Class Notes: 8/25/2013

Mark 3:28- Mark 4:2; Jesus changes his teaching style after he is rejected by Israel's' leaders

In our verse-by-verse study of Mark we are now in Mark 3:28-29; where the Pharisees are in the process of committing the unpardonable sin.

Last time we concluded with the five sins against the Holy Spirit that are listed in the Bible:

Resisting the Holy Spirit Acts 7:51; Only an unbeliever can commit this sin. Resisting the Holy Spirit simply means to reject Christ as saviour with emphasis on the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit John 16:8-11;

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit Mark 3:29. Only an unbeliever can commit this sin. It is rejecting the Holy Spirit's conviction regarding the ministry of Christ while Christ is ministering on the earth.

Lying to the Holy Spirit Acts 5:1-3; Only a believer can commit this sin and it is a sin of false motivation.

Grieving the Holy Spirit. Eph 4:30;. Only a believer can commit this sin and it is any sin that the believer commits.

Quenching the Holy Spirit. 1Thess 5:19;. This is a believer performing the evil of human good. When believers are controlled by their old sin nature they perform the evil of human good.

The Pharisees are expressing their rejection by saying that He doesn't perform these miracles in the power of the Holy Spirit, but He performs these miracles in the power of Beelzebub (a title for Satan).

In this case we have religious people rejecting Jesus Christ and that becomes the unpardonable sin.

In Mark 3:28 we have some comfort with regard to the unpardonable sin. The fact that all sins shall be forgiven is a source of comfort. This statement has to be correlated with the doctrine of unlimited atonement. 1John 2:2;

Since Christ died on the cross for all of the sins of the human race it is obvious that all sins can be forgiven. So whatever the unpardonable sin happens to be one thing is obvious: it is not a sin in itself because Christ bore all sins on the cross.

It is listed as a sin for reasons of nomenclature and categorization but it is obvious that Christ could not carry it on the cross; it was not poured out upon Christ and it was not judged.

In the strictest sense of the word there is really no such thing as an" unpardonable sin" because Christ bore every sin in His own body on the tree. Every sin that has ever been listed in the Bible as a sin was poured out upon Christ 1Pet 2:24; 2Cor 5:21; 1John 2:2;

So in the strictest sense the unpardonable sin is not an unpardonable sin, it is an unpardonable act, and the unpardonable act for which Christ did not die is rejection of Himself through unbelief and/or rejection of Christ, that is the unpardonable act.


The unpardonable sin is only committed when someone chooses not to believe in Jesus Christ for salvation. It is stated in many ways, depending upon the dispensation, and you have to remember that in this particular passage we are in the dispensation of Israel.

The "unpardonable sin" is an act that can only be committed by an unbeliever.

It is impossible for the believer to commit the "unpardonable sin" Isa 1:18; Isa 44:22; 1John 1:7; Psa 113:7-9; 2Tim 2:13;

It is a single sin or act, it is not progressive or repetitious (except in its expression, as rejection of Christ each and every time the gospel is heard it is continually rejected).

It is unpardonable because there is nothing in the plan of God that provides forgiveness for it. It is condemned. When this act of unbelief is operational it is always condemned John 3:18;

The alternative to this unpardonable act is simply to accept God's grace, believe in Christ and be saved, but if rejection persists to the point of physical death then the person remains under condemnation and nothing can be done about it. John 3:36;

Mark 3:31-35; In these verses Jesus is identifying his true family as those who believe in Him.

"His brothers" are four half-brothers who are mentioned in Matt 13:55;. After the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary had four sons and several daughters.

The first of the sons is James who became a believer after the resurrection and wrote the book of James. The second is Jude, the third is Joseph, and the fourth is Simon. These are the brothers who along with his mother "who were standing outside desiring to speak with Him."

"Here are my mother and my brothers" All of the disciples were men, yet He says: Behold my mother. What does He mean? Motherhood is an intimate relationship that only comes by physical birth.

He is related to His disciples through spiritual birth. And when He says, Look your mother, he is referring to the fact that they are born again and that His true mother and His true brothers are those who are born again. Rom 9:6;

Those who are born again are those with whom He will have an eternal fellowship and at the time He says this none of His four brothers and none of His sisters are even saved so at the moment they are unbelievers, but the disciples to whom He refers are born again. And so the real family is not the family of physical birth but the family of the new birth.

In saying this He is once again confronting the Pharisees' unbelief. The Pharisees, the Sadducees and the scribes got their jobs because they were born of aristocratic families. They were related to the proper people, they were in the proper genetic line, as sons of Levi. They were in the social register that was comprised of the Sanhedrin.

But Jesus is saying once again to the Pharisees, You are the aristocrats, you have family relationships, and you were born from an aristocratic line. But My true aristocracy is only comprised of those who are born again.

It is not who your natural father and mother are from physical birth, it is "What think ye of Christ?" and since you remain in unbelief you are excluded.

Mark 3:35; For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother." The will of the Farther is defined in John 6:40; and 1John 3:23 ;"that we believe in his son, Jesus Christ." The will of the Father is believing in Christ and having integrity love. Net note 75

Jesus is saying that there is a new family, and you get into this family by doing the will of the Father, believing in Christ. All of the emphasis is on the new family, it is on believing Jesus Christ and being born again.

This is the principle that He explained to Nicodemus in John 3:6;"That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" It is the new birth, manifested by obedience to the Word, that brings one into a permanent eternal irrevocable relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. Rom 6:23b; Rom 11:29;

Mark 4:1-2; He now changes His teaching method. Previously His teaching method has been direct but since the Jewish leaders have rejected him He now changes to parables where he takes simple narratives and matches them up with doctrine. Net note 2

The parables were given in a climate of growing negative volition, hostility and opposition as well as enormous popular acclaim both responses indicated the people's failure to really understand who Jesus really is.

The word "Parable" is a transliteration of the Greek word "parabole", that means "comparison." It can designate a variety of figures of speech but usually a parable is a short discourse that conveys spiritual truth using a comparison.

The doctrine that is being taught is compared to something in nature or a common life experience. A parable usually expresses a single important idea but sometimes there is a subordinate principle that expands its meaning

Once again Jesus is teaching a large crowd by the lake ( the Sea of Galilee). This time the crowd is so large that He uses a boat as a pulpit and teaches from the boat to the people on the shore but He now uses parables rather than speaking clearly and directly.

© Copyright 2024, Michael Lemmon Bible Ministries. World Rights Reserved.