LESSON 29 – SPIRITUAL FORCES OF EVIL

Spiritual Forces of Evil

Mark 3:7-35:

Mark 3:7-35 describes Jesus’ immense popularity leading to the appointment of the Twelve Apostles, the accusation from religious leaders that he uses Satanic Power, His teaching on blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and His redefining of family to include those who do God’s will, emphasizing His authority over demonic forces and establishing His true spiritual kingdom. The passage highlights the starkly different reactions to His ministry, ranging from adoration from the crowds to rejection by his family and hostile accusation from the religious elites.

It begins with the huge crowds that followed Jesus, as this is the period in which the popularity of his ministry was extremely high. It is established with the opening remarks:

Jesus withdrew toward the sea with his disciples. A large number of people [followed] from Galilee and from Judea. Hearing what he was doing, a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem, from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon. (Mark 3:8-8 NAB)

It is estimated that this crowd consisted of tens of thousands of people. His fame is growing so much, and the crowds were so great that it is a crushing crowd, and Jesus uses a boat as a “floating platform” to teach and heal. In verse 20, “Again [the] crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat.” And then again in 4:21, “A very large crowd gathered around him so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on land.” And Mark states in 5:21, “When Jesus had crossed again [in the boat] to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea.” So during this period of Jesus’ popularity, the crowds were so large and desperate for healing that Jesus had a boat kept ready to avoid being crushed.

Many people view Jesus’ popularity as a mark of his success, but his popularity damaged his ministry. He wanted to preach the Gospel, to teach and explain the realm of the spirit, but the people were interested only on the physical healing, not in their spiritual healing.

Mark says in verses 9-10:

“He told the disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him. He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases were pressing upon him to touch him. {Mark 3:9-10 NAB)

The crowd did not understand the purpose and reason why Jesus came. Their false emphasiswas on his physical healing power, but Jesus came to heal their spirits not their bodies, but he healed their bodies to show them what he could and would do in the realm of the spirit.

People with diseases were pressing in, trying to touch Jesus so they could be healed. In verse 11-12:

And whenever unclean spirits saw him, they would fall down before him and shout, “You are the Son of God.” He warned them sternly not to make him known.

Jesus tells us of Demonic Recognition, and that he orders them to remain silent, and he cast them out, likely to prevent a premature or misunderstood messianic uprising. But why did he silence them? We know for sure that these unclean spirits didn’t want to advance the cause of Christ by their witness, so they told the truth because they knew it would hurt his cause. These spiritual forces of evil wanted men to believe that he was the son of God whom they worshipped, Satan himself, so when they said, “He is the Son of God,” people would identify Jesus with demonic beings and the devil himself. The most direct reference to “forces” in a spiritual context is found in Ephesians 6:12,

“For our struggle is not with flesh and blood. but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12 ESV)

This passage indicates that there is an organized, unseen hierarchy of demonic powers under the control of Satan that attempts to deceive and defeat believers. If you think that you can handle this alone by yourself without the help of God and the Holy Spirit, I suggest you think about it seriously again.

It is certainly not surprising religious leaders from Jerusalem accuse Jesus of being possessed by the devil, and that is why Jesus totally rejected this witness that he was the Son of God. Jesus answers to this accusation in verses 13-19:

He went up to the mountain and summoned those whom he wanted and they came to him. He appointed twelve [whom he also named apostles] that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach and have authority to drive out demons: [he appointed the twelve:] Simon, whom he named Peter,  James, son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James whom he named Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus; Thaddeus, Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him. (Mark 3:13-19 NAB)

The symbolism of choosing twelve echoes the twelve tribes of Israel, signaling the formationof a “new Israel” or spiritual community. So, the twelve apostles were appointed to do three things: “to be with him”, to be sent out to preach, and to exercise authority over demons.

Notice that Simon, James, and John are first, and Jesus gives them special names, and he designated them as the leaders of the of the twelve. Jesus was more intimate with these three, and he would take, Peter, James and John with him in special instances. He called Peter the “rock” and James and John the “sons of thunder.” Peter demonstrated to be the one that the others looked to for leadership and guidance, while James was the first of the twelve apostles to be martyred, and John was the last and transmitted to us the Gospel of John, the letters of John, and the book of Revelation. So, these three leaders of the pack, with the others that Jesus gathered and worked with would be the witness that would ultimately reach the entire world.

Another instance describes the phenomenon where false beliefs gain popularity in shown to us in Verse 20:

He came home. Again [the] crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebub,” and “By the prince of demons he drives our demons.” (Mark 20-22)

Due to the powerful and passionate enthusiasm of his ministry, Jesus didn’t even have time to eat because he gave himself totally to minister to the crowds. He is not eating or sleeping properly, and his mother and brothers come from Jerusalem to take him home, as they think Jesus has gone crazy. Jesus will handle that misinterpretation later, but he first responds to the Jerusalem scribes who accuse Him of being possessed by Beelzebub (Satan-the devil) and casting our demons by Satan’s power. So, they are basically saying that Jesus has his power from Satan.

Jesus answers this foolishness in verses 23-26:

Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables, “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, the kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him. (Mark 3:23-26 NAB)

Jesus’ defense is clearly logical. Jesus knows that Satan is clever and creative, and he would never oppose himself by using Jesus to cast out demons, as that would cause anarchy and create division among his followers, and Satan would never permit that. Satan rules by total fear that controls his kingdom, so he would never permit rebellious activity within his kingdom. Jesus knows this, and he describes to the scribes what is really taking place:

But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house. (Mark 3:27 NAB)

What has happened is that Jesus has entered the strong man’s house and has plundered his goods because he has bound the strong man. He has invaded Satan’s realm and can take anything he wants from him. Jesus now has total victory, authority and rule over Satan which will set us free from our bondage to sin. How the scribes missed this, I surely don’t know. How can casting out unclean spirits be by Satan’s power? Casting out demons or unclean spirits is setting people free from the unclean spirits. Satan would not do this.Jesus now issues a catastrophic warning to the scribes:

“Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemies against the holy spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin.” For they have said, “he has an unclean spirit.” (Mark 3:28-31 NAB)

This is an eternal sin that cannot receive forgiveness. This sin can’t be forgiven because it contributes the works of God as evil and belonging to Satan, that God’s works are really the work of the devil. It’s important to note that since Jesus warned them of this unpardonable sin, that they had not yet committed it. Otherwise, there would be no reason to warn them. So, he warned them against the rejection of the Holy Spirit, as all the work of the Holy Spirit is intended to exalt and proclaim the work of Jesus. Therefore, to reject and blaspheme the Holy Spirit is to reject the Spirit’s witness of Christ.

When Jesus’s mother and brothers arrive to summon Him, He uses the moment to redefine the concept of family and clarify misunderstanding:

His mother and his brothers arrived. Standing outside they sent word to him and called him. A crowd seated around him and told him, “Your mother and your brothers [and your sisters] are outside asking for you.” But he said to them in reply, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking around at those seated in the circle he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. [For] whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:31-35 NAB)

It is important to note here that Jesus is not rejecting his own family. He is initiating a new family, a new humanity in which family is not defined by ethnic or national identification, but by common obedience to God’s kingdom. Jesus never instructed a person to ignore his responsibilities to his natural family. The Scriptures make this clear, and Paul says, “And whoever does not provide for relatives and especially family members has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (1 Timothy 5:8 NAB)

There is a “Chain of Counsel” that teaches Christians are bound by the authority of his mother and father almost throughout his life. There is truth in it because it recognizes that relationships, especially regarding children, are so important.

So, what happens when there is a conflict between what God says and demands in our life and the advice of counsel of our relatives say? The question is clear in my mind. Do we trust the Word of God or the word of the flesh? The Word of God is Supreme.

One of the things that can happen to us that are caught up in a popular movement is that wrongful attitudes and forces of evil can easily arise. So, popular movements such as Christianity today must be carefully watched, and we must make sure that we are listening to the voice and the Spirit of God, not the spiritual forces of evil.

Until next time, may peace, love, and joy be with you always.