Mark chapter three. So we're kind of working our way through, you might say, the journey of Jesus and his earthly ministry. Did you notice the theme in the songs tonight? Everything was kind of salvation oriented in a very special kind of way, forgiveness, et cetera. Just the last congregational song about the miracle of salvation. I believe in miracles, I've seen a soul set free. And as it says in the last stanza, the greatest one was mine. And that's how it ought to be for you. The greatest one was yours. God worked in our hearts that we might be saved. And that's a wonderful, wonderful truth. Mark chapter four, verse 20, that's where I'm at. Let's read this passage and then share a little from God's Word. And the multitude coming together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him, for they said, He is beside himself. And the scribes, which came down from Jerusalem, said, He hath Beelzebub. and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. And he called them unto him and said unto them in parables, how can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up against himself and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. No man can enter into a strong man's house and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man, and then he will spoil his house. Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewithsoever they shall blaspheme. But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation, because they said he hath an unclean spirit. Father, I pray and ask you to help us tonight as we come to your word and to this event in the life of our Savior. I pray you'd help us to see some simple, practical things, some truths to guide us. And would you work in our hearts for your glory, please? Guide and direct now, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. A lot's taken place. I'm not sure how much time has happened between verse 19 and verse 20. There seems to have been, perhaps, quite a bit of things that take place. In Matthew, and chapter 10, is where we, it's kind of the parallel, sort of of this first part of Mark 3 where the disciples are chosen and they're named and they're sent out. and they go out preaching and so forth. In chapter 11 of Matthew, it says, and it came to pass when Jesus had made an end of commanding his 12 disciples, meaning he had sent them out, then he departed, and he went around preaching in their cities. And there's several things that take place, and it's not until we get to chapter 12 that we come to this event. where Jesus is, you know, He's healed someone. Now this, go to 12.22, Matthew 12.22, I just want you to, this is similar in the Gospel of Luke and Chapter 11 as well. But I want you to, we're kind of laying the groundwork of what's happened here. Verse 22, Then was brought unto him one possessed with the devil, blind and dumb, and he healed him insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. So the disciples have been out preaching, Jesus has been out preaching, but now, according to Mark, there's a lot between verse 19 and verse 20, He's back home, if we can say it that way, back to his headquarters. Now whether that, it would, there's some debate whether it's Peter's house or it's his house or maybe his family's house. We're not given that specific detail, but he's back in Capernaum, which is where he's based most of his Galilean ministry out of. But there's a lot's happened in between. And the crowd is gathered. Why is this crowd gathered? More than likely the crowd is gathered because of this one who's possessed of a devil that's been brought to him. And he performs this miracle. Remember, there's always a crowd around Jesus. They're always crowding around Jesus. Usually they're crowding around Jesus because they want to see something happen. It's not because they believe, necessarily. Now, some of them come to belief, of course, but the crowd is there just because they want to see something exciting, something amazing. Some of them bring their loved ones who are sick and ill and so forth. And Jesus has just healed someone who's possessed of a devil. That possession causes them to be blind and dumb. And he cast that demon out, or demons, whatever the case may be, and now he's able to speak and see where before he was not. That's not something that the scribes and Pharisees or rabbis were able to do. They just couldn't perform those things. I'm not so sure they were, to use our terminology, I'm not so sure they were saved. They were quite religious, but religiously lost. They didn't even believe in the God that they worshipped, let alone the Messiah that was sent to them. So this multitude is gathered. There's a huge bunch of them. In fact, it says, so that they could not so much as eat bread. How many people would it take to be in your house, Don, so that you couldn't even eat your meal. Yeah. Depends how much you like your meal. Charbelbo here and one over here. I gotta make some room, you know. But that's a lot of people. In the Parsonage, that would be 60 to 100 people? That doesn't sound like a big crowd, but if you jam them all into the kitchen and living room, that's a lot of people. There's not a lot of room. And I suspect there's even more than that. It is so bad there's no space. I want you to first off notice those who are unperceptive. Unperceptive. They don't actually see with understanding. They see what's happening, they hear what's happening, but they don't understand what's happening. So the crowds come, Presumably because there's been a miracle and so that draws a crowd they've come to see and But it says in verse 21 and when his friends heard of it That's interesting, his friends. Those, technically it's those who are with him, those who are beside him. The word for friend is not used, the word for family is not used. It's a word for those who are with him, that's technically. So, I don't think that's a reference to the disciples. Because it says, they could not so much as eat bread. I think the they is a reference to the disciples. These are people who know Jesus, but maybe might include his family. They're kind of down in verse 31. It says, there came then his brethren and his mother. standing without, and they're calling to Him. That's a whole other set of thoughts for us to kind of look at in the future. But it might be a reference to His family, His brothers, who in John 7 and verse 5, we see that they don't believe, they kind of doubt Him. They haven't come to salvation yet. All the commentators that I look at said it has to do with His family. But that's not the words that are used, so I have a hard time Commentators are just men. Okay. But it could be, it could be kind of a broad, my point is it's a broad group of people. Friends, family, yes. And his foes. Because the scribes are there. The scribes are there. And the scribes, notice it says, which came down from Jerusalem. It's like they heard something was going on with Jesus, and they're like, okay, we've got to do some intervention, because this is going too far. Notice, let me just read verse 27 back in Matthew 12. well, not verse 24, excuse me, it says, but when the Pharisees heard it, they said. So did they hear about it in Jerusalem and now they've come down? So that's not coming down, that's going up, because it's north. But in Israel, if you're in Jerusalem, you're up. That's where the temple was. So if you leave Jerusalem, you're coming down. Doesn't matter if you're going north, south, east, west, that doesn't matter. You're coming down, because you're coming down from the temple. So they've come down to Capernaum because they've heard. And they speak up here in Mark 3.22, and the scribes which came down from Jerusalem. Now whether they heard about it in Jerusalem or they've come from Jerusalem because they're the intervention crew to kind of shut down the ministry of Jesus who seems to do these amazing things and they don't have any explanation for it. but they're against him. He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out. They're saying he's doing it by the power of the devil. The devil, the foes. They're basically saying he's a fraud. He's a fraud. It's not real. They've come down. So here's all these people who see and hear, but they do not understand. They don't understand. Next, the undivided. So, they make an accusation against Christ that he's a fraud. They say, he hath Beelzebub. That's a name for a demon. Sometimes it's used synonymously with the devil himself, or with the prince of devils, as it says here. But, in essence, they're saying, He's doing that by the power of demons. He's casting out demons by demons. So, this is a fraud. This isn't real. They make the accusation. Their minds, as I read this, their minds are already made up. And so they have to make an accusation. It's like, You make up your mind about a person, be that a coworker, be it a political candidate, be it a whoever. And so we have to find a way to bring them down. So we just smear their character, share gossip about them, whatever. Our minds are made up. Please don't confuse me with the facts. I've already decided where I stand on this issue. And that's described in the Pharisees. They could be right there and watch him do that. And many times they did see Jesus do miracles, amazing miracles. When he gets to the end of his earthly ministry, just before he's going into the Passion Week, one of the greatest miracles he does. He raises Lazarus from the dead. And they all know that Lazarus died. They buried him. They showed up at the house. They joined in with the professional mourners. The tomb was sealed. The guy was wrapped up with rags. But now he's walking around. And they can't, it says there in John, they couldn't deny it. We can't deny it. So let's just kill him. That's pretty radical. You'd think somebody would say, maybe he is who he says he is. But they've already made up their minds. It's like in 2 Peter 3, it talks about those who are willfully ignorant. about the things of God. Willfully ignorant. Or, in the book of Acts, in chapter 19, when there's the riot in Ephesus, and there's this terrible riot, and the silversmiths, you know, are rioting, and they say, you know, this guy, he's turning the world upside down, and people are all mad. And he says, some of them are so mad, they don't even know why they're mad. They're just in the crowd and boom. And that's exactly what the scribes are trying to do. They're trying to raise an opposition against Christ. So they make an accusation. But I want you to notice the Lord's explanation to them. He simply says in verse 23, how can Satan cast out Satan? That's not very logical. That would be like America deciding to fight against America. I mean, on the battlefield. We seem to have a bunch of that going on in various kinds of settings. I don't want to get into that quagmire, but I'm talking about on the battlefield. So we send all our troops over for D-Day. They're going to cross the English Channel and attack France, or the Germans in France, blah, blah, blah. And our guys land, and the 82nd Airborne, who's gone in ahead of time, I'm simplifying this, they turn around, instead of fighting the Germans, they're shooting our guys who are landing on the beach. They're like, well that's not very smart, right? And that's what Jesus is saying, that's pretty dumb, what are you talking about? Why would Satan fight against Satan? Now, before I go on, I need to mention, Satan is the what? He's the enemy, the deceiver. That means he lies. He's a liar. a liar. I have no doubt that if these demons can cause physical problems in people, you know, to be blind, dumb, the one boy, he has fits and seizures, we might today, we'd say, oh, he probably has epilepsy. No, he's got a demon. That's what he's got. I'm not dismissing epilepsy. I'm just saying demons can do things to you. That's not just a Bible thing. OK, I want you to recognize that the demonic world is real. It's not just a fairy tale, it's not just phony, it's not just something that happened in Jesus' day, and that doesn't happen anymore because we're more enlightened and we can go to the doctor and get a bill. Right? It's kind of interesting, the word for sorcery in the New Testament is the Greek word pharmacia. Oh, what do you know? Isn't that interesting? Where we get, you know, pharmacy? Okay, pharmaceuticals? Doesn't make much sense, does it? If you're struggling with depression and mental illness, to take such and such a medication whose side effects cause you to have suicidal thoughts. I don't think that's a, that doesn't sound like a good idea. I'm not a medical doctor, don't take that as medical advice. I think a lot of mental illness is spiritual illness. I'm not dismissing the other, just saying. So, the point is the devil is a liar and he can oppress someone and then remove the oppression and someone can feel like, oh, I'm healed. He is a liar. but he's doing that, he's not gonna oppress someone to be blind and dumb, meaning they can't see, they can't speak, they can't hear, whatever their issues are, their physical issues, he's not going to oppress them and then remove that oppression so that you give praise to Jesus. You're gonna end up giving praise to something else. Praise to the doctor. Praise to the glorious plastic plant in your house. You've organized your house along the principles of Feng Shui or whatever that's called. Which just the name of it makes me as an American go, Feng Shui, that sounds like a fungus. I don't think I want that in my house. You know, it's not the little Buddha statue. See, but that's what the devil will do. The devil would pull that oppression off so that you give glory to something that's false. Because he's a liar. So Jesus says, in a simple principle, how can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. It cannot stand. There's a logical truth, there's a foundational stability, and that is a kingdom has to be united. Notice it's not just a kingdom, it's not just some sort of political, civil organization. Verse 25, and if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. He's not talking about your dwelling place, He's not talking about a good foundation, or skilled carpentry work. That's not what he's talking about. He's talking about your family. And that's hard, isn't it? When there's contention within the family, that's not a place of stability, is it? You could say, man, it's okay. Because every single family experiences that at some point. to some degree, there's struggles, because families are made up of sinful people. And sometimes they get cross with each other. But if that crosswise stays long-term and chronic, it brings destruction. And there's a crumbling, isn't there? Sure there is. So Jesus is just explaining that. He's saying, listen, how can you, how can you, let's assume these scribes witness the deliverance of this person who's possessed by the devil, or by a demon, excuse me. This person is brought in, they can't see, they can't speak, Jesus delivers them, casts out the demon, and now the person can see and talk, clearly. They witness it! They say, oh, that's just the devil. Really? Because nobody here is praising the devil for what happened. Go back and read in Matthew and Luke, and the people begin to wonder, is this the Messiah? See, the glory is going to God. So the devil is not going to do that. He's against God. Jesus also then asks them to do a little personal assessment. Why is it, let me paraphrase it this way, it's as if Jesus says, why is it when I cast out a demon, it's the devil that does it, but when your children and your disciples cast out a demon, it's God that does it? Verse 27 of Matthew 12, And if I, by Beelzebub, cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? If the devil can only get cast out by the devil, then what about your disciples? What about your own children that are doing these same things? Which would imply, if they're actually literally casting out devils, they would be believers, wouldn't they? If God's working through them. But why is the power of God on them and not on me? It's because they've already decided they're against Jesus. So they have to find another reason, they have to build another case against him in order to do that. Some personal assessment has to be done. That has to happen in our own lives sometimes. We take a position on an issue maybe, could be a political issue, a social issue, whatever, and we've already made up our mind. Sometimes it could be a spiritual issue. We have to step back and make a fresh assessment, an honest assessment based on God's Word. So we're right with the Lord, not just right with ourselves. There's nothing more frustrating than somebody who wants to discuss with you, but they're always right and you're wrong because they're right. That's exasperating, isn't it? It's like, I don't even want to talk to you. Because even if I'm wrong, I don't want to talk to you because it doesn't matter what I say. You're right and I'm wrong. And you're like, anyways, I don't need to go down that road very far because you recognize that. So there's an accusation, there's an explanation, and then Jesus makes an application about this division. And he makes an application that is very serious. Verse 28. Well, let me back up. Verse 27. No man can enter into a strong man's house and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man, and then he will spoil his house. Okay, so let me remain in the undivided thought for just a moment, okay? Two things I want to share with you here. If you're struggling with something, that means you're bound. You're not the strong man. Something else has overcome you Now it's it's obvious if we're talking about people being possessed by the devil or by a demon That demon is taken possession and that does not happen to saved people Okay, because you have the Spirit of God dwelling within you so you cannot be possessed by a devil You can be oppressed Harassed, that kind of thing can happen. But usually what happens to Christians, it's not a demon that possesses us, it's our own sin that wraps us up. It could be a sin of drunkenness. It could be addiction to some substance, whatever that may be. It could be not even an addiction to a substance, it could be an addiction to an action, an activity. We can become bound by bitterness, by fear, by other things. And if you're struggling with something, that tells me, or if I'm struggling with something, I'm bound. And I need someone to rescue me. And that one who will rescue me is Christ. He can come in and bind the strong man that's wrapped up me, the weak man. He can do that for me and set me free. And that's a wonderful, that's a source of hope, is it not? You do not, and I, we do not have to remain in bondage to our fear, our anger, our bitterness, our addictions, whatever. Jesus is big enough to release us and rescue us from whatever that bondage may be. And we're not diminishing or dismissing the reality of those things. Those are real things. People are addicted to some kind of drug that's like got the clutches on. My dad smoked for all the way till I was in high school. I mean, he just smoked, smoked, smoked, smoked, smoked. I think I've told you this before. Mom, Benson Hedges. I don't even know if they make those anymore. I don't have a clue. Mom would come home from the grocery store. She'd give me the carton of cigarettes. She said, go stomp on these. And I'm sure, mom, that sounds like fun. So I don't even know where I went and did it. My own bedroom? I have no idea. Stomping all over the box of my dad's cigarettes. And then a day or so later, he'd come out with a cigarette and was kind of like, all kind of cockeyed and crooked. He was bound. He was hooked. And then I probably was maybe a junior in high school. He got the flu really bad one day. And he was tired of smoking and just being hooked on that. And he was like, in the flu fever delirium, he was like, I'm gonna take all these cigarettes and stuff them up the devil's nose. But he quit cold turkey and it was done. Doesn't work that way for everybody. Sometimes it is a struggle. But Jesus is big enough to help you be released from whatever it may be that binds you. Physical addiction, emotional struggles, whatever. He can do that. And that's kind of what he's saying here. He's saying, listen, this person who was delivered, there was a strong man and I had to go in and spoil him and bind him and kick him out so this person could be delivered. And I did. Alright, now we go to the next point. He's making this application, it's very serious, and that is the unpardonable. He makes a statement here that is very serious. Verily, just the fact that he starts with that word, it's like a proclamation of the solemnity of what he's about to say. Verily, I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewithsoever they shall blaspheme. So there's this solemn warning, but then it's kind of softened. And did you see what Jesus just said? All sins, those are deeds, actions. It's the word for something you did. A sinful thing you did. You missed the mark. And all blasphemies. All vicious, malicious, slanderous things that you may say. I want you to notice the word ALL. Have you ever met somebody who said, well I can never get saved because you don't know what I've done. You don't know what I've done. And they're right, I don't know what they've done. They could have done something unimaginable to me. I don't know. But Jesus says, all of them can be forgiven. Do you see how wide his grace is? All of them can be forgiven. All of them. That's what he said, isn't it? All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men and blasphemies wherewithsoever they shall blaspheme." Somebody can get mad at God because of some tragedy in their life and then later on think, well, I stepped over a line. No, you haven't. No, you haven't. Well, you don't know what I did, Pastor. I killed a man. That's pretty bad. Amen? That's pretty bad. That's not good, to be a murderer. I think there's a guy in the Bible who was a murderer. His name was David. David wasn't just a murderer. He was an adulterer. He was a traitor. And yet, he's the sweet soul most of Israel, the man after God's own heart. The one who wrote, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. That's a wonderful thing to grasp a hold of, that God's grace is broad enough and deep enough to forgive you of whatever sin you may have committed. You cannot out-sin God's grace. But you might be saying, wait a minute, Pastor, wait a minute, slow down. What about the next verse? Because Jesus says, but, oh, there is an exception. There is one exception. He that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation." That's pretty serious, isn't it? That's very serious. I have met people who says, Nope, I can't get saved because I've committed the unpardonable sin. And my answer to them is, No, you haven't. because you cannot, you physically cannot commit the unpardonable sin. Because here it tells me it's, look at verse 30, because, this is why he says it, because they said he hath an unclean spirit. They were eyewitnesses to the work of the Holy Spirit through the Messiah in delivering someone and in the hardness of their hearts They ascribed His miraculous actions to the devil. They had already made a decision to NOT believe in Him. No matter what! No matter what. In one commentary, the writer says, There is no forgiveness here, because such an attitude is incapable of seeking it. The only people who can commit the unpardonable sin are the people who were alive when Jesus had his ministry, and they saw him do miraculous works by the power of the Holy Spirit. We weren't alive then, unless somebody here is miraculously old. Okay? That's even older than people they found receiving Social Security checks. They found some people who are like over 300 years old still in the rolls like that's pretty amazing that they didn't so security from America before America was America That's pretty phenomenal You'd have to be over 2,000 years old still living to have committed this in You can't not commit the unpardonable sin you can Commit the sin unto death That John talks about in 1st John chapter 5 And that's a Christian who gets so hard-hearted and so wrapped up in their sin that they stray from God. That's the folks in the Church of Corinth who were, as Paul said, and some sleep. They had become such a stain upon their Savior that he took them home. But the unpardonable sin you cannot commit. That's not an excuse for us to say, woohoo, let's party hardy. No, that's not. Then there's an attitude issue there. Something else could be wrong. But think about that. Jesus says, all sins and blasphemies. And since I cannot commit the one exception, that means there's nothing I can do that can separate me from my Savior. What does Paul say? Not height or depth or any other creature can separate us from the love of God. We are secure in Him. That's a wonderful truth. Father, we thank you for your love and grace. The wonderful truth of your word. Would you help us please to be what we ought to be for your glory? Guide and direct now in Jesus' name, amen.