normative view in America today. More broadly, back in 2002, Gallup did a similar survey, and while 80% answered that they believed that Jesus was the Son of God, it's like, "Well, that sounds good," a closer look of the data showed that only half of those that gave that answer held that Jesus was incarnate God, fully God, fully man. The rest said that Jesus was the Son of God in the sense that He was a man uniquely called by God to reveal God's purpose in the world. In other words, again, that Jesus was a great moral teacher, but not the Son of God.

This brings us into the land of something that many of you will be familiar with C. S. Lewis' trilemma. C. S. Lewis, a great Christian thinker from England, wrote a book on the basics of the Christian faith called Mere Christianity, one of the most popular books in recent Christian history. Since 2001, it has sold 3.5 million copies in English,  and has been translated into many other languages. It's been instrumental in the conversion of hundreds of thousands of people all over the world. One of the most famous parts of C. S. Lewis' Mere Christianity was his trilemma, on the identity of Jesus Christ— Lord, liar, lunatic. Essential to the trilemma is that Jesus claimed to be God, which He did in many ways. You look across the four Gospels, and again and again you see this. For example, in Mark 2, He heals the paralyzed man right from the start of all of His sins, past, present, and future. Rightly, His enemies said, "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" The answer is no one, but Jesus took to Himself that authority, and He did the miracle to prove that He had the authority to forgive sins. He called Himself the Lord of the Sabbath. You may have read right through that without realized what an incredible claim that was in that Jewish context; “Lord of the Sabbath, I'm in charge of the Sabbath.” 

In other places, He said to His enemies, "Before Abraham was born, I am." You don't have to be any kind of Jewish scholar to know what that claim is. He is speaking the language of the burning bush and also claiming to be timeless and eternal. No doubt that's a claim to deity. He said, "Moses wrote about Me." He defended His working on the Sabbath with these words, "My father is always at His work. To this very day, and I too am working."  He said, "I and the Father are one." He said, "Anyone who has seen Me has seen Father," and many other such claims. There's no doubt Jesus claimed to be God, that's foundational to the problem of the trilemma. A man who makes such a claim cannot be merely a good moral teacher. That's just not possible. That's been taken off the table by that claim. Either His claim is true or it's false. Either He was God as He claimed, or He was not. If He was God, we should all bow down and worship Him and trust in Him and follow Him. But if He was not, if the claim was false, either He knew it was false or He didn't. If He knew it was false and made it anyway, then He's a liar, a very bad liar. It's not a minor lie either. He was the deceiver of the people. If He didn't know it was false, if He really thought it was true but it was false, He was insane. Because He's in an intensely monotheistic religion,  they would've told Him from the beginning of the claim how faulty and blasphemous it was. Indeed, they did. So He had to be crazy if He actually really thought it was true and it wasn't. That's how the trilemma works.

C.S. Lewis did not invent this trilemma. Actually, Scottish preacher John Duncan first wrote it in 1859. Watchman Nee also repackaged it in 1936. But Lewis' version is most famous because it was in Mere Christianity. Lewis wrote: "I am trying here prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him, about Jesus. 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That's the one thing we must not say. A man who is merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg. Or else he would be the devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was and is the Son of God or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool. You can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon, or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. Now, it seems to me that He was neither a lunatic, nor a fiend, and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God."

We're going to walk through this complex passage which you heard read earlier, Mark 3:20-35. The context here is that we have had a broad survey of Jesus' public ministry in Mark 3:8-12. Jesus was overpoweringly popular because of a river of healing miracles and exorcisms, driving out demons,  so that there were thousands of people around Him every day. The issue of the popular opinion of Jesus starts to come to the fore: Who is Jesus? This text addresses that, raises up different opinions about Jesus. In verse 20-21, Jesus' earthly,  biological family have deep concerns about Jesus. They think He's out of His mind so they go to take charge of Him. Then in verses 22-30, it describes that teachers of the law from Jerusalem have heard about Jesus, and they come down from Jerusalem to investigate. They don't deny the miracles, but they conclude exactly the opposite from the truth. It is by Satan, by evil power, supernatural power that Jesus is driving out demons. Jesus addresses their accusations and interpretations. Then in verses 31-35, Jesus' family arrives to take charge of Him and Jesus defines His true family: those who do God's will, a larger teaching of the New Testament. We know exactly what that means. To do God's will means to believe properly about Jesus, to believe in Jesus as Lord. Those are His true family. So that's the three parts of this section in Mark.

The issues are many. Issue number one, the main issue which I've been talking about since I began here today is, who is Jesus? The identity of Jesus. What are we to make of this amazing man and His astonishing works? The second issue is Jesus' biological family, what do they believe about Jesus, including His mother and His brothers? The third issue, what is the origin of Jesus' supernatural power? Where does His power come from? The fourth issue in this text is the nature of Satan's kingdom. We get this from Jesus' first answer, “How can Satan drive out Satan?” What is the nature of His dark kingdom? The fifth issue in this text is the nature of Jesus' ministry. What's actually going on as He's doing exorcisms, as He's saving souls? What's actually happening? And that's Jesus' answer number two, He's actually overpowering the strong man, Satan, and plundering his house. We, the redeemed, are rescued from Satan's dark kingdom by an act of spiritual violence. We have been rescued powerfully by a mightier king. That's the nature of Jesus' ministry. The sixth issue is, what about this issue of the unpardonable sin, a sin that can be committed in time which can never be forgiven, not in this age or in the age to come, never be forgiven, the unpardonable sin? The seventh issue is the true family of Jesus, the true nature of Jesus' family. Who is my mother, who are my brothers? What does it mean to be a brother to Jesus and the nature of His family?

That's far too much for one sermon, especially with this long intro I've already given you.  It is too much to cover in one sermon, so our focus today is just going to be on this initial topic, the identity of Jesus, pulled by the gravitational pull of C. S. Lewis' famous trilemma, I can see it in the structure of the text. First, His earthly family will reveal their answer to who is Jesus, or at least at that point. They thought He was out of His mind, and so I'm going to cast that section as Jesus as diluted lunatic. Then the scribes from Jerusalem will reveal their answer that Jesus was possessed by a demon or even Satan himself, so He was a demonic liar,  a deceiver of the people through demon power. And finally, when Jesus' family arrives to take charge of Him, Jesus will put them in their place. I mean, basically He's rebuking them by not going out to them, continuing with those that are sitting around Him and asking this question, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers? “Those who do God's will, who sit at my feet and drink in my teaching and love it and believe in me, the teacher.” The answer for them is that Jesus is divine Lord.

Let's walk through that. First, His earthly family's answer that Jesus is a diluted lunatic. Look at verse 20-21. "Then Jesus entered a house, and again, a crowd gathered so that He and His disciples were not even able to eat. When His family heard about this, they went to take charge of Him because they said, 'He's out of His mind.'" Again, is this issue that we have week after week after week,  the overpowering press of the crowd. We've got thousands of people around Jesus at every moment. They are desperate for healing or that a loved one be healed. They're pressing Him so much, and Jesus' compassion is so relentless, they match together, their needs are relentless, His compassion is relentless, so He has staggeringly long days, especially because He prefers to heal one at a time. There's no evidence ever of mass healing, so He's just touching people, talking to people, interacting with people. It's an exhausting day so that He and His disciples are not able to eat, they're not able to rest, that's His lifestyle. In this particular case, He goes into the house to get away, but they won't let Him alone. Would you, if you'd come a long distance with a dying child or you yourself were desperate, you've been paralyzed, you're carried by some friends, or you're blind, whatever your need, you want to be healed. Whatever Jesus' needs are not that important to you. His family hears about this. The text literally in the Greek says “those near Him”, but at the end when He says, "Who is my mother and my brothers?" you know you're talking about His biological family.

Jesus had biological half brothers and sisters. Mary was not a perpetual virgin, but she and Joseph had normal family life together, and they had four sons and an unnamed number of daughters.  Mark 6 names Jesus' brothers, James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas, and then says sisters, two, they're not named, but so there's at least six half siblings. I say half because they shared a biological mother, Mary, but Jesus had God as His father, they all had Joseph as their father. In John 7, we learn an important thing about Jesus' brothers. At that point, Jesus says, "I'm not going up to the feast.” His brothers take Him aside and try to give Him ministry advice, saying, "You're doing all these miracles. No one does miracles like this and tries to stay secret. If you're going to do this, show yourself to the world." They want to be His PR agents. Let me tell you something, Jesus doesn't ever need your advice for anything. Who has been the counselor of the Lord? The text then openly says, "For even Jesus' brothers did not believe in Him." They had seen Him grow up. They'd been in the house with Him. He had never sinned, though. His first miracle we're told in John 2 is the changing of water into wine. He didn't know miracles as a child, as an adolescent, as a young man. He didn't do any miracles before His public ministry, but He was still utterly unique for he never sinned. He was completely unique. They did not believe in Him, but after His resurrection, Jesus specifically appeared to His brother James, and James would eventually become a pillar in the church in Jerusalem, and would write the epistle of James that we have in the New Testament. We believe that the epistle of Jude was also written by one of Jesus' half brothers called Judas, also Jude. In Acts 1, they are waiting for the outpouring of the Spirit, which would come on the day of Pentecost. They're there with Mary, they're all waiting.

After the resurrection, that problem is solved, praise God. They do believe in Him, but not at this point. The proof is this text verse 20-21. They hear about what's going on, and instead of praising God and saying, "The kingdom of God is making progress," they go to take charge of Him because they're saying He's out of His mind. That's pretty emotional when you think about that. His family was saying He's crazy, as C. S. Lewis would say it, lunatic.They thought, "We need to save Him from this crowd and this weird lifestyle. We really need to save Him from Himself.” They go to take charge of Him. The Greek word  used usually  means “concerning arrest”, to arrest a man. You can imagine in our setting now it's something that's called involuntary commitment. You have to have legal grounds for that, to basically imprison someone, the reason  being that the person is a danger. The person's a danger to themselves and to the society. They thought He was crazy. You may stop and say, "What about Mary? I mean, what's going on with Mary here?" Most commentators give her a pass. Most commentators say, "She's not included in this, but she's just along for the ride." They actually even give her a ministry of reducing the half brothers in their virulent unbelief at this point. We have no such data. We do know that He, Jesus, mildly rebukes her at the end of this by saying, "Who is my mother? And who are my brothers?" We should not think it beyond. I know that Mary knew she was a Virgin when Jesus was conceived and born. There's no doubt. She knew what the angel said., she believed it. We know the Magnificat, Luke 1.  For even, John the Baptist receded from his pure strong faith in Jesus toward the end of his life. You remember when he is in prison he said, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" That was John the Baptist. “You mean someone else other than the lamb of God, someone else other than the Son of God.” How could that be? But that's what happened, people are weak. Peter was weak, he called down curses on himself if he even knew Jesus. So I don't know what's going on with Mary. I do know she ends up a vigorous, healthy believer in Jesus. But at this point, I don't know what's happening with her. 

 Was Jesus a lunatic? This is the easiest part of my sermon. No. No, He was not crazy. Jesus was the most, really the only truly sane man who ever lived. His mind was pure, pure light, pure love for God, pure love for others, pure love for the truth of God. His teachings were stunningly beautiful. They were rational, reasonable, clear, powerful, timeless. His demeanor was perfect in every circumstance. He dealt with every person exactly as they needed to be dealt with. He was rational at every moment. All you had to do was listen to Him and you knew, if you didn't have a bias, a twisted, wicked bias, you knew. At one point, some combined the whole demon possession and insanity thing. In John 10:20, "Many of them said, 'He's demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to Him?’” They packaged the whole thing together there, but the evidence completely refuted that. Right there, in the next verse, others said, "These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” So no, Jesus was not insane.

Secondly, the Jerusalem scribes' answer to the question was demonic liar. Look at verse 22, "And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said 'He is possessed by Beelzebub. By the prince of demons He is driving out demons.'" So the scribes, the teachers of the law, have met Him again and again, they been sent on mission from Jerusalem.  Jerusalem's the spiritual center of the nation, so undoubtedly the religious leaders in Jerusalem have heard about Jesus' public ministry. How could they not? They send down a delegation to make an official evaluation of Jesus and His ministry. Interestingly, Jesus' enemies never denied His miracles. That would come centuries later, denying that He even did them. They did not deny it. They accept the fact that He's healing people. They accept the fact that He's doing exorcisms. That's a fact, no one else in history had ever done these things. But they had decided already first that Jesus was their enemy and they were His. They hated Him first, then they explained His miracle, second. Why did they hate Him?  Jesus said they hated Him because He testified that what they did was evil. “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, you'll by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” He crossed swords with them when He cleansed the temple in John 2 at the beginning of His ministry, and then again on the Sabbath. Sabbath after Sabbath, He's crossing swords with them, so they hated Him, the opposed him.  In John 9  He heals a man born blind and his parents didn’t want anything to do with this court trial on the healing of the blind man, and the parents say, "Ask Him yourself, he's of age." It says there, "For already the Jewish authorities had decided that if any Jewish person said that Jesus was the Messiah, they'd be put out of the synagogue." That's Jewish excommunication. They're out of Jewish life. That's huge, they couldn't buy or sell,  they couldn't live in that community if you said Jesus was the Christ. So what explanation then can they give for these miracles? It's so tragic that they can't see the most obvious explanation, that the man born blind in John 9 did see. How can you not see, if this man were not from God, He could do nothing? It's got to be God's power at work.

But they couldn't see it. Instead, they ascribe His supernatural power to the king of demons, Beelzebub. Verse 22, "He is possessed by Beelzebub. By the prince of demons, He is driving out demons."  Beelzebub is the Jewish insult of the Canaanite word, Beelzebul, which literally means “Lord of heaven.” The Jews changed it a bit to Beelzebub, which means “lord of the flies”, but it's then what they called Satan, he’s the Lord of the flies. Beelzebub, that's what the word means. So that's Satan.These scribes are saying it is by Satan's power that He's driving out demons. It's a demonic deception, Jesus is a huge fraud. John 7:12, "Some said, 'He's a good man.' Others said, 'No, He deceives the people. He's a deceiver of the people. Liar.'" After His burial, you remember the delegation of Jews went to Pilate and said, "Give orders to make the tomb secure, because we know that while He was still alive, that deceiver said, 'After three days I'll rise again.'" Call Him a deceiver. That's what He is, a liar and a deceiver, demonic liar.

Jesus' answer is that whole thing that you're saying is impossible,  it cannot be. Look at verses 23- 26, "So Jesus called them and spoke to them in parables. 'How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand. His end has come.'"  I want to tell you right upfront, some of Jesus' teachings are easier than others to interpret. This is not easy to interpret actually.  It's a hard argument, a complex argument, difficult to follow. First of all, Jesus did openly teach that Satan's a liar and a deceiver, that Satan would do this kind of misdirection is actually well within his character. Furthermore, He warned that at the end of the world false Christs and false prophets would come and perform false miracles to deceive even the elected if it were possible. So false miracles are coming at the end of the world. Paul taught the same thing in 2 Thessalonians 2 that the antichrist, the man of sin, would perform deceptive miracles by the power of Satan. So that Satan actually could do this kind of thing is not beyond his tendency. Then how does Jesus' argument prove that it's impossible that His ministry is being done by Satan? I think the only way I could make sense of it is the level of destruction Jesus was doing to Satan's ministry and kingdom in Palestine. He's blowing up demonic strongholds everywhere, every day. He's driving out demons every day. He's rescuing people from darkness and bringing them into light every day. 1 John 3:8, "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work." The level of destruction is incalculable. It's been going on for 2,000 years, praise God. Jesus is leaving Satan's kingdom in smoking rubble day after day. There's no way that Satan could do this level of destruction to his own kingdom and still stand. That's the logic that Jesus is using here.

Let me give an illustration.  Imagine during World War II a specific German general rebelled against the Nazi regime and led a coup and destroyed a whole SS division, slaughtered them all, thousands of fanatical Nazi soldiers, blows up Hitler's Berlin headquarters, rounds up and disarms an entire German army, forces them to surrender to the allies, and then he wants to work with the allies to bring the rest of the still-fighting Germans to be subdued. Would you believe that guy is on the level? I mean, after that, yes. The level of destruction that he's done to the former regime is believable. There's no way this is just a trick, because Jesus is just laying waste to Satan's kingdom. We're going to see that as we go on. The demon act of the gatherings, that's not a satanic trick. Verse 26, "If Satan opposed himself and is divided, he cannot stand. His end has come.”

 What is the right explanation? Verse 27, "In fact, no one can enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house.” So every sinner saved, redeemed by Jesus Christ is a work of spiritual violence done to Satan's kingdom. We are all plunder, brothers and sisters, we're plundered by the stronger one who overpowered Satan and rescued us. We were locked up in a satanic prison, we were wrapped up in invisible chains of deception and sin, and we could not set ourselves free. Jesus, the king of light came in and our chains fell off and the prison doors swung open and there was nothing Satan could do to stop it. That's what's going on here. As Luke puts it in Luke 11:21-22, "When a strong man fully armed guards his own outs, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger comes along and attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils." Satan is the strong man, Jesus is the one stronger than the strong man, who strips the strong man of his armor and plunders his house. That's what's going on. If you're a Christian, just praise Jesus for rescuing you. As Colossians 1 said, speaking of God the Father but through Christ, "He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves." He did that through Jesus. Praise God. So that's what's happening with these exorcisms, these poor victims are being set free. As we'll see in Mark 5 with the demonic of the gatherings, he becomes a believer in Jesus and spreads the gospel everywhere in the Decapolis. It's a work of liberation, praise God. 

Now we come to the unpardonable sin. Look at verses 28 through 30, "I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. He is guilty of an eternal sin." He said this because they were saying He has an evil spirit. Jesus makes it plain in Matthew's account, you can't just say these kinds of things. It's not a freebie to just run your mouth and say it's of because Beelzebub that He's doing this. No, no, you're going to be held accountable. You're in danger year of committing a sin that will never be forgiven, not in this age or in the age to come. This is such a weighty topic that we're going to dig deeper into next time, so I'm just going to set it aside. We'll walk through it next time, the unpardonable sin. 

Thirdly, His true family's answer, divine Lord. So Jesus's biological family arrive, verse 31-32. Jesus' mother and brothers arrive, standing outside, they sent someone in to call Him. The crowd was sitting around Him and they told Him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for You.'" So mother and brothers are there. They're outside because of the huge crowd. “Send in a messenger to summon Him.” Inside the  house, you got a huge crowd of disciples. They're sitting around Him drinking in His teachings. They're not there for healing. They're there to listen to His teachings. We're going to learn in the next chapter that Jesus would tell parables out with the outsiders and then go to the insiders and give them the true explanations of those parables. They're just drinking in the teaching of the kingdom of God. They're true followers of Christ. Jesus knew what was in their hearts. He knew that they loved Him and that they believed in Him and that they were His family.

The messengers come in and say, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for You.” In other words, “Stop what you're doing and come outside.” Remember, they're there to take charge of Jesus. You're not taking charge of Jesus, so Jesus effectively rebukes them. Look at verse 33-35, "'Who are my mother and my brothers?' He asked. Then He looked at those seated in a circle around Him and said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers. Whoever does God's will is My brother and sister and mother.'" Jesus is not being unkind to them, He's not being disrespectful. We already know from the changing the water into wine, He's not doing whatever His mother tells Him to do.  He's going to do what His Father tells Him to do.  He's not being unkind to them, but He does want to put them in their place, and He wants them to be genuine believers in Him. They are dishonoring Him, let's not minimize that. They think He's out of His mind. Something's messed up there, they need to change in their thinking about Jesus. The fact is exactly the opposite. If they're, to some degree, especially the brothers, if they're unbelievers, who's out of their minds? They are, not Him. 

Here we have the definition of the true family of God, the true family of Christ. "Whoever does God's will is My brother and sister and mother." What is God's will? John 6 probably says it most clearly of all. "They came to Jesus and said, 'What must we do to work the works of God?' Jesus answered, "This is the work of God, to believe in the one He has sent.'" That's it. That's what God's will is in this case, "Believe in Me as Your Lord and savior." This is a challenge to His biological family. He's challenging them to come out of the fog of partial unbelief into a full, clear light of understanding His deity and His role as their savior. They will come out, praise God. In a couple of chapters later, He's going to come to His hometown and He's going to see overtly the unbelief of His relatives. In Mark 6 He says, "Only in his hometown among his relatives in his own house is a prophet without honor." He could not do any miracles there except lay His hands on a few sick people and heal them, and He was amazed at their unbelief. It's time for them to repent of that and to see Him for who He really is. He is their Lord, He is their God, He is their redeemer, He's their creator, their redeemer, their savior. They'll see that only by faith.

As we finish now, what is your answer? Isn't that the most important question? We circle back to that now. What is your answer? Who do you say Jesus is? I mean, if you get nothing else out of this sermon, know this, you cannot say, “He's a good moral teacher, but not God.” That's just not possible. The question I'm asking is, do you really believe that He is God? Do you really believe the reason He came to earth and took on a human body is to save you personally from your sin and that His bloodshed on the cross is sufficient to do that, and that you're trusting in that and in His resurrection? Are you trusting in Him to be the savior of your soul? Your eternity hangs on it.

Close with me in prayer. Father, we thank You for the time we've had to walk through this deep, complex passage with so many different themes. Now we thank You, O Lord, for what we can glean from it, but we know the most important thing always in all of the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, is that we would have evidence sufficient to feed and to strengthen and to buttress our faith that Jesus is, as Thomas said, “my Lord and my God,” that we would come to that saving confession and know that through that our sins are forgiven. We praise You Lord Jesus for that. We praise You Father for sending Your Holy Spirit to us individually to bring us from darkness to light through faith in Christ. It's in Your name Lord Jesus we pray. Amen.

"Who is Jesus?" In Mark 3, Some call Him a liar, others a lunatic, and still others their Lord. What is your answer?

The post The Identity of Jesus: Lord, Liar, or Lunatic? (Mark Sermon 13) appeared first on Two Journeys.

In this episode, Wes and Andy talk about the increasing persecution that resulted in the imprisonment of the apostles and their trial before the Sanhedrin.

The post Acts Episode 12: The Persecution Escalates appeared first on Two Journeys.