Delivered from Evil: Mark 3:20-35 - Third Sunday after Pentecost
20and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. 21When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, "He has gone out of his mind." 22And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons." 23And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan? 24If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. 27But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.28Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin" — 30for they had said, "He has an unclean spirit."31Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. 32A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you." 33And he replied, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" 34And looking at those who sat around him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 35Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother." (NRSV)
Late this past February, everybody was asking: “what color
is this dress?”
Most people say, “It’s white and gold…” Some say, “It’s blue and black…” So why the
disagreement? We can’t all be
colorblind, can we?
Science explains the phenomenon as a function of genetics—and
their influence on the construction of our eye sockets. I must be a mutant—because I see the
dress as blue and gold…
But what about the colors of good and evil in the
world? Like most of you, when I think of
evil, I think of ISIS; of Hitler and Nazi Germany. That being said, if I asked you to write down
the ten greatest evils in the world, I’m sure we’d have some diverse
answers. We don’t all see the same world
the same way…
In today’s Gospel, however, we see how wrong human beings
can be in choosing good over evil…
Jesus’ ministry has just begun, but already, the religious
“authorities” have come down from Jerusalem to investigate him. So far, Jesus has freed people of unclean
spirits; he’s cured leprosy, fevers, and paralysis. But—he doesn’t fast and hold to the
traditions of the elders. He heals on
the Sabbath. He befriends tax collectors
and sinners.
It is for these reasons the “experts” conclude: Jesus is the
devil. He’s Beelzebul—the lord of the
flies.
Isn’t that awful?
While Jesus sees evil in human suffering and the ostracism of “sinful,”
“unclean” people—the religious experts see Jesus as evil—because he’s
not “religious” like they’re “religious.” He doesn’t “play” by their rules. While Jesus has nothing but compassion and
love for lost and hurting people, the experts would have said that God was
punishing those people… That they were
no good anyway—and didn’t deserve anyone’s sympathy…
What we see here is the tremendous power of the devil to
confuse and completely distort a human being’s sense of good and evil. It’s the same thing the serpent does in
Genesis: the forbidden fruit is seen as pleasing to eye and useful for gaining
wisdom.
All human beings are born with an innate sense of right and
wrong—and yet this knowledge does not give you the strength to choose what’s
right. Evil lurks within what’s
appealing and beneficial to you; the good things you can gain at minimal cost;
what feels good in the moment.
What’s more, is that we define “evil” in terms of
what’s most threatening to us. Evildoers
are the people who are most unlike ourselves; who do things and believe things
we could never imagine even in our worst nightmares.
All the while, we’re not seeing the undeniable truth: that
evil exists in our own hearts. Even
though none of us would ever dream of joining ISIS or the Nazi party, we share
that same potential to do evil. This
isn’t something that happens in an instant.
It’s always a slow fade. Apathy
is that slippery slope; that little voice that says “that’s okay,” when it’s
not okay. It’s what leads us down the
path of least resistance. It’s what gives
us a permission to turn a blind eye to human suffering. Sins of omission combine with sins of commission
to slowly submerge communities, societies, and entire countries into absolute
chaos.
We must own the truth about ourselves—that we’re
sinners. We think better of ourselves
than others. We tell lies, say hurtful
ways, act in deplorable ways, and look the other way when action is
needed. We seek life in the treasures of
this world. But it is here in the depths
that grace begins.
He comes into the bondage of our sin and the misery it
brings. He comes into the depths of our
sorrows and fears. He comes into the
mess this world is in right now, to make all things new with his forgiveness,
his mercy, and his love.
Jesus is God’s answer to evil and death. Jesus has bound the devil. His fate was sealed on the cross. His days are numbered. Victory belongs to Jesus. Make no mistake—he’s not going down without a
fight… Yet as disciples of Jesus, we’re invited to follow him to the front
lines of victory. That victory begins in
each one of your lives and in the life of this church; right here, right
now.
The way forward could not be clearer—because we see it in
the Gospel. Jesus is giving us his heart
for the despised and rejected persons of our world. Jesus is giving us his heart for broken
families and hungry children. He’s
giving us his heart for those who’ve lost hope and who languish in the depths
of fear and doubt. He’s giving us his
heart for people who’ve lost their way and desperately need his
deliverance.
What we need is for Jesus to give us his eyes and his heart
to see the evil he sees—and the will to do the good he’s doing.
Be warned—the grace of forgiveness and redemption is not to
be taken lightly. Jesus says, “Whoever
blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never be forgiven, but is guilty of
eternal sin.” We can all embrace evil as
what’s good for ourselves, and lose everything in the end. But today, Jesus is embracing you and me and
this world. There is nothing more
beautiful and precious than Jesus and his grace.
We walk by faith as he delivers us from all evil, and brings
us to everlasting life.
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