"Belonging to Jesus' Forever Family!"
Falling in Love with Jesus…all over again! An epic journey through the Gospel of Mark (message #22)
Pastor Jerry Ingalls
June 26, 2011 ~ welcome to the summer of 2011!
Before we turn to our Scripture passage for this week I want us each to pull out our sermon notes included in your bulletin and turn it to the back page. You will see that I have included an overview of last week's sermon. I have done this for two reasons. First, because I didn't provide you with a written outline last week and I know some of you actually keep these and use them for ongoing study. God bless you and may your tribe increase! Second, because I wanted to make sure understand this very important teaching. And with learning repetition wins the day! We have to get this if we want to grow up in Christ…
Review from last week's sermon on Mark 3:28-30: We learned that the context for this passage starts in Mark 3:20 with Mark 3:30 serving as a bookend to Mark 3:22. That is important to understand because our focus was on verses 28 & 29, but we must keep them in context to properly interpret and apply the teaching to our lives.
Mark 3:28 "Truly [Amen] I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter" emphasizes to us Point #1: The heart of God is forgiveness! And we read three emphatic scriptures to make this point (Psalm 86:5; Micah 7:18-19; Psalm 103:12) demonstrating that from the Old to the New Testament this is true.
Mark 3:29 "but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin" emphasizes to us Point #2: The plan of God is forgiveness exclusively through Jesus Christ!
And using numerous Scriptures we looked at the plan of God to fulfill the very intent of His heart and character—to forgive and restore all of His children to Himself. We emphasized 1 John 5:10-13; 1 Corinthians 1:18; Romans 10:13; 1 John 1:9; and Psalm 51:17. I added John 14:6 & Romans 8:38-39 to the list as I wanted to include them as well, but did not have the time to do so last week. What did we learn that is so important?
We learned the greatest promise of God. This is the promise of God: if you, with a broken and repentant heart, confess your sins to Jesus Christ then God forgives you! Truly, the eternal sin (v. 39) is not the words of blasphemy or the committing of heinous crimes against God and humanity—the Cross is big enough for all sins committed and blasphemies spoken. The eternal sin is not an act, but rather the hardened state of one's heart that rejects and refuses God's invitation through the Holy Spirit to come to Jesus and confess one's sins. It is to never accept the full revelation of God that Jesus is the exclusive means of salvation through God's redemptive work of the Cross. You gain Christ and the assurance of Heaven through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit given at the time of conversion! Good works then must be understood as a consequence of salvation, not a condition for it!
The Word of God from the Gospel of Mark 3:31-35 (NAU). Let's read it together out loud. "Then His mother and His brothers arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called Him. 32 A crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, 'Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You.' 33 Answering them, He said, 'Who are My mother and My brothers?' 34 Looking about at those who were sitting around Him, He said, 'Behold My mother and My brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.'"
To help us get into our story, please watch this drama that captures the unofficial and unrecorded response of Mary to Jesus' rhetorical question, "Who are My mother and My brothers?" [Debbie's drama and testimony]
It is amazing how casually and desensitized we can read through the Scriptures without being deeply impacted by the truths of what Jesus is doing and saying. When we truly fall in love with the Jesus Christ of the Gospels, and not our own idealized sterilized vision of Jesus, then we realize there are serious implications to becoming a part of His movement—the Kingdom of God! And it starts by each of us making a decision to become a part of Jesus' forever family—this means receiving eternal life, getting saved, being born again through the Holy Spirit indwelling in us and taking us from being dead in sin to alive in Christ. Let's explore this deeper…
First, BELONGING TO JESUS' FOREVER FAMILY IS ABOUT COMING TO JESUS IN FAITH!
Let's read again Mark 3:31-34 in the context of Mark 3:20-21 which provides the context for today's passage. The story starts, "And He came home [we are in Capernaum; most likely back in Simon Peter's house], and the crowd gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal [we've seen a scene like this once before in Mark 2]. When His own people [an expression commonly understand as members of a clan or family] heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, 'He has lost His senses.' . . .[now today's text] Then His mother and His brothers arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called Him. [They can't get near Jesus so they send a message through the crowd to Jesus.] A crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, 'Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You.' [The crowd, and his family, would have expected Jesus to respond to this call because of the fifth commandment of "Honor your father and your mother" (Exodus 20:12), as well as being a cultural expectation to respond to your mother's request. But Jesus is not the "good boy" we would expect him to be and drop everything at his mother's call. (Incidentally, the church for far too long has tried to make Christian men into good boys rather than empower them as the warriors God created us to be…and we wonder why so many men don't want to have anything to do with the church or the Jesus we have portrayed to them?!?)] Answering them, He said, 'Who are My mother and My brothers?' Looking about at those who were sitting around Him, He said, 'Behold My mother and My brothers!'"
To understand this story, I want to hold in contrast with a very similar situation found in Mark 2:1-5. Flip a page back in your Bible and let's read this story. "When He had come back to Capernaum several days afterward, it was heard that He was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them. And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men. Being unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying. And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven.'"
It's interesting how similar the physical contexts of the situations are. They are in the same home in Capernaum with so many pressing in on Jesus to hear Him teach that the primary characters of the story cannot get to Him. It's also very interesting to note that both stories also include a controversy with the Scribes. I think that was always a byline to Jesus' ministry. Let's look at how Jesus responds to the two different approaches of those wanting to get His attention.
First, the stretcher-bearers had the faith to see that God had made a way for them to get to Jesus and they were so desperate to get to Jesus that they were willing to climb to the roof, dig a hole in it, and lower the paralytic down to Jesus so that He could heal him. And Jesus seeing their faith, offered forgiveness of sins healing the man's paralysis.
The second group, Jesus' mother and brothers, did not approach Jesus with this same faith desperate to get to the One who could forgive them of their sins and heal them, but stayed on the outside and expected Him to respond to their call because of their family relationship.
I believe in looking at these stories side by side, we learn something deeply true and core to the Gospel: We must come to Jesus Christ in faith; there is no other way to be a part of God's forever family—we are not entitled to salvation because of family name, religious affiliation, community identity, or worldly accomplishment. Who are you putting your trust in for salvation?
It's only through faith we are saved; this is God's grace! The Bible proclaims in Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."
Are you desperate to be in Jesus' forever family or are you comfortable staying on the outside with the appearance of relationship? Do you belong to Jesus' forever family?
Second, BELONGING TO JESUS' FOREVER FAMILY LEADS TO A LIFE OF RADICAL OBEDIENCE!
Our Scripture lesson ends with Mark 3:35, "For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother."
The words of Jesus in this same situation are recorded in the Gospel of Luke 8:21, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it."
Jesus is expanding his declaration in verse 34 and moving from a statement bound to the local context, to a futuristic declaration of what it means to be a member of Jesus' forever family. This is more than a descriptive verse capturing a historical occasion; rather it is a prescriptive verse for all who would claim to be members of Jesus' forever family! It is critical to understand that just like we learned last week with good works (Good works must be understood as a consequence of salvation, not a condition for it!), one's separation from earthly allegiances and identities can only come as a consequence of discipleship, not as a condition for discipleship.
With this in mind, let's use one of Jesus' own brothers to understand what this call to radical obedience looks like in our lives. Remember, at this time Jesus' brothers did not believe (John 7:5 states, "For not even His brothers were believing in Him."), but listen to the radical obedience in the life of one of his brothers, James, after he becomes a part of Jesus' forever family. James was moved from a place of not believing and being kept on the outside due to this lack of faith. But, it is amazing to me that the half brother of Jesus, James, would respond to Jesus' words from this specific occasion with such conviction that he would go on to be a great leader of the Christian church in Jerusalem and be the writer of the book we call James found in the Bible.
This is one of the earliest written (approx. 49 AD) and to me personally one of the most challenging letters in the entire New Testament whose overarching theme is that a person of faith must demonstrate their conversion with works; we must not only hear the Word of God, we must do it! Listen to the brother of Jesus after He became a member of Jesus' forever family. James 1:22-24 teaches, "But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was."
Talk about a complete life transformation that could only be caused by the movement of the Holy Spirit who convicted James of his sin and brought him to submission to the Lordship of his own brother, Jesus Christ. How difficult to submit to your brother!?! Another powerful example of a former blasphemer who became a leader in the church; I very much relate to this as I once was a blasphemer and a very sinful man indulging myself in the world's pleasures and philosophies. Good thing the Cross covers all sins for those who come humbly to the Lord and ask for forgiveness! Thank you Jesus!
James' letter is an example in itself of how a life is radically changed when we have been captivated by the love of God through Jesus Christ! The Bible declares in 1 John 5:3, "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome."
When we are called into radical obedience through the extravagant love of Jesus Christ, then God gives Himself to us through the presence of His Holy Spirit to empower our lives and lead us to do His will. There should be no burden on our part; you must trust in the Spirit!
The radical obedience called forth by the Master Himself and demonstrated by His Apostles and the early church are the fruit of a life adopted into Jesus' forever family through the Holy Spirit! Friends, we too, cannot expect ourselves to live such a life before we are truly a member of Jesus' forever family (filled with the Spirit) and that only happens through faith. Have you been captivated by the love of Jesus Christ? Does your life reflect your family allegiance?
Love compels us to act! Remember this key point of the Gospel of Jesus Christ—radical obedience and all the good works that may flow out of this obedience are the consequence of your salvation, not a condition for it. You are saved by faith alone; now let the world see your true family allegiance by doing the will of God—this is the message of Jesus Christ that is emphasized by his own brother who went from blasphemy to radical obedience once he was captivated by love!
If you are working hard to try to win favor with God or to "tip the scales" in your favor, then you are burdened with religious motivations which have nothing to do with Jesus Christ or the full revelation of God through the Gospel of Jesus Christ! You've missed the whole point! You are not free yet!
As men and women who are adopted into Jesus' forever family, adoption comes with its costs, but I am here to declare that the costs are eternally outweighed by the privileges and rewards. The earliest followers of Jesus confronted Jesus with the cost they had born to be in His forever family and I want you to listen to Jesus' response. This is as true today as when Jesus first spoke it to Peter. From the Gospel of Mark 10:28-30, "Peter began to say to Him, 'Behold, we have left everything and followed You.' Jesus said, 'Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel's sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.'"
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