Making Him Known

I'm going to begin by saying something very controversial. I'm going to say something that's going to result with many being upset with me, that will cause my enemies to increase their anger and resent for me, will only grow more hostile and adversarial. They will want me to be silenced. They will be pointing arrows to my back. But I must speak the truth. Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the son of the living God. And that by believing in him, your sins are forgiven. You shall not perish, but have everlasting and eternal life. There is only one way to God, and that is through his son, Jesus Christ. And that is the gospel. This Jesus came into the world by a virgin. And at the age of 30, he began his ministry. He performed great miracles and wonders by the power of the Holy Spirit. And 33 years later, he was crucified for our sins on a cross. But thanks be to God, on the third day, the Father raised him from the dead from that same spirit, that Holy Spirit. And that promise, that inheritance of everlasting life and resurrection, is promised to us. Now, you say that's not controversial. You say that we are not at odds with you, Father Aster. None of us are upset with what you just said. None of us will be pointing arrows towards your back. True. Likely not. But I wasn't speaking to you. I wasn't speaking to anyone in the physical realm. I was speaking to those who dwell in the spiritual realms. Yes, I was speaking to Satan. I was speaking to demons. And I was speaking to unclean spirits. Yes, Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is the second Person of the Trinity. In Him dwells God. The fullness of God. They despise me for saying such words. More than you and I could ever imagine. They are upset at me for uttering and proclaiming such words. Remember, our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, the powers, the authorities of the spiritual realm. The forces of evil and darkness. That is where our battle is. And the will of God is to make Him known. Who's Him? Jesus Christ. To know Him and to make Him known. That is the will of God. And the enemy, Satan, demons, unclean spirits, all despise me for saying such truth. They have such great disdain for me. Do you know how much Satan hates me? Think about it. How much he despises my very existence. Can you imagine how much of a problem I am for him? How much of a threat I pose to him and his kingdom? Have you seen things that way? Do you look at the world that way? But not only me. All those in my position, in this office, in this way. I mean, our existence, our call is fundamentally to speak truth about God. And Satan despises that. He wants to silence us. Speak about anything, proclaim anything from the hilltops except this one truth. For this one truth exposes him. Reminds the world that he has been defeated. He has lost. The great deceiver in that garden, the great liar, the king of lies, who has sought to destroy every human being since that garden has lost. And he has lost because of one reason. Because our God, our heavenly God, sent his son Jesus Christ to die for our sins. And by dying for our sins on that cross, he defeated Satan. And the power and the stronghold he had on every human being on earth. That's you. That's me. That's your family members. Those are the people you love. Those are your children. Those are your siblings. Those are your parents. Those are your friends. Yes. Speak about anything but that one truth. Talk and spend your time in conversation about anything but that. Because it is that one truth, that one event, that one person that changes everything for all human history, for every human being. It is the cross of Jesus Christ. It is the person of Jesus Christ where the Holy Spirit dwelled, the Holy Spirit of God. He hates me. There is a huge target on my back to speak truth is to create adversaries. That applies to all of us. There is great power that you have as well. And you should not fear to speak the truth about God because God protects us. I will not be afraid, for God so helped me, to preach his truth. And if that means that I will amass more enemies, more arrows on my back, so be it. But I do not fear. And neither should you. Because our God is not a small God. Our God is not a powerless God. Our God is a big God. Our God is the God of heaven. Who can stand between you and God? No one. No power, no entity, no authority, no ruler in the physical or the spiritual realm. God loves his people. And he's poured out his spirit on Pentecost on his people. And they are protected by him, sealed. So we should walk with confidence when we speak the truth, for we must speak the truth. For it's by hearing the word that one is saved. Why begin this way? Because the Holy Spirit told me. The Holy Spirit told me to share these words this morning. The same spirit that was in Jesus, that Holy Spirit that was there that conceived him, the Holy Spirit that was baptized onto him in the Jordan River, that led him through the wilderness, that spoke through him such profound wisdom, that performed all kinds of sights and wonders, casted out demons, performed all kinds of miracles. And ultimately, that Holy Spirit that raised him from the dead. That is the will of God. To know God as he is and to make God known. That is the will of God. Make no mistake about it. What is the will of God? There it is. To know God as he is. Well, how is he? God is love. God is love in Father, Son, Holy Spirit. But what else is the will of God? Make him known by word and by deed. That is the will of God. And that is the mission and commission of the church. You and me. This is not optional. This isn't just for the man up here behind the pulpit. This is for all of us to go out into our world and to make God known. But you must first know. And you must speak truth and not be afraid. I must speak truth and not be afraid. The enemy shudders when we speak about truth. The enemy despises us. Wants to silence us. Wants to put all sorts of things to preoccupy us in our lives. But no, this is the mission of the church. And we need to know this, especially if we want to understand today's lesson. C.S. Lewis, the great writer, the great apologist, came up with a paradigm that probably most people know, even if they don't know him, the author. Lewis was concerned that many people in his day, and even today, were saying something about Jesus that he believed was not true. That you couldn't say that Jesus was a good teacher. That he was noble, a moral leader. That he was a religious revolutionary. That he was a man of immense compassion and of great wisdom. And that there were many people in his time that were throwing all sorts of laurels at him and accolades about all his accomplishments. This very noble, compassionate, kind of insightful, exceptional leader. C.S. Lewis was convinced that this is not an option for Jesus. He can't be a good teacher, a noble, wise teacher. He's not just a religious leader, a trustworthy leader. He cannot be wise, he cannot be a spiritual mentor, only because of one very important matter. Because he claimed to be God. As soon as he claimed to be God, all of those go out the window. He eliminated himself from the category because people, good people, wise people, sensible people, don't think they are God. And they don't want you to think they are God. Jesus has been deemed by many people as very humble, wise, and mild. Well, humility is not compatible when one declares themselves God. The God of the universe, the one who was there from eternity past, that you, that he, made everything that is in existence, and that he will be the final judge of everyone? How could that be a mild? Humble, meek person? As soon as Jesus declared he was God, the Son, that he had the same nature as God, as soon as he said that, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father, you've seen God, he can't be a good teacher, simply. That's no longer possible. It's not an option. C.S. Lewis then said, there's one of three things that follow. One of the three things is true. Either Jesus was a lunatic, a liar, or Lord. That's it. If you take Jesus for his words, he has to be one of those three. He can't be purely a good moral teacher, revolutionary, compassionate, and mild. No. It's either he's a lunatic, he's a liar, or he's Lord. And I can't be sure, I can't be 100% confident about it, but I imagine C.S. Lewis got that paradigm from Mark chapter three. Because in this story that we just read, he's viewed as a lunatic who has lost his mind, a liar, someone who says he's from God, but who's probably from Satan. And lastly, the implicit claims he makes about the Holy Spirit inevitably leads him to Lord. So let us look at today's text closely. Because remember, he can't be these things. Lunatics don't. Heal sick people, raise the dead people, dominate demons. Lunatics don't speak the way Jesus spoke, think the way he thought, act the way he acted. Lunatics don't attract women and children the way Jesus attracted them. Nor is Jesus a liar. Nor is he the cleverest perhaps of all deceivers because liars don't raise dead people. Frauds don't heal sick people. Frauds don't dominate the world of demons either. And neither do frauds die and having been dead, come back to life. So we're really left with one alternative with Jesus, if you're honest. He is who he claimed to be. Woo. Are we upsetting some folks today in the spiritual realm, that is? That he is God. The evidence is in the virgin birth, the sinless life, power of the physical world, power of the spiritual world, power over death, power over life. Clearly, he is Lord. And if you look at all the Gospels, they make that point clear time and time again in every aspect. Right? That you may believe that Jesus is God, that he is God the Son, and that by believing in his name, you will have eternal life. The reason this is important because if you get this question either right or wrong, salvation is at stake. Not according to me. According to this book we call God's Holy Word. So not me, but God himself says these things. We're reading Gospel of Mark. And what does Mark begin with? He begins by saying in the very first words of his Gospel, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, period. He is not just a teacher. He's not just a rabbi, a religious moral figure in history. He is the Son of God, period. And what he's trying to communicate from beginning to end is what the Gospel of John ends with. That you may believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and by believing in his name, you will have everlasting life. So here we are in chapter three. Jesus has started his ministry in southern Judea. He was baptized in the Jordan River in the south. He goes into, according to Mark, into the temple and cleanses the temple. But then he goes up into the northern part of Israel, of Palestine, and that is the region of Galilee. And he's been up there for at least a year, according to this chronological order in the Gospel of Mark. And by this point, he's called out 12 disciples. He's casted out demons. He's healed many people, many sick people, and the crowds are growing. His followers are increasing. And here we are, chapter three, verse 20. Then he went home. This is likely not his home, because we know no prophet is welcome in his home. In Luke chapter four, Jesus went to Nazareth, and they asked him to teach in the synagogue about Sabbath. And there he casted out a demon. And what did they do? They wanted to throw him off a cliff and have him killed. So likely he's not in Nazareth. He's in Capernaum, where Jesus' closest disciple, Peter, lived. Likely this is Peter's home, where he healed Peter's mother-in-law. And this is the same place in chapter two where it was in Peter's home, where they allowed the paralytic man to come down from the roof, and Jesus healed him. And so there's huge crowds coming to him at this home. So many, why? Because they want to be healed too. They want to see the sights and wonders. Wouldn't you? Wouldn't I, if we saw this person, right before our very naked eyes, heal the sick, cast out demons, give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf? Wouldn't we? Wouldn't the word spread like brush fire? Of course. And so that's what's happening here. They're all coming to him, and it says the crowds gathered again. So they could not even eat. The house is so full, he can't even eat. And when his family heard it, his family, who's his family? His mom, his mother, Mary. He has brothers and sisters, according to John. He has seven brothers, James, Joseph, Jude, or Judas, Simon, and some sisters. These are the children of, likely, these are his stepbrothers and sisters, likely from Joseph and Mary. So his family's coming to him as well. But what do they say? They went to seize him. That word seize is used 15 times in the Gospel of Mark, eight times in reference to Jesus, where they seize to arrest him at the end and take him to court. And it's the same word that they used to seize John the Baptist before he's in prison and had his head cut off. His parents, his family, come to him to seize him. For they, the family, was saying, he is out of his mind. Here's the lunatic option. He is literally out of his mind. That's what the Greek says. His family views him as one who has gone crazy. Now, I don't imagine Mary believed this, because we know the angel came to Mary when he was about to be consumed, that you will bear the child of the God of the Most High, the Holy Child, the Magnificat, remember? She, I believe, knew and always treasured that truth in her heart. However, I imagine when she told this story to her children later on, they did not believe. And I don't have to imagine. The Gospel of John chapter seven tells us they did not believe him. Who's they? His brothers and sisters. So they, throughout life, have probably been at odds with Jesus, not really believing. He might have been an awkward child, a sibling. Imagine being the child of God, declared by your mom, being perfect in every aspect. They don't believe him, and now they believe he's done this to himself, and they have to rescue him from himself. He's going out and doing all sorts of things, claiming to be God. And so they think he has lost his mind. And I think Mary, his mother, is just worried about his safety. Verse 22, and the scribes came down from Jerusalem, and they were saying he is possessed by Beelzebul. These scribes, who could be also Pharisees, come to him and say, this man is possessed. This man, he's possessed by Beelzebul. Now what is Beelzebul? That's another shorthand, another name for Satan. In the Old Testament, there's a Beelzebub with a B. That's mentioned five times. He is described as the god of the Canaanite group in the city of Akron. And what the Jewish people did is they purposely to corrupt that god, they changed the word from Beelzebub to Beelzebul. So instead of being the god of the sanctuary, the god of the temple, the god of the high, he becomes the god of dung, the god of manure, the god of the flies. So here you are, they are attributing the son of God as the complete opposite, the god from Satan. Because that's how they understood Beelzebul. They're saying that Jesus is in league with Satan. That yes, do you see him performing great signs and wonders? Yes, he is doing supernatural works. That is no doubt. There is no doubt. But how is he doing it? He's doing it because he's in league with Satan. That he's a possessed man. He's not only a lunatic. No, he's actually a liar. He's deceiving you all. Don't come to him. Don't believe in him because he's actually a deceiver. He's possessed. There's evil in him. He's an evil man. The power that he's tapping into is not that of God, Yahweh, is that of the Satan, the devil. By the prince of demons, he cast out demons. And then it says, and then he called them to him. Jesus called them to him and he said in parables, how can Satan cast out Satan? Like a good teacher, he wants to correct their wrong thinking and he has three logical questions. He illustrates the folly of their thinking with three simple questions and they follow in logic. The absurdity of their thinking and then the clarity of his thinking. He says, how can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. That's obvious. It's self-evident. Why would Satan wanna cast out Satan? It goes against his enterprise. It goes against his mission. It goes against his entire being and purpose. Why would he do that? It's so counterproductive. Okay. If the house is divided against itself, the house will not be able to stand. Obviously. Why would Satan wanna do that? Why would a man who's possessed, why would Satan send Jesus to unpossess him, to cleanse him from that? Satan would want that man to remain possessed. It makes no sense. If Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand. But it's coming to an end. He will defeat himself. So what you're thinking is absurd. Okay. Verse 27. But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man, then indeed he may plunder his house. Let me repeat that. But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his house unless he first binds the strong man, then indeed he may plunder his house. Who's the strong man? Satan. The one who comes into the house is Jesus. The house is the world. This has been a place where the Satan has been occupying. And so no one binds the strong man. No one can what? He says, no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods. What are his goods? Satan is spirit. He's not a material being. What are his goods? Demons and people who are commandeered by those demons. So what is Jesus saying? No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man. And that is the incarnation. I have come into the world. You're seeing me cast out demons. You're seeing me exercising those demons. I've come into the strong man's house. The earth is Satan's house. And his goods are demons. I'm defeating them. I'm not trying to divide Satan's house. I'm trying to defeat it. That's what Jesus is saying. Truly I say to you, all sins will be forgiven. The children of man and whoever blasphemes they utter, whatever blasphemes they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit has forgiveness. Never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin. For they were saying he has an unclean spirit. So in between, let me take a step back. You start with his family. You will end with his family in the middle of this, what you would call a chiasm, a literary device that Mark does often. There's a story sandwiched between there and it has to do with Jesus being viewed as in league with Satan, that the power working in him is that not of God, but that of Satan. And then he throws in this line about the unforgivable sin to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit. How many of you have ever wondered what that means? I've had people ask me that all the time, many times. What does it mean to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit? Well, first of all, what does it mean to blaspheme? To blaspheme is really, is a sin, an attack to injure God by word or thought or action. That's what it means to blaspheme, to speak against God's nature, the holiness of God. Okay. So what is he saying about why the Holy Spirit? It's quite simple. If anyone believes the work that Jesus is doing is that from Satan, evil as its source, then what you've done, you've blasphemed against the Spirit by which dwells in Jesus. Because if forgiveness comes by trusting in Jesus, but if you view Jesus as Satan, how can you be forgiven? How can I be forgiven? If forgiveness of sins comes by trusting in Jesus, but one continues to refuse that Jesus is God, but that is of Satan, how can one be forgiven? They cut the channel, the cord, the lifeline of forgiveness because they continue willfully to deny the source where Jesus comes from and is. That's what he's saying. For he has an unclean spirit. And then he goes to say it ends. And his mother and brothers came and standing outside, they came to him and they called him. So they're outside and the people say inside, your mother and brothers are out there. Your mother and brother are out there. And Jesus says, who are my mother and brother? He says, these are my brothers and brothers and sisters. Those who are close to him, who know him as he is, who do what? The will of God. The will of God. The only time.