We are family (Mark 3:20-35)

“Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:20-35)

As followers of Jesus, we are now family – Jesus the radical King is the head of the family and we bear his likeness, sharing his power and authority – sharing the ways of his kingdom and living in obedience – we have a family business of living out God’s kingdom in word and deed. Let’s encourage each other in that task.

I’m always in awe of how people tell stories – of the skill involved in luring in the audience whether that’s in a book or film or TV or theatre . Storytelling has changed a lot as our culture has changed so has the way we take in the telling of stories. I was listening to a podcast recently about how streaming platforms have changed how TV shows and films are created. There’s an expectation that when people are watching this content they might also be on their mobile phones and so their attention isn’t fully on what they’re watching. Content creators are to not make storylines too complicated because it’s unlikely that full attention is being given. Theres a need for things to be fast paced. There’s nothing wrong with a slow developing story but even I find myself wanting quickness and action with what I’m involved with, whether that’s a book or a show. I want to get stuck into the action of what’s taking place.

Mark’s Gospel is definitely a gospel of action. Mark’s gospel doesn’t contain the the sermon on the mount of Matthew or the sermon on the plain of Luke. There aren’t big chunks of teaching – a lot of it is about the action of Jesus. If we look through the first three chapters of Mark we see that. Jesus has been busy: healing and driving out demons (1:21-34); healing and forgiving sins of the paralysed man (2:1-12); befriending sinners (2:13-17); upsetting the pharisees (2:23-3:6); encountering crowds (3:7) and impure spirits (3:11) and finalising his team (3:13-19). There is a lot of action that all points to who Jesus is and what he came to do.

Up to and including our reading today from the first three chapters of Mark there are already opinions of Jesus and his ministry. Word has got around – the general public have seen his power and the crowds flock wherever he goes. Today’s passage shows us that there was so many people crowded there there wasn’t room to eat. We also get an idea of what his family think of him – words got back to the family about what he’s doing and they seem to take it upon themselves to find him – thinking that he’s mad. And then we have the opinions of the teachers of the law, the scribes, Pharisees, herodians – in the beginning of chapter 3 they want to destroy Jesus. In our passage today, they think he’s possessed.

As we said, Marks gospel is one of action things are punchy and to make it punchy Mark has a way of editing and composing his book to communicate in really effective ways to highlight who Jesus is. I’m fascinated by the role of editors in the entertainment industry – there’s this plethora of material that has been written or filmed and then a really skilled editor can cut things in a way that gets to the heart of what the storytelling is about. They are able to edit and cut and position things in a way that really gets the message across. And that’s what Mark has done in his writing. He’s edited his material in way that really communicates things about who Jesus is and the kingdom he demonstrates in quick snappers of information.

One of Mark’s editing tools is the use of a sandwich. He’ll start something then they’ll be an interruption and then he finishes the starting thought. like a sandwich. the starting and the finishing are the bread and the middle is the filling. Together it makes sense and holds together and communicates something that might seem separate but actually holds together to make a strong point.

In our passage today the bread are the first two verses and the last five verses and the filling is from verse 22 to 31, where we have this weird kind of Beelzebul controversy and on first reading we might think how is that related but hopefully we’ll see.

In v 22, we get the accusation from the teachers of the law that Jesus is of the Devil, that he has an impure spirit. Almost feels like desperation on the part of the teachers of the law that they’re so desperate to destroy Jesus they’re trying to create any kind of conspiracy to diminish Jesus’ ministry and popularity.

Then we get this explanation in v 23-26 that shows if that were true why would Satan want to destroy himself – Jesus has been casting out demons so why would Satan drive out Satan? if Jesus was of Satan what would be the point? When a kingdom is divided it often collapses or becomes weaker as a result – division leads to Civil War. Satan’s reign would end.

And Jesus says that’s what he has come to do, not because he’s of Satan but he’s come as a stronger one to tie up the devil. Tom Wright put it this way: the stronger one has arrived and the strong one finds his house burgled. Jesus’ healings and particularly his exorcisms are signs that God‘s kingdom is indeed arriving – the kingdom in which people who have been held captive will at last be set free. This freedom comes through the forgiveness of sins (v28) as he brings in the new kingdom.

In the context of Jesus being accused of being if the Devil Jesus reveals more about who he is and what he has come to do. Then we get this interesting verse, v 29, which is often taken out of context and causes lots of puzzlement and confusion. We need to keep it within the context of what Jesus is saying in response to this accusation that he’s possessed by the devil and the misunderstanding of who he really is.

With relation to this verse about this unforgivable sin and blaspheming of the Holy Spirit- I found Tom Wright’s thinking on this really helpful so I’m going to read this: ‘Once you label what is in fact the work of the Holy Spirit as the work of the devil there is no way back you will be blind to the truth if you decide firmly that the Doctor who is offering to perform a lifesaving operation on you is in fact a statistic murderer you will never give your consent to the operation.’

I found that imagery really helpful – Jesus himself said earlier on in Mark’s Gospel about a doctor being for the sick and not for the well. If you don’t believe that Jesus is going to be able to forgive our sins, if we don’t believe he is the Son of God and has the power to conquer sin and death then where do we stand? The Holy Spirit helps us to understand who Jesus is and if we reject him, we are blaspheming the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit helps us to come to a place where we invite Jesus into our lives and this unforgivable sin is about saying I don’t want Jesus in my life – I think that that is what this verse is about in the context of Jesus being the Son of God who is going to bring in a new kingdom and defeat the evil one.

So who is Jesus? From the passage is he the devil? Is he a madman? He was bringing in a new kingdom with power and authority. I think sometimes we might think that Jesus is meek and mild, that he is all about fluffy love. But last week Paul talked about how Jesus is a radical king bringing in a radical kingdom that turned a lot of the thinking of the day on its head.

If the filling of our passage from v22-39 is about Jesus bringing in a new kingdom that will oust Satan, where does the bread fit in? As we look at those verses from Mark 3:20-21 we read: When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” that’s the top bit of bread. And the bottom bit of bread comes from v31 to 35. These bread parts are emphasising the importance of whose family Jesus part of. Jesus is not of the Devil’s family. He’s bringing in a new kingdom that will extend God’s reign beyond the Jews to include Jew and Gentile, slave and free.

This new kingdom breaks the mould of what has gone before. Jesus doesn’t even fit with the normal family values of his day, he’s shaken them up. Jewish culture the family unit was tight and long-lasting, children often lived and worked closely with their parents. There was a sense of loyalty to family as being part of their God-given thinking. And yet in these verses following on from Jesus being accused of being a member of Satan’s family – Jesus challenges his loyalty to his family unit: “Who are my mother and my brothers? … Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” Jesus will extend his family to include all believers in Him.

Jesus is not a madman he’s not the devil, but he is the Son of God shaking things up. He’s shaking up the understanding of who God is and how he acts and who he has chosen.

We are family. All who follow Jesus and want to do his will, are family. Part of our obeying God’s will is that we are a family of believers – some of us are quirky, we might not always get on with each other, there might be disagreements, but we are all family. How can people tell that we are family? What does that look like?

I think our demonstration of being family is impacted by who we think Jesus is in our lives. Are we trusting in God’s power to give us the strength and energy to show love for each other in the care and support we give to one another? What do we need Jesus to shake up so that we really are being family to each other?

How can we continue in his will, being part of the radical kings’ kingdom, being part of his family, growing in his likeness? In God’s family, we all have different skills and giftings, but we all work together in obedience to him.

So how do we show our community that we are family? How can they tell? What are we going to do so it’s clear that we are family with the authority and power that Jesus has given to us through his spirit as we live out our lives in obedience to Him?