Mark 3:22
When
someone gets a medical diagnosis that involves the possibility of major life
changes or possible death, many people go get a second opinion. I had a second
opinion concerning a medical issue a couple of years ago. The first doctor I
saw recommended, even pushed for, a particular procedure. It was that pushiness
that I didn’t like. The procedure was very risky, and I didn’t have confidence
in the doctor. He might have been an extremely competent doctor, but there
wasn’t trust yet. I did some reading on the procedure and I wasn’t convinced
the outcome was as sure as the doctor had stated. And the risk was definitely a
problem. So, I sought a second opinion.
Sometimes
other people give you their opinions without you even asking for their opinion.
And when you hear the opinion, you know it isn’t true because they have left
out some really important information that you know but they don’t. If they did
know, they would change their opinion.
We
have been watching the TV show Chuck
on Netflix. Chuck becomes a spy by accident and must keep it a secret from his
family in order to protect them. His family thinks he has lost his motivation
to reach his full potential. But if they knew he was a spy, everything would
make sense. That one piece of information would change their opinion.
Jesus
and His disciples are overcome with the crowds that are gathering. They are so
overwhelmed that they aren’t able to eat. His family has heard about what is
happening and they think He has gone crazy. They are on their way to collect
Him and stop the activity.
We
read today about the teachers of the law coming on an official investigative
reporting trip. They have been sent from Jerusalem. If you remember, Jerusalem
is the religious headquarters of Judaism. The Temple is there and many official
training programs are there. If you want to become a Jewish scholar, a
specialist in interpreting and applying the Scriptures, Jerusalem is one of the
top destinations.
Jesus’
teaching and the miracles that He does to substantiate the substance of His
teaching have come the attention of the religious leaders. They have gotten
reports from the field and they want to send an official investigative team to
find out for themselves. They have an opinion about Jesus formed from a
distance, formed from secondhand information. They want to validate their
opinion. So they come.
Their
opinion of Jesus is that He is working for Satan, or one of His chief demons.
They can’t reconcile Jesus teaching with theirs. They don’t have this kind of
power and they are in the positions of power in Jewish circles. So they must
label the source of Jesus’ power as foreign to their understanding. So that is
what they do.
This
second opinion about Jesus is just as wrong as His family’s. You see neither
His family nor these religious scholars know one important fact: Jesus is the
Messiah, God in the flesh, heaven on earth. If they knew this, their opinions
would change.
Sometimes
I wonder if things would be different if I had trusted that first doctor and
had the risky procedure. If it was successful, my life might be very different,
living without the residuals of this issue. But I will never know. I still don’t
have all the facts.