13 Feb Mark 08: The strong king

Mark 3:20-35

²⁰ Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. ²¹ And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”

²² And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” ²³ And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? ²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. ²⁶ And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. ²⁷ But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.

²⁸ “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, ²⁹ but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— ³⁰ for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

³¹ And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. ³² And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” ³³ And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” ³⁴ And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵ For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

Do you know that there is a sin that once we commit it, there is no turning back from it? In this passage, Jesus refers to it as an eternal sin. This sin will never be forgiven, and it will condemn us eternally to hell. It is the unpardonable sin. And Jesus is not joking. This is not a hypothetical statement. When Jesus says never, he really means never. A billion years from now, Jesus’s never is still never. He will not change his mind. And this is not an academic debate. This is not a theological argument. This is a very personal truth that every individual must deal with. Because what could be more terrifying than committing a sin that is beyond forgiveness and bound for eternal damnation with no escape? Whatever this sin is, we must consider it with the greatest possible seriousness. There is a sin that never has forgiveness, that sends a person to suffer God’s wrath for eternity. The question is, what is the unpardonable sin? How do we know if we have committed the unpardonable sin? Now that I have your full attention, you must wait until the later part of the sermon for the answer. Before we get into our passage, let’s review what happened so far in the book of Mark.

At this time, Jesus is extremely popular. He is super famous. The fact that Jesus heals many diseases and cast out demons has travelled to far places through word of mouth. People have never seen anything like it. Thousands of people travel from many different places just to meet Jesus. Some people have to travel for days or even weeks to come to Jesus. And this is unheard of. And one of the biggest mysteries that people try to solve is the question, “Who is Jesus? Who is this man that he can heal the sick and cast out demons?” They are trying to make sense of who Jesus is based on the data they have. They are also trying to make sense of the claims of Jesus. Jesus calls himself the Son of Man. And the Son of Man is a divine figure from heaven that shows up in Daniel chapter 7 to judge and cleanse the earth at the same time. Jesus claims to forgive sins. And only God can forgive sins. Jesus says that he is a friend of sinners. He came not for those who are well, but for those who are sick. Jesus calls himself the Bridegroom of Israel. And this title belongs to YHWH, the God of Israel. And last, Jesus says he is the Lord of the Sabbath. It means that he is the one who instituted the Sabbath at the beginning of time. This is only Mark chapter 3, but Jesus already makes some incredible claims about himself.

Can you see why people are trying to make sense of Jesus? Imagine if I say everything Jesus says about himself. “Hi guys, I know you have been waiting for Messiah to come for the last few hundred years. You don’t have to wait anymore. I am here. I am everything you hope for. I am the answer to all your prayer. And from now on, everything in your life must be centred around me. I am the Lord of the Sabbath, and I am the only one who can forgive all your sins.” What would you do? You would gather all the data you have on me and try to make sense of my claims. And you would come to two conclusions. Either I am crazy and I belong in the mental hospital, or I am the evil Asian Jesus. Right?

Tonight, we will look at three consistent working theories that anyone ever has in trying to make sense of Jesus.

First theory

Mark 3:20-21 – ²⁰ Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. ²¹ And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”

The first theory is that Jesus is crazy. He is out of his mind. So, what happens is that Jesus goes back to Peter’s house and the crowd gathers again. And once again, the number of people is overwhelming. They want Jesus to heal them and cast out demons. To the point that Jesus and the disciples do not even have time to eat. Jesus is very busy ministering to the people in need. And when his family heard about what happened, they decided to do something about it. They decided to visit Jesus. And this is not a friendly visit. This is not, “Oh our sweet Jesus is very busy healing people that he doesn’t have time to eat. Why don’t we show him some love and bring him some sushi?” This is nothing like that. They come out to seize him. And the word seize is a strong word. It means an attempt to bind Jesus and deprive him of freedom. It is an attempt to correct Jesus.

It’s like this. Many years ago, I was out with friends, and I got a call from my dad. He asked, “Where are you? What are you doing?” I said, “I am having dinner with friends. What’s up?” He said, “Can you come home soon? I need to talk to you.” I said “Okay”, and I didn’t think much about it. I thought it was no biggie. So, I went home straight after dinner. And I will never forget what I saw next. When I got home, as I made my way to the living room, my dad, my mom, and my sis were already there waiting for me. When I saw them, I immediately knew I was in big trouble. And ever since then, every time I came home and saw my whole family sitting in the living room, my heartbeat went berserk. Does anyone know what I am talking about? We call it family intervention. This is what happens to Jesus. His family thinks that it’s time for Jesus to have a family intervention. Why? Because they think that Jesus is out of his mind. They think that Jesus is crazy. In their eyes, what Jesus is doing does not make any sense. Not only does Jesus prioritize serving those in need above eating, but also by doing what he does, Jesus is making the religious leaders hate him even more. They believe someone needs to tell Jesus that he is out of his mind and he needs to be controlled. Jesus is too radical to their liking.

So, Jesus not only experienced opposition from the outside but also from the inside. The religious leaders want to destroy him. And his own family thinks that he is crazy. Listen. Proximity to Jesus does not guarantee allegiance to Jesus. It is possible to be near Jesus and never know Jesus. Jesus’ family was with Jesus for many years, but they did not believe in him. They think that Jesus is too radical for his own good. So, they come to Jesus to stop Jesus from doing God’s will. Do you realize how crazy that sounds? I am sure his family think that they are doing what is best for Jesus. They need to stop Jesus from making more trouble and bring some sense back into him. But they cannot see that what Jesus does is actually God’s will for Jesus.

Here is an important lesson for us. Whenever we take the will of God seriously, people will accuse us of being crazy. Anyone who takes Jesus seriously will be accused of fanaticism at some point. Why? Because doing the will of God does not make sense to the watching world, including many church people. Jesus says, “Follow me. Leave everything behind. Trust me with your future. And I will make you become fishers of men.” That’s God’s will. The world says, “Why would you leave everything behind to follow Jesus? You need to save up and make a good investment for your future. You are out of your mind.” Jesus says, “Sex is only for husband and wife.” The world says, “You are crazy. Who in these days and age still think like that? You must have sex to satisfy your appetite. It is normal and good to have sex with whoever you want.” Or, what about this one. The Bible says, “There is only one gospel. If anyone preaches a different gospel, let him be accursed.” And I have heard some church people tell me, “C’mon Yos. You are too arrogant. You need to be more down to earth. We live in a real world. You can’t expect every church to preach the same gospel. As long as people are blessed by the sermon, that’s what matters.” Can you see what happened? Doing the will of God is often considered insanity by people around us. But if Jesus is who he says he is, then the sanest thing we can do is to follow him and obey his commandments. Get this right. Christianity is less about switching religion and more about switching allegiance. When we decide to follow Jesus, we swear allegiance to King Jesus and his commandments. Anything else besides a total commitment to him is insane. Christianity needs more people who are willing to take Jesus at his words and make the watching world says, “They are out of their mind.” So, the first theory is Jesus is crazy.

Second theory

Mark 3:22-27 – ²² And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” ²³ And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? ²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. ²⁶ And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. ²⁷ But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.

The second theory is Jesus is evil. By this time, the scribes cannot deny that Jesus is not an ordinary person. They cannot deny that Jesus has the power to heal the sick. They cannot deny that Jesus has the authority to cast out demons. They have seen it for themselves. Jesus gives irrefutable evidence of his power and authority. But the scribes can deny the source of Jesus’s power and authority. There are only two possible sources of supernatural power: God or demon. And based on what they have witnessed of Jesus in the previous passages, the scribes concluded that the source of Jesus’ power and authority is not God, but rather, Beelzebub. And Beelzebub means the lord of demons. It is a title for Satan. In other words, the scribes look at the data in front of them and conclude that Jesus is a fake Messiah. He is possessed by Satan. While Mark told us that Jesus is empowered by the Holy Spirit for his ministry, the scribes say that Jesus is working by the power of Satan. This is why Jesus’s priority is not to perform miracles but to preach the gospel. Because witnessing miracles does not guarantee the right believing. The scribes witnessed all the supernatural works of Jesus. But they look at the only one who is good and call him evil. Listen. Having the right data on Jesus does not guarantee the right relationship with Jesus. It takes the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to know who Jesus truly is.

And knowing what the scribes say about him, Jesus calls them to him. And Jesus explains the logical absurdity of their theory. He says, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.” In other words, Jesus is saying to the scribes, “Think. You are not making sense. If what you say about me is true, if I cast out Satan by the power of Satan, then Satan must be very dumb. Why would he send his agent against one another? It would only weaken his kingdom. Haven’t you watched Avengers Civil War?” Okay, Jesus does not say that last part. But think about what happened when different superheroes in the Avengers fought against each other. The Avengers did not last. Civil war only weakens and threatens the existence of a kingdom. And then Jesus continues. “And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.” Parents, you understand this. If you are not in agreement with your spouse, you know exactly what would happen. The little demon in your house would come to you and say, “But Daddy says I can play games tonight. But Mommy says I can eat chocolate tonight.” Right? A united family is a strong family. But a divided family will crumble. That is why both parents must decide together to raise their children in the fear of God. If the wife holds Christian values but the husband does not, the family won’t be able to stand firm. So, if you are single, this is one of the many reasons why marriage between Christians and non-Christians won’t work. How can you and your future spouse stand together when one lives for Jesus and the other lives for this world? It does not work. And in the same way, Jesus is saying that if we think that Jesus is casting out Satan by the power of Satan, we are not giving enough credit to Satan. The Bible says that Satan is evil, but he is not stupid.

And look at verse 27. This is interesting. Jesus gives another mini-parable. Mark 3:27 – ²⁷ But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house. Let me modernise this parable. Jesus is giving us robbing a house 101. Let’s say you are a burglar, and you want to break into someone’s house while that person is in the house. What would you do? It depends on whose house you are breaking in right? If it’s my house, it is easy. You don’t even need a knife. All you have to do is show up wearing all black with a black full-face beanie, and everything mine is yours. But if you are breaking into Mike Tyson’s house, it is a different story. You might have a blackbelt in taekwondo, it does not guarantee you will come out alive. Your best bet is to point a gun at him or drug him. Even that might not be enough. The point is, in order to break into someone’s house and take his stuff, you must first subdue the strong man in the house. If you cannot overcome the strength of the strong man, you cannot rob his house.

Here is what Jesus is saying. The strong man in this parable is Satan. The house is this present world. The goods in the house are us. And who is the burglar? Jesus. I was going to title this sermon, Jesus: The Great Burglar. But I might get into trouble with many netizens, so I changed my mind. In a sense, this is what Jesus is saying. “Think of the world that you lived in right now. Think of all the brokenness you see. Think of all the sickness and all the evil in this world. Think of all the poverty and sex trafficking. Do you know what caused it? It is because this world is under the power of Satan. Ever since the fall of Adam and Eve, everything is falling apart. And not only the world, but you are falling apart. Your life is crumbling. Your relationship is hurting. It is because you are under the power of Satan. But I have come to set you free. I have come to restore the world. I have come to this broken world to bind Satan and take back what is rightly mine.” Do you see that? Jesus is refuting the scribes’ theory. Jesus is not working by the power of Satan; Jesus is working against Satan. When Jesus came into the world, he brought the kingdom of God with him. This is not a civil war. This is an invasion. This is a direct onslaught from the outside. The kingdom invasion has begun, and Jesus is freeing the captives from the kingdom of Satan. Here is the bad news: No one but Jesus is strong enough to bind the strong man and free the captives. Here is the good news: Jesus is strong enough to bind the strong man and free the captives. In healing the sick and casting out demons, Jesus shows that he is stronger than Satan. In forgiving the paralytic man, he shows that he is stronger than sin. In touching a leper, he shows that he is stronger than the uncleanness of this world. In calling Levi, he shows that he is stronger than the love of money. Whatever brokenness in this world, Jesus is stronger. Jesus is the strong king who plunders the enemy. And nothing and no one can stop him from accomplishing what he sets out to do.

Let me tell you why this is such good news to us. It means that whatever sin keeps us in bondage, we can win over it. We can battle our enemy and win. Listen. Some of you might be in bondage of addiction for many years. But the good news is that if you put your faith in Jesus, addiction has no power over you. If you put your faith in Jesus, you have the strong king with you. You don’t have to live a defeated life. You don’t have to raise a white flag towards the enemy’s onslaught. Because the strong king has come and bind your enemy. And listen. It is not you who bind the enemy. Only Jesus can do that. You are the ones who have been set free. And we must get this right. Because I think what happens a lot of times is we still try to fight sin using our own effort and it is only making us worse.

Let me give you an illustration that I steal from Tim Keller. A little boy falls and hurts his knee. And he is being overly emotional about it. His dad comes over and says, “Son, get up. Be a man. Stop being weakling. A real man doesn’t cry. Stop crying.” Can that motivation help this little boy stop crying? It can. His dad’s words can help him tame his emotions and get some control. But what happens then? The little boy doesn’t just stop himself from being overly emotional. Now he is in bondage to a new master, the fear of looking weak. And then he grows up with this fear becoming a driving force in his life: Never look weak. He believes that weakness makes him less of a man, so he must cover it at all costs. Now imagine this guy’s marriage. You can’t have a healthy marriage if you’re always scared of looking weak, refusing to be vulnerable, or shutting off your emotions. So yes, through the dad’s motivation the little boy was freed from being overly emotional, but he did so by giving himself to a new master, a worse one. The medication had worse side effects than the disease.

And this is what happened a lot of times. We try to fight sins by self-improvement. It is not going to work. Because what we do is simply switch from one idol to another idol. We conquered addiction but we developed a judgmental arrogant attitude. We are not getting better but worse. That is why the only way to defeat the power of Satan and the bondage of sin in our lives is not for us to fight harder but to know that Jesus has bound our enemy and set us free. Jesus is the only one who can set us free, and the good news of the gospel is he has triumphed over Satan once and for all. Jesus is the strong king who conquers and plunders all his enemies.

And after this, comes a very strong warning from Jesus. One of the most disturbing words of Jesus. Mark 3:28-30 – ²⁸ “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, ²⁹ but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— ³⁰ for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.” So, here is the question. What is the unpardonable sin? If we ask people what do they think the unpardonable sin is, most people will answer either murder or adultery. Because murder and adultery are the two sins with the most damaging relational consequences. They destroy many lives and families. But surprisingly, the unpardonable sin is not murder nor adultery. How do we know? Because King David, the greatest king in the history of Israel, committed both sins. And when he repented before God, God forgave him. In fact, Jesus says that all sins will be forgiven. Let’s rejoice in that first. No matter what sin we have done, no matter what damage we have caused, no matter how many lives we have wrecked, there is forgiveness for us if we repent and believe in the gospel. There is no sin too much for Jesus to forgive. Not even blasphemies against God and Jesus. At the end of Jesus’ life, during his crucifixion, Roman soldiers mock Jesus and blaspheme against Jesus. And do you know what Jesus says? “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do.” So, forgiveness is available and possible even for those who despise and kill Jesus. There is no sin that Jesus cannot forgive if we repent. Whoever comes to Jesus, Jesus will never ever reject.

But. There is one sin that will never be forgiven. There is one sin that Jesus calls an eternal sin. It is the unpardonable sin. And the unpardonable sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. What does it mean? Let me give you John Piper’s definition of it. “The unforgivable sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is an act of resistance which belittles the Holy Spirit so grievously that he withdraws forever with his convicting power so that we are never able to repent and be forgiven.” This is a mouthful definition. Let me explain. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not cussing using the name of the Holy Spirit. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is an act of resistance against the Holy Spirit. It is a willful rejection and constant rebellion of the work of the Holy Spirit. And if we reject the work of the Holy Spirit, there is no forgiveness for us. Why? Because we reject the very means by which repentance comes. The Holy Spirit is the agent of repentance. It is the works of the Holy Spirit that soften our sinful hearts and enable us to repent. The works of the Holy Spirit is to show us that Jesus is our Savior. The Holy Spirit tells us that Jesus is the only one who can forgive all our sins. And there is no forgiveness of sin without repentance. So, if we reject the Holy Spirit, we reject what the Holy Spirit is showing us. We reject that we need Jesus to forgive us our sins. We reject the forgiveness that he offers us. And therefore, there is no forgiveness of sins. It is an eternal sin. It is unforgivable sin because it is an unrepented sin. Are you with me?

Here is another question. Do you know who is most likely to commit the unpardonable sin? It is not tax collectors. It is not adulterers nor murderers. Some of you read this verse and are extremely worried that you have committed the unpardonable sin. You are worried that you have crossed the line and God will never forgive you. Let me give you some help. If you worry about whether or not you have committed the unpardonable sin, it is one of the strong evidences that you have not. Because those who commit the unpardonable sin do not care that they commit it. Their hearts are so hardened already. And this sin is most likely committed not by sinners but by religious people. Pay attention to the context. Jesus is giving this warning not to sinners but the scribes. Why? Because the scribes have witnessed the miraculous works of Jesus. They have witnessed Jesus heal the sicks and cast out demons. They know so much about the Scripture. And yet they blatantly refuse to accept that Jesus is God. Instead, they say that Jesus has an unclean spirit. Jesus is not saying that the scribes have committed the unpardonable sin, but they are very close to it. This is Jesus’ strong warning to them. And this might be Jesus’ strong warning to some of you.

Listen. It is not the ignorant blasphemer out there who is in danger of committing the unforgivable sin; It is the people in the church who knows their Bible. This passage is a strong warning to many churchgoers. Everyone thinks you are Christians. You look and smell like one. You are in the church, and you participate in all of God’s blessings toward the church. But you are not Christian. You never grow. You never truly repented of your sin. Here is the warning. If you do not repent and put your faith in Jesus, there will come a time that your heart will get so hard that you will not want to have anything to do with Jesus. And if that time comes, it will be impossible for you to be forgiven. Not because God doesn’t want to forgive you but because your heart has become so hard that you do not even want to be forgiven. This is a warning to you. Repent before it is too late. There is a line that you must not cross. If you cross that line, there is no turning back. I do not know where that line is. But one thing I do know. If you hear this call for repentance and you want to put your faith in Christ, it is still not too late. God always accepts genuine repentance. If today by God’s grace you can repent of your sin, repent now. Because you are not guaranteed tomorrow.

Third theory

Mark 3:31-35 – ³¹ And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. ³² And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” ³³ And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” ³⁴ And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵ For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

The third theory, and the only one that is consistent with Jesus’ self-revelation, is that Jesus is God. This is Jesus’ answer to the question of who he is. Jesus is not a crazy man. Jesus is not evil. The only right answer is that Jesus is God in flesh. To say otherwise and continue to reject him as God is to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit. And it is the unpardonable sin. And if he is God, to have a relationship with him means to be devoted to him. Jesus cannot be controlled by anyone, not even his immediate family. In fact, Jesus redefines family. So, Jesus’ mother and brothers get to Peter’s house, and they send someone to tell Jesus that they are outside the house waiting for him. Do you know what Jesus says? He replies, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And then he looks at the people sitting around him and says, “You are my mother and brothers. Whoever does the will of God is my brother, sister and mother.” Only Jesus can get away with saying this sort of thing. If my mom is waiting outside to speak to me and I say to you, “Who is my mother? All of you who listen to me is my mother”, please pray for me. I would be homeless by the end of the day. Remember that Jesus is speaking to a family-oriented society. Jesus is not speaking to a modern western society where individualism is the normative view. The Jews are a lot closer to the eastern worldview where the bond of family is seen as the most important social bond. So what Jesus is saying here is extremely radical. Jesus is not disrespecting his earthly family. Jesus cares about his immediate family. But he refuses to condone familial narcissism. In other words, Jesus is saying that just because his family have a blood relationship with him, it does not give them special access to him. In the kingdom of God, blood relationships cannot claim privileges. But do you know who has special privileges in the kingdom of God? Whoever does the will of God. Those who do the will of God are Jesus’ brother, sister, and mother.

Don’t miss the point Jesus is making. Jesus is making the point that those who do the will of God have a stronger bond with Jesus than the strongest biological bond. Those who believe in Jesus and do the will of God have a relationship with him that is closer than the blood relationship between parents, children, and siblings. Jesus redefines what it means to be part of his family. Jesus’ family is not defined by biological relationship but by devotion to God. It doesn’t matter who you are. You can be a tax collector, a sinner, a thief, a murderer, an adulterer, a liar, a self-righteous, a pharisee, etc. You can be poor, rich, Indonesian, Australian, male, female, etc. You can be part of Jesus’ eternal family. All are welcomed. You don’t have to have special access or privileges to be part of his family. Those who assume that they have special access to Jesus because of their position should think again. And those who assume that they are too far from Jesus should take hope. The good news of the gospel is that anyone can become part of Jesus’ eternal family. All you must do is to do the will of God, that is to trust Jesus as your king and saviour and live devoted to him. Listen. Proximity to Jesus is not equal to a family of Jesus. Growing up in church does not guarantee anything. Coming to MC once a week does not guarantee anything. Having Christian parents do not guarantee anything. The question is not whether you are in church but are you doing the will of God. Jesus’ true family are those who are with Jesus and do the will of God. Following Jesus is costly. For some of you, following Jesus means rejection of your biological family. It is painful. But here is some encouragement for you. If you do the will of God, Jesus calls you his family. You have the God of the universe as your Father. And your bond with Jesus is far stronger, far more satisfying, far more dear than your bond with your biological family. Your bond with Jesus is unbreakable and it lasts for eternity.

Here is my final thought and I am done. We learn that Jesus is God. Jesus is the king of the kingdom of God. And when Jesus came into the world, the kingdom of God began to invade the kingdom of Satan. Satan might be strong. But Jesus is a far stronger king who plunders his enemy. Jesus is the strongest king. If we read the last battle between Jesus and Satan in the book of Revelation, it ends with Jesus’ total victory. And it is very anti-climactic. When we think of the last battle between two kingdoms, we expect an epic battle like the final battle between the Avengers and Thanos. But what happens is Jesus shows up on the scene and win the battle at a snap of his finger. Just like that. The power of Satan and all his minions are no match whatsoever for Jesus. We might even say that Jesus is the good and better Thanos. But here is the question. If Jesus is that strong, why did he have to die at the cross? If he can plunder the enemy, why die? Why doesn’t Jesus just snap his finger and destroy all his enemies without the cross? Here is why. Because the cross is the only way for Jesus to destroy his enemies without destroying us. If Jesus snap his finger and destroy his enemies without the cross, we would be destroyed as well. Because without the cross, you and I belong to the kingdom of Satan. And the only way for him to destroy his enemies without destroying us is for him to die at the cross. The cross is the cost of setting us free. The cross is the cost of making us his eternal family. Jesus is strong enough to be weak to pay the penalty of our sins so he can destroy his enemies without destroying us. This is our king. He is strong and he is kind. Jesus is the strong king who plunders all his enemies. And this king demands our total allegiance. The only appropriate response to Jesus is to surrender our lives and follow him. Let’s pray.

Discussion questions:

1. Can you give some daily life examples where obeying God’s commandments are seen as insanity by our society? Why?
2. “Having the right data on Jesus does not guarantee the right relationship with Jesus.” Explain some implications of this sentence.
3. What does it mean for Jesus to bind the strong man and plunder his house?
4. Explain why fighting sin using your own effort does not work. Give some examples from your own life.
5. What is the unpardonable sin? Can Christians commit the unpardonable sin?
6. How do we receive the privilleges of being Jesus’ eternal family?