Opposition to Jesus is Limited!!! Mark 3:6-12

You don’t need me to tell you that in the world we live in, there is much opposition to Jesus. In recent years, we have seen attacks against the gospel from outside the church, and surprisingly even from inside. Continual efforts on the part of some who are barely under the umbrella of Christianity have sought to redefine the historical Jesus. The Jesus Seminar has taken all of the sayings of Jesus in the Bible and put them up for a vote, categorizing them according to what He probably said, what He most certainly did not say, what He may not have said, and what He might have said. Pragmatism has infected the church, watering down the radical claims and commands of the gospel for the purpose of growing churches. We could go on to talk about the many other areas within the broad circle of Christianity where the Biblical Jesus has come under fire. And then outside, we have seen The DaVinci Code and The Gospel of Judas. In the foreword to that book, UNC religion scholar Bart Ehrman (who has written a shelf-full of critical works on Jesus and the New Testament) writes, “This gospel was about the relationship between Jesus and Judas, and indicated that Judas didn't actually betray Jesus, but did what Jesus wanted him to do, because Judas was the one who really knew the truth, as Jesus wanted it communicated.”[1] Surely this is a different understanding of Jesus than the Bible gives us.

Last fall, neuroscientist Sam Harris launched a salvo entitled Letter to a Christian Nation (currently ranked 26 on the NY Times Bestseller list [2/2/07]) in which he says, “Nonbelievers like myself stand beside you dumbstruck by the Muslim hordes who chant death to whole nations of the living. But we stand dumbstruck by you as well—by your denial of tangible reality, by the suffering you create in service to your religious myths, and by your attachment to an imaginary God.”[2] Harris is but one of a number of popular scholars, including Oxford’s evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, musician Greg Graffin, Tufts philosopher Daniel Dennett, and comedy-magic team Penn and Teller, who were recently featured in a sympathetic cover story of Wired magazine about the “new atheism.” Philosophers would call this “unfriendly atheism,” and perhaps most articulately set forth in Dawkins’ recent book, The God Delusion (currently #9 on the NY Times Bestseller list [2/2/07]). This brand of atheism views the holding of any religious beliefs as intellectually irresponsible and perhaps downright criminal. I don’t know how “new” this brand of atheism is, for I learned it as a teenager, and held this view which was taught to me by many mentors and educators in my formative years. Thank God, He delivered me from “new atheism” to “old-time religion” when Jesus changed my life 15 years ago.

Remember what the writer of Ecclesiastes said: “That which has been is that which will be, and that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecc 1:9). Opposition to Jesus is nothing new. He lived most of His earthly life under the looming shadow of the cross. Yet, this opposition was not enough to defeat Him then, and it is not enough to defeat Him, His truth, or His church today.

I have begun reading the passage today from verse 6, which serves almost as a hinge here in the text. Contextually, it closes the preceding paragraph, but it also opens what follows. And as we read the text before us we see that opposition to Jesus has its limitations. I want to discuss three of those limitations from the text in the time we have today.

I. Opposition to Jesus Does Not Diminish His Popularity (vv7-8)

The scribes and Pharisees were the spiritual authorities of first century Judaism. The Herodians were the supporters of the puppet regime that governed the land under Roman authority. However, in spite of the rejection of Jesus in the eyes of the religious and political powers that were, masses of people continued to flock to Jesus.

A. His Popularity Drew People From Diverse Regions

Only an eyewitness could supply some of the details we have here. We believe that Peter, who was with Jesus during all of this, was the source of Mark’s information. We know from Acts 10 and Galatians 2 that Peter had issues about his Jewish pride, even after he was transformed by the Lord. The ethnic diversity of the people who came to Jesus would have been something that he could not escape noticing. And so we have here a list of those who sought out Jesus in the wake of His opposition.

Verse 7 tells us that a great multitude from Galilee followed. Jesus was there, likely in the town of Capernaum. Perhaps many of these had even seen the healing in the synagogue that led to His rejection among the Pharisees. Notwithstanding, they were captivated by the awesome authority of Jesus and they followed Him as He left the synagogue and the town. But they were joined by others.

Mark also tells us that another great multitude came to Him. They were coming from Judea, Jerusalem, and Idumea (the land of the Edomites). These were all areas South of the region of Galilee. They were coming from beyond the Jordan – the area known as Perea, east of Galilee. They were coming from Tyre and Sidon, major cities of the ancient Phoenician empire north of Galilee in the Roman province of Syria. In spite of opposition to Jesus, people were coming to Him from all points of the compass.

The popularity of Jesus knows no geographical boundaries. Jesus has given us the Great Commission to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. It doesn’t matter how many oceans or borders separate us, the world is full of lost people who need Jesus, and who will, if they hear of Him, come to Him and follow Him.

B. His Popularity Drew People Of Diverse Ethnicity

The people coming from Judea and Jerusalem were most likely Jews, for they comprised nearly the whole of the land in those parts. Those of Galilee, Tyre, Sidon, and Perea were likely a mixed multitude, some Jewish, but most were likely Gentiles. Those of Idumea were a little harder to categorize. They were not Jewish by culture. The Edomites were the descendants of Esau, at times bitter enemies of Israel. But in the time of the Macabees, under the reign of John Hyrcanus (134-104 BC) the Edomites were forced to adopt Jewish beliefs and practices. At best, they were, in the eyes of the Jews, “half-Jews.” And besides this, they were the stock of the hated Herods, those puppet kings who reigned in terror over Israel. But Jesus maintained consistent attraction for all these people, regardless of their ethnic backgrounds and in spite of prevailing opposition against Him.

The Gospel knows nothing of ethnic differences. Within each geographical boundary we see on our maps, there is great diversity among peoples. But in Christ, there is no Jew or Gentile, no slave or free, no male or females. He makes one body of the diverse multitude who come to Him in response to the Gospel call. I rejoice in the Lord that our congregation is a church for all people, and has been for forty years or more. Here at Immanuel, the Lord has assembled a family of faith consisting of those from many parts of the world. And when we take, for instance, our Nigerian brothers and sisters here, we have the Yoruba, the Igbo, the Hausa – peoples who apart from Christ are divided by bitter disputes, but who in Christ tear down those barriers and embrace one another as one in Christ. C. S. Lewis, writing in a letter in 1950, captures this as he says, “[T]he church is not a human society of people united by their natural affinities but the Body of Christ in which all members however different (and He rejoices in their differences & by no means wishes to iron them out) must share a common life, complementing and helping and receiving one another precisely in their differences.”[3] There must be no ethnic boundaries under the gospel. We are all one in Christ Jesus.

C. His Popularity Drew People For Diverse Motives

Verse 8 says that these diversely mixed multitudes had heard of all that He was doing. Word had spread about Jesus to all these places, and awakened a curiosity in this enigmatic figure who was teaching and working in the region of Galilee. Some of them undoubtedly were coming to hear the teaching that had changed the lives of some they knew. Some perhaps were hoping that He would call them, like He had called those fishermen, to abandon all and follow Him. And surely many, if not most were coming to receive His benefits – that they would be healed from their illnesses and infirmities or set free from demonic oppression. But while we would want to stand guard before Jesus and serve as a filter that only the pure of heart could reach Him, Jesus did not turn any away. He received them all unto Himself, and in many cases, even gave them what they were after: He healed them (v10). The wording in our English Bibles at v10 will lead us astray, for in most English versions we have a pluperfect verb – He had healed many, as if it were describing only what He had done in the past. But in fact, the Greek tense here is aorist, meaning simply that He did it, with no reference to time. He healed many. Such is the compassion of Jesus – He does not judge the motives of those who came to Him; He merely responded to their point of need.

Every day, you and I have the opportunity to do the same in His name. When we see someone in need, we can reach out to them and offer them help, both for the felt need and for their deepest need. Their deepest need is to know Jesus, and they will never know Him unless we tell them. But many of them will never listen until we have demonstrated genuine compassion toward them by reaching out to them with the love of Christ.

Is it any wonder Christ’s popularity was undiminished by the opposition He faced? He welcomed those who came to Him from diverse regions, of diverse ethnicity, for diverse motives. And today, while the opposition to Christ rages on, He remains a constant draw for those in need who hear of Him and long to know Him and experience Him. We have the opportunity as His followers to add to this popularity as we welcome those who are coming to Him.

II. Opposition to Jesus Will Not Deter His Strategy (vv7, 9)

Jesus Christ came into this world on a mission. He is a divine person, born for a divine purpose. That purpose was to live a sinless life, satisfying the demands of the law that no other person every could, and then take the sins of humanity upon Himself in a sacrificial, substitutionary death, conquering even death through the resurrection. This was prophesied for centuries prior to the incarnation, planned in the heart of God in eternity past. It is God’s predetermined way to reconcile sinful humanity to Himself, and to destroy the works of Satan that have been wrought through humanity since the beginning. Therefore, we might expect that Satan is not content to allow this plan to unfold unhindered, knowing that it will lead to his destruction. So opposition to Jesus arises, not merely out of humanistic or naturalistic offense to the message and ministry of Jesus, but as a result of an all-out spiritual warfare that has been being waged between God and Satan since Satan fell from the angelic host. But all the forces of hell are not able to deter our Lord from completing His mission of redemption and carrying out this divine strategy for the salvation of humanity.

A. Jesus Is Not Diverted By The Plots of Foes

Mark tells us in verse 7 that Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples, but he does not tell us why. Matthew, who was likely also an eyewitness in light of Mark 2:14, gives us the reason in his gospel. In Matthew 12:15, Matthew says that Jesus withdrew because He was aware of the murderous plot which the Pharisees and Herodians were conspiring against Him. Now, we would be wrong to think that this was a cowardly move on Jesus’ part. When the time comes, we will see Him courageously and determinedly stare death in the face and lay down His life on His own volition at the cross. But that time had not yet come. The mission was not complete, so Jesus withdrew that the plot for His death would not divert His master plan to bring about redemption.

The renowned Bible expositor, Alexander MacLaren, says, “Discretion is sometimes the better part of valour. To avoid peril is right, to fly from duty is not.”[4] You are probably familiar with Martin Luther, the great reformer of the church, who in 1521 was commanded by the Diet of Worms to recant his anti-Catholic writings which he had published to call the church back to a gospel of salvation by grace through faith apart from works. In response, Luther boldly declared, “Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason - I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other - my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen.” Tradition attributes to him a further saying, “Here I stand, I can do no other.”[5] MacLaren goes on, “There are times when Luther’s ‘Here I stand …’ must be our motto; and there are timeswhen the persecuted in one city are bound to flee to another. We shall best learn to distinguish between these times by keeping close to Jesus.”[6]

I think Kenny Rogers captured this well when he said, “You gotta know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, and know when to run.” That is almost biblical. Jesus knew that to allow the murderous plot against Him to unfold now would be to undermine the Father’s plan for His life, so He withdrew. Sometimes in the face of opposition, we must like Luther, and like our Lord on many occasions, STAND our ground. But other times, it would be unprofitable, and the best thing we can do is walk away. Not every battle is meant to be fought, and not every hill is worth dying on. One hill was: Calvary. And nothing would deter Jesus from going there. Not the murderous plot of His foes; but notice also in the text that …

B. Jesus Is Not Distracted By The Pressure of Followers (v9)

The word used here in verse 9 for “crowd” occurs both as a noun and a verb. The crowd was going to crowd him. This word is different from the word used in preceding verses for “multitude.” It means more than just a large number of people. It implies an unruly mob, pressing in around Jesus, even crushing Him. In verse 10 we see that they were “pressing around Him,” and the words used here indicate that they were literally falling all over Him. That may sound like a good problem to have, but a premature death by the crushing of His followers would be no better than one at the hands of those who sought to kill Him. Either would thwart God’s strategy of redemption. But the Lord would not have this. He was not so caught up in the enjoyment of His own popularity to realize the danger of the situation. So, He gave the disciples their first ministry assignment in this gospel – that of preparing a boat for Him should He need to escape the multitude.

From this we learn that even “good things” can become a distraction to the best things, and like our Lord, we must be committed to our mission of knowing Christ and making Him known, even if it means leaving other things undone or sailing away from other opportunities. Opposition to the Master’s purpose does not always take on unfriendly faces. What is good often becomes the enemy to what is best, and like Jesus, we too must beware of this, and be on guard against being distracted from the mission.

There is one final limitation I want to deal with concerning opposition to Jesus.

III. Opposition to Jesus Can Not Detract From His Identity (vv11-12)

What the religious leaders of the day were unwilling to even consider as a possibility, the demons acknowledge as a fact. Notice that even the demons recognized who Jesus was: “You are the Son of God.” James 2:19 says, “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.” And we see them shuddering here, falling down before Him in recognition of His superior authority. No earthly opposition, no supernatural opposition can take away from this fact.

We are a little taken back perhaps by Jesus response to this testimony of the demons. For once, someone got it right, and what does Jesus do? He shuts them up! Why does He do this? I believe the reason He rejects the testimony of demons is at least three-fold.

First, the testimony of demons would confuse the people. What would the people think if the One rejected by the religious elite was heralded by the forces of hell who tormented people and prompted them to violence and evil? They would have good cause to take a step back and reevaluate just who this Jesus was. Second, the testimony of demons would compound the opposition. If people rejected what the demons said, that was only part of the problem. What if people believed it? Then certainly those who were seeking to destroy Christ would increase in number and multiply their aggression against Him. Third, the testimony of demons contrasts with that which is acceptable to Christ. John Henry Burn states it this way: “He would not have men believe on Him on the testimony of evil spirits, but on that of God in Scripture, by His own words and works, and by the Spirit [of God] revealing this knowledge from the Father.”[7]

Jesus would not lie about His identity, but neither would He accept even a pure testimony from an impure source. Burn continues: “This action may teach His followers to be discreet. Falsehood indeed is always evil, but at times reticence is a duty, because certain truths are a medicine too powerful for some stages of a spiritual disease. The strong sun which ripens the grain in autumn would burn up the tender germs of spring.”[8] In other words, the people weren’t ready for this realization of who Jesus was. But ready or not, acceptable or not, Jesus is who He is – He is the Son of God: God Himself, incarnate in human flesh. The question for us then, is not just, “Why did Jesus not accept the testimony of demons?” but also, “Will He accept my testimony? Is my life a pure vessel from which the unadulterated testimony of His identity can flow? We must rely upon His grace to transform us, all the while pointing people to Him for who He is.

I wonder today, are you discouraged, frustrated, angered even, because of someone’s opposition to Jesus? The ocean of ink that continues to flow with heresy and blasphemy against Christ in our day can be unnerving. The misguided efforts by some so-called Christians to restyle Jesus into a more palatable Savior are enough to drive us mad. The persistent reluctance of some friend or neighbor, some family member or coworker, to reasonably and honestly consider Christ can be heartbreaking. But opposition to Jesus is nothing new. He faced it Himself. When we face it in our day, we face it for Him. When people belittle us for our faith, they are striking beyond us in effort to deal a blow to Christ Himself. Know this: no opposition to Him will ever diminish His popularity; no opposition will ever deter His strategy of saving souls and changing lives; and no opposition can detract from His identity. The writer of Hebrews says that Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. And your confidence in Him in the face of opposition is a pure testimony to this fact.

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[1] Cited in Albert Mohler, “From Traitor to Hero? Responding to ‘The Gospel of Judas’”, www. albertmohler.com/commentary_read.php?cdate=2006-04-07, accessed Feb. 2, 2007.

[2] Cited in “The Church of the Non-Believers,” Wired Magazine, November 2006, 187.

[3] C. S. Lewis, The Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis, Volume 3: Narnia, Cambridge, and Joy, 1950-1963 [Walter Hooper, ed.] (San Francisco: Harper, 2006), 68-69.

[4] Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture: St. Mark (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1932), 105.

[5] http://www.luther.de/en/worms.html, accessed Feb 2, 2007.

[6] MacLaren, ibid.

[7] John Henry Burn, The Preachers Homiletic Commentary On the Gospel According to St. Mark [Reprint] (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996), 98.

[8] Ibid.