Mark 3:20-34 The Unpardonable Sin of Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

Mark 3:29  “. . . will never be forgiven . . .”

Many a sensitive soul has agonized with the fear that he or she had committed the unpardonable sin. When I was a pastor folks came to me from time to time wondering, truly worrying, if they were guilty of an “eternal sin.” (Mark 3:29) In every case I was glad to assure them that they had not committed this unpardonable sin. As I explained, anyone who is concerned about their sin, has not committed the unpardonable or eternal sin.

The context for Jesus’ words about the “eternal sin” make clear that the people in danger of this sin were those who had seen the miraculous work of God and yet they called that work the ministry of demons (v. 22). They were in danger of the eternal sin, but Jesus did not say that they had actually committed this sin either. 

Those who questioned Jesus were not alone. Even the family of Jesus had questions about his ministry. They heard rumors about Jesus. People were saying that Jesus was “out of his mind” (v. 21), and the family responded by coming to “take charge of him.” Perhaps, they planned to take him home where he could rest and get back to normal.

Indeed, the atmosphere around Jesus must have been intense, Such large crowds were coming to Jesus that he and his disciples had no time even to take a break from their teaching to get a meal. The potential for total exhaustion seems to have been quite real. So, understandably his loved ones wanted to extricate him from the crowds and the growing intensity which seemed to them abnormal. We can see how they could have missed the eternal importance of what he was doing because of their concern for him as a family member. Jesus made clear that he could not stop this important work. He even said that family, finally, means the people who are doing the will of God. More important than our kinship connection is our connection to one another as believers. (v. 35)

The other people in this passage who had questions about the ministry of Jesus were not concerned for his welfare. They were religious leaders who made the remarkably unreasonable statement that Jesus was doing his work by the power of Beelzebul, by the power of Satan. Jesus explained what was obvious: Jesus was doing good. Satan does evil. So, if Jesus is defeating the work of Satan he cannot be working for Satan. 

On that issue turned the idea of the unpardonable sin. If, in fact, the religious leaders could not distinguish between good and evil, then how could they ever hope to repent of sin? How could they come to good if they could not recognize good. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to convict us of sin and call us to repentance (John 16:8) One who cannot receive the Spirit’s guidance about good and evil cannot come to God.

Of course, the implication is that these religious leaders actually could discern evil from good, but they were so jealous of their position and so fearful of the people coming to Jesus instead of them that they chose to call evil good and good evil. The unpardonable sin is to resist and to deny the truth that one has received from the Spirit. The failure of Jesus’ family to understand his mission is understandable; they were blinded by their concern for his health, but the religious leaders, in contrast to the family, illogically and stubbornly refused to acknowledge what had been revealed by the Spirit. God was at work in Jesus who was the Christ. When we know the truth about Jesus, and refuse him we are committing a sin that can keep us from God eternally.

John 3:1-20 The Doctrine of the Trinity in Retrospect

John 3:5  “. . . Jesus . . . God . . . Spirit . . .”

The Doctrine of the Trinity came to have meaning for me only after I had been a Christian for several years. In retrospect I came to realize that the Trinity undergirded my faith; the Trinity gave me an intellectual framework for life; the Trinity gave guidance to my relationships in family and at school and with friends. However, these blessings from the Trinity I understood only at a later time when I was better prepared to wrestle with the challenges of paradox.

I became a Christian as a child. For me, life was simple. Everything for me as a Christian was about Jesus. Only as I matured did I come to think about God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Of course, as a child I heard the word Trinity, and with my home church in worship I sang regularly the Doxology and the hymn, “Holy, Holy, Holy.” In fact, this great nineteenth century hymn which has the concluding phrase, “God in three persons, blessed Trinity,” was placed first in our Baptist Hymnal. So, I knew the word Trinity, but not until adulthood did I begin to appreciate the way the doctrine of the Trinity enriched my life as a Christian.

First, it was the doctrine of the Trinity that protected the message of Jesus as Lord and Savior. The doctrine of the Trinity laid the foundation for my understanding that Jesus was God in flesh, in person. Without the doctrine of the Trinity the church can lose its Gospel message that Jesus is Lord. Only as Lord can he, also, be Savior.

Second, the doctrine of the Trinity enabled me to understand that God was with me in power through the work of the Holy Spirit. God was not a distant creator; Jesus was not just an historical figure. The Holy Spirit, I learned through the doctrine of the Trinity, was the way that salvation transformed me and gave me a new birth from on high.

Third, the doctrine of the Trinity taught me that within God’s very being there is relationship. God in his revealed nature has modeled for us the essential reality of relationships of love. So, I came to understand that loving family, church, friends and all others was a way of reflecting the image of God.

Fourth, the doctrine of the Trinity humbled me as I began to explore its riches. God’s ways are above our ways. We cannot fully fathom God the Father who is transcendent. Yet, we rest in this doctrine because God has revealed his love for us and his power to redeem us. How can God be one in three persons? No one has fully explained this mystery, yet those who are Christians have come to understand that this doctrine provides an essential foundation for faith and a practical guide to the life of faith.

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Grandchildren. This week Sweetie Pie and Mr. Happy came to our house for a sleep over. After a full day of play, dinner out and a bath in Gal and Pal's big tub the grandchildren were ready for bed. Judy read to them from Charles Dickens, "The Life of Our Lord," a book he wrote originally not for publication but just for his own children.  Mr. Happy and Sweetie Pie listened with rapt attention to the story of Jesus' birth described in the words of a great writer. Judy helped me to see that children can stretch to appreciate good literature, and when good writing is combined with the most important account of all history it continues to bless each new generation. 

John 15:26-16:15 A Reflection for Pentecost Sunday

John 15:26  “. . . when the Paraclete comes . . .”

Different renderings appear in the English translations of John 15:26 for the Holy Spirit, including: Comforter (KJV); Helper (ESV); Counselor (RSV); and Advocate (NIV, 2011). When translators have difficulty settling on one word to use then the reader can assume that the word being translated contains a wider range of meaning than any one English word can express. 

Perhaps, it would be better to use a transliteration, that is, we put the Greek word into English letters. Instead of a translation we learn the Greek word itself which is Paraclete. To understand the word Paraclete we have to read the whole passage to see how the word is used. In these verses a picture emerges of what Jesus meant when he said that the Paraclete would come.

The Paraclete testifies about Jesus (15:26); the Paraclete convicts the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment (16:8); the Paraclete  guides the followers of Jesus into the truth (16:13); and the Paraclete glorifies Jesus (16:14).

For the first disciples the coming of the Paraclete meant the departure of Jesus, and they felt sorrow at the thought that their Advocate, Helper, Comforter and Counselor would leave them (16:6). Jesus explained to them that they would be blessed by the Paraclete in ways they had not anticipated (16:12-13) and would receive blessings they could not experience until Jesus departed (16:7). With the Paraclete at work in their ministry the disciples of Jesus had the strength to endure the coming persecutions that Jesus told them they would face, and they had the power to give a witness that would change the world. 

For us the coming of the Paraclete means that Jesus is truly and personally present to us. Though all followers of Jesus would like to know his physical presence we can understand that his presence through the Spirit is for our good (16:7) because we could not all know Jesus if he were present only at one place or one time, but in the Spirit all of us can grow in Christ even though we cannot be in his physical presence today. For us, as for the first disciples, we can use a beautiful metaphor to say that Jesus walks with us in all the circumstances of our lives, and he dwells with us throughout our lives. The death of Jesus on the cross and his bodily resurrection happened at a particular moment in history, but because of the coming of the Paraclete all of us are drawn into the Gospel personally as we know the Spirit who brings us the presence of Christ.

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Free Church. Recently, a friend of mine told me about a discussion at her weekly clergy gathering where ministers from different traditions meet to discuss the upcoming lectionary passage for Sunday. This give-and-take is done each week because it helps the ministers as they prepare their sermons. Pentecost Sunday in 2015 comes on May 24, and one of the pastors told the group that she did not want to have her Pentecost celebration on the same Sunday as Memorial Day weekend, so she had decided to move Pentecost to the next Sunday. Among the clergy at the meeting a sputtering protest erupted: “You can’t move Pentecost!” For them, to move Pentecost was like moving Christmas or Easter or New Year’s Day or the Fourth of July. It just wasn’t done, and their church hierarchy would not allow it. My friend came to the pastor’s defense and responded, “We’re the Free Church! We can do what we want.” This exchange has encouraged me. Over the last several decades, Baptists have become enamored with the “bells and smells” of the more liturgical churches. Consequently, many Baptist churches--including the ones I’ve pastored--observe Advent, Lent, Holy Week, wear robes, use acolytes and lift litanies (responsive readings) from the Book of Common Prayer. Why not? These readings and practices can be rich resources. However, it is good to remember the strengths of our own tradition: robust congregational singing, well-prepared sermons to a congregation that bring their personal Bibles so they can follow the sermon, check its faithfulness to the Scripture (see Acts 17:11) and make notes as they want. Early Baptists did not use the Book of Common Prayer or even observe special days such as Christmas. They felt that the robes, readings, candles, processionals, and other practices--though beautiful--had gotten in the way of authentic worship. Too much emphasis on the style or form of a service can make us forget what early Baptists understood. From time to time, perhaps, we would do well to have a simple service in which we return to our roots and remember that worship is not any particular form or practice or creative innovation, but worship is simply the devotion we freely offer to God.

John 17:6-9 Christ and Culture in the 21st Century

John 17:8   "I have sent them into the world."

The prayer of Jesus in John 17 petitioned God the Father to protect the disciples (v.11) for Jesus was leaving the world, but the disciples would remain in the world where they would endure hatred as they fulfilled their mission to speak truth to evil. (v.17-18)

Jesus expanded his prayer to include the believers who would come later (v. 20) and be united with the disciples in the mission to live in but not of the world, to be a countersign so that through their witness the people of the world might come to believe in Jesus (v. 21) and through him be reconciled to God. (v. 23)

The church gave its witness in a pagan world where the life and message of Jesus were countersigns indeed. The pagan culture celebrated gladiators who fought and killed one another in arenas for public entertainment. The pagan culture practiced infanticide; the culture condoned pederasty. Prostitution was legal. Idolatry, including Emperor worship, was universal. Slavery was an economic pillar of the world. 

Richard Niebuhr wrote a book in 1951 entitled Christ and Culture. He described various responses the church has made to the world through the centuries. At times it has been “Christ against culture;” at times, it has been a “Christ of culture.” He saw the church at times holding “Christ and culture in paradox.” At times it was “Christ above culture;”  At its best, the church has lived so that the response is “Christ transforming culture.”

In this generation, as in the first century, the church has the prayer of Jesus--a reminder that we can expect the message of truth about Christ to be met with hatred, but we can, also, depend upon the protection of God as we live a countersign; as we live in the world but not of the world; as we live to transform culture.

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Grandchildren. Sweetie Pie and Mr. Happy were with us one afternoon this week when the temperatures soared over 80 degrees, and the sky was a cloudless blue. So, we got out the sprinkler and they donned their swimming wear. We have a small wading pool which they filled as well. To our surprise they even used two inflatable plastic rings, and Mr. Happy put on goggles. However, the best moment came when Sweetie Pie asked us if we wanted her to show us something funny. We, of course, said yes. She got one of our beach towels and spread it out on the grass. Then she lay down and remained as still as she could. She was copying the sunbathing she’d seen older girls and women do. She laughed, and we did, too. How funny to lay down in the sun when one could be running and jumping in the sprinkler.

John 15:9-17 A Reflection on Joy

John 15:11 “. . . that your joy may be complete.”

One aspiration that everyone shares is the desire for joy or happiness. Jesus laid the foundations for joy in life--complete joy--when he taught his disciples that out of his love for them came friendship and meaningful relationship. For everyone, Christian or not, the importance of good relationships as experienced in true friendship is essential to happiness.

One of the writers whose thinking has continued to influence me for more than forty-five years is Martin Buber. He wrote this memorable statement, “All real living is meeting.” (I and Thou, 2nd Edition, Scribner, 1958, p. 11) Life is made up of relationships. It seems so simple, but understanding this principle will do much to bring joy into one’s life.

Marriage, the most intimate of human relationships, blesses husband and wife most when the two are best of friends as well as lovers. Friendship in the family enriches the relationship between parent and child as the young person moves away from dependence and the need for guidance into a new standing in which the two family members can become friends. What a blessing to have neighbors who are friends or to go to work where we labor alongside people who are our friends. Devotion to the making of friends will bless us with joy in life. 

In John 15: 15 Jesus called his disciples his friends. To be a friend of Jesus is to be a friend of God, and to be a friend of God is have the one relationship that transcends time and all the limitations of human sin. Friendship with God brings the joy that is complete. (v. 11)

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What can you do? In this You Tube Video which is an interview with the now deceased artist Paul Smith, the question, “what can you do,” becomes a near mandate to find a way to do something, to do something with love and with diligence. Smith’s faith inspired him, and the witness he gave in this video has a powerful impact. Don’t miss it.