Mark Reading Plan – W3D4
Week 3 | Day 4 | Mark 3:20-30
Check out all the previous readings here.
Pray
Pause and breathe for a minute. Then ask God to open your eyes and your ears to his Word
Bible Reading (read these verses three times slowly)
Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”
So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house.Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”
He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”
Reflection & Questions
Jesus was continuing to cause such controversy that his own family was saying he was crazy, and the religious were saying he was evil. We’ll read about Jesus’ response to his family tomorrow. In today’s verses, Jesus addresses the religious. The religious leaders knew Jesus’ power was supernatural. If they credited it as from God, they knew the people would wonder why they weren’t following Jesus. So they went for their only other option: this is the devil at work. How incredibly foolish. Surely, these leaders are the crazy and evil ones! Jesus puts them in their place right away saying a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. In fact, he tells them they are on the verge of being so hard hearted that they will be unable to repent (if you’re curious, read more about the unforgivable sin here). Here’s the reality: when Jesus goes to work, things will be shaken up. In fact, somethings will be torn down and sometimes we will be taken far outside our comfort zone. The question is will we trust Him in His work?
- Is there an area of your life where it seems everything is going wrong? Do you think Jesus might be at work in that? Are you trusting Him to do His good work?
Pray
Invite Jesus to show you where He’s at work in your life. Take time to listen.
Worship Song
At the name of Jesus, darkness trembles and fears are silenced. Nothing can overcome His name. Use this song in worship to Him today:
Bible Reading
Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”
So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house.Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”
He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”
Reflection and Questions
Jesus was continuing to cause so many people to be upset with him by telling people the truth about God, that his own family was saying he was crazy, and the religious leaders were saying he was evil. We’ll read about Jesus’ response to his family tomorrow, but today, Jesus answers the religious leaders.
The religious leaders knew Jesus’ power was supernatural, that no regular human could do what Jesus was doing. If they said that it was power from God, then they knew that people would only want to follow Jesus. So they went for their only other option: they said that the power came from evil spirits instead. Isn’t that ridiculous?? Jesus puts them in their place right away, telling the religious leaders that they are going against the same God that they say that they follow. Seems like they had it a bit backwards, doesn’t it?
Here’s the reality: when Jesus came, He switched things up. Do you trust Him and His plans? Or will you go against what He is doing in your life? Here’s a hint – I think it’s pretty great to trust Jesus, don’t you?
- Why do you think that the religious leaders were upset with Jesus?
- Have you ever trusted Jesus in your life? What was that like?
Prayer
Pray and ask Jesus to help you trust Him in your life
Bible Reading
Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”
So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house.Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”
He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”
Devo Focus
“How can Satan drive out Satan?” (Vs 23)
Devo
Controversy: some people LIVE for it! Jesus was continuing to cause such controversy that his own family was saying he was crazy, and the religious were saying he was evil. We’ll read about Jesus’ response to his family tomorrow. In today’s verses, Jesus addresses the religious. The religious leaders knew Jesus’ power was supernatural. If they credited it as from God, they knew the people would wonder why they weren’t following Jesus. So they went for their only other option: this is the devil at work. How incredibly foolish. Surely, these leaders are the crazy and evil ones! Jesus puts them in their place right away saying a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. In fact, he tells them they are on the verge of being so hard hearted that they will be unable to repent. Here’s the reality: when Jesus goes to work, things will be shaken up. In fact, some things will be torn down and sometimes we will be taken far outside our comfort zone. The question is will we trust Him in His work?
- Is there an area of your life where it seems everything is going wrong? Do you think Jesus might be at work in that? Are you trusting Him to do His good work?
Prayer
Invite Jesus to show you where He’s at work in your life. Take time to listen.
