CHAPTER 3

1 And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. 2 And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. 3 And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. 4 And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. 5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.

Notice the Bible says "He went into their synagogue." Was it not HIS synagogue? Is it not HIS church today? When the church is operated by ritualism it reflects the rulership of men rather than of God!

He went in to be WITH them. They only allowed Him in to ACCUSE Him!
While they, for ritualistic reason, would not seek to help the afflicted man, Jesus went there for that specific purpose.

We are SHEEP in God's pasture. All men are stinky, nasty, messin' on themselves sheep! Even those in Christ's pasture are that way! But He is the "Good Shepherd," and will tend to His sheep! Would He not seek to help the afflicted sheep? Of course He would help, and He did!

Notice the power of Christ to help is based on willingness to do as He said. The man with the withered hand stretched out that hand on Christ's command - and He was healed. The men with the withered hearts would not stretch out their heart to Christ, and were not healed!

But they would leave the place where Jesus had shown His heavenly authority, and plot to kill Him!!!
So it is with men in the world today. A few will stretch out their hearts, withered with sin, to Jesus and be washed, cleansed, born again, and sealed eternally in God's love. But most will harden their hearts against God, and try to make something of themselves rather than surrender to Jesus as Lord.

6 And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him. 7 But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea, 8 And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him.

When Jesus knew that they refused His shown eternal authority, He "withdrew Himself" from those who refused Him.

Jesus reveals Himself to men today through the preaching of the Word, and through the testimony of His people. But when people refuse Him, even when His truth is evidently shown, He withdraws from them. The Bible says, "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind...."

Persistent hardheartedness is the ONLY disease God will not cure. He COULD, but God wants all men to have their own will. Therefore, those that refuse Him are left to the mediocrity of self, and never allowed to rise to the etheral comprehension of God.

The good news is that Jesus is ALWAYS present with His "disciples," and is always strengthening their faith in Him.

And though "great multitude(s)" follow Jesus today, there are still greater multituded who refuse Him! Today, sadly, only about 1/5 of the world are professing followers of Christ! The other 4/5 feel they'd rather justify themselves than God, and thus they are left to their own "reprobate mind."

9 And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him. 10 For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues. 11 And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. 12 And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.

So many came, that Jesus could not TEACH, as He desired. Most of those who came wanted HEALING, not teaching. So Jesus commissioned "a small ship" to move a little off the shore. From the boat, He could use the water and the beach as an amphitheater, and teach the people.

Notice that many who had great diseases were healed.

Also, there were many possessed with evil spirits that were healed. But, why did Jesus command the evil spirits to depart and "not make Him known?"

First, the demons forced the people to speak and call Jesus "the Son of God." That term is significantly the same as the Old Testament term, "Messiah." And according to Isaiah 43:11, Messiah is Jehovah! (One might also see Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 12:2, Isaiah 43:3, and Hosea 13:4. And notice Mary's statement to the knowledge of this fact in Luke 1:47. Also notice the angel's acknowledgement of this fact in Luke 2:11. And the acknowledgement of the same in the letter from our Lord's half-brother, Jude in verse 25.)

Second, Jesus, at that particular time, did not want to become known as "the Son of God." His work was not finished. There were disciples to ordain (next discussion), others to heal and save. And, as well, there were many proofs of His Person to be given to the world through His earthly ministry. Later, when the work was accomplished, Jesus avowed that He was indeed "the Son of God,"MESSIAH, LORD. When asked pointedly by the Sanhedrin, Jesus answered in the affirmative (See Matthew 26:63-64).

There is ONE God, though He is represented in three distinctive Persons: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. The visible "image of the invisible God" (Colossians 1:15) is the CHRIST, and "in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." (Colossians 2:9).

God has created mankind in His "image" (Genesis 1:26). Therefore a man may be a son, a father, and is certainly a spirit. The spirit of the man inhabits the body in which is housed both mind and will. The body of the man is the expression of who the person is on the inside.

As I have said before, no man can explain the Triune God, and no man can fully explain the concept of the Trinity. Suffice it to say, that the inexplicable God becomes explicable in the body and Person of Jesus Christ!

God did not want this mystery fully known until He Personally, and bodily, gave Himself on the cross of Calvary to atone for the sins of man!

13 And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. 14 And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, 15 And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils: 16 And Simon he surnamed Peter; 17 And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder: 18 And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite, 19 And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house.

Jesus chose and "ordained" 12 special disciples. There were MANY OTHER disciples. A disciple, is one committed to learning from and following the Master. But these 12 were especially chosen and given special authority and gifts.

First, they were to "be with Him" constantly. They, except for when they were specifically sent, were to go with Jesus everywhere He went, constantly learning from Him. From this experience, they would be sent out to "preach" the Gospel of Jesus, and to bring people to know Him as Lord and Savior.

Second, they were given "power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils." These powers DO NOT come except they are GIVEN of God!

Third, there were "twelve" who were ordained, chosen, and given these powers and authorities. The number 12 was, and is a number reflective of incontrovertible witnesses. Later, when the preaching and teaching of Jesus was brought into question, this number would reflect there were enough witnesses, touting the same truths, that this was not a conspiracy, but rather an absolute truth. And, the number 12 has always been a number which reflects Divine administration. There were 12 tribes of Israel, there are 12 foundations in heaven, and 12 gates to the same.

The names of the 12 disciples are specifically given: Peter, James & John, Andrew & Philip, Bartholomew & Matthew, Thomas & James (the son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus and Simon, and Judas Iscariot. These disciples are listed in several other places (Matthew 10:1-4, Luke 6:14-16, and Acts 1:13). They are, for the most part, listed the same way each time. Simon Peter is always listed first. The other "Simon" refers to Simon the zealot. Thaddaeus is also called Lebbaeus, in some texts, and is apparently the same as Judas, the brother of James (See Luke 6:16). Judas Iscariot, is not listed in Acts 1:13 because he was already gone at that time.

20 And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. 21 And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.

So many crowded Jesus, again, that it was difficult for Him and the disciples to even eat! Too often, the work of a minister is overcome with mundane, day-to-day, activities which encumber the person and severely limit the ministry. It is all to easy for the attention of the many to preoccupy the time and attention needed for engaging genuine ministry.

Verse 21 is reflective of the rumors which spread about our Lord. His "friends" mentioned here, were not the disciples, but those probably from His hometown, and may even have been part of His family. They wanted to "lay hold on Him" because they felt He was "beside Himself." In other words, they thought Jesus had lost His mind! They didn't believe He was God in flesh, the Messiah, and they felt He needed psychiatric treatment. (See John 7:5)

If a person leaves his/her employment, begins to constantly tell others of eternal salvation, develops a ministry of helping the needy, and ceases to pay attention to the normal amusements, soon the world will say he/she is deranged!!

22 And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. 23 And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. 27 No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house. 28 Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: 29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: 30 Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.

Seems that everyone was getting on the "bandwagon," accusing Jesus of "losing His marbles," or accusing Him of being inhabited by "Beelzebub", the devil.

Jesus didn't get upset about it. He just taught the truth. He called the people to Him, including those who had spoken against Him. Then He taught them three things that are self-evident.
A "kingdom" that is divided will soon fall.
A "house" that has divided segments will also fall.
And "if Satan" inhabited someone, then acted against himself, he would surely fall.

But Jesus is the "Strong Man," and is showing His ability to "bind" the devil by delivering people from demon-possession. And soon, He will not only "bind" the strong man but "spoil his house!"

To "blaspheme" means to defame or speak evil of. In the Old Testament, it is said of Naboth that he "did blaspheme God and the king" (1Kings 21:10, 13). Also, in 2Kings 19:6, and in Isaiah 37:6, Rabshekah (speaking for Sennecharib) is said to have "blasphemed" God for he spoke in defiance of God, and denied the truth of God.

When a person hears the gospel from another person, or reads the truth in the Bible, then God's Holy Spirit witnesses spiritually to that person stating that the gospel and the Bible are TRUTH. To refuse that witness is to say that God's Holy Spirit is a liar!

Even blasphemy against Jesus Himself can be forgiven, if a person receives the Holy Spirit's witness to truth, and surrenders to Christ as Lord.

The REASON that refusing the spiritual witness of God's Holy Spirit is unforgivable, is because God can only forgive what we ASK Him to forgive. When a person refuses God's truth and refuses to surrender to Jesus as Lord, then that person has refused his/her only means of forgiveness.

31 There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him. 32 And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. 33 And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren? 34 And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! 35 For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.

Jesus' family came to the gathering of people. Not being able to get close to Him, they sent someone to tell Him they were there.

In this passage we must entertain the right focus. Jesus was not neglecting His own family as much as He was ELEVATING true believers.

Of course He loved His mother and brothers. But to God, one is not more important than the other!

You, my dear friend, as a born-again, believing Christian are just as important to Jesus as they!

YOU are His "bride!" It is for YOU that He "left father and mother" and became joined to you as ONE! It is for you He left the comforts of His family to die on the cross!

ALL mankind is important to Christ. And He desires that ALL MEN be saved!

PLEASE CONTINUE WITH US IN BIBLE STUDY TOMORROW.