Jesus Is What Jesus Does!

3rd Sunday after Pentecost, 6/10/18
Mark 3:20-35


Jesus Is What Jesus Does!
I. He’s a devil-defeater.
II. He’s a kingdom establisher.


Many of you have seen the film, Forrest Gump, starring Tom Hanks. So many of the scenes and themes in that film are memorable. One of them is the wisdom that Forrest shares, wisdom that he gleaned from his mother. For instance, “Life is like a box of chocolates.” Another one of them is (and I’ll paraphrase it, because it uses a word that most parents don’t want their children to use), “Foolish is as foolish does.” In other words, you’re known by what you do. A foolish person does foolish things. That’s an exclusively negative perspective.

A general perspective is that you are known for what you do. That general observation swings both ways. A nationally known person can try to convince the public that he or she is really a decent person, but their record, especially if it’s criminal, is more convincing about who they are.

The opposite is also true. I don’t think any of us recall a single negative thing about airline pilot Sully Sullenberger. Can any of you recall a single mistake he made in his personal or professional life? I didn’t think so. We only recall him for his heroic actions in saving so may lives in an event known as the Miracle on the Hudson.

During the roughly three years that Jesus carried out his earthly ministry, he had countless people watching him and listening to him. It’s safe to say that nearly every Jewish person had their opinion about Jesus of Nazareth. And those opinions ranged from one end of the spectrum to the other. In the event before us this morning, we meet people—some of them his own family members—who observe Jesus and draw their conclusions about who he is, and their conclusions astound us for how off the mark they are—that he’s a devil and a mad-man.

In response, Jesus asks people simply to form their opinion about him in an unbiased and intelligent manner. In short, he declares, “Look at what I’m doing!”

To state that same thing using a “Gumpism,” Jesus is what Jesus does. His actions as related to us this morning in Mark’s gospel tell us just who he is and what he does. And that means they tell us just who is and what he is doing for you in your life today as well. So, sit up and take notice. Jesus is what Jesus does.

Part I.

Nearly every day the news relates the account of legal charges being brought against some nationally known person. There are times when we can believe the charges are true; there are other times when we’re convinced the charges are nothing else than grandstanding, so we shrug them off. No big deal. Just another day in the news.

But if those charges are made against you—that’s another matter entirely. For instance, a co-worker is spreading the information that you’re dishonest—that you’ve lied about something or have stolen something that didn’t belong to you. Nothing could be further from the truth! You’ve been completely honest. Their charges are absurd, but they hurt, don’t they? For all your efforts to do the right thing, they’re accusing you of shameful misconduct.

Now imagine how Jesus felt. He’s been carrying out his gospel ministry which included performing exorcisms. He was freeing people from the unimaginable—demon possession. Imagine how demon possession must have ruined its victims’ lives. But Jesus came along and cast out the demons and literally gave these people their lives back. How wonderful!

But his enemies charged him with the absurd. “The teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, ‘He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.’” Among the Jews, Beelzebub was another name for Satan. Notice two things. First, they admitted that he was driving out demons. They couldn’t deny what they saw happening before their very eyes.

But they made an absurd accusation about the source of his power to drive these demons out. They asserted he was doing so by the power of Satan. Jesus quickly pointed out how ridiculous that was. If Satan is actually fighting against himself, then his kingdom is doomed. It can’t possibly survive. If Satan is fighting against Satan, then he’s no threat at all. Jesus’ sound reasoning crushed their absurd accusation.

But more than anything, he wanted them to see the truth about himself. The truth is that Jesus had come to this earth to crush Satan. That was God’s saving plan ever since the fall of human beings into sin. Look at today’s First Lesson from Genesis 3. In speaking about the “Seed of the woman”—the Savior—God declared that he would crush Satan’s head.

Jesus was doing that very work before the eyes of the people. Every time he freed a person from demon possession, he was pointing to the fact that he had come to crush Satan’s power.

You and I know that he did that very thing once and for all when he died on Calvary’s cross. Satan bruised Jesus’ heal. Jesus suffered terribly on the cross. He even suffered the anguish of hell for us. But in doing so, Jesus crushed the power of Satan. He died for the sins and guilt of the world and in doing so, he freed us from Satan’s hellish power. That’s what God the Father sent Jesus to do. That’s what Jesus, the Son of God, was doing.

Jesus is what Jesus does. He’s a devil-defeater.

Charging Jesus with driving out demons by Satan’s power—absurd, right? Their animosity towards Jesus drove them to claim the ridiculous. Thank God that you and I would never make such an absurd claim!

But we’ve come close. Really? Absolutely. Let me ask you: how long has it been since you were convinced Jesus was responsible for the trouble, hardship, difficulties, even tragedies in your life? How recent has it been since you charged God with not loving you, at least not loving you as much as he should? When is the last time you doubted your almighty God’s power in your life? Has worry ever overcome you? Better yet, have you ever been plagued by guilt…as a parent, a spouse, a friend, an employee? What do all of these situations, as different as they seem, have in common? Exactly this: they deny who Jesus is and what Jesus has done. They see and hear what Jesus has done for us right up through and including his death and his resurrection, and yet they claim that’s not enough. He hasn’t done enough to convince us of who he is and what he’s done. And the very next step on this journey of doubt is to deny that Jesus has done enough to forgive us and to bless us with eternal life with him.

So let’s abandon this trajectory of doubt and see Jesus for who he really is by what he does. He’s the devil-defeater. As we confess in the Apostles’ Creed, he descended into hell on Easter after rising from the dead to face Satan on his own court and proclaim, “It’s over! You’re finished! I win!” And by faith in Jesus we win with him. Jesus is what Jesus does!

Part II.

Family is supposed to be the one safe place for any person. It’s where people should understand you better than anywhere else. You should be able to count on the support and encouragement of your family, right? Well, not always, sad to say. Not for everyone. Sometimes, not for even you and me.

And not for Jesus either. Did you catch what was going on between Jesus and his family members? They were convinced he needed their help because he wasn’t taking care of himself properly. He was so busy he didn’t even take the time to eat properly, or so his relatives thought.

What’s not stated in this portion of Mark’s gospel is that they had their doubts about his ministry. Like most of their fellow Jews, they had their own conceptions about how the Messiah would carry out his work. Jesus wasn’t quite fulfilling their expectations, so they came to address the matter with him.

Could it also be that they were getting pressure to intervene from others? Imagine the comments Mary fielded from her neighbors who were unhappy with the way Jesus was doing things. People can be pretty cruel.

But look at Jesus’ response. With his mother and siblings waiting outside to take him away, Mark tells us, “Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.’”

Just what was he saying? Jesus wants a relationship with every human being that goes deeper than bloodlines, shared DNA, and the child-parent relationship. He wants a relationship that’s eternal, perfect, completely reliable. That relationship comes by faith in Jesus. Faith in Jesus as the Savior from sin brings us into Jesus’ family, into his kingdom. It makes God our Father and it makes us God’s children. God’s will is for every person to have that relationship with him. Bringing us into that relationship with him is what Jesus is all about.

Jesus is what Jesus does. He’s a family-establisher—better, an entire kingdom-establisher.

Our US military knows how important it is not only to defeat and destroy an enemy power, but also how critical it is to leave that country’s people in the hands of a peaceful government that will serve its people well.

Jesus didn’t come to this earth simply to destroy Satan’s kingdom. He came to establish another and to make you an eternal member of it. Bottom line—here’s what Jesus wants for you: a relationship with you by faith in him. In fact, that’s the only thing in life that matters. Is that what matters most to you? Sadly, our constant cares, concerns, and efforts give evidence that life in this world is more important to us than life in God’s kingdom. But thanks be to God, one of the things this weekly hour of worship does is set our priorities straight. It leads us to recognize our misplaced priorities, confess them, and be assured of our forgiveness. That’s what Jesus is all about—forgiving us by his death and resurrection and assuring us of our blessed place in his kingdom. Jesus is what Jesus does! Count on him to be your Savior every day of your life! Amen.