Sermon: Wittenberg Academy – Tuesday of Lent 1

28 Feb 2023

Text: Mark 3:20-35

In the name of + Jesus.  Amen.

Jesus is swamped by people to the point where He can hardly move.  His own family cannot understand what is happening, and some are even concerned for our Lord’s mental health.  And to top it all off, the scribes, the partners-in-crime of the Pharisees, are now accusing Jesus of being “possessed by Beelzubul” and that He “casts out demons” by being in league with demons.  Of course, our Lord points out the obvious illogic of their assertion.  They hate Jesus so much that they don’t even make sense in their denunciations of Him.

We certainly see this same thing today, as Christians are accused of being evil for upholding the Word of God.  We are called bigots and hypocrites and – to dust off an old epithet from the first century – we are referred to as “haters.” 

But the accusations against Christians make no more sense than the equivalent accusations against Christ.  Jesus said that we would be treated the same way, for as He warned us: “A disciple is not above his teacher (Luke 6:40), and, “You will be hated by all for my name’s sake” (Matt 10:22).

And those who treat the church this way should beware, for it is one thing to lie and to mistreat people.  It is another thing to commit an “eternal sin” of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.  For calling that which is holy, that which bears the Holy Spirit, and to call this Holy Spirit an evil spirit, is nothing more than a lack of belief.  It is a stubborn, willful, and hardened lack of faith.  And given that faith is required for salvation, those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit, those who describe Christ and His followers as evil, those who push away the very one who can save them – they are teetering on the edge of permanent irredemption and condemnation.  They need to repent before it becomes “an eternal sin.”

Our Lord takes the situation of His family members seeking after Him, apparently hindered by the crowds, to teach us something about the kingdom and the church.  Jesus looks at His disciples around Himself, and He says: “Whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sisters and mother.” 

And so when we pray “Our Father,” we are confessing that we share our Lord’s status as a child of God: Him by eternal begottenness, and we by adoption and the new birth of water and the Spirit.  And when we pray “Thy will be done,” we are asking for the very thing that Jesus says is a sign that we are His family.  And when we pray, “Deliver us from evil,” we are petitioning that we may not fall into the great sin of unbelief, to be taken over by the one who truly is Beelzubul: the “prince of demons.”  We pray for deliverance from this evil one, which is to say, we pray for faith.

So dear friends, let us follow Jesus.  Let us pray the Lord’s prayer, again and again.  Let us strive to do the will of God, and pray that His will be done.  Let us not allow hatred and insults to move us from our Lord, our brother according to our flesh, and our Savior according to His blood.  Let us pray for deliverance from evil.  And let us praise the Father with Jesus: “Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever.”

Amen.

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