A brief overview for Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders, of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Mark 3:20-30, for Sunday, September 17, 2023, with the title, “Questioned.” (A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at:

INTRO  ??? One way to begin this lesson would be ask your group: “Can you think of a politician, or a ministry, that had some controversy or criticism?”???

(That’s an easy one, right? It would be harder to think of one that DIDN’T!

— Some might think of Donald Trump as someone who was controversial and has a lot of criticism. Others might point out that Joe Biden does as well.

— I’m reading a biography of Woodrow Wilson, and in 1916, he was strongly criticized for NOT responding to German U-boat attacks on our country’s ships by declaring war against the Germans.

— On the religious front, Franklin Graham received a lot of criticism a few years ago for his comments that the God of Islam was not the same as the Christian God, and that Islam was an “evil” religion. 

You could point out that virtually politician, pastor, minister, or leader of any kind will have some kind of controversy or criticism leveled against him. You might go so far as to say that if a person never receives any criticism, they are probably not doing something right! Because even JESUS was criticized, as we see in today’s passage. 

(You might follow up with the question — either here or later — ??? What is the difference between the criticism that comes against many presidents or ministers, and criticism that was leveled against Jesus???
(Of course the answer is that men are all imperfect; there is probably something that could be criticized in every one of us. But Jesus did everything perfectly, and the criticism against Him was entirely misplaced, as we will see in today’s lesson, which focuses on the MINISTRY OF JESUS. 

CONTEXT

Since our last lesson, Jesus has begun His ministry, healed several people, then called His disciples

(Can we just skip over :14, which says He called them “so that they could be WITH HIM and that He could send them out to preach”?  Our first and most important job is just to be “with Him.” THEN we are go out to preach, and perform the ministries He’s called us to. It’s a fantastic verse, loaded with truth!)

—:16-18 says He then appointed the 12, and it lists them all.

This brings us to our focus passage: 3:20-30

OUTLINE

I. The Success of the Ministry  (:20)

II. The Criticism of the Ministry (:21-22)

III. The Importance of Unity. (:23-26)

IV. The Power over the Enemy  (:27)

V. The Unforgivable Sin (:28-30) 

I. The Success of the Ministry

:20 “And He came home, and the crowd gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal.”

This is very similar to what we saw in 1:33, where it said “the whole city had gathered at the door.” God was really blessing the ministry of Jesus, and “crowds” were coming to Him. “The whole city.” 

We talked about this last time — you may remember the Charles Dickens quote about his trip to America, and how frustrated he was that he couldn’t drink a glass of water without having a hundred people looking down his throat. If you didn’t see that you might go check out that Mark 1:35-45 lesson. It would be a good quote to use here.

But the point is, God was blessing Jesus’ ministry. And it is so fulfilling when He blesses our ministries so that many people come and are touched by Him.

In the 1700s, George Whitefield (pronounce: “WHIT-field”) came to the American colonies to preach. God so blessed his ministry, that 80% of the total population of the colonies heard him preach during his travels! Churches could not hold all the people who came to hear him; many would stand outside open doors and windows and listen. His final message at the Boston Common was attended by 23,000 people — more than the total population of the city of Boston at the time!

We could all probably share of times when God was blessing a church or ministry we were involved in — right now our church is experiencing some growth; we had to put 40 more chairs in the worship center this week; several of our Sunday School classes are full, and the young adult class Cheryl & I teach has had to move out into the worship center. It’s exciting to be a part of a ministry when God is blessing like that.  I pray that He will bless all the classes and churches in the sound of my voice in that way!

II. The Criticism of the Ministry

But even as popular as the ministry of Jesus was, it was not without its critics. This is a good point to remember: every ministry, no matter “successful” and God-blessed, will be criticized by someone. And Jesus was no exception. With all the people coming to Him, He began to be criticized.

NOTICE the DIRECTION of the criticism. There are 2 “directions” the criticism came from here:

— :21 “When His own people heard …. They were saying ‘He has lost His senses.’”

— :22 “The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, ‘He is possessed by Beelzebul …’.” (Beelzebul, by the way, was a Canaanite deity/demon, who later came to be identified with Satan — some call Satan “Beelzebub”, which is derived from the same name)

??? So who were the two groups criticizing Jesus here???

— First, there were “His own people” — the Greek is literally “those beside Him,” perhaps His own relatives (we see in John that His own brothers didn’t believe in Him at first) and people from His home town, Nazareth, and the area around where He grew up, maybe even some of His disciples.

— And then there were “The scribes who came down from Jerusalem.”

So we see it was both “outsiders” from Jerusalem, and His “own people” (“those beside Him”) who criticized Jesus here. 

??? Which of these two do you think might have hurt Him more — or which do you think might have hurt YOU more???

(Most of us might say it is “your own people” that would hurt you more; that you’d hope they would be understanding and supportive. But maybe some would say they’re used to it from their own people, so it would be the outsiders.)

But the point here is: even Jesus’ ministry was criticized. And it was criticized unjustly. And we need to realize that sometimes our ministries may be criticized as well — sometimes perhaps justly — because we are all human — but sometimes unjustly as well.

I think there’s a couple of applications we can make here:

1) Don’t be too surprised when criticism comes, even when you are doing good things for the Lord. I Peter 4:12 even says, “Don’t be surprised at the fiery ordeal … which comes upon you.”

Jesus said, “If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you”!

2) Let’s make sure that WE are not the people who do the criticizing! When God is doing something, let’s don’t be the people who are standing on the sidelines criticizing. 

A sad example of that actually came from a relative of mine, who was a faithful member and worker in a church in Florida. She taught classes, worked in the nursery, and among other things she cleaned the church too. Well one time a new pastor came, and he began some new ministries that started bringing a lot of young people into what had been primarily a senior adult church. This lady was not happy about it. She said the youth were so rowdy, and on top of that, she said: “Do you know how much toilet paper they used?!” 

Isn’t that sad? Here God was reaching all these young people, but all she could think of was how much toilet paper they were using! 

You can share that story if you want to — or you may have another one like it that you can share. But the point is: let’s not be that person who just stands to the side and criticizes when God is doing something good. But Jesus faced it here in Mark 3, and the fact is, we probably will too, no matter what we do. If they criticized Him, they will certainly criticize us too. (And we should have an attitude of humility about it: with Jesus there was nothing to criticize — but there certainly IS in us!)

III. The Importance of Unity (:23-26)

How did Jesus address this criticism? 

First, He addressed the nature of this specific criticism. He said in :23 “How can Satan cast out Satan?”

It was like, guys, this doesn’t even make sense! Why would Satan cast demons out of people that he had put them into? So He addressed the logical inconsistency. 

Then He spoke a principle which has far-reaching application:

:24 “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.” (:25) “If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.”

He applies this to Satan in :26, “If Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished!”  So Jesus said you’re absolutely wrong in this criticism; Satan is not attacking his own work. 

But the principle Jesus gave here goes beyond just this original context, and is one that should speak to us in a number of contexts: ANY house divided against itself won’t stand; ANY kingdom that is divided against itself will fall. Jesus lays down here the important principle of UNITY; how important that is for the success of any endeavor. 

Abraham Lincoln famously quoted these verses in the 1860s in the context of slavery and the Civil War:  “‘A house divided against itself cannot stand.’ I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all another.’”  (Carl Sandburg, Abraham Lincoln, The Prairie Years and the War Years, p. 138)

And of course the division on that issue cost our country the bloodiest war we have ever fought: over 600,000 deaths — more than all our deaths World War I, World War II, or Vietnam — COMBINED!  When you have internal division, and fight against yourself, it’s the worst. 

And unity is especially important among God’s people. 

“John Wesley went to London in April 1740 “with a heavy heart.” He found the society in disarray and full of contention and controversy; the disputes were so widespread that they were diverting the Methodists’ attention from their focus on Christ (“their first love”): “Here I found every day the dreadful effects of our brethren’s reasonings, and disputing with each other. Scarce one in ten retained his first love, and most of the rest were in the utmost confusion, biting and devouring one another.’”

(John R. Tyson, Assist Me To Proclaim: The Life and Hymns of Charles Wesley, loc. 1163)

Unfortunately, what Wesley found there is way too common in Christian churches and ministries — and it takes our focus off of the work we should be doing, and it ruins our witness to the world as well. 

How important is unity in the church? When Jesus was on His way to the cross, and prayed His final, “High Priestly Prayer” in John 17, He repeatedly prayed for the unity of His people:

— :11 “… that they may be one even as We are.”

— :21 “that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.”

— :22 “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one”

— :23 “I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me”

REPEATEDLY in His High Priestly prayer, Jesus prays for the unity of His people — and then a couple of times He says “SO THAT the world may believe … so that the world may know …”.

It is SO vital for God’s people to be unified, and to realize the impact it has on our power and effectiveness — and our witness to the watching world. We need to learn the lesson Jesus taught us here, on the importance of unity.  

IV. The Power Over The Enemy (:27)

:27 “But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.”

Jesus uses this picture to give us another principle, that deals with spiritual warfare. How is Jesus able to cast out demons and take back what Satan has? Because He is stronger than Satan is!  Jesus has “bound the strong man” — Satan — so He can “plunder his house” — take back what he has stolen. 

As Jesus says in John 10, Satan, the “thief,” comes to steal, kill and destroy.” But Jesus came to take back what Satan has stolen. In order to do that, He had to defeat him, which He did. He resisted every temptation, bested him in every spiritual confrontation, and ultimately defeated him at the resurrection: Colossians 2:15 says “When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a pubic display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.” Jesus triumphed over the devil and every evil spiritual power. He defeated the “strong man.” So He can take back anything the devil has stolen. 

This is why we as God’s people pray “In Jesus’ name.” We need to remember: “In Jesus’ name” is not just some little “tag” we traditionally end our prayers with. Jesus’ name is the only power of our prayers. There is no power just in our own prayers! Jesus is the only power we have! Only HE is the One who “overpowered” and “bound” the strong man — HE nailed our sins to the cross; HE rose from the dead, triumphing over all the spiritual forces that afflict our loved ones.  HE is the reason why we can pray for lost loved ones to be saved — because HE has done it. We are coming to God to pray on the basis of what Jesus has done; THIS is what it means to pray “in Jesus’ name.” 

So pray for loved ones; pray for lost people to be saved; pray for the work of the devil to crumble and fall — and pray those prayers in Jesus’ name. In your prayer, thank God that Jesus has overcome Satan and bound the strong man, so these things can be done, and these people can be set free in Jesus’ name. 

(You may want to take some time in class today to specifically pray for lost loved ones in the light of these verses. And as you pray, pray for them “In Jesus’ name,” because He has bound the “strong man” who has afflicted them.)

V. The Unforgivable Sin (:28-30)

Then comes some verses that are often questioned, or misunderstood. After saying all these other things, Jesus adds: “Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; (:29) but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” — (:30) because they were saying ‘He has an unclean spirit.’”

So a couple of things here:

First of all, DON’T MISS :28; this is an amazing statement: “ALL SINS SHALL BE FORGIVEN THE SONS OF MEN; whatever blasphemies they utter”! Now that is promise we should latch on to! Any sin you commit can be forgiven! This is good news! So often we wonder, can God really forgive what I did; it was such a bad sin. Jesus’ answer is what? YES HE CAN! “All sins shall be forgiven the sons of men.” Don’t miss this great truth by looking past it to the next, more controversial verse. This is an amazing truth; that any sin we commit, can be forgiven by God’s grace in Jesus Christ. There may be someone in your class this week who really needs to hear this. 

There are some really grievous sins we can commit, and they are sins, and they have eternal consequences. I Corinthians 6:9 says: “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate (by perversion), nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.”

The Bible says: listen, these things are serious; they are SINS, and they will keep you out of heaven if you don’t deal with them.

BUT then the next verse (:11) says “Such WERE some of you, but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”

He says YES these things are sins, and they are serious — they are serious that if not dealt with, will keep you out of heaven — BUT YOU CAN BE WASHED FROM THEM — as many of the Corinthians were. He said “such WERE some of YOU” — the members of that church had committed some of these very same sins, but they had been forgiven in Jesus.

So don’t miss these words of Jesus — and don’t let your group miss them. YES, the things the Bible says are sin, ARE STILL SIN. And the Bible does not diminish the reality of sin, or its consequences. And some of us have committed sins as bad and maybe worse than those mentioned in I Corinthians 6.  BUT, Jesus is also very clear that there is forgiveness for any sin by anyone in your group, if they will bring it to Him. “All sins shall be forgiven the sons of men”! 

(If you are led to, you could do a group participation project here: pass out some slips of paper and ask: “What do you think is the worst sin?”, and gather them up and read them: Can this be forgiven? And of course, the answer to them all is, “YES!” “All sins shall be forgiven the sons of men.” But of course there is one exception — as we see next … 

As for the next verse (:29) “whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” — I believe it just means this: that if you reject the witness that the Holy Spirit is bearing to you about Jesus, you can’t be forgiven. We just saw: ANY sin we commit can be forgiven — but there is only ONE way it can be forgiven, and that is through Jesus. That I Corinthians 6 scripture says “you were washed … you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.” You must believe in Him in order to be saved. Jesus Himself said, “I am THE way …” there is no other way to forgiveness than through Him. So if you reject the witness of the Holy Spirit, who is pointing you to Jesus, there IS no possibility of forgiveness for you. It is an “eternal sin” as :29 says, and you cannot be saved.

This kind of interpretation is fairly common among conservative Bible scholars. It takes into account not only what this verse seems to say, but also the whole counsel of scripture, which is what we should always do. It’s not saying if you ever speak a random word against the Holy Spirit you can’t be forgiven. Many lost people have done that, and have subsequently been saved. Rather this means that if you reject His witness of Jesus, there just IS no other way you can be saved. 

The only unforgivable sin is having such a hard heart, that you reject the witness of the Holy Spirit, who is pointing you to Jesus. If you reject that, there is no forgiveness to be found anywhere else. 

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