February 22, 2014: Welcome to Jesus' World! - Part Two

Mark 3:20-35

Amplified Bible (AMP)

20 Then He went to a house [probably Peter’s], but a throng came together again, so that Jesus and His disciples could not even take food.

21 And when those who belonged to Him (His kinsmen) heard it, they went out to take Him by force, for they kept saying, He is out of His mind (beside Himself, deranged)!

22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, He is possessed by Beelzebub, and, By [the help of] the prince of demons He is casting out demons.

23 And He summoned them to Him and said to them in parables (illustrations or comparisons put beside truths to explain them), How can Satan drive out Satan?

24 And if a kingdom is divided and rebelling against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

25 And if a house is divided (split into factions and rebelling) against itself, that house will not be able to last.

26 And if Satan has raised an insurrection against himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is [surely] coming to an end.

27 But no one can go into a strong man’s house and ransack his household goods right and left and seize them as plunder unless he first binds the strong man; then indeed he may [thoroughly] plunder his house.

28 Truly and solemnly I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever abusive and blasphemous things they utter;

29 But whoever speaks abusively against or maliciously misrepresents the Holy Spirit can never get forgiveness, but is guilty of and is in the grasp of an everlasting trespass.

30 For they persisted in saying, He has an unclean spirit.

31 Then His mother and His brothers came and, standing outside, they sent word to Him, calling [for] Him.

32 And a crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, Your mother and Your brothers and Your sisters are outside asking for You.

33 And He replied, Who are My mother and My brothers?

34 And looking around on those who sat in a circle about Him, He said, See! Here are My mother and My brothers;

35 For whoever does the things God wills is My brother and sister and mother!

Do people wonder about your sanity? Does your family think you're going overboard? Are they concerned for your health? Welcome to Jesus' world!

Jesus' own family was accusing Him of being insane!

The religious people were accusing Jesus of being satan! Whaaaaa????? I would have thrown my hands up in frustration and disbelief and walked off at this point. But Jesus was so cool about it! He calmly called them over and explained very clearly why there was no way He could possibly be satan. Plus he warned them not to speak against the Holy Spirit. But still they chose not to believe.

He dissed His own flesh and blood family in verses 33-35. This has always been shocking to me. But as I study these scriptures out, I see the facts. A word stands out to me. Outside. His own family was choosing to stand outside and send for Him. They obviously didn't want to be a part of the circle of friends inside with Jesus. By choosing to be His closest companions, this inner circle was His true family. I'm sure they were considered insane as well by association.

I see that hard choices had to be made about Jesus. Some found proof that He was insane when He was crucified. Some were convinced, once and for all, that He was the Christ, the Savior of the World, when He was crucified and rose again. 

Which will you believe? You really only have two choices. Is He just an insane man who went around claiming to be God? Or is He Jesus Christ, God in the flesh? 

"Jesus, I believe! I choose YOU! I choose to be associated with the likes of YOU! Everybody can call me crazy! The only One I care about is YOU. Because YOU are the One who carried the Cross for the likes of ME. A dirty, rotten sinner. Oh how I love You! How I adore You! My breath, my sunshine! My All in all! The Great Creator became my Savior! And ALL God's fullness dwells in YOU! I will praise Your name for ever and ever, Jesus! AMEN!"