Marcos 3

Marcos 3

Vernon McGee - The convincing nature of Jesus' miracles forced the Pharisees to offer some explanation for them. They could not deny the existence of miracles when they were happening before their eyes. They resorted to the basest and most blasphemous explanation for the miracles of Jesus. They did not deny He is possessed by Beelzebul - This is the first of two distinct charges. Why do they say this? The main reason is because they had a big problem! They could not deny Jesus had manifested manifold expressions of supernatural power over disease and over demons. Crutches had been thrown away by healed paralytics. Deaf persons could hear a pin drop. Seeing eye dogs were now out of business. And in a few situations people were asking for refunds from funeral homes! And because this evidence of the supernatural was irrefutable, they were forced to resort to an irreverent accusation in an attempt to defame Jesus and His miraculous powers. Do not miss the point that these scribes could have accepted Jesus as the Messiah, for the evidence was overwhelming, but they remained (to quote Stephen) steadfastly "stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears...always resisting the Holy Spirit (and) doing just as your fathers did." (Acts 7:51+) The scribes and other Jewish leaders had a vested interest in unbelief, and that is always the reason people choose to reject Jesus. THOUGHT - I recall sharing Jesus with a doctor friend of mind and he listened carefully and when I had finished I ask him if he would receive Jesus. He answered that he would not because to him that meant he would have to give up working with his hunting dogs which was the joy of his life. Interestingly, his wife was in a former Campus Crusades for Christ worker, but she too clearly refused belief in Jesus. It was a sad evening, but I began to understand that many people refuse to believe in Jesus because the cost is simply too high! Sadly, if they never receive Him, they will find out the sacrifice they may have made in this life pales in comparison to the pain they will experience forever in the next life! Jesus changes a person's life and the Jews did not desire change, but were comfortable in their elevated status in society and their false spirituality. And so in the face of undeniable evidence of His divinity, they resorted to attributing Jesus' power to Satan! As Hiebert says "Instead of recognizing Jesus as the Son of God, the scribes charged that He was the permanent tool of Satan. It was a vicious attack upon His person." (Ibid) Ray