Page 41 - Life of Christ w videos

of the thousands of miracles He performed in their viewing. He came to His own, and His own did not
receive Him! Imagine the discouragement when Jesus heard that his family rejected Him and claimed
that He was out of His mind (Mark 3:21).

The “Unpardonable Sin”. People ask today if a person can commit this sin. Jesus clearly stated that the
“unpardonable sin” was to attribute His power to perform miracles to Satan rather than the Holy Spirit.
He told them they were committing blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. While unbelief is certainly
unforgiveable, today Jesus is not present physically performing miracles for which a person can declare
His works to be Satanic. So, this sin was unique to the religious leaders and unbelieving Jews who made
these historic claims. The “unpardonable sin” cannot be committed today and a sinner can be saved if
he is willing to repent and trust in Christ to his dying breath.

Why Parables? Jesus’ Disciples asked him why He changed His messages and cloaked them in stories or
parables (Mark 4:10). Jesus explained to them that as a result of the people’s rejection of His claim to
be Messiah, His message was to them but not to the public. He said, “Seeing they may see but not
perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand, lest they should turn and their sins be forgiven
them”. The purposes of parables were to continue teaching the truths of the kingdom of God to the
masses but preventing them from belief. They had seen the evidence and rejected it. They had made
their decision – They believed Jesus was a fraud and not the Messiah. So, He spoke in such a way that
they could not believe.

Calming the Storm and Driving Demons into Pigs (Mark 4:35-41 and Luke 8:22-25,
Mark 5:1-20 and Mark 8:28-34)

The same day as the Pharisees and other people committed the “unpardonable sin,” Jesus took His
disciples to the sea to cross over to the other side. Jesus was tired and fell asleep on a cushion in the
boat. As they sailed across, suddenly a furious wind came up and almost swamped the boat. Jesus was
awakened and immediately rebuked the wind and sea, which immediately obeyed in silence. His
disciples became to ask one another, “Who is this man? Even the wind and waves obey Him!”

This miracle occurred on the heels of the final rejection of Christ, which occurred previously that day.
The disciples needed to shore up their faith, so Jesus displayed His power as God over the natural realm.

Then upon arriving on the opposite shore of the sea, Jesus demonstrated His authority over the
supernatural realm by casting out a legion of demons. In common usage, a legion was the largest unit in
the Roman army. At that time, a legion averaged about 5,000 men. So, the term legion refers to any
large number of beings; a multitude.

Scripture does not say exactly how many demons comprised the Legion within the man. However, when
Jesus cast them out, they entered a large herd of pigs feeding nearby. The demons caused the pigs to
rush down a cliff and fall into the sea where they all drowned. The number of pigs killed was about two
thousand.

Again, the disciples got another glimpse into the Man they were following. He claimed to be the
Messiah. In just a few hours they experienced His power over nature and the spiritual world. Through
these miracles, Jesus was shoring up their faith so that they would truly believe that He was Who He
claimed to be: God with them.

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