THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Mark: Jesus, The Perfect Servant Of God

Part II: The Perfect Service Of Jesus, The Perfect Servant Of God, Mark 1:1-10:52

K. Christ's Work To Maintain A Steady Ministry Amid Pressures To The Contrary

(Mark 3:6-35)

I. Introduction

A. We learned in our first lesson in this series that Mark's Gospel presents the perfect service of God's Perfect Servant, Jesus, with Mark's focus of having rebounded unto upright Christian service from personal failure.

B. At times, such failure involves yielding to pressures to get so imbalanced that we cease doing God's work, but Mark 3:6-35 reveals Jesus' work to maintain a steady ministry effort. We view the passage for our insight:

II. Christ's Work To Maintain A Steady Ministry Amid Pressures To The Contrary, Mark 3:6-35.

A. John Mark's decision to abandon the mission field in Acts 13:13 came under some negative pressure(s), but God's servant must not yield to such pressures, endeavoring to keep a balanced, steady focus in life and work.

B. Writing of God's Perfect Servant, Jesus, in his rebound to productive service (Col. 4:10 with 2 Tim. 4:11), Mark wrote how Jesus worked to hold to a steady ministry amid many pressures to the contrary, Mark 3:6-35:

1. When pressured by the efforts of the Pharisees and Herodians to plan to kill Him (Mark 3:6), instead of ceasing to minister, Jesus withdrew (anachoreo, Arndt & Gingrich, A Grk.-Eng. Lex. of the N. T., 1967, p. 62-63) from them to keep doing God's ministry assignment outside the reach of such foes, Mark 3:7a.

2. When the crowds threatened to become harmfully crushing (thlibo, Ibid., p. 362; Mark 3:9b) as many crowded around Him trying to touch Him for healing (Mark 3:10), Jesus had His disciples reserve a small boat to move Him out to sea a ways so He could avoid such a calamity while still teaching, Mark 3:7b-10.

3. When demons worked to undermine God's ministry for Him, Jesus countered to sustain it, Mark 3:11-12:

a. Some in the crowd were demon-possessed, and their demons would herald Jesus' true identity, that He was the Son of God since they were threatened by His presence, Mark 3:11; B. K. C., N. T., p. 116.

b. However, God did not plan that Jesus' true identity be presented by demons, but by Jesus' words and works (cf. John 10:37-38), so Jesus strictly ordered the demons not to make Him known, Mark 3:12 NIV.

4. When all this mounting pressure from the Pharisees and Herodians, from the crowds and from demons occurred, Jesus delegated to His disciples the power and authority to minister as His representatives, going up into a mountain and there privately selecting the twelve to carry on this ministry, Mark 3:13-19.

5. When Jesus' family opposed His ministry due to its pressures on His schedule, Jesus focused on the spiritual family He had in those who did God's will to keep doing God's assignment, Mark 3:20-21, 31-35:

a. The thronging of the multitudes became so great that Jesus and His disciples were actually missing meals in their effort to minister to the needs of the great crowds of people, Mark 3:20.

b. The Greek idiom of "those with Him" (hoi par' autou, U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. 131) appears in Mark 3:21 to refer to Jesus' "kinsmen, not 'friends,'" Ibid., Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 117. Thus, even Jesus' human relatives, whom Mark 3:31 later clarifies were His earthly Mother Mary and His brothers [by the union of Joseph and Mary] arrived to take custody of Jesus, thinking that His missing of meals meant He was unbalanced as a fanatic, Mark 3:21; Ibid. [Incidentally, this lack of faith in Jesus was a sin on the part of Jesus' earthly family, countering the teaching by some in Christendom that Mary was sinless!]

c. Jesus countered this pressure from His earthly family, noting that those around Him who were doing the will of God were His true spiritual family members, Mark 3:31-35. In other words, Jesus would not let His earthly family's errant judgment neutralize His focus on continuing to fulfill God's assigned work!

6. When the Jerusalem scribes came and judged Jesus as casting demons out by Satan's power (Mark 3:22), He countered their claim, stating that Satan would not cast out Satan's demons lest his kingdom be destroyed, meaning He was binding Satan in order to destroy his dominion in His exorcisms, that such slander was actually sin against the Holy Spirit by Whose power Jesus cast out demons, Mark 3:23-27. Jesus added that this sin would not be forgiven these scribes, Mark 3:28-30.

Lesson: When facing pressures of all sorts that threatened to imbalance His ministry, leading to its termination, Jesus worked to keep a steady ministry focus and function so He might continue to fulfill God's calling for Him.

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ as God's Perfect Servant for salvation, Mark 1:1, 15. (2) May we like Jesus stay steady in doing God's assigned ministry amid pressures to get imbalanced to the harm of our efforts.