Sermon -- 3rd Sunday after Pentecost (June 9, 2024)

MARK 3:20-35

JESUS IS MINDFUL TO CRUSH SATAN’S KINGDOM.

In the name + of Jesus.

      Today’s Gospel introduces two groups who had a problem with Jesus.  The first was his own family.  They saw how much the crowds were demanding of Jesus’ time and attention; and he was not refusing anyone.  St. John’s Gospel tells us that Jesus’ own brothers did not believe in him, at least until after his resurrection.  Perhaps they felt that Jesus was developing a God-complex.  “For they were saying, ‘He is out of his mind’” (Mark 3:21).  So, they went to Jesus to bring him home for some rest and perhaps for a new dose of reality.  Jesus’ mother, however, believed that Jesus is the Son of God.  But he was also her son.  Jesus was so consumed with preaching, teaching, and healing that he did not have a chance to eat.  Well, when a mother finds out her son is not eating, she has to step in.  Perhaps she was also worried that Jesus was heading for a breakdown. 

     The other group were the scribes.  They had traveled all the way from Jerusalem to Capernaum, which was no small hike.  They traveled some 100 miles just to slander Jesus.  They could not deny that Jesus had driven demons out of people.  So, rather than deny the miracles, they sought to discredit them.  They claimed that Jesus only drove out the devils because he was in league with the devil.  Even worse than saying that Jesus was out of his mind, they claimed that he was possessed by Satan. 

     Jesus’ response to them was based on logic as much as theology.  “How can Satan cast out Satan?  If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.  And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end” (Mark 3:23-26).  Captors don’t willingly discard the plunder they have taken.  When people are taken prisoner, they are trophies of war.  And trophies are prized.

     The devil took captive the entire world when he seized Adam and Eve in their sin.  From that moment, all people enter this world under his influence.  He is the strong one who has bound us all to sin and death.  Although we boast of our free will and that we are not bound to anyone, that is not true.  We are bound to our sins.  We cannot stop sinning even when we want to.  And we are bound to death.  We will not escape the grave.  No one gets out of this world alive.  The devil has laid a claim on all mankind.  He is not called “the prince of this world” for nothing.  And none of us has the strength to overcome his rule or be freed from sin and death.  We are the devil’s trophies, and he has no intention of giving us up.  Satan would never cast out Satan.

     This sinful nature still infects Christians.  It never leaves us, and it seeks to overtake us.  Consider how we regard parts of God’s word.  Jesus told his disciples, “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4).  We think, “Seven times?!  If someone wrongs me three times in a day, I am done with him.  Jesus must be out of his mind to say this.”  Jesus also said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’  But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil.  But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matthew 5:38-39).  Once again, we respond, “Jesus, you are out of your mind.”  Our natural inclination is to say “No” to God.  We may know his word, but our hearts are not set on doing it because there is nothing to be gained for us. 

     If that is how Christians struggle with God’s word, what of unbelievers?  Our society, more and more, is hostile to God’s word.  Although people do not go so far as to call Jesus’ words demonic, there are plenty of other terms which tell us we are headed that way.  If you do not embrace and promote sin, you are some sort of “phobe,” and you sponsor violence against others.  Your rejection of God’s word is expected.  If you confess that God’s word is true and strive to live like it, this world will tell you that you are out of your mind.  They will put pressure on you to adopt worldly ways.  They may even require training to change your confession.  What does God say about people who blaspheme his word and his name?

     Jesus said: “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter” (Mark 3:28).  Are you surprised?  You might expect Jesus to breathe fire or to crush those who speak against him.  But you and I have done that, too.  If not out loud, in our hearts we have challenged Jesus’ words and questioned his wisdom.  “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way” (Isaish 53:6).  And yet, what do we hear?  Jesus forgives this! 

     Jesus is mindful to destroy Satan’s kingdom.  This is why he entered the world.  It is why he drove demons out of people.  It is why he carried a cross out to Mt. Calvary to be killed on it.  It is why he accepted the curse of his Father and the damnation that sinners deserve.  This was to save you from your sins—no matter how violent, no matter how frequent, no matter how intentional, no matter how persistent.  Jesus provides forgiveness for all.  He is mindful to set you free from sin and death, and to crush Satan’s kingdom.  And just as he has done it for you, so also he has done it for the many who still blaspheme Jesus and regard his words as demonic lies.  Jesus did this for the likes of the apostle Paul who blasphemed Jesus and killed Christians.  He did it for the likes of the Syrian general, Naaman, who killed Israelites and took captives from them.  He does this for people today.  There is hope for all. 

     Jesus does not ignore sins; he paid for them so that he can forgive them.  He is not content to let Satan keep what he has stolen.  Jesus said, “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” (Mark 3:27).  Jesus is the stronger man who has bound up the strong man.  He let the devil do his worst, letting the devil pin on him every accusation of sin.  The devil rejoiced that he could slay the Son of God who had become sin for us.  But Jesus rose from the dead.  He lives and reigns, victorious over the devil.  The devil no longer can hold people in the guilt of their sins if sins have been taken away.  The devil can no longer taunt us with the fear of death when death has been conquered.  The devil can no longer have a claim on you since you have been baptized into Jesus.  You belong to Jesus, purchased and won by him.  Jesus has plundered the devil’s kingdom, and you are the plunder.  Jesus was mindful to destroy Satan’s kingdom, and you are the prize he has won.

     Jesus does, however, offer stern words of warning for those who persist in their rejection of God’s word.  Jesus said, “Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” (Mark 3:29).  Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is unbelief.  It is the stubborn rejection of God’s word.  Through the word of God, the Holy Spirit delivers all the benefits that Jesus has won for all mankind.  Jesus did the work, and the Holy Spirit gives the gifts.  To blaspheme the Holy Spirit is to call him a liar.  Whoever does this spurns God’s salvation.  It is not that Jesus refused to carry their sins to the cross; it is that people reject that forgiveness.  It is not that God the Father doesn’t want them saved; it is that people despise God’s grace and salvation.  To blaspheme the Holy Spirit is to reject all his blessings. 

     The gifts the Holy Spirit brings are listed at the end of the Apostles’ Creed.  You may have thought that the final points of that Creed are random things that just got thrown on the end to round out our confession.  “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.”  These are not random things; they are what the Holy Spirit brings through the word and sacraments.  He delivers you out of Satan’s kingdom into Christ’s Church.  He joins you to all the saints in heaven and on earth into one family of believers.  He bestows upon you the forgiveness won by Jesus.  Jesus’ sufferings and death were 2,000 years ago, but the Holy Spirit has applied it to you now in your baptism and reaffirms it in the absolution.  He will breathe new life into you at the resurrection and will raise up your body in glory.  And he will usher you into a kingdom of glory that will never end. 

     Jesus is mindful to destroy Satan’s kingdom.  But everyone who rejects the Holy Spirit remains a captive of the devil—deceived, deluded, and depraved.  Whoever refuses this good news will finally get what they wish for—they die apart from it.  They remain in Satan’s kingdom and will perish.  That is why blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is unforgiveable.  For, there is no forgiveness or salvation outside of Jesus.  But with Jesus, everyone has hope.  All sins are terrible.  Many sins are particularly hurtful and shameful.  But there is forgiveness for all of them, even the worst of them.  No sin is so disgusting that Jesus refused to pay for it.  This is good news to share with people whose lives are so regrettable.  They are not beyond hope.  Jesus is mindful to save them and to deliver them from Satan’s kingdom of fear and death to God’s kingdom of life and peace.

     You have been brought into God’s kingdom, but your relationship to Jesus is much more endearing than King and subject.  When Jesus’ mother and brothers came to retrieve him from his schedule and to bring him home for rest, Jesus spoke to those who were gathered around him.  He assured them that they were more than students or acquaintances or even friends.  “Looking about at those who sat around him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers!  For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother’” (Mark 3:34-35). 

     Whoever hears the word of the Lord and believes it has become a child of God.  Whoever believes the word of God and strives to live according to it is a brother or sister of Jesus.  And if you are Jesus’ brothers and sisters, then you are heirs of glorious kingdom and children of the resurrection.  The world may think you are out of your mind to be a follower of Jesus.  The truth is that the Holy Spirit has given you a new heart and mind which knows the benefits of Jesus’ grace and the goodness of God’s word.  Jesus was mindful to destroy Satan’s kingdom, and we rejoice that he was mindful to rescue us from it.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.