Jesus said, "Happy are those who are hopeless...," (Mt. 5:3) but everyone knows that hope is essential for happiness. Jesus said, "Happy are those who grieve," (Mt. 5:4) but I've seen 100's of people grieve,,, and they were not happy! Jesus said, "If people slap you on the right cheek, you must turn the left cheek to them as well," (Mt. 5:39)... but everyone knows that we must stand up for ourselves. That's what self-help books and civil courts are all about. Jesus said, (Mt. 5:44) "You must love your enemies... because God makes the sun rise on both the evil and the good," but we find it difficult enough to love our friends, and maybe even our spouse. Jesus said, (Mt 6:19) "Stop collecting treasures for your own benefit on earth," and (6:23) "Don't worry about your life, about what you eat, or drink, or wear" because you are in God's hands." But whenever I bring this up at a Bible study, people say, "Yeah. Right. Whatever." Jesus said, (Mt 10:18), "Don't be afraid of those who can only kill the body," because they cannot kill your soul... but isn't it the very people who can kill the body who terrorize us? Jesus said, (10:32) "If you acknowledge me before people, I will acknowledge you before my Father," but we have convinced ourselves that faith is a private matter. When the rich man (Mt 19:21) told Jesus that he had always obeyed the law, Jesus said, "Go and sell everything you have and give the money to the poor." But the rich man was saddened because he had many possessions, and when we read or hear this passage, don't we feel threatened... because the rich man is us?
Jesus said (Mk 12:43) that a widow who gives a little out of her need... gives far more than anyone who gives generously out of his or her surplus... but giving spare change is all any of us ever really do. When Jesus (Luke 9:1) sent the twelve out to spread the gospel, he said, "Take nothing- no walking stick, no bag, no bread, no money..." Take nothing at all, except your faith in God... but I've never know a Christian who took this seriously. There was a farmer, Jesus said, (Luke 12) who had such a big crop that he had no place to store the surplus... so he decided to build a bigger barn to secure his future for years to come... but God called the man "a fool," saying "tonight you will die." All the man did was try to tuck away a nest egg and God called him a "fool." Doesn't that scare you to death? Jesus said (Luke 14) a certain man threw a great banquet and sent invitations to those whom he wanted to attend, but one of them said, "O gosh, I'd like to, but I just bought some property," and another said, "I'd love to, but I just purchased 5 teams of oxen," and yet another demurred, "I just got married- otherwise I would come." Good reasons, we would think. Better than some of the excuses we use. But God was angry because there is no excuse that's good enough to put him in second place! The high priest, Caiaphas (John 11) claimed it was wise to put one man to death for the many, but Jesus said it was righteous to leave the 99 in search of the 1. From a worldly and mathematical point of view, wouldn't we have to agree with Caiaphas?
I could go on of course because Jesus said a lot of outlandish things. Maybe he winked in real life when he said God would give us whatever we asked for. Maybe he made quotation marks with his fingers when he said that the last would be first. Maybe he was just trying to get a reaction with his story about the workers starting at 5pm getting the same pay as those who started at 6am. I don't know, but I do know that the religious and civil authorities didn't buy it. To them, he was either a radical or a fool- a man who was exciting the desperate people of the land and becoming a threat to all of them. He forgave sin. He said that the Sabbath was made for man. He dined with sinners and talked with people whom you wouldn't want me to hang out with. He came from a backwater village and he wouldn't even be welcome in many of our churches. So, it's no wonder that the religious leaders decided that he was possessed by the devil. Which brings me to our passage- Mark 3:20ff.
As Jesus' popularity grew, there were many who decided that he was out-of-his-mind, beside himself, demon-possessed, and they gathered around him as he taught in a house. There were so many men in the room that Jesus and his followers couldn't even eat... and when Jesus' mother heard about it, she became fearful because the situation could've turned ugly at any second. Jesus was inside, defending himself from the charge that he was in league with the Devil, when Mary and his brothers and sisters arrived. They couldn't get inside the house, so they called from the street. "Jesus, let's go home." The word got to Jesus, and he could have obeyed. But instead, he replied with yet another bold statement, indicating that his real family are those who do God's will. His real family are those who trust and obey his words, and what is more, this new family in God took precedent over his earthly family! He loved his family... but he was called to serve his family of faith.. and he expects us to have the same priority-to put Him first. (period)
Putting God first, ahead of not only bad things, but even good things... is an important message. But what I can't understand is how we can encounter Jesus without a) calling him "Beelzebub;" b) laughing out loud, or c) falling on our knees and crying, "My Lord and My God." I think that C.S. Lewis was right- Jesus is either a madman or the Son of God. He demands dismissal or discipleship. He insists on a yes or a no, and refusing to make this decision- pretending that Jesus really doesn't expect us to be fools for him- may be our greatest sin. Amen,
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