Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm19960424.htm

MARK: GOSPEL OF THE SERVICE OF CHRIST, GOD'S SERVANT
Part X: Properly Evaluating The Spiritual Credibility Of A Ministry Under Fire
(Mark 3:22-30)
  1. Introduction
    1. We believe that Jesus was the Messiah because He fulfilled the requirements of messiahship by the miracles that He performed, cf. Mtt. 11:5 with Isa. 35:5; 61:1.
    2. However, a number of cults believe that Jesus was merely a good man, not the Messiah, or, certainly not God come in the flesh. In fact, spiritualists believe that Jesus was an outstanding Jewish medium, Gary Wall, "A catalogue of cults: Where they stand on the deity of Christ," Moody Monthly, July-August, 1979.
    3. Accordingly, how can one properly evaluate Christ's ministry, or any spiritual ministry for that matter, to see if it is of God or not? After all, we don't want to support that which is deceptively false!
    4. Mark 3:22-30 provides us the answer as follows:
  2. Properly Evaluating The Spiritual Credibility Of A Ministry Under Fire, Mark 3:22-30.
    1. A challenge arose from the Jewish scribes who claimed that Jesus' ministry was Satanic in origin, Mk. 3:22.
      1. The educated scribes came down from Jerusalem seeking to discredit Jesus' ministry, Mk. 3:22a.
      2. They made two very undercutting claims about His ministry, Mk. 3:22b,c:
        1. The scribes claimed that Jesus was indwelt by Satan, the name Beelzebub coming from the proper manuscript reading "Beelzeboul", a reference to Satan, Bib. Know. Com., N.T., p. 117. (Mk. 3:22b)
        2. They also asserted that He cast out demons from people by a power alliance with Satan, Mk. 3:22c.
    2. Jesus responded to these charges in a way that demonstrates an objective way to evaluate the spiritual credibility of His ministry, or of any spiritual ministry as follows, Mk. 3:23-27:
      1. Item One - Jesus met His critics head on, showing He was not a deceiver. Realizing that He had been challenged as to credibility, Jesus took up the challenge, calling the scribes to Himself, Mk. 3:23. In doing this, Jesus showed that He was not trying to be deceptive, cf. 2 Cor. 2:17.
      2. Item Two - Jesus showed the inherent logical inconsistency of the charges against His ministry, and thus the validity of His own ministry, Mk. 3:24-27:
        1. He countered the challenge that He cast out demons by Satan's power by the mere logical inconsistency of the charge itself as exampled in real life: if Satan's power were being used to exorcise Satan's demons, then Satan's kingdom wouldn't last long as it was internally divisive, 3:23-26. Thus, the charge that Jesus was casting out demons by demonic power was foolish.
        2. He countered the challenge that He cast out demons by being in league with Satan by revealing the logical inconsistency of the charge: to cast out demons, one first has to bind Satan's power just like one has to bind a strong man to st eal items from his home. Since Jesus was by their own admission casting out demons, He proved thereby that He was not in league with Satan, but had bound him as His opponent so as to exorcise demons, Mk. 3:27.
      3. Item Three - Jesus then Biblically explained his critics: He pointed out that it was not Himself that was in error, but His critics, the Scribes, who were guilty of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, Mk. 3:28-30:
        1. Since Christ was operating by God's power to cast out demons, there being no other logical reason to explain such capacities, His miracles were from God, and He was fulfilling the requirements of the prophecies concerning His identity as Israel's Messiah, Mtt. 11:2-6 with Isa. 35:5; 61:1.
        2. Accordingly, as Messiah, His power was that of the Holy Spirit, Isa. 11:1ff.
        3. Thus, to conclude that Jesus was operating in league with Satan and using Satan's power to exorcise demons was blasphemy against the Holy Spirit by Whom these miracles were performed, Mk. 3:29.
        4. Since slandering the Holy Spirit in Christ's ministry removed the cause of accepting Christ's identity, to reject His identity left one an unbeliever, and doomed forever as guilty of unpardonable sin, 29-30.
Lesson: We can evaluate a ministry under fire by asking the following: (1) can the one in question face challenges to his credibility or must he slink away, having something to hide? (2) Do the charges themselves make sense or are they inherently illogical? (3) Can the one charged explain his critics as themselves being false or is he at a loss to do so, undermining his credibility? Jesus showed His critics to be guilty of an unpa rdonable sin because they diluted faith in Christ, leading others to damnation!