Mark 3:20-35
Jesus in the House
It is interesting to me that at the start of the Pentecost
Season, we have the appearance of Satan in the readings. This also happens at the beginning of
Lent. It’s almost as if the lectionary
wants to set before us, at the very start of the season, a reminder of the real
enemy we face – the true villain. Don’t
think that he doesn’t have sights set on you.
But as much as it is a warning, it’s also a reminder of who has the
victory over the old evil foe – and that, of course, is Jesus. He defeats the temptations of Satan in the
wilderness. He crushes the head of the
ancient serpent, fulfilling the Genesis promise at the cross. And here in our Gospel reading he sheds
further light on his defeat of the devil, and that is good news for all who
trust in him.
First Jesus returns home – either to his own home or to
Peter’s, it’s not clear. But just
looking for some rest and time to eat with his disciples, his popularity with
the crowds was making even that difficult.
His family didn’t know what to make of it all and surmised that Jesus
was out of his mind. He’d shirked his
responsibilities at home and had become a preacher – gathered a following – and
he kept going on about the kingdom of God.
It made no sense to them and so they just chalked him up as crazy. Here we see echoes of Jesus’ statement that a
prophet is never accepted in his home town.
Ah, but there was another party In town. Some of the scribes had come down from
Jerusalem, and had likely heard of this popular preacher, and come to check him
out. Obviously they didn’t like what they
saw and heard. They couldn’t deny his miracles.
But they didn’t accuse him of being crazy. They
came at Jesus with a different accusation.
He’s of the devil! He’s casting
out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons!
Well isn’t that rich?
Jesus, of course, sets the record straight. Of course he’s not of the devil. If the devil was working against himself,
that wouldn’t make any sense. A house
divided against itself cannot stand.
Rather, he will shortly go on to show just who it is that has succumbed
to the Father of Lies and the great blasphemer.
No, when it comes to the devil’s house, Jesus has come to
plunder it. And he tells this sort of
mini-parable – saying if you want to steal from the strong man’s house, you
first have to bind him up. Then you can
plunder him. But that, of course,
implies you are strong enough to overcome the strong man. And of course, Jesus is. He has come to bind the devil and plunder his
goods – that is, to steal away those who are held in the devil’s sway. To take them from the Devil’s house to his
own house and safekeeping. To rescue us
from the clutches of evil. What a
marvelous word picture he paints.
Implicit is also this:
That the devil is strong! We see
it throughout scripture. He is strong in
his work of deception. He lies and lies
well. He will even use and twist
scripture to do it.
He brings calamity and destruction wherever God permits him
to do so – look at Job – his whole life was turned upside down by Satan. He lost his family, his possessions, even his
health. The devil entered King Saul, and even one of the disciples of Jesus. Demons possessed many people in the stories of
the New Testament. And those evil
spirits caused all sorts of harm and trouble.
Don’t think for a minute that we are immune to such
spiritual deception, oppression, and danger.
Don’t think that was then and this is now, and the devil doesn’t really
bother people any more. Our struggle is
still not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil,
and the devil is chief among them. He’s
a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
He’s the old evil foe who seeks to work his woe, with deep guile and
great might, and on earth is not his equal.
And what makes his work so easy is our willing
participation. We are so often
accomplices to his deception, as we deceive ourselves into sin. We give ear to his palatable lies, his
comfortable half-truths. It’s so often
easier than facing the hard truth. And
were it not for Jesus, we’d be forever bound and shackled in the devil’s
dungeon, unable to escape the prince of this world, and not even wanting to.
But Jesus plunders the devil’s goods by bringing the
forgiveness of sins. The Gospel is what
sets us free from sin, death, and devil.
A forgiveness so free and full that it covers all sins of men – except one
– the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
That is to say, the rejection of the Spirit’s work itself. That is to say, rejecting the very
forgiveness of Christ – unbelief – is the only unforgivable sins – by definition.
It’s rather ironic that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit,
and unbelief in Jesus himself is exactly what the Scribes and Pharisees were
guilty of! Without Christ, they who
accused him of working for the devil, did that very thing!
And then, we are back to Jesus’ family. Now, it’s unclear whether Jesus’ mother and
brothers who came to see him at the end of the passage are the same family who
called him crazy in the first part of it.
If so, it makes more sense why he seems a bit dismissive of them
here. But either way, he’s not despising
family or teaching us to do so. He’s
making a larger point.
He says, “who are my mother and my brothers? It’s these people here”, that is, “Those who
hear me and believe in me”. They are the
ones who do the will of God – those who hear, and take to heart, the Gospel of
Jesus Christ.
Or to put it another way:
The members of the household of faith are the family that matters
more. Just as the only sin that matters
in the end is the sin of unbelief, so the only family that matters in the end
is the family of faith.
When Jesus is in the house, that’s all that matters. When Jesus comes to the devil’s house, he
comes to set captive sinners free. When
Jesus is in the house, he’s the one we need to hear. When Jesus is in the house, he comes to bring
us into his family, and into his Father’s house.
Friends, Jesus is in the house today.
He is here by force of his promise, when we are gathered in
his name. He is here, as we gather to do
the same – hear his word, believe and confess it, and thus do the will of
God. He is here with his forgiveness,
springing us again from the devil’s big-house.
He is here, today, present in the promise of his body and blood in bread
and wine, for that very purpose.
And it is not a house divided, but rather, a house
united. United in a common confession of
Christ, we are part of that family of faith – brothers and sisters of Christ,
and in Christ. This Holy Communion is an
outward expression of that inward unity.
You know, the world finds its unity in all sorts of other places and
things. Oh, we root for the same sports team. Oh, we’re from the same neighborhood. People are classified into identity groups
along race and income and culture and hobbies and all manner of
distinctions. But in the house of God,
there is only one distinction that ultimately matters – the confession of faith
in Jesus Christ. That we hear his words,
confess them, believe them.
So beware the devil, Christians, but do not fear him. For Jesus is in the house. He plunders you from the devil. And he makes you his own, even his own dear
family. A house divided cannot
stand. But a house united in Christ
enjoys forgiveness of all sins, and a unity that is found in Christ alone. May it ever be so for us all. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
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