Participants:
Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS024029S
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00:12 ♪♪♪ 00:14 >>Eric Flickinger: Welcome to "Sabbath School," 00:16 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:17 And we're glad to have you with us as we take a journey 00:21 through the book of Mark, a fascinating Gospel. 00:25 Well, this is week number three, and we're going to be looking 00:27 at some of the controversies surrounding Jesus' ministry, 00:31 and you're gonna have your eyes opened 00:33 to some very fascinating things. 00:35 But before we dive into this week's lesson, 00:37 let's start with prayer. 00:39 Father, we thank You for giving us an opportunity 00:41 again to delve into the book of Mark 00:44 and to gain a clear picture of Jesus 00:46 and the gospel that we see through the book of Mark. 00:50 We ask that You'll bless our time together, 00:51 and we thank You in Jesus' name, amen. 00:54 >>Tom Shepherd: Amen. 00:55 >>Eric: Well, we're happy to have with us once again 00:57 the author of this quarter's "Sabbath School" study, 01:00 and that is Tom Shepherd. 01:01 He is the senior research professor of New Testament 01:04 at the theological seminary at Andrews University 01:07 and also a pastor. Tom, thanks for joining us again. 01:09 >>Tom: Good to be with you again. 01:11 >>Eric: So we're looking at controversies now. 01:13 We've kind of worked our way through Mark, chapter 1. 01:16 Now we're in Mark, chapters 2 and 3, 01:19 and there are some controversy stories here 01:21 in these two chapters. What do those look like? 01:23 >>Tom: Well, there are five controversy stories 01:26 in chapters 2 and the very beginning 01:29 of chapter 3. 01:30 These are actually mirrored by some controversy stories 01:33 over in, like, chapter 11, 12 of the book. 01:37 So there's these kind of two sets, 01:39 one at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, 01:41 one at the end of His ministry. 01:43 And they are-- show Him in conflict, 01:46 particularly with the religious leaders, 01:48 which might sort of surprise us 01:51 because you think, well, He's the Messiah, 01:53 so wouldn't the religious leaders 01:56 be the typical people who would love to see Him? [chuckles] 02:01 And the answer is no, they are not love to see Him 02:04 because He's a--He and their authority don't match. 02:11 So He's a threat to their authority and power. 02:14 And that's eventually what's going to bring Him to the cross. 02:17 So, what's interesting is these five controversy stories 02:21 in chapter 2 and the first 6 verses 02:24 of chapter 3 follow a concentric pattern, 02:27 or kind of a circle pattern. 02:29 So the first story is a story of Jesus healing a paralytic. 02:33 And it involves two ideas: healing and sin. 02:40 The second story is a story about the calling of Levi 02:47 to be a disciple of Jesus, and it has to do 02:51 with sin and food. 02:53 So you have healing and sin, and then sin and food. 02:56 Then the third story is the story of-- 03:01 question about fasting. 03:03 And so that's about food and Messiah. 03:08 And then the fourth story, very interesting to Adventists, 03:13 is about Sabbath-keeping, 03:15 and it's about Messiah and Sabbath. 03:18 So it kind of--there's one word that sort of connects them each, 03:21 and the last one is about Sabbath and healing, 03:25 which links you back to the beginning again. 03:26 So it's a set of stories that you first look at it, you think, 03:32 oh, that's just, you know, sort of, 03:34 that's just the way they all happened in this order, 03:36 and we're not saying they didn't, 03:38 but they all happened in this order, 03:39 and there's no relationship, just a set of stories. 03:42 Well, no, it's much more, you know, compact, 03:46 kind of tied together with this concentric pattern. 03:49 And so it's very interesting that you have 03:51 this kind of layout. 03:53 >>Eric: And this story begins, "Again"--it says in verse 1-- 03:56 "And again He entered Capernaum." 03:58 So we keep seeing this theme or the city Capernaum as well. 04:03 It begins, as you mentioned, with the story of the paralytic. 04:07 It's one that we're, I think, most of us familiar with. 04:10 There's a crowd, and people can't get through the crowd 04:13 to bring the paralytic. 04:14 What's the paralytic looking for when he comes to Jesus? 04:18 And does he get what he was looking for? 04:22 >>Tom: Well, we would imagine 04:24 that what he was looking for was healing. 04:27 And, so he actually cannot walk. 04:31 So his paralysis is at least of his legs, 04:36 maybe his arms are involved, too, 04:39 we're not told what caused the paralysis, 04:42 but he--he has to be carried on a bed to be brought to Jesus. 04:47 And so these--he has four friends who bring him to Jesus, 04:52 and when they can't get in the house 04:55 because there's so many people, they go up on the roof. 04:59 Now, in many places in, at least in the United States, 05:04 people think of the roof, it's, you know, 05:05 slanted and everything, 05:06 but in that area the roofs were flat, 05:10 and so they would go up on the roof. 05:11 In fact, often people would sleep on the roof 05:14 when it was hot season. 05:16 And to open the roof was not a small deal. 05:19 Maybe not as big a deal as going through our roofs today. 05:22 But they had mud and daub they had to break through, 05:25 and there would be these beams, 05:27 and they'd have to get in between there 05:28 and somehow let him down. 05:30 Well, you can imagine that when this guy 05:34 is brought to Jesus and they start opening the roof 05:36 over your head, that everything stops, 05:40 and everybody looks up to see what's happening, 05:43 and then they lower this guy down in front of Jesus. 05:46 So he's looking for healing, but that's actually not what-- 05:51 that's not what Jesus says, you know. 05:55 He says, "Son, your sins are forgiven." 05:59 Those were His first words to this man. 06:02 And so Jesus could read the thoughts of people, 06:07 He could read their, you know, what they were thinking, 06:10 and this man was burdened with sin. 06:13 And that may have been the result of why 06:16 he got paralysis was because of his sin. 06:18 And this telling him that his sins are forgiven 06:23 would not just-- it was spiritual healing. 06:27 And so that's--he was probably looking for that, too. 06:29 And it was not just the physical healing. 06:33 Of course, Ellen White describes this in the book 06:35 "The Desire of Ages" very nicely and says that 06:38 when he received these words 06:40 that he was forgiven, he just kind of laid back, and he was-- 06:43 he was at peace because God had forgiven his sins. 06:46 >>Eric: So a fascinating story and Jesus, as you mentioned, 06:48 begins this by saying, "Son, your sins are forgiven you." 06:51 Now, when He said that, it didn't sit well with everyone 06:56 who was there that day. 06:59 In fact, it sat very not well with a certain group, 07:02 the scribes and the Pharisees. 07:05 Tell us a little bit about them and why this--or the scribes, 07:10 why they didn't like what He had to say. 07:12 >>Tom: Okay, so we find often in the Scriptures 07:15 that the scribes and Pharisees 07:17 are a group of people who oppose Jesus. 07:20 And so they, the scribes were like 07:27 professional law interpreters, and the Pharisees 07:31 were actually a quite respected group in Jesus' day. 07:34 Today, if you call somebody a Pharisee, 07:36 people think that's a very negative term, 07:38 but it wouldn't have been in Jesus' day. 07:40 And the scribes are-- 07:42 they're sitting there questioning in their hearts. 07:44 Now, they haven't said anything, 07:46 but they're looking at one another. 07:47 "Why does this man speak like that? 07:49 He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" 07:53 And of course, that's true. 07:56 Only God can truly forgive our sins. 07:58 And they had the right definition. 08:00 They were just applying it to the wrong guy, because He does 08:03 have the authority to forgive sins 08:05 because He is the Son of God. Now, so, when that happens, 08:10 "immediately Jesus [senses], 08:13 [perceives] in His spirit"-- verse 8--"that they [were] 08:16 thus [questioning] within themselves." And He says, 08:19 "Why do you question these things in your hearts?" 08:21 So He's immediately given them a clue that 08:24 not only can He forgive sins, 08:26 but He can read their hearts now. 08:28 So they are, like, you know, whoa, you know, 08:31 if somebody could read your mind-- 08:33 He says, "'Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 08:35 "'"Your sins are forgiven," 08:37 "'or to say, "Rise, take up your bed and walk"? 08:40 "'But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority 08:42 "on earth to forgive sins'-- he said to the paralytic-- 08:44 "'I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.' 08:47 "And he rose and immediately picked up his bed 08:49 "and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed 08:52 "and glorified God, saying, 08:53 'We [have] never [seen] anything like this!'" 08:55 So it's very interesting. 08:57 Which really is easier: to forgive sins 08:59 or to heal somebody of paralysis? 09:01 Well, actually healing somebody is easier because I mean, 09:06 the sin is sin against God and against His law. 09:10 But anybody could say that your sins are forgiven, 09:14 but not anybody could, you know, get somebody up 09:17 so that their paralysis would be gone. 09:19 So the healing was a demonstration 09:22 that He had the power to forgive sins as well. 09:24 So that's a Christological statement right there, actually, 09:27 as to who Jesus is. 09:29 He is the Son of God, who has the authority to forgive sin. 09:32 >>Eric: And so this man's life was dramatically changed 09:37 or altered. 09:38 And again, through the story, we find that word "immediately" 09:41 popping up over and over and over again. 09:44 In verse 12: "Immediately he arose, took up the bed, 09:46 "and went...in the presence of [all them], 09:48 "so that they...were amazed and glorified God, 09:50 saying, 'We never saw anything like this!'" 09:53 So, a beautiful, beautiful picture. 09:55 In this chapter we also see in the next few verses 09:59 that Jesus calls someone else to follow Him. 10:02 Now, He could have called anybody, 10:04 but He calls a tax collector. 10:08 Why does He call a tax collector? 10:11 Why would He do something like that? 10:13 >>Tom: All right, so I want to read these two verses. 10:15 It's Mark, chapter 2, verse 13 and 14: 10:17 "He went out again beside the sea, 10:19 "and all the crowd was coming to Him, 10:21 "and He was teaching them. 10:23 "And as He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus 10:27 "sitting at the tax booth, and He said to him, 'Follow me.' 10:30 And he rose and followed Him." 10:32 This is like the disciples at the beginning of the, 10:36 Mark, chapter 1, James and John, Peter and Simon-- 10:40 Simon and Andrew-- and they immediately follow Him. 10:44 So, a tax collector in those days-- 10:48 I guess most people don't like tax collectors a lot. 10:52 Nobody too much likes taxes 10:55 but tax collectors today would not have 10:58 the same reputation as they did in Jesus' day 11:00 where you were--you were really kind of working 11:04 for the government, for the Romans, 11:06 who was, you know, people from outside of your group. 11:10 It would be like if, in your country, 11:13 you had to pay taxes to somebody from another country. 11:15 You'd be like, "Well, why should I pay them?" 11:18 And so the tax collectors also would skim--well, they would 11:23 charge more than what they were necessarily required to, 11:26 sometimes, and so they would be rich, 11:29 they would be seen as linked up with the Romans, 11:32 and so they would be taken negatively. 11:35 So again, Jesus isn't calling just one group of people. 11:40 He's not calling just the poor. He's not calling just the rich. 11:42 He's not calling just the people that you might like. 11:45 He's calling somebody that was an outcast. 11:47 Now, there's another one of His disciples 11:49 who is Simon the Zealot, and the Zealots were like, 11:53 just, enemies of the tax collectors. 11:57 So Jesus brings together everybody into His, 12:00 you know, group of disciples. 12:02 And that's a lesson for us, too, in the church that we will have 12:05 people from all different stripes, 12:07 all different backgrounds, and we should welcome them. 12:11 >>Eric: So He calls Matthew, and Matthew follows. 12:15 And so now His group is growing, and we're gonna see 12:18 that it continues to grow, of course, 12:20 but that this is not the end of the controversial things 12:23 that Jesus does, either. 12:25 Now, if somebody wants to dig a little bit more 12:27 into the controversies that Jesus engages in here 12:31 and wants to learn and understand a little bit more, 12:33 we have the companion book on this quarter's 12:37 "Sabbath School" lesson. 12:38 What would be in here that someone might want to pick up? 12:41 >>Tom: Yeah, so this book will have--each chapter 12:45 is geared to the particular story that we're talking about. 12:50 And so each chapter, it goes along with it. 12:53 This is lesson 3, so chapter 3 shows you a nice picture 12:57 about those controversy stories. 13:00 It talks about the paralytic, talks about the question 13:03 of fasting and Jesus, quote, "breaking the Sabbath," 13:06 and so forth. So you get a little extra insights 13:09 into additional information that really kind of reflect 13:13 what I have written in my larger commentary, 13:15 that you couldn't squeeze into all the things 13:17 in the "Sabbath School" lesson, so it's good to have. 13:19 >>Eric: So it's fantastic, and you will enjoy it. 13:21 You can find it at itiswritten.shop. 13:24 Again, itiswritten.shop. 13:27 You're looking for the companion book to this quarter's 13:29 "Sabbath School" lesson by, of course, Tom Shepherd. 13:32 We're going to be back in just a moment as we continue looking 13:34 at the controversies that Jesus faced here in Mark 2 and Mark 3. 13:38 We'll be back in just a moment. 13:39 ♪♪♪ 13:44 >>John Bradshaw: You know that at It Is Written, 13:46 we are serious about the study 13:48 of the Word of God, and we encourage you 13:51 to be serious about God's Word also. 13:54 Well, I wanna share with you another way 13:56 that you can dig deeper into the Word of God, 13:59 and here it is: itiswritten.study. 14:04 Go online to itiswritten.study and you can access 14:08 the It Is Written Bible study guides, 14:11 25 in-depth Bible studies that will walk you through the Bible. 14:16 It's gonna be good for you, and it's the sort of thing 14:19 that you will want to tell somebody else about 14:22 so that they can dig deeper into the Word of God 14:25 and come to know the things of the Bible intimately. 14:29 As you get into the It Is Written online 14:31 Bible study guides, you'll understand the prophecies 14:33 of the Bible, the plan of salvation, and more. 14:36 So, don't forget itiswritten.study, 14:39 itiswritten.study. 14:44 ♪♪♪ 14:48 >>Eric: Welcome back to "Sabbath School," 14:50 brought to you by It Is Written. 14:51 We're looking at some of the controversies 14:53 that Jesus, well, He faced or maybe He caused, 14:56 depends on your perspective, I suppose. 14:59 Tom, let me dive into this. 15:01 There's an objection that the Pharisees raised 15:04 or brought against Jesus and His disciples 15:06 regarding the Sabbath. 15:09 Explain to us where this controversy came from 15:11 and how Jesus responded to it. 15:13 >>Tom: Okay, so we're in the last part of chapter 2 15:17 of the Gospel of Mark. 15:18 And it says in verse 23, "One Sabbath 15:21 "He was going through the grainfields, 15:23 "and as they made their way, 15:24 "His disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 15:27 "And the Pharisees were saying to Him, 15:28 "'Look, why are they doing what is not lawful 15:31 on the Sabbath?'" 15:32 Now... [chuckles] 15:33 we could go into this and some, could take some time to talk 15:36 about this, but we'll try to make it succinct. 15:39 So going through the grainfields, 15:41 the disciples are plucking grains, and it doesn't say so, 15:44 but they're probably eating them as well because they're hungry. 15:47 This was not against the law, actually. 15:50 This was not considered stealing. 15:52 If you read the Old Testament, there's a beautiful, 15:55 beautiful ethic in the Old Testament of care for people. 15:59 And it said, especially the poor, 16:04 that you could go into your neighbor's field, 16:07 and you could eat anything that it was there, 16:10 you could eat it to your satisfaction, 16:12 but don't bring your bag to take some home. [laughs] 16:15 So it was about helping people, to take care of those who are, 16:23 have less than you do. 16:25 So there wasn't anything wrong with that. 16:27 That wasn't what they thought was breaking the Sabbath. 16:30 What they thought was breaking the Sabbath 16:33 was plucking the grain was harvesting the grain, 16:37 and then if you rolled it in your hand to get rid 16:40 of the, you know, some of the chaff, that was threshing. 16:43 And then if you blew to blow away the chaff, 16:46 that was winnowing. So these are three things. 16:48 Now, later, there's a book called the Mishnah 16:52 that was compiled around AD 200 16:54 but has traditions that go back earlier, 16:57 and they had a list of 39 things that you should not do 17:02 on the Sabbath. 17:03 And these were largely revolving around a agricultural society, 17:08 but also you weren't supposed to write two letters, 17:10 you weren't supposed to erase two letters. 17:12 You weren't supposed to mend clothes or your house 17:14 or different things. And you're wondering, like, 17:17 "Well, why did they make this list?" 17:20 Well, if you read the Sabbath commandment-- 17:22 it's found in Exodus 20, 17:23 also found in Deuteronomy, chapter 5, 17:25 and one or two other places where it refers to it 17:28 in this way--you have the Sabbath commandment. 17:31 And the Sabbath commandment says that on the Sabbath, 17:34 you're not to do any work, but it never defines "work." 17:39 [laughs] So, the Jews, you know, not illogically, it was logical, 17:46 they said, "Well, we should make a list of what things are." 17:51 Now, Adventists even today, they'll say, 17:53 "Well, is that a Sabbath activity? 17:55 Is that something you should do on the Sabbath or not?" 17:57 And so, you know, we can understand how they did this. 18:02 So they came to the conclusion that what Jesus was doing 18:06 was not lawful. 18:08 Now, He responds to them in a very interesting way. 18:13 So He says in verse 25, "He said to them, 18:16 "'Have you never read what David did, 18:19 "'when he was in need and was hungry, 18:22 "'he and those who were with him: 18:23 "'how he entered the house of God, 18:25 "'in the time of Abiathar the high priest, 18:27 "'and ate the bread of the Presence, 18:29 "'which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, 18:33 and also gave it to those who were with him?'" 18:35 So Jesus is responding to their claims with, 18:41 or their objections, with a story 18:44 from the Old Testament, the story of David. 18:45 Now, typically, rabbis, 18:47 when they were going to argue a case, 18:51 didn't cite stories to make a new ruling. 18:56 They cited the rules themselves, a set of rules. 19:01 So Jesus is a little--doing things a little differently 19:03 than maybe some others would do. 19:06 But He compares Himself to David. 19:09 Now, of course, He's the Son of David. 19:10 We're gonna hear that later on in the Gospel; He's the King. 19:14 So there's a parallel, and actually when David fled, 19:18 the story is told where he went, and he asked the priest 19:25 for any bread that he has. 19:28 He asked him--actually, he gets Goliath's sword, 19:31 and he asked him for the-- 19:32 if he had any bread. He said, 19:33 "The only bread we have is the sacred bread," 19:36 which is the show bread. 19:38 And this was actually baked on the Sabbath 19:43 and was removed on the Sabbath. 19:45 So that's kind of a link there with the Sabbath story. 19:49 And so he--David gets something which he wasn't supposed 19:54 to have, you know, it was only the priests 19:55 who were supposed to eat it, 19:57 but it was like an emergency situation. 19:59 And so he gets to take that, and Jesus is like, 20:03 "Well, if David can do it, so can I, 20:05 because I'm the Son of David," you know. 20:07 I mean, it doesn't say that here, but, you know, 20:09 you get the sense that He's parallel to David. 20:12 And then He makes this very interesting statement 20:15 in verse 27. 20:18 He says, "The Sabbath was made for man, 20:21 "not man for the Sabbath. 20:23 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath." 20:26 This is a very interesting little passage. 20:30 The--it's a little rule, you might say, that 20:33 people are more important than just the rule of the Sabbath. 20:38 The Sabbath was made for the benefit of people, 20:41 not people for the benefit of the Sabbath. 20:44 So it's not to say that you don't keep the Sabbath, 20:49 but that the rules that are related to, especially linked up 20:54 with human welfare, 20:56 it's okay when you're taking care of somebody; 21:00 you know, when there's a fire, you don't say, 21:02 "Well, I'm sorry, it's the Sabbath; 21:03 we can't put the fire out" when there's an emergency need. 21:07 The Jews actually eventually came up with a saying that was 21:13 that if this is something that you could do on another day, 21:17 you don't do it on the Sabbath. 21:19 But if it's something that, you know, you can't do another day, 21:22 then it's okay to do that on the Sabbath, you know, like, 21:25 when a lady is giving birth. 21:27 Both of my children were born on Sabbath. 21:30 You don't say, "Oh, I'm sorry, you have to wait." [laughs] 21:33 Or there's a fire or there's some need-- 21:36 so the disciples were hungry, 21:38 maybe they hadn't been invited home to the Pharisees' house, 21:41 and so they're eating food 21:42 because they never got the invite. 21:44 And so, Jesus is saying, no, it's okay for them to do that. 21:48 Now, in the last controversy story, which is in chapter 3, 21:52 at the beginning of chapter 3, 21:54 you have Jesus talking about Sabbath-keeping, 21:59 and He--there's a man with a withered hand that He cures. 22:03 The man has obviously had this withered hand for some time. 22:05 So it's not an acute case, but Jesus says, 22:09 "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, 22:14 to save life or to kill?" 22:16 Now, obviously, the answer to that question is easy, you know. 22:21 It's to do good and not harm; 22:24 it's to save a life and not to kill a life. 22:27 And so, He heals the man, and they go out 22:30 and they plot His death. 22:31 They plot His death on the Sabbath. 22:33 So who's the Sabbath-keeper? Well, it's Jesus, you see? 22:37 So there's great lessons about the Sabbath here. 22:40 >>Eric: So, some fascinating things to delve into 22:43 on the Sabbath. I wanna--we don't have too much time left. 22:47 We got a little bit, but I want to ask about, 22:49 what is a sandwich story? 22:51 Explain what a sandwich story is, and what does Mark teach 22:56 by presenting these sandwich stories? 22:59 >>Tom: Okay, well, this was the subject 23:00 of my doctoral dissertation, six stories in Mark 23:03 that are sandwich stories. 23:04 I was fascinated when I heard about them. 23:05 I'd never thought about it before. 23:07 What is a sandwich story? 23:08 It's where one story is begun but then it's interrupted 23:11 by another story. 23:13 And then that first story is then completed, you see? 23:17 So you have the first story, and then it's interrupted. 23:20 So it's like a sandwich, okay? So we have one of these. 23:23 The very first one is in Mark, chapter 3, 23:26 and it starts in verse 20 23:28 with, "Then He went home, and the crowd gathered... 23:31 "[around Him], so that they could not even eat. 23:33 "And when His family heard it, they went out to seize Him, 23:36 for they were saying, 'He is out of His mind.'" 23:38 So they thought He was crazy. 23:40 Now, they don't get to Him until a little later. 23:43 And then we cut away to the inner story, which is scribes 23:46 from Jerusalem saying that Jesus is possessed of Beelzebub. 23:51 And then He responds to them in an interesting story, 23:54 interesting way of responding to them. 23:56 And then finally, in verse 31, His mother and His brothers, 23:59 His family, arrives, and they-- they're standing outside-- 24:02 always a crowd where Jesus is. 24:04 They're standing outside, and they want to talk to Him. 24:07 But He says, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" 24:10 And He waves His hand to the people around Him. 24:12 And He says, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 24:15 "For whoever does the will of God, 24:16 he is my brother and sister and mother." 24:19 Now, here's what's really interesting. 24:20 You have people who should be on Jesus' side, 24:22 His mother and His brothers, 24:24 and they're paralleled with His enemies, right? 24:28 So the sandwich stories have opposite characters 24:31 who do parallel actions or parallel characters 24:35 who do opposite actions, right? 24:38 So there's always kind of this opposites-type thing. 24:40 And the basic point of the sandwich stories 24:43 is that it creates what's called dramatized irony, 24:46 which is irony, which is like there's two levels, 24:50 and the two levels don't agree, 24:51 and somebody doesn't get it, all right? 24:53 So this is what's going on in these stories, 24:57 and it usually makes some kind of point about Christology 25:02 or discipleship or both. 25:04 So here we have Jesus' family and Jesus' enemies saying 25:09 He's crazy and, you know, you can't trust this guy 25:12 because He's possessed by Beelzebub. 25:15 And Jesus shows that that's all wrong, and He says 25:20 that His real family are those who do the will of God. 25:25 So it's pretty pointed stuff, pretty pointed stuff. 25:29 >>Eric: And we're gonna see some more of these sandwich stories, 25:32 examples, as we continue. 25:34 In the brief period we have left, 25:36 blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, what is this? 25:40 And why cannot-- can it not be forgiven? 25:43 >>Tom: It's found in Mark, chapter 3, verse 29 and 30-- 25:49 well, actually, starting in verse 28: 25:51 "Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children 25:54 of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter"-- 25:57 well, that's a wonderful verse, 25:59 but we always forget it because we read verse 29: 26:01 "But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit 26:04 "never has forgiveness, 26:05 but is guilty of an eternal sin." 26:07 Mark explains what that is in verse 30: 26:09 "For they were saying, 'He has an unclean spirit.'" 26:12 So the sin against the Holy Spirit 26:14 is when you say the work of the Holy Spirit 26:16 is the work of the devil. 26:18 Now, the reason that's unforgivable is because 26:21 nobody in their right mind wants to follow the devil. 26:24 So if you say the work of the Holy Spirit 26:26 is the work of the devil, you're not gonna listen; 26:29 you're gonna fill your ears with cement 26:32 so He can't get through to you. 26:33 He would help you, but you've rejected Him. 26:36 So that's a very serious thing 26:37 to call the work of the Holy Spirit, the work of the devil. 26:40 >>Eric: So we've got some-- we've covered 26:41 some interesting ground here this week, 26:44 some controversies that Jesus engaged in 26:48 and that help us to get a little clearer picture 26:50 about the way He thinks, the way He works, the way He moves, 26:53 and like you said, this book of Mark 26:55 is taking us on a journey. >>Tom: Yep. 26:57 >>Eric: It's helping us to see Jesus. 26:58 It's helping us to see where He is going. 27:01 And ultimately, as you mentioned, 27:02 He's going to the cross. 27:04 >>Tom: Yeah, now these stories continue to unpack who Jesus is. 27:07 They keep telling us, showing us more 27:10 of the Christological concepts that Mark is presenting. 27:13 They come through in the stories, the controversies, 27:16 and we learn more about who He is as we go. 27:19 >>Eric: And we're only three lessons in. 27:21 So we've still got 10 more to go, 27:22 and we're gonna see a lot more about Jesus as we do that. 27:25 And we are glad that you are joining us on this journey. 27:29 Again, if you happen to have missed 27:30 any of the previous lessons, you can find those 27:33 in our archives. 27:35 They're very easy to find at itiswritten.tv. 27:38 You can find them on our YouTube channel as well, 27:40 lots of places that you can go to watch the episodes 27:42 that you may have missed, but don't miss 27:44 any of the upcoming episodes 27:46 because we are continuing on this journey. 27:48 And there are some fantastic places that we are going. 27:51 We look forward to seeing you again next time 27:53 as we continue our journey through the book of Mark 27:55 here on "Sabbath School," brought to you by It Is Written. 27:59 ♪♪♪ 28:26 ♪♪♪ 28:27 [Captions provided by Aberdeen Captioning www.abercap.com] |
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