Mark 3:13–35 — The Transforming Power of Jesus

This sermon is from Mark chapter 3 verses 13 through 35.

Mark 3:13–35

It is entitled "The Transforming Power of Jesus" and it was delivered to Ecclesia

churches on Sunday, July 6th, 2025.

It's been a few weeks since we've been in Mark with the baptism that we

celebrated this last week so I just want to take a moment to kind of

place ourselves. We have just witnessed a series of five escalating conflicts

between Jesus and the religious authorities in which they went from

listening to testing him to challenging him to

attempting to trap Jesus on a Sabbath when he went to heal a man

with a withered hand and it all escalates to this point where

these leaders went out and started making plans to destroy

Jesus. Meanwhile, there's this crowd that's following Jesus and

pressing in around him to try to get what they want from him

but very few are actually following him.

And so this passage that we're in today marks a significant transition from

Jesus' public ministry to a few interactions with a

closer circle of disciples, a small group of scribes,

and also a small group of his family. And in each of these interactions with

disciples and scribes and blood relatives,

Mark starts to open up this theme of insiders and outsiders in the kingdom of

God. We're going to look at regardless of who

is physically close to Jesus or related by blood, what is it that qualifies us

to be adopted into the family of God. And unsurprisingly, it's kind of

again come back to who Jesus is and how we must respond to him.

So we'll see that it is Jesus who remakes us

into disciples called by him. It is Jesus who makes us free from the grip

of Satan and sin and it is our response to Jesus

that ultimately determines whether we become family.

And so your status as an insider or outsider

isn't dependent on anything but your response to the call of Jesus.

So let's get into this passage to hear that invitation

and hopefully respond to it in faith. We're looking at a little more of the

text today and so we're actually going to read it in three parts,

beginning with Mark 3 verses 13 through 19.

Mark 3:13–19

"And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired

and they came to him. And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles,

so that they might be with him and he might send them out

to preach and have the authority to cast out demons.

He appointed the twelve, Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter,

James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James,

to whom he gave the name Boenergies, that is sons of thunder.

Andrew and Philip Bartholomew and Matthew and Thomas and James the son of

Alpheus and Thaddeus and Simon the zealot and Judas

Iscariot who betrayed him."

So with these opening couple of verses we see Jesus

both calling and making his disciples into something for his purposes.

And the clearest connection to that making

is this actual Greek in verse 14 which the ESV translates appointed.

He appointed them. But the more accurate rendering is that

he made the twelve. And it's with the same phrasing

that we actually get from Genesis 1/1 if you go all the way back to the very

beginning of the Old Testament. In that beginning when God

made the heavens and the earth, Jesus now has the authority to

make disciples. So it's interesting that it isn't their

qualifications, it isn't their worthiness that makes them suited for this

calling, it is the authority of Jesus that makes them into something new.

And just take a moment to look at this list of people.

I want us to notice a few things about them.

Simon is renamed by Jesus as Peter. So Jesus replaces his Hebrew name

which means he has heard with a Greek name that means

rock. So we know that Peter is no rock. In fact, he's best known for being the one

who would most publicly deny Jesus when pressured during the trial.

But what do we also know? That Jesus makes disciples. Jesus takes someone like

Simon who will listen and makes Peter who will be a man of

unshakable faith by the time Jesus is done with him. Isn't that encouraging?

That there's this process that takes place even in someone like

Peter. Then we have James and John. James and John are known for their

loud personalities to the point where they have a reputation for it

and will argue at one point over their place in paradise, their place next to

Jesus. And Jesus turns them into men who become

known for their love and their humility in serving the church.

What's perhaps the most striking to me is that out of the remaining disciples,

the others, we hear come up on occasion and the rest, we never hear their names

again in scripture. And then one in particular is known as the man

who betrayed Jesus to be killed. Jesus calls these men in spite of their

imperfections and he makes them into disciples in the same way that he makes

us into disciples, not for our glory and our fame, but for his glory and for his

name. And our part in this is not to be perfect,

but to trust in the ability of Jesus to finish what he has started in us.

Even when his disciples failed, they were forgiven when they repented

and trusted in Christ. And Judas is kind of the tragic

odd man out here, but not because he wasn't called just the same and not

because he sinned by betraying Jesus, but because he didn't repent and turn to

Jesus in the end, at least based on what we're able to see about

what happens in the end to Judas. So this list of names should be massively

encouraging to us because it shows that we do not need to be perfect in order to

be disciples of Jesus to answer his call. We need to be completely willing,

though, to allow Jesus to remake us. So as a quick clarification, we are

called to be disciples, not apostles. It says that he named these specific 12

apostles. And that's important because it is a unique

calling on these 12 men who would play a special role in the establishment of the

church. Here, the use of the word "the 12"

that phrase is a fixed or a complete unit.

It symbolizes the restoration of God's people, the 12 tribes of Israel,

fulfilled in Christ, indicating, among many other passages in Scripture, that

God did not continue to establish more apostles. And so, yes, they were apostles

and had specific establishing work that they were called to,

but they were first and foremost disciples always. Just as I pray, each one of us

always remains first and foremost a disciple of Jesus.

So how do we do that? Before we go any further, let's simply lay down the basics

of being a disciple. These men were setting the example for

what it looked like to follow Jesus. So we would do well to pay attention. A

disciple, "mathetes" in Greek means a student or a

learner, but not like someone sitting in a classroom

passively listening. Instead, a disciple is like an apprentice

with an emphasis on hearing and doing, following the example of. So

at its simplest, it's someone who listens to Jesus

and does what he commands. This is a two-fold role,

and it's to be with him in this first we see, to be with him

and to be sent out. So true discipleship is going to involve both of those things.

We also get a little foreshadowing here because it says he gave them authority

to cast out demons. So, so far, this is only something that Jesus has done,

but it's important that he gives them this authority to do so because

the authority to cast out demons has long been held as a sign

of the messianic age in popular Judaism, especially at this point,

and it's supposed to demonstrate the kingdom's arrival.

Jesus is making a statement by doing this, that his authority

is so great that not only do the demons listen to him,

but they also submit to his representatives, to the people that he is

sending. So look at the transformation happening

here with these disciples. Jesus is remaking these men who were

unqualified before they met Jesus, and he is transforming them

into representatives of the kingdom of God,

people with a purpose, right, operating in the authority of the one who sent them,

and the only requirement is that they answer his call

and they submit to his work in and through them. So,

church, bring your flaws, bring your incompleteness, bring your

doubts, and come and meet Jesus, who invites us to be a

disciple, who invites you to be close to him,

to listen to him, to learn from him, to be with him,

and to obey him and be sent by him. This is living that is unlike anything

else that you will find anywhere. So this must have been quite a

mountaintop experience for the disciples, literally and figuratively,

and then they come back home for a bit with Jesus,

and those of you who have been to a camp or on a vacation this summer or spent

some time with extended family over the holiday weekend

will likely understand how Jesus must have felt in these next few verses.

After this time on the mountain, he heads home,

probably back to Capernaum, and is immediately surrounded by

a crowd of needy people and family members who are upset with him.

Specifically, there is a small group of scribes from Jerusalem

who are making some very serious accusations against Jesus.

So let's read that and understand Jesus' response to them.

This is Mark 3 verses 20 through 30.

Mark 3:20–30

"Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even

eat. And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him,

for they were saying, 'He is out of his mind.' 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.'

And he called them to him and said to them in parables,

'How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that

kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against

itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against

himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end.

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. 'Truly I say to you, all sins will be

forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter.

But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit

never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.

For they were saying, 'He has an unclean spirit.'

Do you feel the descent of this passage? It's like a roller coaster ride.

We went from being on top of the mountain with Jesus calling and sending

his disciples, and suddenly we are in freefall with Jesus

accused of being in league with demons. And then we hit the bottom of that

roller coaster drop when gravity presses you down into your seat, and Jesus

says, 'There's no forgiveness for this thing.'

Mark is of course doing this on purpose to make a point.

So the first problem that we've run into is the family of Jesus of all people.

These people who should understand him the best are coming to seize him to get

him under control because they feel like he's off the rails, and all the things

that he's been saying and doing are crazy. These are people who are socially

close to Jesus by being blood-related, but are not

relationally close to Jesus. They do not listen to him or obey him.

They really have an interest in controlling him.

And so we'll come back to them in a minute because Jesus essentially ignores them

for the time being, and instead he addresses this other group who wants

to control him, and it's this group of scribes from Jerusalem.

Their tactic is to make a claim about the motive of Jesus,

and they claim that he is empowered not by God,

but by Satan. And they're saying the only reason that you have power to cast out

demons is because you're possessed by one. Now Jesus responds to them in three

parts. First, he takes apart their lie. Second, he

reveals a bit of truth. And finally, he gives a warning to them

personally. So to take apart the lie, Jesus responds with a parable, saying

that a kingdom or a house divided against itself cannot stand. He's saying,

"Why would Satan or Beelzebul or any other demonic entity kick himself out of a

residence that he had taken possession of? If that were his strategy,

the kingdom would have fallen apart long before now.

However, Jesus doesn't stop there. While Satan isn't divided against himself,

taking his own kingdom down, his kingdom is about to fall.

And Jesus gives us a picture of that. Instead of crumbling from within this

particular kingdom of the strong man,

will be destroyed by someone stronger, coming in and

binding him and taking everything that belonged to him.

There are a few Old Testament passages that Jesus is touching on here, and Mark

will certainly have connected to these. And that helps us to understand this

picture that he's painting of the strong man. If you've been paying attention to

Mark so far, you can probably guess which Old Testament

prophet we're going to go to here. It's Isaiah. Isaiah 49

Isaiah 49:24

verses 24 and 25 talks about a servant

rescuing the captives from cruel warlords. And then a few chapters later,

we have Isaiah 5312 talking about the spoils of that enemy

being divided and distributed. And so, of course, Jesus is the servant

who rescues the captives, the one who distributes

freedom. Jesus is the one who will bind Satan and save us,

giving us freedom. Isn't it just like Jesus too?

To love these wicked scribes enough to issue a warning to them

about the condition of their heart in the midst of this accusation.

This verse 29 has been the subject of a lot of misunderstanding, and I've

honestly lost count of the number of people I've spoken with

who have worried that they or someone they love

has committed what they call the unpardonable

sin. And it's because they've taken this verse completely out of context.

So let's lean into Scripture in context here and hopefully come away with a

better understanding of what Jesus is saying to these people.

The accusation that leads Jesus to say this thing in the first place

is they're saying he is possessed by an evil spirit.

So we know that Jesus is in fact filled with none other than the Holy Spirit.

He is God incarnate. So what these men are really

showing is that they cannot tell the difference

between the goodness of God and the evil works of the enemy.

Blasphemy here is not an accidental curse or a random thought or something that

slipped out of your mouth or you thought in your head,

but it is a hardened deliberate misjudgment of Jesus

as evil instead of good. It is a willful rejection of Jesus as the Son of

God labeling him as the enemy. And if someone cannot see

good versus evil correctly, then they cannot repent

and turn away from what is evil and turn to the goodness of God

in Jesus. Another helpful clarification here is that this guilty of an eternal

sin could actually be rendered a little more

accurately an eternally ongoing sin. It's not that the consequence for this

particular sin is more eternal than others. It's that this sin goes on being

committed eternally because they have not and will not turn to Christ

for forgiveness. I want to give you an example.

So think about it like this. Imagine that you are in a life or death situation and

in need of rescue. You're at the bottom of a canyon

at the Grand Canyon National Park with no food or water

and no strength to get out. A park ranger comes to save you and brings

water and food and offers to carry you back

out of the canyon. It is one thing to see this park ranger

and question that they are really a park ranger.

Okay, so you could say, "I don't know you man. You don't look like the park

rangers that I've seen in pictures. You're not dressed in the

khaki shorts and the hat that I expected. You don't have a badge and I think you

might be here to kill me instead." Okay, that situation is a problem that

you don't recognize this man here to save you as a person here to save you.

But it's solvable because they could pull out their credentials. They could give

you a junior ranger sticker if you remember those from back in the day.

They could show you photos of themselves doing park ranger things like

wrestling bears and rescuing tourists. And you might come to believe eventually

that they are who they say they are and have faith in their ability and their

willingness to save you, right? But it's a very different situation for

the person who says, "Not only I question who you are, but also I question

the goodness of the one who sent you." For the person who believes that

the park service is actually evil. They are in a dire situation indeed because

it doesn't matter what proof they're given. They won't accept any help that comes

and will instead choose to try to get out on their own with an empty water bottle

and in the direction that leads deeper into the canyon.

Jesus is warning these people that they can be forgiven for rejecting him

initially. But for those who ultimately refuse the work of the Holy Spirit,

which is to call them to faith in Jesus, they will continue to be responsible

for their own sin, ongoing eternally, and they will pay the price, ongoing

eternally for that, which is death. Remember that even Jesus' disciples

will lose faith for a few days after he is crucified.

But they will be forgiven because they will hear the news of the resurrection,

they will receive the work of the Spirit, and they will fully trust in the risen

Christ as their Lord and Savior. The truth is, it is easier for someone who

knows they are sinful to be saved than for a prideful,

self-righteous person who rejects Jesus and the work of the Spirit,

because those who do not see a need for forgiveness

cannot receive it. But for those who can see their need for a Savior

and come to Jesus as their only salvation,

we experience being made into something incredible.

We become the family of God, which is where this passage actually closes,

in hope, not in fear of eternal damnation, but in the hope that Jesus offers.

So let's read these last couple of verses together as Jesus finally

recognizes his family members who are calling out for him, albeit not in the

way that they expected him to, and he gives this invitation to us.

So this is verses 31 through 35. "And his mother and his brothers came,

and standing outside they sent to him and called him,

and a crowd was sitting around him and they said to him,

'Your mother and brothers are outside seeking you.'

And he answered them, 'Who are my mother and my brothers?'

And looking about at those who sat around him, he said,

'Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God,

he is my brother and sister and mother.'

Jesus' mothers and brothers have arrived again with the expectation that they will

receive preferential treatment to the followers who are gathered inside.

Family was a big deal in Jewish culture, and the expectation would have been

that family received the highest honor by Jesus, but instead

Jesus answers by redefining that altogether.

If you remember from an earlier verse, his family isn't seeking to

follow and obey him, but to seize him because they think he's out of his mind.

But Jesus will not be controlled or used by these people,

even people who are his blood relatives. They are not given insider status

on the basis of blood relation. Instead, it's their response to the call of Jesus

that determines whether they are on the inside or the outside.

Those who respond to Jesus by coming to him and doing what he commands

are given a place in the family of God.

Unlike with the world, we don't have to be

related or know somebody who knows someone or have the right connections

or be in good standing with the pope or a cardinal or any earthly priest at all.

None of those are qualifications required to be in the family of God.

It is the people who come to Jesus who are in the family of God.

Now, being a part of the family of God does involve being a part of the local

church. So don't mishear me there. That's one of the things that Jesus

commands. But our salvation isn't a result of belonging to a community.

Our belonging to a church community is part of the joy

of being saved. It's the other way around from the way it may have been

presented. According to the words of Jesus in Mark

335, it's whoever does the will of God that is in the family of God.

So what is the will of God? Well, that we would repent and be baptized

and live life as a disciple of Jesus, that we would turn to Christ following him

and obeying him. That is the will of God for all people.

1 Timothy 2, 3, and 4 says, "This is good and it is pleasing in the sight of God,

our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the

knowledge of the truth."

So from this more lengthy passage in Mark, we should stand secure in a few

things and we should be challenged in a few things

as well. We should stand secure in the knowledge that when we answer the call

to follow Jesus, He will finish the good work that He started in us.

He will accomplish all that He wishes to and it is

for our good to submit to Him fully, love Him wholeheartedly, and obey Him in

all things. I think we should also be challenged to

be obedient to all the things that Jesus is calling us to.

What disobedience is there in our lives that we need to

disown and choose trusting Jesus instead? Where is the Lord giving us

opportunity to be sent and to share the gospel with the people

around us and are we being obedient to go there?

That's challenging. For those of you who have not yet chosen to follow Jesus

and to publicly proclaim Him in baptism to become a disciple of Jesus, let me

encourage you that you can bring every one of your

failings to Jesus. They are not a limitation for Him.

He is able to handle them and He is stronger

than Satan and your sin and temptation

and you are free to answer His call and be truly

free. Let me also warn you though that there is no salvation outside of Jesus

so don't delay looking for it and make a decision to answer His call

today to salvation. Finally, I want to read to you one more

passage and this is from the book of Romans which was

written to the church in Rome, probably some of the same folks that

Mark was written to. And Paul begins that letter by saying this about the gospel,

about the good news that we have salvation in the name of Jesus.

This is Romans chapter 1 verse 16, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel,

Romans 1:16

for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes."

Out of all the incredible things that God has done throughout the history of the

world, I believe the power of God is seen most clearly in the person and the

work of Jesus Christ and the knee incredible work of salvation and

transformation that He does in people like you and me.

Ecclesia is a church of house churches gathering weekly in Councilbloss Iowa

and in homes throughout the week. We are a Bible-centered church focused on

preaching from Scripture and making disciples of Jesus.

You can learn more about our statement of faith and contact the pastor by

visiting ecclesia churches.org.