Mark 3:20-35

Water is Thicker than Blood

Second Sunday after Pentecost B

June 7, 2015

There’s an old saying “blood is thicker than water.”  No one is really sure where this came from, nor exactly what it is referring to.  We know that it is used in reference to the ties of family, that the relationship between parents and children, brothers and sisters, are strong. And this is extremely important.  There’s even a commandment concerning family, “Honor your father and your mother.”  Family is the building blocks of society, the basic vocation in which God has placed each and every one us.  The loyalty and connection of family is something that is not easily broken.  And still, families are messy.  Great hurt and pain can exist with families, but so does great love and forgiveness.  Even when there’s a black sheep in the family, and we all have those weird aunts or odd siblings, we are still family. 

In our Gospel reading today, Jesus’ family has some concern about Him.  After a confrontation with some scribes, His mother and His brothers seek Him out.  Most likely they had heard the scribes charge that Jesus has gone crazy.  They claim He is casting out demons by the prince of demons.  They claim that Jesus is possessed by an unclean spirit.  That He’s off the rocker, lost His marbles, taking the train to crazy town.

So Jesus’ family approaches Him. How ironic that those who think they know Jesus the best are trying to stop Him from fulfilling His mission.  The scribes want to seize Him, His family probably just wants to shut Him up.  Maybe even involved in all this was two of the half-brothers of Jesus, James and Jude, who ended up writing book included in the NT.

Regardless, some others come to Jesus and tell Him that His mother and brothers are outside, seeking Him.  And here is where Jesus really shakes things up.  Again, it is said, blood is thicker than water.  Jesus stands this truism on its head.  For Him, water-namely, the water of Baptism-is thicker than blood!  While his mother and brothers are outside, Jesus states that those around him, the ones doing the will of God, are part of his family.  And what is the will of God? To sit at the feet of Jesus, to hear His Word, to receive His gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation.

Jesus comes to raid the house of the strong man, the devil.  He “first binds the strong man,” Satan, by atoning for the sins of the world, thereby removing the condemnation of the Law and the fear of death (Mark 3:27). Now He plunders the devil’s house by calling all men to repent, and through the water of Baptism He delivers His people from the power of the devil.  Though He appears to be “out of his mind” (Mark 3:21), He fulfills the will of God and makes of us His own brothers and sisters.

Jesus still does outstanding things.  He still casts out demons with water and His Word at baptism.  Since the earliest centuries of Christianity, the baptismal liturgy has included the threefold renunciation of the devil, his works, and his ways.  One of my favorite parts of early Lutheran baptismal rites includes this little exorcism, “Therefore, depart, you unclean spirit and make room for the Holy Spirit in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”  Wonder of all wonders, this is what He did today, plundering the house of the devil to claim Arron as a child of God.

That means that each and every one of you have two families, the one you born into and the one you were born again into. Earthly families are crucial and important it this life, there’s no doubt about it.  One’s relationship to God and His family of faith form an eternal communion.  Family of God transcends even the human family. Which means my wife is first a sister in Christ and second my wife. Because of this she is more to me then if she was my wife first. When we approach each other first as brothers and sisters in Christ, then our other relationships are strengthened as husband and wife parents and child friend and neighbor.

What it would look like here at Zion if we actually treated one another like this kind of family?  We say we are, so what if we acted like it.  What would happen if we noticed that someone hasn’t been in church for a while, rather than complaining about it, you called your brother or sister and asked them how they were.  Or if they were caught in a sin, that you would call them out and try to bring them back. Families do not abandon each other, because Christ did not and will not abandon us.  Though we were selfish, sinful, and secluded, Christ died for us. If when we argue and bicker that we come together at the table of the Lord to receive His forgiveness given in His body and His blood and share in the communion we have with Him and with one another.

This household of God is brought together and maintained solely by the grace of God in Christ.  This family is held together by Jesus, by His work on the cross, by His forgiveness, by His grace and mercy.  Those who refuse to acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God and acknowledge His works as manifestations of the Spirit remain under the kingdom of Satan.  A kingdom divided cannot but fall. But Jesus has overcome Satan and His kingdom.  No matter how hard the devil tries to inhabit this place, your lives, and divide God’s people, Jesus has and does use His power to cast Satan out and bring him and all evil to an end.

Therefore, do not lose heart despite the suffering, sin and death that we experience in this fallen world.  Family squabbles will happen, personalities will conflict, sin will occur.  But where there is repentance over sin and faith in Christ, there is forgiveness.  By His grace, we are “being renewed day by day.” For the Gospel is daily bringing us into His presence, not for punishment, but for “an eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor. 4:14–17), as the family of God through faith in Christ. The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds on Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.