Mark 3:20-35
Jesus, in this passage, is drawing attention to conflict with Satan – the clash of God’s coming kingdom and Satan’s doomed empire.
Jesus will meet the crowds, he will welcome all children of God, he will engage with religious authorities and theological questions.
But here in Mark’s account of Jesus, the heart of his work is understood to be slowly but surely to incapacitate Satan, and remove God’s treasure from the clutches of evil.
The NRSV inserts a title: "The true kindred of Jesus." How bright and breezy!
It is not without cost to be true family.
When we discover that Jesus' family came to restrain him (the same verb here repeatedly used in Mark's account to describe Jesus' arrest) we bring our own ideas to the story. I think of a loving family, wanting to protect Jesus, even if they have to defame him to do so. Others will imagine a thoughtless family, completely unable to grasp what is going on. Still others will imagine a controlling family – thwarting Jesus in his mission because they will not allow God to act in new ways.
I don't think it matters too much what kind of a family they are. Jesus will not be restrained by malice, misunderstanding, or the best of good intentions.
Jesus will not keep his head down, toe lines, respect social and religious norms.
Jesus has come to plunder from Satan.
This is subtle, courageous, and powerful work.
People can understand or not understand, but they can’t sway Jesus from his mission.
Mark launches in to the story quite differently to Luke and Matthew, who start with birth families.
In Mark, John the Baptist preaches the forgiveness of sins and promises someone is coming; someone powerful, accompanied by the Holy Spirit.
And then comes Jesus, baptised by John in the Jordan, seeing heaven torn open, the Spirit coming to him like a dove, and hearing a voice from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love. With you I am well pleased." Abruptly followed by forty terse days in the wilderness, tempted by Satan and attended by angels.
Jesus, in a whirl of activity, collects followers, teaches in the synagogue, heals, and casts out demons.
Just to emphasis the theme:
Mark 1:23-28
Mark 1:34
Mark 1:39
Mark 3:11-12
These encounters are evidence, for Mark, that's God's rule is present in Jesus.
I am always inclined to focus on God's love, God’s welcoming embrace.
I am not comfortable with the language of evil nor knowledgeable about its meaning.
But I see there is something dark and dangerous in our peripheral vision – the human experience is far more complex than neutral creation and a loving God.
It has helped me to realise, thanks to this series, that neither sin nor salvation are static categories. We do not turn from sin once only and embrace salvation once only. Sin is always part of our story, salvation is always part of our story.
The choice to follow Jesus is a string of chances, to choose again and again life in Christ.
Coming up is the gospel in a nutshell: Sick of home, homesick, home.
Today’s is an unsettling nut, but it is the gospel in a nutshell too:
Plundered property, never forgotten, Jesus knows this house like the back of his hand.
There was a road safety advertisement I saw some time ago, where footpaths were depicted as narrow precarious paths, hemmed in by deep dark chasms.
Familiar scenes reveal danger.
(Shark on the footpath – similar message.)
It is unnerving and disturbing – chasms, sharks and evil.
Why do we need to know about this, why would we want to know about this?
This is a world we do not understand and cannot act in.
But we are alerted to evil in order to know Jesus is stealthily binding the powers – removing treasure from the clutch of Satan.
And, incidentally, the unforgivable sin Jesus refers to (sometimes believed to be suicide?) is to confuse Satan and God's Spirit… and reject what comes from God. Any sin can be forgiven so long as people do not cut themselves off from the source of forgiveness – God's Spirit.
We are horrified onlookers and colluding agents: the overwhelming situation in Syria, callous and calculating judgements about human lives, war and violence and hatred, prisons for profit, slave trading and people smuggling and children dying to produce clothes which will soon be trashed by fashion… make a list.
And I ask again: Why are Satan and evil so prominent here? I come to this topic mystified, ignorant.
The answer I find is that there is no place too dark or dangerous for God to be at work. Not just to be: To be at work.
Jesus’ family knows this.
Jesus, in this passage, is drawing attention to conflict with Satan – the clash of God’s coming kingdom and Satan’s doomed empire.
Jesus will meet the crowds, he will welcome all children of God, he will engage with religious authorities and theological questions.
But here in Mark’s account of Jesus, the heart of his work is understood to be slowly but surely to incapacitate Satan, and remove God’s treasure from the clutches of evil.
The NRSV inserts a title: "The true kindred of Jesus." How bright and breezy!
It is not without cost to be true family.
When we discover that Jesus' family came to restrain him (the same verb here repeatedly used in Mark's account to describe Jesus' arrest) we bring our own ideas to the story. I think of a loving family, wanting to protect Jesus, even if they have to defame him to do so. Others will imagine a thoughtless family, completely unable to grasp what is going on. Still others will imagine a controlling family – thwarting Jesus in his mission because they will not allow God to act in new ways.
I don't think it matters too much what kind of a family they are. Jesus will not be restrained by malice, misunderstanding, or the best of good intentions.
Jesus will not keep his head down, toe lines, respect social and religious norms.
Jesus has come to plunder from Satan.
This is subtle, courageous, and powerful work.
People can understand or not understand, but they can’t sway Jesus from his mission.
Mark launches in to the story quite differently to Luke and Matthew, who start with birth families.
In Mark, John the Baptist preaches the forgiveness of sins and promises someone is coming; someone powerful, accompanied by the Holy Spirit.
And then comes Jesus, baptised by John in the Jordan, seeing heaven torn open, the Spirit coming to him like a dove, and hearing a voice from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love. With you I am well pleased." Abruptly followed by forty terse days in the wilderness, tempted by Satan and attended by angels.
Jesus, in a whirl of activity, collects followers, teaches in the synagogue, heals, and casts out demons.
Just to emphasis the theme:
Mark 1:23-28
Mark 1:34
Mark 1:39
Mark 3:11-12
These encounters are evidence, for Mark, that's God's rule is present in Jesus.
I am always inclined to focus on God's love, God’s welcoming embrace.
I am not comfortable with the language of evil nor knowledgeable about its meaning.
But I see there is something dark and dangerous in our peripheral vision – the human experience is far more complex than neutral creation and a loving God.
It has helped me to realise, thanks to this series, that neither sin nor salvation are static categories. We do not turn from sin once only and embrace salvation once only. Sin is always part of our story, salvation is always part of our story.
The choice to follow Jesus is a string of chances, to choose again and again life in Christ.
Coming up is the gospel in a nutshell: Sick of home, homesick, home.
Today’s is an unsettling nut, but it is the gospel in a nutshell too:
Plundered property, never forgotten, Jesus knows this house like the back of his hand.
There was a road safety advertisement I saw some time ago, where footpaths were depicted as narrow precarious paths, hemmed in by deep dark chasms.
Familiar scenes reveal danger.
(Shark on the footpath – similar message.)
It is unnerving and disturbing – chasms, sharks and evil.
Why do we need to know about this, why would we want to know about this?
This is a world we do not understand and cannot act in.
But we are alerted to evil in order to know Jesus is stealthily binding the powers – removing treasure from the clutch of Satan.
And, incidentally, the unforgivable sin Jesus refers to (sometimes believed to be suicide?) is to confuse Satan and God's Spirit… and reject what comes from God. Any sin can be forgiven so long as people do not cut themselves off from the source of forgiveness – God's Spirit.
We are horrified onlookers and colluding agents: the overwhelming situation in Syria, callous and calculating judgements about human lives, war and violence and hatred, prisons for profit, slave trading and people smuggling and children dying to produce clothes which will soon be trashed by fashion… make a list.
And I ask again: Why are Satan and evil so prominent here? I come to this topic mystified, ignorant.
The answer I find is that there is no place too dark or dangerous for God to be at work. Not just to be: To be at work.
Jesus’ family knows this.