Crazy Train

May 26

Read: Mark 3

Crazy Train

People will think you are crazy. When you are walking with the Lord and in tune with the Spirit of God, your actions will not always make sense to the world around you. You will forgive when it seems radical to forgive. You will be generous even when resources are scarce. You will rearrange your time to spend it in ways that may not benefit you, but rather the body of Christ or others around you. When you tell people about how the Holy Spirit leads you, that God dwells within you, thank you speak with God in prayers and through the scriptures, or that you will someday raise from the grave in a new body… trust me… they will think you are crazy. that is OK. They thought Jesus was crazy as well.

Jesus’ family thought he was out of his mind: “And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.” (v. 21) They thought he had lost it. How could he walk away from a family business? Why would he leave his successful carpentry work to roam the countryside with a band of misfits? He was not even eating now! If Jesus’ family would have had their way, he would have been snatched up in the midst of his ministry and brought home. This is why, when they come to snatch him up again, he has to distance himself from them:

“And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your 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.” (v.32-35)

What we see forming here is the reality that there are always two competing “kingdoms” … two distinct “families”… two divergent sources of power and authority. As Jesus’ ministry gathers steam, the tension and resistance is growing. The Scribes and Pharisees are challenging his authority… the are pressing back against him regarding his teaching fasting, casting out demons, observance of the sabbath and the ability to forgive sins. (cf. Mark 1,2) Jesus does not draw his “power”or “authority” form the titles or systems of religious man. The crowds know it and so does the institution. They are left debating, “how doe she do it?” As Jesus’ popularity grows they realize that he has immense relational authority in the lives of the people around him… despite have some sort of positional title. They are threatened and seek to destroy him. The speculations here in Mark 3 shows us as much (cf. 3:6,22)

Jesus meets this opposition head on… opposition from the Pharisees and Herodians as well as opposition from his own family! Look at how Jesus responds to the Pharisees: “And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart…” (v.5) He expects more from them. There are two kingdoms unfolding before them: the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of man. Jesus was squarely in the midst of The Kingdom of God… not the kingdom of this world… the kingdom of man. The Pharisees tried to say he cast out demons be the power of the kingdom of this world… by the power of Satan. They were the ones who were not making sense! A divided kingdom / house always falls! (v. 22) Jesus boldly declares that he has come in the house and “bound the strong man”. (v. 27) His power is not of this world. They simply cannot comprehend it, so they come up with explanations that clearly don’t make sense… “divided kingdom” sort of explanations. They are the crazy ones!

Jesus’ family is not much better. The fact that he left all of his former life behind for the ministry that The Heavenly Father called him to seemed mad to them. They kept trying to gather him up! To come to Christ is to enter into a new family… the family of God. To those outside the family of God, the actions of God’s children will not make sense. When you come to Christ, you become his brother, sister, even “mother” is included in his words. You are part of this new family in Christ.

Jesus’ ministry was making waves. It was challenging the norms and conventions of the day. It was driven by relational authority - “grassroots” - in the lives of the people Jesus was teaching, healing, and casting demons out of. It did not make sense by the days standards. Jesus is calling us to walk with him in some similar ways. We are called to begin to shepherd one another as brothers and sisters in Christ… whether you have the “positional” title of “pastor” or not. God has given you your titles: you are a “chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and ambassadors” (cf. 1 Peter 2:9, 2 Cor. 5:16-21) Our ministries will be marked by the work of the Lord through us…and led by the spirit. Our authority comes from Christ… in the same way that Christ came with the authority of the Father. (cf. Matt 28:18-20) The world will continue to seem more and more “crazy” to us… and we will be the same to the world. This is OK. It was the same for Jesus! So here is to being just a little cit “crazy” … in a good way. Love you guys. - JDP