The Parables Of The Lord Jesus

The Parables of God's Servant

"Field, Fruit, and Light"

Book of Mark 4:1-41

Last week we saw as Jesus had taught in the synagogue at Capernaum for the last time and during His teaching, He healed the whithered hand of a man.

A whithered hand is a "type" of how sin hinders our ability to serve The Lord!

Jesus then went up upon a mountain, where he chose "His Own Creation" to continue to teach and it was "this place" where He assembled the 12 disciples.

Jesus taught in a parable about how the Pharisees, when they accused Jesus of working under the power of Satan, that they were actually "blaspheming the Holy Spirit". The "unpardonable sin"!

Jesus taught that even though our earthly families should remain important to us while we are in our flesh, we will spend eternity with our Heavenly family, who is our true family.

Today Jesus continues to teach, and this time He again chooses His own creation, the Sea of Galilee.

The Book of Matthew says He began to teach like this:

Mat 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Mat 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Mat 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

The Bible says that there is "No One" that ever spoke like Jesus!

Joh 7:46 The officers answered, "Never man spake like this man".

Let's begin:

*****Mar 4:1 And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land.
Mar 4:2 And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,

It was only a short walk from Peter's house to the shoreline of Galilee. Christ Jesus borrowed a boat, and it became His "pulpit". It would later become His bed.

This natural amphitheater was a place where the voice of Jesus was amplified to reach all that were present.

What was the Doctrine of Jesus?

"Doctrine" in it's simplest form means "instruction".

So what were Jesus's instructions?

Jesus chose to use parables in order to give us and the Apostles most of His instructions.

So what is a "parable"?

A parable in it's simplest form is an "earthly story" that can be understood and actually has a "Heavenly Meaning"!

The comparing of earthly things to Heavenly things!

A parable can be a "proverb".
A parable can be a "type" or we may say "typology".
A parable can also be an "allegory".

A large portion of "the teachings" or "the doctrine" of the Lord Jesus Christ consisted of "parables".

Those that exalted themselves above God and the average man, the "human beings" on this Earth, would have trouble understanding parables that Jesus taught!

Mat 13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

Most of the world leaders, including those in America, have exalted themselves above "the average human being" and can no longer relate to their own people and we can see the turmoil in our nation and in our world because of this!

So Jesus begins:

*****Mar 4:3 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:

That word "hearken" meant "listen to what I am about to say".

"He that hath ears to hear, let him hear"

The Sower:

A "sower" is a person who scatters seed for propagation.

Propagation means an act that will cause that seed to multiply.

In this parable it is the act of planting the "Gospel" among "the lost" of this world!

This is the purpose of every "born again" child of God after salvation!

So, what does Jesus want us to hear?

It is not enough just to hear the Word of God but we must accept the Word of God "in the context that it is written" and then the Word of God will bear fruit!

You see, If the "sower" cast bad seed, then the plowing, the planting, and the watering are in vain!

So what did Jesus say?

*****Mar 4:4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.
Mar 4:5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:
Mar 4:6 But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
Mar 4:7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
Mar 4:8 And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.
Mar 4:9 And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Everyone within the sound of the voice of Jesus heard these words.

We should understand that every parable will contain at least one central truth of God's Word!

BUT, the interpretation of every parable must be consistent with what is taught elsewhere in the Bible!

No parable can be interpreted to go against the written Word of God!

Every "sower" must have a knowledge of the everyday life of those that receive the seed, the Word of God!

In verse 9 we again see that Jesus says "to listen", which tells us that this first parable "is the most important" of all His parables!

If we do not get this one right, we will never understand the others!

So, Jesus takes the time to teach us the interpretation of this parable.

*****Mar 4:10 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.
Mar 4:11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:

The chosen 12 did not want the multitude to see that they did not understand the teaching of Jesus.

They understood the principles of agriculture and the act of sowing but they also realized that Jesus had said all these words for some other reason.

They needed an explanation!

What was this mystery of the kingdom of God?

Jesus will teach us many parables, most of them dealing with the Jewish rejection of Christ Jesus as Lord and Messiah.

The "mystery" is the "Church Age" and it is not a mystery today because we have the complete Bible!

The "mystery" was that the nation of Israel would be set aside temporarily and God would establish His Church!

The 12 Apostles were never about saving Israel!

Today, the Church Age has about run it's course and soon God will again deal with Israel, "where once more the Gospel of the kingdom will be preached".

Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

We now live in the present "Age of Grace", the "mystery" that the Jews still do not understand!

What words are included in the prayers of the Church?

Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

SO, Let's listen as we have been instructed to do:

*****Mar 4:14 The sower soweth the word.

It is now the "Body of Christ" who is the "Sower".

The "Seed" is the "Word Of God"!

John wrote:

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.

1Jn 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, "the Word", and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

The "Sower" in the first instance was God Himself, but after salvation "the servants" have become the sowers!

We are to scatter the "Good News" of Jesus far and wide. (the highways and the hedges)

BUT, We do not manufacture our own seed!

We are still to use God's Seed!

It is God who provides this "seed" that contains the secret of "everlasting life"!

What does God's seed do?

Here is the best example of what God's "seed" does!

Gen 1:12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed [after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good].

God makes "His Own Self" responsible for how the "seed" will germinate in the soil!

Isa 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth "out of my mouth": it shall not return unto me void, "but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it".

Our only job is to be the "sower" and to "Sow The Seed"! (the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ)

*****Mar 4:15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.

Jesus said listen to what I'm telling you:

Satan will waste no time in trying to seize the seed before it can germinate!

Satan is not omnipresent and cannot be in every place, but some of his agents will always be in the places where the "Gospel" is preached!

After all Satan does not have to send his agents to the places where the truth is not taught!

Satan uses all his power to keep the "Gospel" from being preached "but when that fails", he will next seize the seed so in cannot germinate.

The "wayside" is a place where people come and go and there is constant movement.

The "wayside" is a place of business and pleasure.

That "wayside" is "that heart so hardened in sin" that the seed cannot reach the soil!

Without Holy Ghost conviction the soil goes unprepared!

SO, Satan has great success in the "wayside"!

Those "foul of the air" are not farm animals as chickens or ducks, they are birds that prey!

Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

Those "foul of the air" are Satan's helpers!

*****Mar 4:16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;
Mar 4:17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.

Here again these is no problem with the seed!

Just as stony ground is unfavorable to cultivate, a stony heart is cruel, pitiless, and unfeeling, or we can just say hard-hearted!

The seed did germinate but could not grow!

"Stony ground" in the Bible is a "type" of sin that signifies a stubborn will, an unyielding resistance to change, reluctance and even hatred.

There was just enough soil to look promising but that stoney heart will have to be broken for fruit to come forth!

Psa 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

*****Mar 4:18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,
Mar 4:19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

Again there is nothing wrong with the seed!

The problem is still in the soil!

The soil is deep enough to sustain growth but the thorns will not allow growth, to the point of death.

What did God tell Adam?

Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: "cursed is the ground for thy sake"; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Gen 3:18 "Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee"; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

Jesus describes these thorns in 3 ways:

1) The "cares of this world".

We all need things just so we can live!
We all want things that we do not really need!

"Worry" is a tool of the Devil!

While worrying about this world we live in, "we will not see the future that God will provide"!

2) Deceitfulness of riches.

The Devil will use riches to keep our minds on this world.

Riches may seem like a blessing but riches cannot stop the pain of sin!
Riches can only be measured by what they can buy!
Riches seldom bring true happiness!

3) The "pleasures of this life".

The Devil uses our "lust" for other things against us.
When we obtain the thing we wanted most, we will soon see another thing we want even more.

BUT, there is nothing in this life can satisfy our need for The Lord!

The Lord does not deny us pleasure in this life, but He does prohibit any false pleasure that comes from sin, for that pleasure cannot last:

Heb 11:25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, [than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season];

What ever focuses our attention on this world will not let us focus on the world to come!

*****Mar 4:20 And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.

The seed that falls on this ground has the best chance of producing a crop.

Even here the results will vary!

This ground has been properly prepared to produce fruit! (Holy Ghost conviction)

BUT, to receive the Word of God means that it is mixed with "faith" because it must be accepted as "the truth"!

That word "Receive" always means "accepted"!

No pathway of human activity can trample God's Word.
No stone can crush God's Word.
No persecution can prevail over God's Word.
No worldly lust can stop the growth of God's Word.

The Word of God, will then take the shape of Jesus Christ!

1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, [we shall be like him]; for we shall see him as he is.

Then, and only then, will the Light of Jesus shine in this dark world!

*****Mar 4:21 And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?
Mar 4:22 For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad.

We should pay attention as these next 2 parables tie right into the parable of the sower.

It is the environmental conditions that have an effect on the yield of what the sower sows.

The yields can be 30, 60, and some 100 percent!

In the beginning God created the beautiful Garden of Eden by casting His seed on this Earth and "it was very good" but it would not have been very good if God had not said "Let there be light"!

Gen 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

When John saw the New Heaven and the New Earth coming down from Heaven, "he said" there was such a glow that no light was needed.

Rev 22:5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; [for the Lord God giveth them light]: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

It is the job of every Christian "to be that light" in this time of the Church Age!

Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

While remembering that the world will do it's very best to dim the light of each child of God.

The Lord Jesus paid a heavy price for our salvation and He did not intend for His children to hide themselves in this dark world!

To shine the brightest we must experience the truth of God's Word!

The "lighted lamp" must be filled with oil, SO, God's children must be filled with His Holy Spirit!

The Christian is not to get dim over time but to actually shine brighter!

This calls for a daily filling of the Holy Spirit that we must ask for in our prayers!

We must not ever try to hide the Word of God from those we do not agree with!

God said "whosoever"!

And the Holy Spirit will endow each believer with gifts, all of which are to be used to further God's Kingdom!

1Co 12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

It is these things that allow the Christian to bring forth fruit!

A "candle" is a simple instrument that will overwhelm darkness "because darkness is no match for light"! (darkness will always flee)

But, a "candle" has to give of itself in order to produce a flame! (a candle melts as the flame burns)

The Lord Jesus is our example, as he gave Himself to the Cross BUT He is still that "Great Light" that dispells all darkness, we are to do the same!

Jesus paid it all in order for us to shine in "His" light, not our own light!

We must remember Jesus is the "Light", we can only be the "Candle"!

And Jesus kept no secrets!

But we are also always to be careful at the things that the world says!

*****Mar 4:23 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
Mar 4:24 And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.

We must always listen when God is the speaker!

We must take heed of the things we hear from all other sources!

1) We must not learn from strange voices!

Joh 10:5 "And a stranger will they not follow", but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

2) We must pay attention to what God says!

Luk 8:15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

3) We must make a personal application after hearing the Word of God!

Jas 1:23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
Jas 1:24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

4) We must remember what God's says, to take a stand!

Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

5) We must desire the things of God, not the things of this world!

1Co 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

6) We must be obedient to the Word of God!

Psa 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Remember! To be a "fisher of men" we must first cast the seed "or there will be no fruit".

We must next be a bright and shining Light for Jesus or "that seed will not produce".

We must take heed of what we hear from this world "as this will affect the fruit, the abundance and the quality of it".

BUT, we must realize most of all, that the seed can not even come out of the ground without the "Creator"!

It is only the Holy Spirit that can bring conviction to that lost soul!

Joh 3:8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

*****Mar 4:25 For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.

What is the law of increase?

The more we learn and apply God's Word to our own lives, the more God will enable us to learn!

But those that are content to just sit on the pew and do not get into the battle will eventually forget even what truth they have learned!

It is a fact in this world we live in, that a man who has made money is in a better position to make more money than those that will not invest.

So, in this time of God's "Grace", "grace" to do one good act opens up the heart to admit more "grace" to do another good act!

As we learn these things we must apply them for the purpose God has given to us!

*****Mar 4:26 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;
Mar 4:27 And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.
Mar 4:28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.

Now that we have cast the seed on the best ground, we can test the soil of "whosoever" God sends across our path and prepare our selves to shine as bright as we can in the Lord, remembering that God ask us to be patient and allow Him to do His work!

Spiritual growth has 2 parts: Our part, and God's part!

As a "sower" we can but cast the seed!

After that, all things in this world are in the hands of God!

Luk 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, "the kingdom of God is within you".

There is no amount of watching that can make that seed to come forth!

It takes "faith" to be a farmer because once he plants his field, "he is at the mercy of the elements".

God has already taught us "that much of our seed" will fall on unproductive ground BUT we are to be patient and not be discouraged.

Ultimately all life comes from God!

Nothing excites the farmer more than for him to see the new sprouts come out of the ground "but he also realizes how tender and delicate they are at this time of their growth"!

Every growing stalk of corn in the farmers field is a miracle and "the farmer owes it all to God"!

But, the greatest miracle of them all is that "lost" soul that has been saved!

Everyone that is saved, also owes it all to God!

*****Mar 4:29 But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.

Now the fruit is back in the hands of the "Sower"!

Just as it is the farmer who is to nurture the crop until the time for the harvest, it is the job of the Church to try to nurture that babe in Christ.

Heb 5:13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

We need to "know" enough of the "Gospel" to teach others!
We need to "have enough interest" in that new sprout to help them in the Word of God!
We must be "loyal enough to Christ" to help others gain the knowledge to also help others!

Joh 4:35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
Joh 4:36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.

We must always keep in mind that The Lord is still in charge of all "Spiritual Growth'!

So, what have all these things to do with the "Kingdom of God"?

*****Mar 4:30 And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?
Mar 4:31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth:
Mar 4:32 But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.

The Kingdom of God is God's Church that He has cast into the Earth.

In comparison to other religions, it was the smallest of them all!

But His Church will grow into "tree".

This tree will be great enough for all the fowls of the air to come lodge in it. (whosoever will come)

Jesus says His Kingdom will always be great enough for all to come to seek refuge!

Act 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that "whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved".

Just as the mustard seed will grow until takes over the garden, from the "Gospel" seed, God's Kingdom will be the greatest of all kingdoms!

This all happens because of God's life giving power!

God controls the life of the seed from it's beginnings!

But God also controls all the processes of growth!

The "lost world" has a poor opinion of God's work but from it's humble beginnings of 12 Apostles it has grown to reach throughout this world. (this cannot be denied)

The Kingdom of God began with 12 Apostles and we can see how it has grown "But Even This" is like a grain of mustard seed compared to what Heaven will be!

It all began when God the Sower, sowed the Seed of Jesus!

This is the same seed we must sow daily!

But we must always fertilize that seed with "Faith"!

*****Mar 4:33 And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, [as they were able to hear it].
Mar 4:34 But without a parable spake he not unto them: and [when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples].

Jesus Christ will always come down to our level of intelligence!

BUT, when we are unwilling to apply what we learn to our lives, then we will never understand what the results of that teaching could have been!

Sin has so thoroughly blinded our minds and corrupted our hearts that we can only take a little truth at a time.

Most of the time when we witness to the lost, we find that they already have some preconceived notion of what the "Gospel" is about and are totally confused about the truth.

The Lord teaches us all a lesson here!

Jesus began with "very basic truths" and Jesus related them to things that people were aware of! (the parable)

Jesus never preached a sermon without using illustrations!

In most cases, when we can take an incident from our own lives that we can relate to the truth of God, we can get our point across much better.

Even those that were sent to arrest Jesus understood the power of His teaching!

Joh 7:46 The officers answered, "Never man spake like this man".

It is no wonder that when He was alone with the 12, He would take great pains to make sure that they understood His teaching!

After all God did not send Jesus to hide the truth!

Our Father in Heaven has only one goal!

What is the will of God for mankind?

1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

It is only after we know the truth that we can make a sure choice!

*****Mar 4:35 And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.

This had been a great day to learn the "Gospel" but Jesus was not through yet with the 12.

That word "even" means one day had come to the end but a new Jewish day began at this time.

We should not forget that, that body of flesh that God had poured Himself into, did require some rest!

That rest was not going to come in the midst of that multitude.

It would be at least 6 miles to where Jesus had instructed the disciples to go.

Rowing a boat six miles would take some time!

A fishing boat of this day would have been about 26 feet long and about 8 feet wide and this was the same boat from where Jesus had just preached all day. (The pulpit became a place to get rest)

*****Mar 4:36 And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.

There had not been time to make any preparations for sailing and they did not take the time now, they only had what they possessed on their persons.

At least seven of these 12 were experienced fishermen and they knew the Sea of Galilee better than the average man and would not attempted to sail across this lake without making preparations!

Was this a test of their "faith" after learning the truth of the "Gospel"?

The Bible teaches us:

Rom 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Did Jesus know that a storm was approaching? Sure He did!

The Bible teaches us:

1Jn 3:20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, "and knoweth all things".

Just as these 12 had answered the call of the Lord, they proceeded to obey Him now and go to the other side!

*****Mar 4:37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

The first thing we should notice here is that, just because Jesus is with you, "it does not mean we will still not go through the storms of life"!

This one passage makes all those that teach a "prosperity gospel" out to be liars, who do not understand the truth of the Word of God!

The Sea of Galilee is notorious for sudden storms as the land cools at the end of the day.

These disciples knew this and so did Jesus!

There can be tornado type winds that developed on this lake most anytime and one did this night!

With wind comes waves and these waves were filling this little boat that had left the shore unprepared for travel!

Now the pulpit that became a place of rest was being attack by the world!

*****Mar 4:38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

It was the rear of these boats where the tiller was located.

It was Jesus who was in the position of navigator at the rear of this little ship.

Jesus will always take the position of Navigator in our lives, if we will just get out of His way!

But, after His long day, Jesus was sleeping peaceably, but the storm was having no effect on His rest.

We should notice these two extremes.

These disciples are in fear of their lives and Jesus is sleeping at total peace.

We seem to forget the Word of God in these situations:

Psa 4:8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.

Psa 3:5 I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.

2Ti 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

These 12 thought they were just going over to the other side but The Lord Jesus was still using this time to further their training!

No matter what is happening in the life of a Christian, God will use it to train us for what is coming in the future!

It is in the valley where we learn our greatest lessons and not on the mountain top!

Does God care that we perish in the storms of life? Sure He does!

1Pe 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

The next thing we should realize in this passage is that these disciples "knew exactly who to turn to"!

But they called Him Master so they were still learning:

Mat 23:10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.

We should never give this title to Father God!

We should never give this title to the Holy Spirit!

But we must recognize that The Lord Jesus must always be both our Lord and our Master!

The Bible says:

Joh 13:13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
Joh 13:14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.
Joh 13:15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

This is where we all fail!

We know Jesus is our Lord.

We know that Jesus is our Master.

BUT we seem to always forget that Jesus is also Our Example!

Any other ship on the Sea of Galilee could have sunk that night, but this one that carried Jesus and the 12 disciples would never have been one of them!

*****Mar 4:39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

Remember when Jesus rebuked the demon in that synagogue:

Mar 1:25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him.

Jesus used the same Greek word here "Phimoo".

Jesus spoke with authority and rebuked this wind saying: "put a muzzle on it and get off of my lake".

This is why these 12 were so amazed.

Then Jesus said to the waves, "Be Still"

Jesus always spoke with "authority", to all, including His entire Creation, but we should always be able to see the love God has for His created "human beings"!

Now for the lesson.

*****Mar 4:40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?

Faith and Fear cancel each other out!

When we are trembling with fear, then it shows that we have a lack of faith!

When we have no "faith" in the Lord, then we have no "trust" in the Lord!

It is an insult to God to say we do not trust Him!

Faith must always be in an object!

We cannot just have blind faith!

When you step onto an airplane, do you trust the pilot or that airplane?

It should be in both!

If you call yourself Christian, you better trust in Jesus!

The title Christian means "like Christ"!

So fear of life changes to a respectful fear of the Lord!

*****Mar 4:41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

These disciples who had the fear of dying in this storm, now stood in awe of the Lord Jesus Christ, who probably just laid back down and finished His nap.

After all He had said:

"Let us pass over to the other side".

Jesus knew He would get to the other side and these disciples should have known this to!

They should have known that they would make a safe trip!

But they still had doubts to who Jesus really was!

We are ignoring the Word of God when we think that God does not care for His children!

We must "trust and obey for there is no other way"!

Jesus says to His children "Let's go over to the other side".

There is nothing on this Earth that can keep God's children out of Heaven if we only just believe in His "truth"!

Questions?

Let's Pray!

The Popularity of Jesus Christ

The Popularity Of God's Servant

"Abused, Loved, and Hated"

Book of Mark 3:1-35

We must always stay focused on Jesus Christ in our lives but what we should remember here is that, Jesus is training the future Apostles who will begin the Church after His ascension back to Heaven to be the "Intercessor".

Jesus has said that "The Sabbath Was Made For Man" and He will continue with this training!

In fact His entire "Creation" was made for mankind!

We should also be able to see that, who the world considers unworthy, are the very ones God chooses to take His ministry to in this world!

We should not miss seeing the friction that has been growing between The Lord Jesus and the religious leaders of the Jews.

We should see these 3 things:

1) God's servants are often misunderstood by their friends and their family, we will see that today.
2) The super religious will say that the work of Jesus was influenced by Satan, we will see that today.
3) The popularity of Jesus sometimes drew the wrong crowd, we will see that throughout His ministry.

This clash with false religion (all religions that refuse the Lord Jesus Christ as God in the flesh) would not end at the Cross as they had hoped but will continue until the Second Coming of Our Lord!

1Jn 4:3  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh "is not of God": and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and "even now already is it in the world".

So let's hear Jesus as He returns to the synagogue.

Mat 11:15  He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

*****Mar 3:1  And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand.

It is probable that this synagogue is the one in Capernaum.

Three times already, Jesus or His disciples have done something that was counted as "working" on the Sabbath.

It would have been very hard to not see the healing of Peter's mother in law as life threatening.

It would have been hard to deny that men needed food as the disciples had passed through that corn field.

It would have very hard to deny that anyone did not need relief from evil spirits.

But a withered hand could not be seen as these other miracles, which by the way, the only work Jesus had done was "to speak" and they were healed.

As the "great fever" was in "type" of how sin can affect our Soul.

And as "the evil spirit" was in "type" of how sin can ruin our testimony.

And as "the corn" was in "type" of how sin will dominate our flesh without the true "bread of life".

The "withered hand" is in "type" of how sin can keep us from using our God-given skills to be used of the Lord.

But the hand not only represents work, but just as important, it represents fellowship and generosity(charity)!

We can also see that Christ Jesus honored the synagogue(house of God) as a place intended to worship Jehovah God but these religious Jews had made it a place useless in the work of the Lord.

Most synagogues of that day made hypocrites rather than disciples!

*****Mar 3:2  And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.

In the eyes of these super religious men, Christ Jesus, The Lord of the Sabbath, just did not observe the Sabbath the proper way!

It should be said that there is never a time nor a day when it should be considered evil to do good but we are living in that day now!

God gave us instructions for this:

2Pe 1:20  Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
2Pe 1:21  For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

"It is not in our hands to change anything that God says"!

God says what He says and He means exactly what He says!

"The Word Of God is not open to private interpretation"!

In verse one the Greek word "anthropos" was used for the English phrase "a man". This word tells
that this person was described as a "human being" as opposed to "a man or a woman" and we should consider this when we get to verse 4.

We should just imagine how every eye of false religion was focused on Jesus to see what He was about to do.

It is very possible that this "human being" with the whithered hand had been brought into this synagogue as a means to try to trap the Lord Jesus. These were devious people!

Their zeal and legalism both degraded this person and the Sabbath!

We should also remember that profaning the Sabbath was a capitol offence with the penalty being death!

Num 15:32  And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day.

Num 15:35  And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp.

So Jesus said:

*****Mar 3:3  And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.

We should see that the Lord Jesus Christ was not intimidated by these super religious people and we already know that Our Lord could break any of the commandments and then go to the cross, as His death would have been to pay for His own sin!

Jesus could have easily have told this man just to come by Peter's house the next day but Jesus refused to give in to false teaching!

Every man standing behind a pulpit and every teacher of God's Word need to take a look at what Jesus did!

We simply cannot be intimidated by so called things that contradict the truth of the Bible!

One of the greatest problems in the Church today is how "evolution" has influenced so many against Creation as described by Moses in the Book of Genesis.

The next enemy of the Church is the movement of Church "to modernize it's thinking", which simply means the Church is wrong about abortion and wrong about the gay lifestyle.

Well the Bible is not wrong about these things!

Sin is an abomination to the Lord and these things are just sin along with anything else that goes against the Word of God. But these things can be forgiven and every "Born Again" child of God is to walk away from these things along with all other sin.

This can only happen through Jesus Christ!

Jesus said "Stand Forth"!

Stand: The Greek word "egeiro" means get your act together.

Forth: The Greek word "eis" (ice)  and "mesos" meant "Come to Me".

Jesus teaches us that if we want to change our circumstances, we need to come forth to Him!

Had this "human being" not have stood forth, he would not have been healed, but he did.

We must be willing to leave our old life behind in order to meet the Lord Jesus on His terms!

When we step forth to meet Jesus, the world will focus it's attention on us.

In America today the Christian is named with the terrorist!

*****Mar 3:4  And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.

Jesus asks, just how well do you know what Moses wrote?

It was never lawful to do evil, on the Sabbath or on any other day!
It was never lawful to murder on the Sabbath or any other day!
It is always lawful to do good and save lives on the Sabbath and any other day!

This was the point Jesus was making. The Sabbath was just another day!

The problem was not the law of the Sabbath!

The problem comes when we do not realize that Jesus is also Lord of the Sabbath!

Mar 2:28  Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

They held their peace because they had no answer to the question, but to agree, and they certainly were not going to agree with Jesus!

Does Jesus show emotion?

Can we get angry and not sin, here is an example?

Then Jesus got angry at their silence:

*****Mar 3:5  And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.

So called Holy and Righteous men only watched Jesus but it was they that had sin in their hearts!

Not one of these men had any sympathy nor compassion for this "human being" with the withered hand!

This person to them, was just another unclean person that had no business in Jewish society and certainly no business in the house of God!

Not one of these men could see the miracle, they could only see one of their precious rules abused!

Jesus makes no special announcement!
Jesus does nothing to draw the attention of the crowd!
Jesus does not say look at what I'm about to do!
Jesus just tells this human being to show the world his no longer withered hand!
Jesus had again done "no work" but had only "done good"!

This simple act of healing by Jesus, was the last straw in the eyes of the Pharisees:

*****Mar 3:6  And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.

What is hatred?

Hatred is one of the works of the flesh that will keep one out of Heaven!

Gal 5:19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Gal 5:20  Idolatry, witchcraft, "hatred", variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Gal 5:21  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

In fact in the eyes of God, hatred is the same as "murder"!

1Jn 3:15  Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

Anyone, as these Pharisees, that say they love God but then show hatred are also liars!

1Jn 4:20  If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
1Jn 4:21  And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

Who are these Herodians?

The Herodians were a Jewish political party who sympathized with all the Herodian rulers. Just as the Pharisees, these Herodians were a group of little men who thought they were very big in the society of that day!

They were more a religious party that they were a religious sect like these Pharisees.

The Pharisees had very little in common with the Herodians until this day that they plotted to kill the Lord Jesus Christ!

To "destroy" meant not only to "murder" the Lord Jesus but it also meant to try "to erase" any history and memory of Him, which is still being tried today!

We know that they failed at both these things!

*****Mar 3:7  But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea,
Mar 3:8  And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him.

We can see two things here:

1) These people lived in misery in a place where they had little hope of things improving. If not they would have stayed at home.
2) They had heard that there may just be an answer. They heard that maybe there was hope after all and that hope was called "Jesus Christ"!

Hearing was not enough, their condition needed immediate attention, so they sought out The Lord.

C H Spurgeon wrote:

a) Jesus' name invites them;
b) His power encourages them;
c) His character allured them;
d) His preparations compelled them.

What were the results?

*****Mar 3:9  And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him.
Mar 3:10  For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues.

Jesus had the power of God and all He need do was speak and it was fulfilled, yet Our Lord is so attuned to His surroundings that He could accept the loan of a boat.

He could also accept a drink of water from a woman of questionable behavior.
He could also accept a few fishes for nourishment.
He could also accept money from those that ministered to Him.

But, the Lord Jesus will also accept each and everyone that calls on His name into the family of God!

And, He will also accept each and every believer's personal sacrifice for His ministry!

Jesus is first Savior and then Healer, and those that stay away from the Lord Jesus are just "foolish"!

*****Mar 3:11  And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.
Mar 3:12  And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.

Wherever the work of the Lord is being done we should never assume that mankind will be the only audience.

Satan does his best to hide from mankind but he cannot hide his character!

Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Unclean spirits are not the only things out of sight of the average man:

Who can see into the depth's of the Seas?
Who can see bacteria without the most powerful microscope?
Who can see the outer reaches of space or the backside of the sun?
Who can see the angels that are all around us?

Psa 91:11  For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

These angels watch over God's children.

But these unclean spirits promote the ways of worldliness!

1Ti 6:9  But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

*****Mar 3:13  And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.
Mar 3:14  And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,
Mar 3:15  And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:

In all these things Jesus Christ was doing, He was also training the 12 disciples!

As Jesus was rejected from the synagogues, He chose "His own creation" as the place to continue His ministry!

When Jesus went up on this mountain, He completed the choosing of the 12 disciples.

You see God has "a design" that cannot be altered!

Why 12?

What do we already know?
1)  There were 12 sons of Jacob.
2)  There were 12 princes of the children of Israel.
3)  There were 12 wells at the fountains of Elim.
4)  There were 12 stones in the breastplate of Aaron.
5)  There were 12 loaves of the shewbread.
6)  There were the 12 spies sent into Canaan.
7)  12 stones of the altar.
8)  12 stones taken out of the River Jordan.
9)  12 oxen supported the Brazen Laver in Solomon's Temple.
10) 12 stars in the crown of the woman in the Book of Revelation.
11)  12 foundations of New Jerusalem.
12)  12 Gates of New Jerusalem.

As the 12 tribes of the Old Testament were the beginning of the Old Testament Church, the 12 Apostles will begin the New Testament Church and together they make 24:

Rev 4:4  And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

Just as God is the God of Israel, He is also God of His entire Creation!

These 12 were sent to preach the "Gospel".
These 12 were given the "authority" to heal and cast out devils.

They did not have that power within them selves!

That power is only in the Lord!

Who were these 12 of the New Testament?

*****Mar 3:16  And Simon he surnamed Peter;
Mar 3:17  And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:
Mar 3:18  And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite,
Mar 3:19  And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house.

Jesus laid the groundwork for the building of the new Testament Church with these 12 men and yes Judas Iscariot is included in the plan of God's design.

He has his purpose and he also had the same freedom to choose!

Eph 2:19  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
Eph 2:20  And are built upon "the foundation of the apostles" and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

It was these 12 men who were to equip each believer:

Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

The Church cannot mature without following the teaching of the Apostles:

Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

What is the Christian unity of the "faith"?

1) Oneness of Faith, in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
2) Oneness of knowledge, the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
3) Oneness in seeking to become perfect men, in Jesus Christ.

The Church that gets away from the basic foundation of the Church will fail because Christ Jesus must remain the Head of the "Cornerstone" on which that foundation was laid!

Mark passes by the sermon on the mount given by Matthew and Luke and just mentions that Jesus and the 12 went back to the house, probably Peter's house.

And what happens again in Peter's house?

*****Mar 3:20  And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.

The opposition to the Lord Jesus now acts like "a virus" and begins to spread.

It had been increasing with Jesus' enemies but now it would come also from His friends and family.

We sometimes forget that Jesus had a family that raised Him in the Jewish way.

His family also honored the Laws of Moses.

Jesus would also have had some friends whom He would have grown up with.

On this day the crowd was a particular nuisance.

These crowds were always seeking their own satisfaction, and ignored the needs of Our Lord.

Jesus had a prayer life that He would not ignore!
Jesus needed time with the 12 which He would not ignore!
Jesus had come to us "in a body of flesh" that felt the same needs as any of us would have, and that body required nourishment!

But you see this was God's training ground!

Heb 4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; "but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin".
Heb 4:16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

There was never a day that Jesus did not express sympathy and tender regard for all those that came to Him!

Many had come to Jesus truly suffering but we can be sure many had come to the Lord just caught up in their own follies of life, with it's dailey sins and prejudices.

Jesus was surrounded by these types most of the days of His life but He always showed compassion!

Heb 5:2  Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he
himself also is compassed with infirmity.

On this day His family and his childhood friends thought they could help Him before all these things drove Him mad:

*****Mar 3:21  And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.

No doubt the popularity of Jesus had reached His home and his own family and they went to Him to see if they could get Him to go back home and forget His ministry.

Remember none of the half-brothers of Jesus believed on Him at this time:

Joh 7:5  For neither did his brethren believe in him.

They said surely our brother Jesus had gone mad, calling Himself the Son of Man, The Messiah.

The Apostle Paul also taught in many ways like Jesus and even he to was said to be mad.

Act 26:24  And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad.

But just before they arrive we get to learn, "What is the sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit".

*****Mar 3:22  And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.

What is the sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit?

Blasphemy is normally thought of as being rendered against God the Father:

Rev 13:6  And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, [to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven].

Jesus Christ Himself was also blasphemed:

Luk 23:39  And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, [If thou be Christ], save thyself and us.

And the Holy Spirit can be  blasphemed!

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit takes place when the "work" that Jesus did on this Earth is said to have happened by Satan's power!

The Holy Spirit had already borne witness to the work of Jesus Christ as being from Our Father in Heaven. 

1Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

Let's now see this as it takes place:

*****Mar 3:22  And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.

We now get to meet the super religious men from Jerusalem.

They say Jesus is a possessed man but only possessed by Beelzebub.

Beelzebub is another name for Satan!

It is this Beelzebub that was considered the prince of all demons!

"Zebul" means  "dwelling"  and the lord of the lower world(hell):

Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

Who takes up his own dwelling in human bodies:

Mat 12:45  Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

Jesus did not respond with His emotions and Jesus did not respond with anger. 

Jesus uses this opportunity to teach and Jesus tells us one of His parables to teach the 12 He had chosen, which also included Judas the betrayer:

*****Mar 3:23  And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?

We will see that Jesus has no difficulty at all in putting aside this absurd theory "that to destroy the kingdom of evil, He has to be a servant of that same evil and it's evil ruler!

Jesus acknowledges that there is a Devil!
Jesus acknowledges that the Devil treats every human being as his own personal goods.

So, if Satan cast out himself, he is then his own enemy!

If we cannot be friends with Jesus Christ, then we are friends with His enemy!

*****Mar 3:24  And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

This verse describes the act of civil war.

There are no winners in civil war!

America is a great nation and has survived it's civil war but there are still deep scars from that time.

Slavery was extremely wrong and civil men should have found a solution without brother killing brother.

But even deeper than that "either we are united or we are not", we must be the United States of America!

What could America have been without this war having taken place?

There can be little doubt that Satan has setup a kingdom of sin in our world.

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

The entire purpose and design of the "Gospel" is to over throw this kingdom of Satan.

1Jn 3:8  He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

Jesus Christ defeated this kingdom at the "Cross":

Heb 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Heb 2:15  And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Col 2:15  And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

It is through the "Cross", the shed blood of Jesus, where we can have our own victory over Satan's kingdom!

2Ti 2:26  And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

Satan would never divide his own kingdom to battle with the Lord!

If these scribes and Pharisee believed that Satan gets any pleasure out of seeing the destruction of his own works, by Jesus Christ, and even supplied him with his own help, they were totally confused just as many are today.

Jesus Christ wins every battle with Satan by the Holy Ghost and by His Word of Truth!
Jesus Christ does not need Satan's help to save the "lost"!

*****Mar 3:25  And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
Mar 3:26  And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.

We have seen the results of broken homes in our own society every day in the actions of our young people.

There is a complete lack of authority. Satan knows this!

Parents have little hope of support and security from their children because in our societies the children still depend on the parents and the government to support themselves. Satan knows this!

There is no bond of affection when brothers hate brothers, and sisters hate sisters. Satan knows this!

Houses divided against themselves cannot stand!

The Church of today is weak because the church is dividing itself against itself.

Satan knows this and continues to cause havoc in our homes and not in his own house!

*****Mar 3:27  No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.

Humans are just "goods" to be used, in the eyes of Satan!
Something he can use as weapons against God.

The destruction of human beings is meaningless to him, in fact Satan insists on the destruction of each and every human being before they get to know Jesus!

Jesus Christ shows that He casts out demons by a much greater force than the limited power of Satan!

Satan has built a great house but where is his power?

Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against "the wiles" of the devil.

That word "wiles" means his "trickery"!

Satan has a plan of "deception"!

Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Satan studies the Word of God.
Satan desires to exalt himself above God.
Satan traps new converts through deceit.
Satan has a burning anger and a great wrath aimed toward God.
Satan shows his boldness by even trying to tempt Jesus Christ.
Satan hates all Christians and a Christian is only named if they be like Christ Jesus!

But Satan knows his end:

Rev 20:10  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Those that follow Christ Jesus are eternal because it is only Our Lord who can bind the strong man!

*****Mar 3:28  Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:
Mar 3:29  But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:

The Holy Spirit can be quenched:

1Th 5:19  Quench not the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit can be grieved:

Eph 4:30  And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

But the Holy Spirit can also be blasphemed against!

Jesus Christ had made Himself known to the nation of Israel through His teaching of the Old Testament scriptures.

2Ti 3:16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Through His teaching of the Holy Ghost inspired Word of God and through His miracles.
But what had God said?

Mat 12:18  Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: [I will put my spirit upon him], and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.

Jesus Christ had the Spirit of God upon Him!
Jesus taught with the Holy Ghost inspired Word of God!

To say that Jesus did these things in the power of Beelzebub was calling God a liar and blaspheming the Holy Spirit which cannot be forgiven!

There is only one sin that will surely send us to Hell and later to the Burning Lake of Fire!

Joh 16:9  Of sin, because they believe not on me;

We must believe on all the works of Jesus Christ to be saved and this is includes the acknowledgement that the Lord Jesus worked through the power of the Holy Spirit!

To put this so we can understand it:

Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Joh 6:65  And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.

Gen 6:3  And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

We cannot just up and decide to be saved!

We will never believe on the Lord Jesus Christ without Holy Ghost conviction!

It is the Holy Spirit that will lead us to Jesus Christ that we may believe and be saved!

To blaspheme the Holy Spirit can then be equivalent to not believing on the Lord Jesus Christ which is the only means of salvation!

How did they blaspheme the Holy Spirit?

*****Mar 3:30  Because they said, "He hath an unclean spirit".

The Holy Spirit will always lead us to Jesus:

Joh 14:26  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Joh 15:26  But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

Jesus had the Holy Spirit of God, "not" some unclean spirit of this world!

*****Mar 3:31  There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him.
Mar 3:32  And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.

We know that The Lord Jesus had been born to the Virgin Mary but after her marriage to Joseph, who had also accepted that Mary's child was of the Holy Ghost, she and Joseph had had other children.

Since Joseph is not mentioned it could be that he was not alive at this time but we do know if this true!

The true "Father" of Jesus was God Himself!

But Jesus was also part of an earthly family!

Mat 13:55  Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
Mat 13:56  And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?

The family of Jesus did not believe on Him at this time and would not until He was risen from the grave!

They had come to take Jesus home but they were not brave enough to go to Him in person but had sent a messenger.

And how did the Lord respond to this messenger and all those around Him?

*****Mar 3:33  And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?
Mar 3:34  And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
Mar 3:35  For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.

The Lord Jesus has just been accused of being in league with the Devil!

He has not been able to eat because of the crowd!

His earthly family had not been a part of His ministry and had not bothered Him up to now!

Jesus takes this time to say "let me tell you about my real family".

Jesus had come as written in the Old Testament, to obey the will of God!

Heb 10:7  Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

So, all who are also willing to accept the written Word of God will be kin to Him!

By natural birth we are all the "children of disobedience"!

Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

We are all the children of Adam:

Rom 5:19  "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners", so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

To become the children of obedience calls for a new birth:

Joh 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

When we are re-birthed we are then in the family of God and escaped from the corruption of this world:

2Pe 1:3  According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
2Pe 1:4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

To be a disciple of Jesus Christ is to be included in the Family of God!

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Questions?

Let's Pray!

The Passion Of God's Servant "Reaching The Lost"

The Passion Of God's Servant

"Reaching The Lost"

Book of Mark 2:13-28

In our last lesson Jesus had returned to Capernaum to the house of Peter and his family. A great crowd had gathered inside and outside the house. Four men of great "faith" had brought a man who was paralyzed and Jesus had healed him so completely that this man, who was carried in on his bed, left, carrying that bed himself.

But something else had happened. Jesus used the title "Son of Man" for the first time and He made His first claim that He was indeed Jehovah God before all those that were present there that day, which included some scribes.

We already know that many of the scribes were also Pharisees.

Jesus said, "yes, only God can forgive sin" and He proved He was God, because He was also "the only One that could have healed this lame man".

Jesus said it was no harder for Him to be a "Miracle Man" than it was to be the "Savior" because all

He had to do was "to speak" and it was done!
It is the Spoken Word that brought all Creation!
It is the "Spoken Word" that became the "Written Word" that we have today.
And Jesus Christ is the "Physical Representation Of The Word of God"!

After all it was not Jesus who was the blasphemer, it was His accusers!

We will not find in the Word of God that such men as these ever denied that Jesus was the "Miracle Man" and that all these miracle were real.

Not one miracle was ever denied!

In all His days, "no one" denied that Jesus had the power over the "supernatural world"!

What irritated these religious groups is still the same today.

They rejected the fact that they were sinners!

In other words they were self righteous in their own ways and had no need of God, especially the God of the Bible!

All those that could see and hear witnessed these things that day.

The Bible says:

Mat 11:15  He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Once we hear the Word of God, we must make a very personal decision on what to do with what we have heard!

So lets begin:

*****Mar 2:13  And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them.

We have already seen how The Lord Jesus will use the Sea of Galilee in His ministry.

We should also see that The Lord Jesus enjoyed His own creation and He loved walking by this Sea!

Remember He walked with Adam in the cool of the day in Eden.

29 times in the "Gospels" we see that word "taught" but the Greek word "didasko" which means "to teach" is used at least 55 times in the "Gospels" referring to the things Jesus was doing every day.

This teaching was aimed at the 12 disciples and to all disciples of our Lord, even those of today.

Jesus "taught" so that they could learn "the truth"!

Jesus still teaches us with His Word and again "so we can learn the truth"!

"Teaching" is an important factor in the edification of the Church!

The early church devoted themselves to the teaching of the Apostles.

Act 2:42  And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

But that teaching was about Christ Jesus and they also were persecuted for this teaching.

Act 5:28  Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, 'ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us'.

Again, this was the message given to the early Church and the same message we are to teach and learn today!

Act 5:42  And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

Governments and false religion could not stop the spread of the "Gospel" then and they cannot now unless we allow it!

This was the importance of Jesus teaching while He was with us!

Jesus taught the public as he trained and taught the Apostles!

Today the Church is to reach out to this "lost world" while at the same time training new disciples.

But we are to have that "one" same message of, Jesus Christ!

*****Mar 2:14  And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.

One of the facts we will continue to see in the selection of the 12 Apostles is "how ordinary and unrefined" they all were when Jesus met them.

It is also interesting to note that they were all from the area of Galilee except for one, Judas Iscariot.

In all likelihood, it was Matthew who was considered the greatest sinner of all the Apostles!

No one was hated more than a Jewish man that worked for Rome and then add to that the hated tax collector who are still hated in today's world.

Matthew was a "publican"!

A publican was considered to be as low as you could get in Jewish society.

On this day Matthew was sitting at the "custom seat".

He was not gathering taxes on personal wealth at this time but was collecting "customs" on any produce being transported into Capernaum and most probably "on any fish" that were brought in from the Sea of Galilee.

This "custom" was collected before these things got to the merchant where they were taxed again.

But it is this Matthew, along with Mark, Luke, and John, who was also a writer of the four "Gospels".

James, John, Peter, and Andrew had previously met Jesus but we do not know much about Matthew.

What we do know is that, it was on this day, as Levi the son of Alphaeus, later called Matthew, "stopped what he was doing and followed" the Lord Jesus Christ.

*****Mar 2:15  And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him.

The "publicans" are all those that collected the "customs" and "the taxes" imposed on them by Rome and by Herod Antipas.

Those "sinners" were any individuals that did not follow the Laws of Moses, especially the dietary laws, and/or the Oral Law of the Pharisees who were zealous for the Law.

Jesus chose to dine in the house of Matthew. He had with Him his chosen disciples and there were many others that followed Him for various reasons, but not many in "faith".

Why were there so many publicans and sinners in Matthews house?

These were the only friends he had!

No true Jewish man would have any part of being a friend to a publican!

Somewhat like the "leper" they were outcast from Jewish society.

We will soon meet another group that fell under this same umbrella and that would be the "harlots".

These are the people that Jesus chose to associate Himself with.

They were "lost" and in need of a Savior!

Luke best describes this day:
Luk 5:29  And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them.
Luk 5:30  But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?

*****Mar 2:16  And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?

What is bigotry?

Bigotry is the blind and unreasonable attachment to your own beliefs which hinders discernment of the truth!
These same ones are usually blind to their own depravity. Spiritually Blind!

Jesus gives us this warning to the last Church Age:

Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

When Jesus had healed the lame man the scribes had objected silently.

Now that they are joined by the Pharisees, they are bold enough to speak out loud but they approach the disciples of Jesus and still not Jesus Himself.

They were all still in amazement of what they saw the Master do!

One thing was certain, not one Pharisee, nor one scribe, nor even one Sadducee would have had their name linked to such sinners.

They had no interest in saving the "lost"!

So bigotry will also cheat it's followers of the blessings of Christ!

They were too proud to see the error of their ways, so they starved not receiving the "truth" that makes men free!

*****Mar 2:17  When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

We, that know the Lord Jesus Christ as Our Savior, are patiently waiting for the trumpet to sound and a wonderful home going.

It is after this that Jesus will return as King of the Jew and of this world!

But why did Jesus come as the Messiah?

Mankind needed a deliverer!

Jesus Christ came to bear all our sin!

Heb 9:28  So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

These Pharisees fall into that group of people who think their own goodness can get them into Heaven.

They place great effort into keeping the Law even adding to the Law, for the appearance of even more righteousness.

But God says this about man's righteousness:

Isa 64:6  But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

In their minds there was not one person among these in Matthew's house and especially in Galilee and Samaria that was worth even enough to tell them about God.

You see they had already judged these people to be worthless!

People who imagine themselves to be "too good" to be considered sinners will become judges of all others, and it is just their imagination.

God says:

Rom 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

These divided sin into differing degrees!

It may seem that we can place sin into different categories with one type being a greater sin than some other, such a murderer and a petty thief.

But God does not see it that way!

Rom 3:19  Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

There maybe a few degrees of difference temperature wise in parts of Hell, but I think every place in the burning lake of fire will be the same torment.

Every sin can be forgiven but one!

Joh 16:9  Of sin, because they believe not on me;

Just as a healthy person has no need of a doctor, one righteous in their own eyes do not think they are in need of a Savior and therefore will not accept that the Lord Jesus Christ is that Savior.

But "everlasting life" can only come through Jesus Christ:

Joh 5:40  And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

*****Mar 2:18  And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?

What is fasting?

Fasting is abstaining from a need of the flesh in order to draw closer to God.

There must be a real desire to give the "soul" a better chance in it's conflict with the body of flesh that houses it!

In most cases people deny themselves of food or food and water.

The Apostle Paul wrote:

Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Fasting must be a time for a special activity of the soul!

So only the saved can fast, for the benefit of a closer walk with the Lord!

1) Fasting is useless and even sinful if that fast is not for The Lord!
Fasting has no moral value in itself.

2) Fast that are ordered or directed by others, just cause injury and have no value.

3) Fasting should only be imposed by sorrowful events as Jesus will explain in this passage.

4) Fasting is beneficial only when fasting becomes "Heavenly Feasting"!

Joe 2:12  Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
Joe 2:13  And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

*****Mar 2:19  And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.
Mar 2:20  But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.

Solomon said there is a time and a place for everything!

Then fasting for a happy occasion would be most inappropriate.

If we are unhappy knowing the Lord Jesus as Our Savior, then these are problems that fasting cannot help!

If we are sorrowful for other reasons, then we can reach out to Our Savior and Fasting can help.

Fasting must be added to prayer but we should also realize that no amount of fasting can force God's hand.

Fasting also cannot replace holiness!

And we certainly cannot make fasting a "legalistic" event.

Fasting is solely between that one that fast and Our Father who are in Heaven:

Mat 6:16  Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Mat 6:17  But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
Mat 6:18  That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

*****Mar 2:21  No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse.

Just as a patch on an old garment is easily noticed and just makes us aware of how old that garment really is, it just makes that old garment worse.

In verse 20 Jesus had said that when He had returned to Heaven, those of the Bride of Christ would then have a need to fast!

This what we call the Church Age.

The "Law" had run it's course and it would be a time of "Grace"!

Rom 5:20  Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
Rom 5:21  That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

That old garment in fact is a "type" of Judaism, which is "by the works" of the Law.

Jesus had caused a rent in that old garment of Judaism!

In other words "Grace" cannot be a fix for those old laws!

"Grace" cannot repair that garment of "Works" because it would only make things worse!

"Grace" is entirely something new!

a) The Church is not a repair to Judaism!

The Church is the New Testament, "written with the blood of Jesus", who is the "Groom" or the "Head" of the Church, the "Body of Christ".

Luk 22:20  Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

Eph 5:23  For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

b) Also God's work cannot be improved on by man!

That old garment of Judaism cannot be improved, it must be replaced by true Christianity, "which is being like Christ Jesus".

As Judaism is as the body, Christianity is as the soul!

Once the soul is saved, God will then one day glorify the body!

1Co 15:44  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

That spiritual body is Christianity!

*****Mar 2:22  And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the
bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.

Jesus gives another example.

In most every case the word "bottle" in the Old Testament is the English translation of a Hebrew word for "skin" as in a specially treated leather bag.

This very same thing happens in the New Testament when the English word "bottle" is the English translation of the Greek word "askos" which also means "skin".

Smoke was used to purify the skin so that skin could be used to hold liquids which included, water, milk, and grape juice.

Psa 119:83  For I am become like a bottle in the smoke; yet do I not forget thy statutes.

Of these three liquids, grape juice will ferment.

Now grape juice on it's own cannot ferment into wine but it will go through some fermentation until it spoils.

The remains of that fermentation will remain in that skin. If new grape juice is put into that old wine skin it would soon start fermenting and would produce gas that could cause the wine skin to burst and therefore loose the New Juice or as our English uses the phrase, "New Wine".

In order to preserve the health and freshness of the juice it was put into "new wine skins"!

This again was still an example or what call a "type" of the message Jesus had for these Pharisees.
Christianity is that new wine (juice).

The old wine of Judaism has run out but the new wine of Christianity cannot be poured into the same wine skin that held Judaism!

The "Gospel" of the Lord Jesus Christ is that new wine and it has a freshness and power far beyond Judaism and those Laws of Moses.

There is a new hope, and a new love, and a new life that comes from the "Gospel", the "Good News" of Jesus Christ Our Lord!

Paul wrote:

Gal 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25  But after that faith is come, "we are no longer under a schoolmaster".
Gal 3:26  For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

*****Mar 2:23  And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.
Mar 2:24  And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?

Here again the critics of Jesus found something else to criticize Jesus.

a) He hung out with sinners.
b) His disciples did not fast.
c) He said He was God.
d) He had no respect for the Sabbath.

It was near harvest time as Jesus and His disciples were near this field.

Remember these disciples had given up their all to follow the Lord Jesus.

According to the Word of God they could eat of this corn, which was more probably a stalk of wheat.

Deu 23:25  When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour's standing corn.

This also tells us that this day was probably in the Spring time.

These Pharisees however saw things only through their own eyes:

Deu 5:14  But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.

It was against the Law to do any work on the Sabbath.

It was not against the Law to get get a bite to eat from this field as long as a sickle was not used and the amount was not great enough to carry some extra with them!

We will see many cases where Our Lord uses the wheat field in His teaching of the disciples.

1) The wheat field is a "type" of the world as many crops are planted and "has a great variety" just as our world does have a great variety.
2) Fruitfulness through death is taught by the wheat field. "The seed that is buried becomes a field of resurrection".
3) Character of individuals can be described from a field of wheat. "Whatsoever a man soeth, that shall he also reap".
4) The wheat field is the home of the sower. The sower plants the field but it is God that gives the increase.
5) The wheat field can be a productive if the right seed is sown under the right conditions.
"Some bring forth a hundredfold".
6) But in most cases the field is white and ready for harvest but there are just not enough of God's people willing to go to that field!

Jesus who is the Word of God, saw no hindrance in it's being the Sabbath!

Jesus comments:

*****Mar 2:25  And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?

Notice how Jesus immediately ask these scribes, who were the Bible scholars of that day, "Did you not make copies the story of the time when David was on the run for his life from King Saul"?

David was the most honored of the kings of Israel.

David was a fugitive at this time, running for his life and had escaped taking nothing with him.

Some friends of his had joined with him but none of them had provisions.

David had a need for food as much as he had a need for a moment with the priests.

David was not only a "type" of Christ but he was a "type" of Christian.

It is David that wrote this song:

Psa 37:25  I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

Jesus added these words:

Mat 10:29  Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
Mat 10:30  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Mat 10:31  Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

Every word written in the Word of God has a purpose for us to understand.

One, God takes a real story from history or He will sometimes use a parable to teach us a Biblical truth.

This is why we need to spend some time in God's Word!

There is the "historical message" of each passage and then there is the "spiritual message" of each passage!

These scribes may even have been able to quote this passage about David but they had missed the intent of God's message!

So, What had David done?

*****Mar 2:26  How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?

We can see that even Jesus considered the Tabernacle the house of God.

There were 12 loaves of shewbread that were placed on a special table next to the Holy of Holies and before the Lord every week. When the new bread was brought in before the next Sabbath, then and only then, by the Law, could that week old bread be eaten and then only by the priests.

In the New Testament all true disciples of Christ are in the priesthood.

1Pe 2:5  Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Rev 1:6  And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

As God gave David and his men access to the shewbread of the Tabernacle, all Christians have access to the True Bread of Heaven, which is Jesus Christ.

What David did was wrong under the Laws of Moses, "but right under the Laws of God"!

Ignorance of the scriptures is the greatest source of error in the Body of Christ!

The Sadducees erred, because they did not believe the Word of God.

The Pharisees erred, because they became to legalistic and did not learn that the Laws are our schoolmaster.

These "scribes" who were the printers of the Bible erred, because they knew God's Word but they did not understand what God was saying!

So, Jesus points out their error!

*****Mar 2:27  And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

The Book of Genesis tells us the God created for six days and then rested of the seventh day.

That word "Sabbath" means "to rest from labor".

The Sabbath was made for man as a day of of rest and refreshment:

Gen 2:2  And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
Gen 2:3  And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

At the time of Jesus the Sabbath day had been perverted by "tradition"!

The Apostle Paul explains this better in telling us that these old traditions were not Biblical:

Gal 1:14  And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, "being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers".
     
These traditions were imposed on the people even though for the most part they were arbitrary to the Word of God!

Jesus said in another place that these religious leaders had made the Word of God to none effect by all those traditions:

Mat 15:6  And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. "Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition".
Mat 15:7  Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,

In other words those that do these things are "hypocrites".

*****Mar 2:27  And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
Mar 2:28  Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

God's entire creation was made for mankind!

The Sabbath was made for every man and not just for the Jews.

The Sabbath was never intended to be a ceremonial observance but was intended to be a universal obligation for man.

God says man needs a day of rest for his body and a rest for his soul!

Medical science will tell you that the human frame will not bear up under constant labor without rest.

For those that honor the 10 commandments, they seem to forget this part:

Deu 5:13  Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work:

The world we live in is a seven day work week that runs 24 hours each day and these things are built upon tax structures and the love of money, "Greed"!

Not only does the body need rest but the soul needs some time with God!

Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath.

He created it.
He owns it.
He is the Master of it.

It is the Lord that should decide how we use a Sabbath!

The day that Jesus rose from the grave is called "The Lord's Day"!

He claimed it, it is to devoted to His service, and it is consecrated in His honor.

Isa 12:3  Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.
Isa 12:4  And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.

I choose to believe that Sunday is our day of rest and a day to be with the Lord:

1Co 16:2  "Upon the first day of the week" let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.

But I also realize that different cultures may have to use another day and as long as a day of rest and a time for the Lord is observed I believe it fulfills the commandment of the Lord:

Rom 14:5  One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
Rom 14:6  He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
Rom 14:7  For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.

It is the Lord that we must honor not just one day of the week but every day of our lives!

Questions?

Let's Pray!

The Pardon Of God's Servant

The Pardon Of God's Servant

"Forgiving Sin"

Book of Mark 2:1-12

We know from last weeks lesson that the fame of Jesus had spread in such a way that it actually sometimes hindered what He had come to do.

Why had the Messiah come?

Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Jesus was God in the flesh and He brought the power of God with Him!

Joh 5:19  Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: [for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise].

Paul wrote it like this:

Php 2:6  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

So just who can forgive sins?

We must forgive each other but only God can forgive us of our sins against His Word!

Let's look to our lesson today:

*****Mar 2:1  And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house.

The Book of Matthew chapter 9 tells us of many things that Jesus had done in these days since He first left Capernaum.

But, Mark begins chapter 2 by telling of Jesus's return to Capernaum and back to the house of Peter and Andrew.

That word "noised" means the news of His return traveled very fast from house to house, throughout the city!

Wherever Our Lord traveled, great crowds would gather.

If these crowds had been interested in the "gospel message", this would have been a great encouragement to Jesus but sadly most just wanted to see the "Miracle Maker"!

And some were just spies sent from the Pharisee and Sadducees, who only wanted to see if Jesus could be caught in some sin.

*****Mar 2:2  And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.

This time at Capernaum, there was no line so Jesus could lay His hands on the sick.

This time these people would have to hear the message that Jesus had, the "Gospel" message.

"It is always more important to deal with the soul of man than it is to deal with the body"!

"The word" that Jesus preached is best describe by the Apostle John:

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

In this chapter of the Book of Mark we will see 3 things that Jesus brings to all who will believe on Him.

1) Forgiveness
2) Fulfillment
3) Freedom

Jesus will always begin with "forgiveness" to those that are sincere!

None of these people had been invited to the house of Peter and his family, they just came!

People were pushing and shoving their way into that house "but" Jesus just keeps on preaching.

And, as always there will be some truly needy people who cannot get close enough to Jesus to get the help they truly need.

*****Mar 2:3  And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.

There are 5 men coming "as one" to this place where Jesus is located.

What ever this thing that is carried by these 4 men it must be light enough for this man to carry himself because he would soon be carrying his own bed.

BUT, it must also be strong enough for these men to carry this one that is paralyzed.

The man himself was at least heavy enough so that it required 4 men to carry him.

BUT, these men also carried more than this one thing that were not shown by this unruly crowd!

They had "Faith"!

They also had a "caring love" for the one that they carried!

It was this mans "suffering and misery" that had brought this group in search of Christ Jesus.

These are the things that every "lost soul" must realize, so this message is directed at all disciples of Christ or Christians.

1.) The "lost" are living a life of misery and suffering.
2.) Some one must have a love and care enough about them to lead them to Jesus.
3.) It then takes "Faith"!
4.) We need to be "determined" that everyone we love will be led to Jesus and we are commanded to even love our enemies.
5.) Jesus Christ, Our Lord, will do the rest because He is Savior and then Healer.
6.) These "fishers of men" would soon cast the "Gospel Net", but only the Lord can sort the catch!

Most of the people of Capernaum  may have only seen Jesus one time but they knew "who to come to" because living in Capernaum was a life of misery and suffering for most all of them!

James says:

Jas 2:17  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

These four men had all the right things and they also had one more important thing.

They had "determination"!

They were determined to get this lost soul in need of healing to Jesus!

*****Mar 2:4  And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.

The Jewish home in 1st century Capernaum was made with mud brick and basalt stone, which is lava rock.
A composition of mortar, tar, ashes and sand were spread upon the roofs to keep out the rain and even grass could grow on these flat roofs.

There would be a battlement installed for safety as God had commanded.

Deu 22:8  When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence.

It would not even be odd to see a goat eating on the roof of these homes.

In most cases their was also a trap door to get into the house from the roof but even that would not have been big enough to let down this carried man.

There was almost always access to the roof by an outside stairway.

These four men had carried this paralyzed man as far as they could and because of the crowd they could not get to Jesus.

Jesus could not get out of the house because of the crowd nor could Peter get out of the house to stop what was going on on his roof, so Jesus just continued to preach while He had their attention.

These men then overcame every obstacle in their path, to get this lame man to Jesus.

Luke wrote it like this:

Luk 5:19  And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.

There are some great spiritual lessons that can be learned from this passage.

1.) In most every case before a lost soul is saved, there have been one or more faithful workers who have attempted to lead this soul to the Lord.

This is our main job after we are saved!

1Co 3:8  Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.

2.) As these four men had to over come every obstacle before them to get this soul to Jesus, the Church must overcome every obstacle to reach out to the "lost".

We must be determined that our families and our friends and those that cross our paths are led to
Jesus Christ, then it's their own choice.

3.) We must understand that spiritual paralysis lies in the unpardoned sin.

That lost soul must realize that he is a sinner in need of forgiveness and that pardon can only come from Jesus Christ.

Sin paralyzes with despair and this brings with it unbelief!

4.)  Christ Jesus can remove the sin and the paralysis at the same time and He does so for "whosoever" calls upon His Name.

Jesus removes the sin that separates us from God, and Jesus removes that "want to" sin from the conscience!

Rom 7:5  For when we were in the flesh, "the motions of sins", which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.

Jesus changes a "used to be" into "a somebody", a child of the Living God!

5.)  The change will be noticeable.

If there is no change, then there has been no "rebirth"!

Let's watch as these things take place.

*****Mar 2:5  When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.

We can see here one of the reasons why Jesus had a healing ministry!

By showing He had the power to heal any and all disease then we can trust Him when He says we are forgiven and saved, because only Our Lord can have such power.

Only God can forgive sin and only God can perform miracles!

Jesus says we must have "faith" but He does not expect us to base that "faith" on nothing.

"Justification" is a gift given through the "Grace" of God:

Rom 3:24  Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

That "lost one" can be anywhere on this Earth when this takes place!

Salvation comes at  the very moment a lost soul places his "faith" in Christ Jesus:

Rom 5:1  Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

BUT, Our "faith" must be based on the fact that our "justification" came through the death of Our Savior:

Rom 5:9  Much more then, "being now justified by his blood", we shall be saved from wrath "through him".

AND,  we are save because He Lives Eternally!

Rom 5:10  For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God "by the death of his Son", much more, being reconciled, "we shall be saved by his life".

Jesus had to die in His "body of flesh".

Jesus also had to resurrect in His "Glorified Body"!

These things are tied together!

That title "Son" means "welcome to the family of God".

Just as the prodigal son, none us are worthy to be called "Son" but when our sin debt is paid and we
recognize it was by our Savior we are welcomed openly back into  the family of God.

This is why it is called "Pardoned"!

And there will always those that are watching, listening, waiting and disapproving!

For every child of God, there is a set of eyes looking to see if we will make mistakes and who doubt Salvation!

*****Mar 2:6  But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,
Mar 2:7  Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?

These scribes were educated men and scribes played a great role in the Old Testament.

Many of them were leaders of the Jewish nation after the Babylonian captivity.

We should remember Ezra who was called a ready "scribe".

But by  the time of Jesus, scribes were considered professional interpreters of the Mosaic Law and a great many of them were also Pharisees.

It was the scribes that determined how the Law was to be applied to the everyday life of the Jew and to all Jewish proselytes.

They were also the authority on historical and doctrinal matters and they became the custodians of the "Oral Law" which was used to add to or sometimes to replace the written Word of God in the days of Jesus.

What a shame!

They had not come to Peter's house for the right reasons and they did not have physical ailments.

Why had they come?

Luk 20:20  And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, "that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor".

You see, when Jesus is "in the House", Satan will come himself or send some of his own children!

Was Jesus speaking blasphemies?

Blasphemy in many languages means different things but in English, means "the speaking evil of God"!

Blasphemy was punished by stoning, and it would be the charge of "Blasphemy" that would be used to sentence Jesus to death.

Jesus never spoke one blasphemous word!

**This lame man had done nothing to deserve any kind of forgiveness from anyone.

In most all religions only a god had the power to forgive sins but only after some act of repentance or some ritual service had been performed.

The "Gospel Message" is to only have "Faith" in the Lord Jesus Christ!

SO, what is the "omniscience" of God?

Jesus knew what was in the heart of man!

Joh 2:24  But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, "because he knew all men",
Joh 2:25  And needed not that any should testify of man: "for he knew what was in man".

Omniscience means that God has all knowledge!

God knows all things actual, possible, past, present, and future and He knows all these things all at the same time!

There has never been one moment in time that God did not know what is going on everywhere in His Creation!

There has never been one thing that went on on this Earth that God could not have stopped if He had chosen to do so!

Psa 147:5  Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.

So Christ Jesus responds like this:

*****Mar 2:8  And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?

We may have secrets that we do not share with others but there is nothing that can be kept from God!

Most of the things in our minds are sin, when our hearts are not right with God.

Act 8:21  Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.
Act 8:22  Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, [if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee].

AND, whatever comes into our minds begin inside our hearts!

Mat 15:18  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
Mat 15:19  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:

We can only get a new heart when we are saved and filled with the Holy Spirit:

Eze 36:26  A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Eze 36:27  And I will put my spirit within you, [and cause you to walk in my statutes], and [ye shall] keep my judgments, and do them.

Those that say they are saved but there has been no change from their old ways and they do not walk obedient to God's Word as best they can, should question their salvation!

*****Mar 2:9  Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?

1.) First, Jesus ask which one is easier to say?

That answer should have been, they are both easy to say, if you just want to say these things.

It was not in the saying, it is in the doing!

It was just as impossible for men to heal this paralyzed man as it was to forgive him his sin!

There was not one man present, except Jesus, that could do these things!

It is impossible to forgive sin, unless your are God!

We can forgive the things that happen between ourselves and are commanded to do so, but only God can forgive the sin that keeps us separated from Him:

Mat 6:15  But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

If we are not forgiving to all others, then God will not forgive our own sin!

2) Second, only God can do both, heal this paralyzed man and forgive him his sin!

To Our Lord, in both these things, all He needed to do was just speak.

God spoke this entire cosmos into existence:

Heb 11:3  Through faith we understand that [the worlds were framed by the word of God], so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Healing a human being is no harder for God than to create this place we call Earth.

SO, Only God can forgive sin!

Rom 5:10  For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

BUT, God has always done all things through His Son Jesus:

Heb 1:2  Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, [by whom also he made the worlds;]

This is where we must base our "Faith"!

Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God "must believe that he is", and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

To these unbelieving scribes Jesus just says "the proof that I can heal, is the same proof that I can forgive sins".

These scribes had witnessed the "faith" of these 4 men as they had carried this man a great distance to get to Christ Jesus.

They had not only carried this man but they had carried him up a stairway and tore up a roof just so they let him down at the feet of Jesus.

They had witnessed the "faith" of this man that Jesus could heal him.

They had witnessed a large crowd that had gathered in the house of Peter, most of them came because
of "faith" that Jesus would do something for them.

None of these things had moved these scribes toward "faith" because "they had rejected" that Jesus was The Christ!

So Jesus just proves He is what He says He is:

*****Mar 2:10  [But that ye may know] that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)
Mar 2:11  I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.

In this verse we see the first time that Jesus calls Himself, "the Son of Man" in the New Testament.

All four of  the "Gospels" emphasize the human side of Jesus.

Jesus says He is the Son of God and the Son of Man:

Joh 5:26  For as [the Father] hath life in himself; so hath he given [to the Son] to have life in himself;
Joh 5:27  And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, [because he is the Son of man].

Daniel prophesied that the Son of Man is from Heaven, Heaven is His Kingdom:

Dan 7:13  I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like [the Son of man] came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

And, it is this human side of God that will suffer and pay our sin debt:

Joh 3:14  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

Joh 12:34  The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?

It is the Son of Man that receives the Heavenly Glory:

Joh 1:51  And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter "ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man".

It is the Son of Man that brings everlasting life:

Joh 6:27  Labour not for the meat which perisheth, "but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life", which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed

Jesus Christ applied this term to Himself because He had a Heavenly origin, and He possessed all of Heavens Glory!

But at the same time it points us to His, lowliness and His suffering for all mankind.

Jesus is God In The Flesh!

Jesus was saying to these scribes, that if this paralyzed man does not get up and walk away carrying
his own bed then "I am not God"!

We can be sure that all eyes, including those of the future Apostles, but especially these scribes were focused on Our Lord.

Many may claim to be Christ Jesus but there is only one!

*****Mar 2:12  And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, "We never saw it on this fashion".

As Jesus had the power to heal, He has the power to forgive sin!

The reality of that is that if our sins are to be forgiven, it must be while we are yet alive and on this Earth we live on!

It will be too late once we are dead!

The proof:

We can see that this once paralyzed man realized the importance of the situation.

1.) He immediately arose having never walked, a great miracle.
2.) He had been helped all his life by those that had carried his bed, but he now took up his own bed.
3.) All of a sudden a pathway was made and there was room enough for him to walk out of that house, while toting his own bed.

The World had never seen anything like Jesus!

The people glorified God, but these scribes just shook their heads in disgust!

The truth is that every time we question our salvation we should look back to the Word of God, which says when God speaks, things happen!

And, He that has the power to forgive and to save, has the same power to keep us saved!

We can never measure our salvation on what we think Our Lord can do:

**Luk 18:26  And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?
Luk 18:27  And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

Sin is like a sickness, so forgiveness is like having our health restored!

David wrote these words that were to be sung in the House of God:

Psa 103:1  Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Psa 103:2  Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
Psa 103:3  Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
Psa 103:4  Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
Psa 103:5  Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
Psa 103:6  The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.

All those that could get near Peter's house this day had witnessed this happening right before their own eyes!

And they had never seen anything like ever before!

Questions?

Let's Pray!