Ego Against Reasoned Truth
Mark 3:19-35 - June 6th, 2021
The Lord Be With You.
A parable …
About 90 years ago, there was a clinical psychiatrist that wanted to prove the correlation, or similarities, between humans and apes. So when his first born son was very young, this man and his wife obtained a chimp about the same age and began treating them the same to test the growth of each. As the child and chimp grew older together, the chimp tested better than the baby boy in things like memories, reflexes and problem solving among other things. But the chimp eventually reached its maximum ability and no amount of equal treatment would alter that fact. So the couple stopped the experiment abruptly. What they found was that the child started to imitate the grunting and actions of the chimp not the reverse. What should have been apparent to the couple seemed to have gone completely over their heads and against all reason in their quest to prove a point. What should be apparent to us, as well, should give us direction to what the reasoning based on the real truths should be. And that should help us to understand the logic of what we are told in what Jesus did and said.
Here ends the parable.
Verse 24 reads, in part, “how can Satan cast out Satan?” Now, I’m not sure about you but if I saw someone replacing a flat tire with a flat tire in order to fix the original flat tire then I would speak up. That would be a double negative. Sort of like “he didn’t say nothing” or “there is not nothing to worry about”.
We’ve all encountered these types of things people say and it sort of twinges our inner ears because even if we can’t immediately identify what’s wrong with what we heard we know instinctively that something is amiss. Of course, sometimes we assume someone is or said something they are not. Maybe the person replacing the flat tire with a flat tire didn’t know the spare was also flat. Maybe we don’t have enough info to go on. Sort of like this story I heard …
There was this sociologist on an African jungle expedition who held up her camera to take pictures of the native children at play. Suddenly the youngsters began to yell in protest. Turning red, the sociologist apologized to the chief for her insensitivity and told him she had forgotten that certain tribes believed a person lost their soul if their picture was taken. She explained to him, in long-winded detail, the operation of the camera. Several times the chief tried to get a word in, but to no avail.
Certain she had put all the chief’s fears to rest, the sociologist then allowed him to speak. Smiling, he said, “The children were just trying to tell you that you forgot to take off the lens cap.”
But aren’t we all, at times, too busy with what we wanna say to hear what we’re really saying? Maybe? Then, again, maybe the scribes sent from Jerusalem knew exactly what they were doing and what they wanted to accomplish and didn’t want anyone to bring up the logical fallacies of what they were saying. After all, we couldn’t have a true Messiah running around the country side now could we?
I’ve called this message, “Ego Against Reasoned Truth”, because what we just heard in the Gospel is using language meant to persuade based on fear rather than truth or logic. And the ones that are making the assertion are using that to try and stay in authority. The subtle problem is that if anyone disagrees with them, then they can use that same kind of argument against those they see as a threat to the ones making the claim. We hear it today. It has even spurned a common name, the cancel crowd. I believe that fits quite nicely here.
The scribes came all the way from Jerusalem to the Sea of Galilee. 75 to 80 miles. That’s a long way regardless of it being by foot or by mule. They came all that way to proclaim that Jesus is possessed by Beelzebub by casting out demons by the authority of the ruler of demons themselves. Maybe they thought those listening were too stupid to question what they actually said. Maybe they thought their status would be enough to allow them to say whatever they wanted without being questioned. Maybe they thought Jesus would just turn tail and run. But then, that’s what happens when one’s ego gets in the way of their brain.
You see the scribes never go up to Jesus, Himself. They stay in the background lobbing accusations and innuendos. As all cowards do. Their common wisdom that they were supposed to be educated in went by the wayside of their desire to remain in control. They were using pat words in hopes that those who were already against Jesus would have their confidence confirmed that they were right in hating the guy. Sound like anything that goes on here? Sound familiar to all the things you read and hear on a daily basis? Cancel culture in the beginning.
Now, I’ve always said that there are two rules to finding out if what you hear is from God or from the ruler of this world, Satan. Logic and scripture. They go hand in hand. What you hear or read can’t fail either one because God has given us both the deductive logical reasoning to prove out scripture even if we can’t understand it at the time. Our hearts will tell us if what we hear is the truth or not. Since these scribes failed the logic test, their words were really the ones coming from Satan and you can bet that what you also see going on today is the same.
I recently got in a tit for tat on LinkedIn. LinkedIn! Go figure. Me, in an online disagreement. This is a site that’s supposed to be about business. I was looking at it to see what’s selling or ideas of how to create some software for streaming or insights to biblical questions. But, on that day, some person had posted that Israel should stop stealing the land from the Palestinian people. I posted the question, please give me the date that Palestinian people first settled in that region. And, as usual, no answer just more of the diatribe. More snide name calling. Cancel culture at work.
The person never did answer because there is no answer. The person began to double down. As usual. The truth and historical fact is there is no such thing as a historical Palestinian land. There has always been the area known as Palestine but that’s not what they’re talking about currently. The Palestinian land that’s currently spoke about never existed. There is no such historical people called Palestinians. It’s not in the history books and certainly not in Israel’s historical legacy. Which means, logically, Israel did not steal anything from anybody.
It’s the same as saying all those that are coming over the border from Mexico into Texas can now claim that the part of that state they ended up in now belongs to them and Texans should stop stealing their lands. That the US government should create a 2 state solution down there. It’s exactly the same thing as what’s going on right now in Gaza and Israel. 2 state solution? See, logical thinking backed by scripture. But, the folks commenting on LinkedIn and other media are content with more of the casting out demons by the ruler of demons sort of thing. Someone once said, “Maturity is when we change from cocksureness into thoughtful uncertainty.”
Of course, I love what Jesus says a little later. That no one can plunder a strong man unless he binds that strong man first. And that’s what’s being tried with us today. Those that have the technology want to silence those who want to speak the truth. But, fortunately, we got the ace in the hole, Jesus. Jesus is there to show us that no matter the persecutions, no matter what someone says about you that causes you to just shake your head with amazement, no matter how many times those who want to be ruled by this world want to silence you, you’ve got the Holy Spirit in your corner to say what needs to be said.
A little later in Mark in chapter 13:11 it says, “When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit.” That’s a promise by Jesus to you and you can take that promise to the bank cause He don’t lie.
Folks, even though it talks of being arrested that also means anytime you are silenced for speaking out the Good News and the truth of that Good News, that is like being arrested. It can be so solitary. But, I tell you, continue to tell the truth of the Gospel because you can never go wrong in the end. The more you tell it, the stronger you become and those that want to suppress it become weaker and weaker because when there’s light, the darkness seems to fade. When there is belief, unbelief becomes silent. When there is discipleship, fear and hate seem to become less and less and becomes weaker and weaker while you become stronger and stronger.
You know, I’m convinced that people want to believe in anything so much so that when some catchy catchphrase comes along that plays to their weaker sense or plays on their broken emotions, they close their ears to anything that might shake that fallacious slogan. Then, if you or me confront them with the utter deception, these same people seem to believe that you or me are attacking them personally when we’re just trying to have civil discourse. As a result, we get called xenophobe or racist or even Beelzebub. Their passion has been replaced by their ego. An old saying goes, “Passion is the mob of the man that commits a riot upon his reason.”
But, I’m equally convinced that eventually the truth will prevail because it always does. Unfortunately, never as quickly as we’d like. But, we can rest assured that the truth will prevail because the Holy Spirit is always there to bring the truth from the depths of human emotion to begin to register in the human brain. There’s just a lot of world that it has to get through in order to reach it.
Jesus is here facing the same thing. He’s trying to bring people to their senses and trying to get the truth to register in their cute memes that they’ve established in their emotion. Trying to replace their ego with reasoned truth. And in the process, allow them to have a closer relationship with the creator of it all. He’s doing the same with you and me. Trying to get us to look and communicate with those around us in a way that allows for grace to shine through thereby lifting the hurt that they have on their hearts and replacing it with the love of the Father.
He’s asking us to facilitate that. He’s asking us to keep trying. He’s asking us to be the mouthpiece speaking reasoned truth against the broken ego by being the disciples we were created to be. When we choose to do it is up to us. God said tomorrow. Jesus said tonight. When do you say? Something to think about! Something to pray about?
Can we pray? …
Father in heaven, we ask for your guidance in our encounters with other people. We know that we allow ourselves to get caught up in the moment and we ask for discernment to tell if what we are hearing is from you or from this world. Father be with us as we confront those who want to silence you. Fill us with your Holy Spirit so that the words from our lips can quench the thirst of the people who are looking for truth. Be with us so that we can walk in your light and help to fill your creation with your grace and your mercy. We ask this in the name of you Son, Jesus the Christ.
And all God’s people said – Amen?!
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