Mark 3:20-27 The Parable of the Plunderer

The crowds come on back. What draws them all? What was it about Jesus that pulls the crowds so consistently? Obviously He was still casting out demons and this brought on the next confrontation.

Whatever He was doing, He was so busy He can't eat properly. His worried family want to "lay hold of HIm", to teach Him some sense.

And not just His family, the scribes from headquarters said He is possessed by Satan.

How often have I called the work of God "madness" or "of the devil"? A typical reaction to things that are outside my cultural comfort zone.

I love Jesus' response to these cringing, self-serving accusations...He tells stories.

Can Satan cast out Satan? A house divided against itself... Infighting and division make it impossible for any group to stand against external threats. Even Satan's fractious kingdom couldn't stand such a division for long. Especially with so many people leaving his service.

Would a drug dealer run a rehab centre, or a pub run AA meetings?

But the parable explains exactly why Jesus is doing this. This is not madness but a well thought out strategy of conquest and pillage. Jesus tells about a robbery, not a quiet burglary, but a hold-up, a home invasion, an armed robbery.

His story is about a rich and powerful man, the head of the gang, the mastermind, Mr Big, And one night the tables are turned, he now becomes the victim of violent crime. He is subdued, tied up and his house plundered.

I can see him hog-tied in the corner watching helplessly as his most treasured possessions are stripped from his home. I can hear him shouting pathetic insults and impotent threats, but he is being robbed. He knows what it feels like now!

Jesus is plundering Satan's kingdom. He is the divine Viking, the SAS troops of an invading, colinising army, Francisco Pizarro. He is here for a purpose; to release as many of Satan's hostages as He can.

To do this He must overpower the "strong man", Satan. It is obvious now that the great power we live in fear of, has been beaten and bound. Great news! There is a Saviour, someone more powerful than our greatest enemy, someone able to rescue us.

Now it is my choice, I can rejoice in the rescues or I can be the mouthpiece of Satan, carping about the methods used and the sanity of the people carrying on Christ's conquest today.

Mark 3:13-19 He Appointed Twelve

I've been discipled lately. That's why no posts - actually I've been avoiding this post!

It worries me that I may be called to do "something" and frankly that is confronting.

Anyway back to my discipling... I won't bore you with the grimy details except to say that at church and work I've been 'chastened' three times in the last few weeks but I've learned three big lessons:

1. Consult widely before changing things


2. Don't speak in the heat of the moment


3. Always speak kindly

I did the exact opposite to my list and got, deservedly, clobbered each time! I was comforted by that great verse in Revelation 3:19, spoken by Jesus, "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten" God still loves me!!

Jesus has been so crowded that he had to have a small boat ready in case they crushed Him. But now He goes up the mountain and He called out the twelve He "wanted".

Mark says they responded to call, they "came to Him". Mark names the twelve and Jesus gives three of them (does He have favourites?) nicknames. Simon becomes Peter (a piece of rock) and James and John, the "Sons of Thunder".

Jesus wants a support crew to do exactly what He was doing; to carry on His preaching, healing and casting out of demons. He appoints them to these tasks. This is the real qualification for working for the Lord, that He has appointed us.

I love that word that Mark uses here for "appointed", in Greek it is poieo. According to my Strongs it means "to make or do (with very wide application)". The old KJV says "ordained", and that has been an emotive word too. But I know it best in haematopoiesis : the making of blood

This incredible process occurs inside our bones where haematopoietic stem cells can produce any of the three main types of blood cells. As each stem cell matures it changes in such a way that eventually it can only be a red cell or T cell or macrophage or any of the other cells that make up our blood. What it becomes is determined by need. If there is an infection, many more granulocytes are produced, if there has been a loss of blood then red cell production rises.

In the same way Jesus appointed these men to share His work, He could no longer do it all Himself. Actually, looking at the next few chapters there is lot more red ink. Jesus is able to preach more and tell parables, maybe the disciples are busy with the healing and casting out spirits.

That was what He needed then, does He still call and appoint those who answer the call? Does He need anything done in the world today? Am I being called? What will He "make" me into?

Mark 3:7-12 Don't Preach!

The Pharisees have begun their plotting against Him, so Jesus withdraws to the sea. But it wasn't a quiet withdrawal because a "great multitude" is mentioned in both verses 7 and 8. People come from all the surrounding areas. His popularity is increasing.

But why do they come? Because of the "many things He was doing". They come not to hear the preaching or even the teaching but to see miracles!

How often do I want God to "do something" when He offers far greater?

Jesus fears the crowds would crush Him. I get the feeling that He is uncomfortable with this popularity. Sure He meets their needs for healing and getting rid of the unclean spirits, but He sternly warns the spirits "not to make Him known". He has enough popularity and pressure.

Once again the unclean spirits know who he is and bow down to Him. They have fought against Him in heaven because they wouldn't worship Him. Now they bow and admit He is indeed God.

But Christ has no need of spirit preachers and commands them to stop.

I have to have more than just a knowledge of Jesus before I can "make Him known". And Mark in the next section tells what this qualification is.

Mark 1 The Real Jesus

In the "Christian Growth" section of the newly opened Argenton branch of Koorong, I found this great book Jesus Mean and Wild. Mark Galli bases his book on Mark's Gospel so I grabbed a copy.

He suggests that Jesus, contrary to the prevailing view, is not gentle, meek and mild all the time. Galli spends his first three chapters in Mark 1 showing us the love of an "untamable God".

Chapter One, entitled "Difficult Love", comes from
Mark 1:11-13. He brings out that straight after being filled with the Spirit and affirmed by His Father Jesus is driven by the Spirit into the wilderness for testing. He sums it up by saying "God loves you and has a difficult plan for your life". Those God loves the most are the ones He tests to their limits and refuses to pamper. Why?...Galli posits that suffering renews our spiritual vitality and strengthens our character, but maybe more importantly, it also prepares us for ministry. He says that God may appear cruel but really He is fashioning us, like he did with Christ in the desert, to go out into the wilderness of this world with the gospel. Just as his Beloved Son did.

Chapter Two, entitled "A Hopeful Repentance" is based on
Mark 1:14-15 where Jesus connects the gospel with repentance (ie. to start living and acting differently). Galli says that the shame and guilt of looking honestly at our lives and realising that we are miserable sinners drives us to Christ and repentance This repentance has hope because God is gracious and will not only heal but will also change our actions. As Galli quotes from Frederica Mathewes-Green:

"Jesus didn't come to save us just from the penalty for our sins; he came to save us from our sins - now today, if we will only respond to the challenge and let him.... The Lord does not love us for our good parts and pass over the rest. He died for the bad parts and will not rest until they are put right. We must stop thinking of God as infinitely indulgent. We must begin to grapple with the scary and exhilarating truth that he is infinitely holy, and that he wants the same for us."

Chapter Three, "Holy War", about
Mark 1:23-26 where the demon rightly assumes that the Holy one of God is here to destroy evil.. Even though he fears for his life, the possessed man is attracted to Jesus. He realises that Jesus loves him. Galli says

"The one who loves us is the Holy One who wishes to make all unclean things holy. That means the one whom we cannot stay away from is the same one who is out to destroy those very habits, sins, notions, addictions, and self-justifications that we think we can't live without. And there are times when we feel as if Jesus is out to destroy us.
It is a wonderful and a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the real Jesus."

The real Jesus!

Mark 1:21-28 With Authority He Commands

The unclean spirit recognises that Jesus is more than a normal human, so when Jesus orders him out, he complies. Yay! Jesus wins again. He beat the devil in wilderness and now the underling spirit is trounced.

Jesus rebukes the spirit very simply - no fancy, long-winded exorcism just "Quiet... and get out!". The Son of God's words have power.


The spirit tries to hang on and convulses the victim and then cries out. Maybe this is how people knew that the man was possessed. Not only did he have convulsions but he yelled in a voice that was not his own. Then he is gone - to destruction?


Even though He spoke simply (or maybe because of the intriguing combination of dramatic results from a few words) the synagogue's congregation is amazed at Jesus' authority. Authority in both teaching and healing - He obviously generates respect.

Do I respect His authority? Does Jesus exercise this authority in my life? I don't think so. Maybe, like those people, I should spread His fame. But what would I talk about?

Mark 1:23 Unclean Spirits

As Jesus teaches a man cries out, a man "with an unclean spirit".
How many people in my church are possessed? How can I tell?
What is an unclean spirit? This definition is not bad. So these are the angels of the devil.

"Leave." he says, "What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?".
What riled them ("we" and "us")? Was it just His presence? Had they been watching Him growing up in Nazareth, just 30km away? Why did they think He might want to destroy them?

The unclean spirit "knew" Jesus as the "Holy One of God". The old stories tell of the war in heaven between heavenly angels and the dragon "called the Devil and Satan" and his angels. Satan's side lost and was sent to the earth (Why here?) So these spirits probably knew Christ from eons past and had even met Him on the battlefield. They knew God's Holy One when they saw Him. And they once again acknowledged His authority.

We now have the main protagonists and their followers. The Son Of God and his disciples and Satan and his unclean spirits.

What will happen now? Who wins this round?