In The Word
Read: Mark 3:19b-35
19 and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.
20 And He *came home, and the crowd *gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal. 21 And when His own people heard about this, they came out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “He has lost His senses.”22 The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.” 23 And soHe called them to Himself and began speaking to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished! 27 But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.
28 “Truly I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons and daughters of men, and whatever blasphemies they commit; 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
31 Then His mother and His brothers *came, and while standing outside they sent word to Him, calling for Him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around Him, and they *said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You.”33 Answering them, He *said, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” 34 And looking around at those who were sitting around Him, He *said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, this is My brother, and sister, and mother.”
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
Our Lord gives us a great truth here. If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. The people were saying that Yeshua was a demon casting out demons. Our Lord explained to them that if Satan casts out Satan, then his kingdom would be destroyed by his own hand. Well, this same spiritual truth applies for any house or kingdom.
First, let’s start with our own homes in which we live. If we are not unified, but instead fight against one another for control, or because the home does not have the same vision, then that home will not be able to stand. The sad part about this is that the enemy would not be the one that came in and destroyed it, but the cause of destruction would be by our own hand. We have enough battles to fight against the real enemy.
Yeshua then deals with His Father’s house by saying, “that those who do the will of God are the true members of the household.” Judas Iscariot was not a true member of the household, nor was he strong enough to destroy the leader. So he was no longer welcome in the household. How do you know if you are a true member of the household of God? You do the will of the Father!
Let’s decide to be unified in our homes to an agreed–upon Source and vision: the holy Word of God, and the vision to glorify God not only in our homes, but also in all we do.