Jesus Faces Opposition From Both Friend And Foe
August 1, 2021
Commentary
In the midst of a very busy schedule, we find Jesus facing opposition from both friend and foe. News had reached His relatives in Nazareth (twenty-five miles away) that Jesus was out of His mind and doing crazy things so they came to try to talk some sense into Him. His own brothers did not believe in Him during this time (Jn. 7:5). Perhaps these are some of the things that made them feel that way:
Jesus had left home and the carpenter’s business at Nazareth when it was a flourishing business from which he could at least have made a good living. He had gone out to be a wandering preacher who had no place to lay his head.Jesus was obviously on the way to a head-on collision with the orthodox leaders of his day. No one could take on the Scribes and the Pharisees and hope to get away with it.Jesus had started a little society of his own and a very queer society it was. There were some fishermen; there was a reformed tax-collector; there was a fanatical nationalist. They were not the kind of people whom any ambitious man would particularly want to know.At the same time the religious experts in the law from Jerusalem walked one hundred miles to Capernaum to check on this fanatic prophet from Nazareth and put a stop to what He was doing. At least Jesus’ relatives meant well, but these religious leaders who couldn’t deny the reality of Jesus’ power tried to say His supernatural activities were carried out by the power of the devil. This is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (v. 29) and those who were guilty of this sin will never have forgiveness. Such blasphemy revealed hearts that were stubborn, and totally unworthy.
Application
Have you ever felt misunderstood by your family or others? Note how gracious Jesus was in dealing with these issues? I need to get my family thinking about how to deal with opposition.
Mark 3:20– 30 (NET)
20 Now Jesus went home, and a crowd gathered so that they were not able to eat. 21 When his family heard this they went out to restrain him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” 22 The experts in the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and, “By the ruler of demons he casts out demons!” 23 So he called them and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom will not be able to stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan rises against himself and is divided, he is not able to stand and his end has come. 27 But no one is able to enter a strong man’s house and steal his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can thoroughly plunder his house. 28 I tell you the truth, people will be forgiven for all sins, even all the blasphemies they utter. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, but is guilty of an eternal sin” 30 (because they said, “He has an unclean spirit”).
Illustration: David Livingstone Walked Over 29000 Miles
I think of David Livingstone, the pioneer missionary to Africa, who walked over 29,000 miles. His wife died early in their ministry and he faced stiff opposition from his Scottish brethren. He ministered half blind. His kind of perseverance spurs me on. As I run, I remember the words in his diary: Send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. Sever me from any tie but the tie that binds me to Your service and to Your heart. (Joseph Stowell, Through The Fire, Victor Books, 1988, p. 150).