Now you turn in your Bible again
to Mark chapter 3. Mark chapter 3. The title of
this message is found in Mark chapter 3 verse 8. When they had heard what great
things He did, they came to Him. To Him. It is wise to seek mercy
where mercy is found in Him. Salvation is in the Lord Jesus
Christ. As we look at these verses we
find the Lord Jesus Christ in the synagogue of the Jews and
there's a man there that has a problem. He's in need. He has a hand that's useless
and gnarled and drawn up and withered and Dr. Luke said in
his account it was his right hand. And the Lord Jesus Christ
is going to demonstrate clearly beyond all doubt that He is Lord
of the Sabbath. So in the midst of this crowd,
in the midst of these who despise Him and hated Him for the most
part, He says to that man with the withered hand, Stretch out
your hand." And he did, just as the Lord commanded. His hand
was restored. It was made whole as the other. And we see the Lord Jesus Christ
on His mission of mercy, seeking out His people, seeking out His
sheep, calling out those from death unto life, demonstrating
beyond all doubt that He is God, our Savior. That He is God Almighty
manifest in the flesh. That He is Lord of the Sabbath. He was doing His Father's business. Remember He said at a very young
age, I must be about my Father's business. He said the Spirit
of the Lord is upon me. Because He has sent me forth
to heal the sick, to proclaim liberty to those who are in bondage,
to set the captives free, and the Lord Jesus Christ is diligently,
faithfully about doing the Father's business. And here we see another
crowd. This self-righteous crowd. These
known as the scribes and the Pharisees and the Herodians and
these who were total opposites. who were not doing God's business,
but they were doing their father's business. You remember our Lord
said to them in John chapter 8, you are of your father. You
remember they said, well, we've never been in bondage to any
man. Abraham is our father. Our Lord
said, if you were Abraham's children, you would believe me. God sent
me. He said, you are of your father,
the devil. And you're following his lie,
his deception. The Pharisees were about their
father's business, Satan's business, to defame him, to discredit the
Lord Jesus Christ, to despise him. As it says over here, look
at verse 22 in Mark 3. The scribes came down from Jerusalem
and said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils,
casteth he out these devils. You see, they didn't have any
use for the Lord Jesus Christ, none whatsoever. Here we see
that enmity, that enmity between the seed of the woman, the Lord
Jesus Christ, and that enmity, the seed of serpent, the seed
of Satan rather, that crafty devil, that God said way back
in Genesis chapter 3 verse 15 that He put enmity, that hatred
between Satan's children and the Savior's children. And we
see that so plainly all the way through Scripture. Now, this
message has four points. The first one is this, the rage,
the rage of the self-righteous. The rage of the self-righteous. Notice verse 6. And the Pharisees
went forth. And straightway, when this man
was healed, a great notable miracle had been done. This man received
mercy from God. And the Pharisees, not acknowledging
that, but in hatred toward God, in hatred toward the Lord Jesus,
straightway took counsel with their Herodians against him.
How they might not love Him, not praise God, but how they
might kill Him, destroy Him. Luke says in his account of this,
you remember last week we read this in Luke 6.11, it says they
were filled with madness. Madness. You see my friend, the
carnal mind is enmity against God, hatred against God. Find Romans chapter 8. Romans
chapter 8. The natural carnal mind is not
in love with God, he is the opposite. Romans chapter 8, he loves darkness
not light. Romans 8 verse 7, because the
carnal mind is enmity against God, it is not subject to the
law of God, neither indeed can be, so then they that are in
the flesh cannot please God. The natural man does not and
will not receive the things of God. God must do a mighty work
of grace and operate on the heart or we'll never, never believe
the truth. When the truth, the Word, when
the truth of God and the Word and the Word of truth and the
truth of the Gospel exposes the wicked self-righteous when the
refuge of lies that they hide in is dismantled by God, and
their enigma and idolatry is made known, just as it was in
this case. When the Lord exposed these Pharisees
for what they were, we see the rage of the self-righteous. They got angry at the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now, we've seen this through
Scripture, haven't we? Turn over here to Acts chapter
7. the rage of the self-righteous. Remember in Acts chapter 7, the
faithful servant of the Lord Jesus, Stephen, when he was preaching
the gospel to those Pharisees Those self-righteous
people, they got angry at Him. And you know what they did? Acts
chapter 7. When they heard these things,
they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on Him with their
teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly
into heaven, and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on
the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens open,
and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God. Then they
cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran
upon Him with one accord, one purpose, one mind, and cast Him
out of the city, and stoned Him, and the witness witnesses laid
down their clothes at a young man's feet, Saul of Tarsus. The rage of the wicked, when
exposed by God Almighty, turn to Acts chapter 9, another instance
of this, when the gospel of God's truth is plainly and clearly
set forth. God leaving that sinner to himself,
It's not going to get happy, it's going to get angry. Acts
chapter 9. And when God had done the work
in old Saul of Tarsus, Acts 9.20, when he was sent forth to preach
the gospel, straightway he preached Christ in the synagogue that
he is the Son of God. But all that heard him were amazed
and said, Is not this he that destroyed them which called on
His name, this name in Jerusalem, came hither for that intent,
that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests. But Saul
increased them more in strength, and confounded the Jews which
dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is the very Christ. Now
look at this response. And after that many days were
fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him. The same thing happened in the
days of the Lord Jesus. Turn back to Psalm 2. What does
God think of all this rebellion against God's truth and God's
gospel? Is He somewhat disturbed and
unsettled by this rebellion of sinful man by God's truth? Psalm 2. Why do the heathen rage, and
people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against
his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and
cast away their cords. He that sitteth in the heavens
shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision.
Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in
his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my
holy hill. God is not upset. He still rules
and reigns, even over the rage of the wicked. Now I turn back
to the text, Mark chapter 3. There we see the rage of the
wicked. They went out how they might destroy him. When the truth
exposed their wickedness, they got angry. Now the second thing
we see is the retirement or retreat of the Lord. The retreat of the
Lord. Look at verse 7. But Jesus withdrew
himself. He withdrew himself to the sea
and a great multitude from Galilee followed him and from Judea. The retreat of the Lord. Knowing
the hardness of their heart, the blindness of their heart,
the wickedness of their heart, knowing the malice in their heart,
they have toward them. He gives them exactly what they
wanted. What did they want? Leave us
alone. That's what they wanted. And
He gave them exactly what they wanted. He left them alone. Back
to Mark chapter 1. Mark chapter 1. You remember
this story here? The demon spirit cried out in Mark 1 24 saying,
let us alone. Leave us alone. And the Lord
Jesus gave them exactly what they wanted. The Lord sovereignly
leaves them to perish in their rebellion against God. Now turn to Mark 6 and look at
this. Mark chapter 6. When he sent out his apostles
to preach the gospel, in Mark chapter 6, he said, you go, in verse 7,
he called the twelve and began to send them forth two by two
and gave them power over unclean spirits. And he commanded them
that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff
only, nor script, nor bread, nor money in their purse, but
be shod with sandals and not put on two coats. And he said
unto them, In what place wherever ye enter in, in the house, there
abide till ye depart from the place. And whosoever shall not
receive you, nor hear you when you depart, then shake off the
dust from your feet for testimony against them. Verily I say unto
you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in that
day of judgment than for that city. Those who will not receive
the gospel And love the gospel in their heart. Don't debate
with them. Declare the truth and leave them
in the hands of God. And that's what the Lord says
here. I'll show you another place here. In Matthew 15. Turn over there. The Lord sovereignly left them
to their own wicked heart and devices. In Matthew 15. When the Pharisees were offended
in verse 12, then came his disciples and said
unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended after
they heard this saying? He said to them in verse 9, In
vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrine the commandments
of men. But he said unto them, Every plant which my heavenly
Father hath not planted shall be rooted up. Now look at verse
14. Leave them alone. They be blind
leaders of the blind, and the blind lead the blind, and they'll
both fall into the ditch. Don't debate with them. Leave
them alone. Those Pharisees did not want
to stand in the presence of the Lord. They hated Him. They counseled
against Him to kill Him. What did He do? He turned around
and walked off and gave them exactly what they wanted. He
withdrew Himself with His disciples to the sea and a great multitude
followed Him. Now notice this. He withdrew
Himself with His disciples. You see, His promise to us is,
I'll never leave you. I'll never forsake you. And our
cry unto Him is, Lord, don't leave us alone. And He said, I'll never leave
you. I'll never forsake you. He didn't hear. With His disciples,
He withdrew Himself with His people. Now, here's the third
point. And this is the main point. The
great refuge. The rage of the enemy. the retirement of the Lord. Thirdly,
the great refuge for those in need. Verse 7, 8, 9, and 10. And a great multitude from Galilee
followed him from Judea, from Jerusalem, from Idumea, from
beyond Jordan. They of Tyre, Sidon, and a great
multitude, when they heard what great things he did, they came
unto him. For he healed many, insomuch
that they pressed upon him, for to touch him as many as had plagues."
Now it says twice in this text here that a great multitude followed
him. I'll tell you exactly who they
were. They had a need of healing and
they followed him. From the north, Galilee. From the south, Judea, Jerusalem. From the east, Idumea. From the
west, Tyre and Sidon. A great multitude followed him.
The Lord Jesus Christ, as we read in Isaiah 43, will gather
his elect from the east, from the west, from the north, from
the south, and he will gather those people unto himself. He
said, I have created them for my glory, yea, I have called
them, I have made them. His elect among all nations will
hear the gospel, and they will follow him. He has redeemed out
of every kindred, tribe, nation, tongue, and people under heaven.
They will hear the gospel, and they will follow the Lord Jesus
Christ. when they heard of Him. When they heard of Him. Here
we see the necessity of hearing the Gospel. When they heard of
Him, what great things He did, they came to Him. The necessity
of hearing the Gospel. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing
by the Word of Truth. If His own will begat He us,
with the Word of Truth. There is a necessity to hearing
about Him, who He is, and what He's done, why, and where He
is now. And those who are given ears
to hear of Him, what great things He has done, you know what? They
come to Him. They press through the crowd
to get to Him. to get to Christ. The gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ is the declaration of what great things
He has done. What great things He has done.
Not what great things I must do, but what great things He
has done. Now take your Bible and follow
with me and let's see what the Word of God says. Find first
of all 1 Samuel chapter 12. What great things He had done.
That is the declaration of the gospel, the good news. Salvation
to sinners, forgiveness of sin through the Lord Jesus Christ.
What great things He had done. And those who have heard of Him,
they come to Him. 1 Samuel 12. This is page 393
if you have to Cambridge and I've got it. Verse 20. 1 Samuel 12, 20. And Samuel said
to the people, fear not. You have done all this wickedness,
yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord
with all your heart. Turn ye not aside, for they then
shall ye go after vain things which cannot profit nor deliver
for they are vain. The Lord will not forsake his
people for his great name's sake, because it pleased the Lord to
make you his people. Moreover, as for me, God forbid
that I should sin against the Lord. Ceasing to pray for you,
But I'll teach you the good and right way, only fear the Lord,
and serve Him in truth with all your heart. For consider how
great things He hath done for you." Consider Him. Consider this One who is our
Great High Priest, our Blessed Savior, God our Savior, the Lord
Jesus. Now find the book of Job, right
before Psalms is Job, and find Job chapter 5. Job chapter 5. What great things He hath done. Have you heard what great things
He hath done? How He fulfilled all righteousness
for us. How He satisfied God's law for
us. Job chapter 5 verse 7. Yet man
is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward. We know something
about that don't we? I would seek unto God and unto
God would I commit my cause. who doeth great things, unsearchable,
marvelous things without number, who giveth rain upon the earth,
and sendeth waters upon the field, to set up high those that be
low, what great things he hath done, that those which mourn
may be exalted to safety, salvation in Christ. Find Job chapter 9,
Job chapter 9, Then Job answered, verse 1, I
know it is of the truth, but how shall man be just with God?
If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him, one of
a thousand. He is wise in heart and mighty
in strength, who hath hardened himself against him, and hath
prospered. Which removeth the mountains,
they know not, which overturneth them in his anger, what great
things he hath done. which shaketh the earth out of
her place, and the pillars thereof tremble, which commandeth the
sun, and it riseth not, and seetheth not up the stars, which alone
spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon them upon the waves
of the sea, which maketh Arcturus, Orion, Pleiades, and
the Chambers of the South, constellation of the stars, which doeth great
things, past finding out, yea, and wonders without number. Lo, he goeth by me, and I see
him not, he passeth on also, and I perceive him not. Behold,
he taketh away, and who can hinder? Who will say unto him, What doest
thou? Great things he hath done. Now find Psalm 71. Great things that he hath done
for us, O my soul. When they heard the great things
the Lord Jesus hath done, for they came to him. Have you heard
about him? What great things he had done?
Psalm 71 verse 15. My mouth shall show forth thy
righteousness and thy salvation all the day. For I know not the
numbers thereof. I will go in the strength of
the Lord. I will make mention of his righteousness, even thine
only. O God, thou hast taught me from my youth, and hitherto
have I declared thy wondrous works. Now also When I am old
and gray-headed, O God, forsake me not, till I have showed thy
strength unto this generation, thy power to every one that is
come. Look at verse 19. Thy righteousness also, O God,
is very high. Who hath done great things, O
God, who is like thee? Have you heard what great things
he hath done? Those who have heard of him,
what great things he hath done, they come unto him. Psalm 126, turn over there. Psalm 126. Oh, the great refuge we have
in this one who has done great things for us. Psalm 126, verse
1. When the Lord turned again the
captivity of Zion, we were like them that dreamed. Then was our
mouth filled with laughter. and our tongue with singing.
Then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things
for them. The Lord hath done great things
for us, whereof we are glad. Turn again our captivity, O Lord,
as it streams in the south. What great things He hath done
for us. Now turn back to Mark and find
Mark chapter 5. Remember the wild Gadarene? He
couldn't be tamed by any man. He was naked and chained and
dwelling among the tombs. And one day he met the Lord Jesus
Christ. And the Lord had mercy on him,
clothed him, set him in his right mind, and desired to follow him. In Mark chapter 5 verse 18, And
when he was coming to the ship, he that had been possessed with
the devil prayed him that he might be with him, Howbeit Jesus
suffered not, and said to him, Go home to thy friend, and tell
them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and have
compassion on thee. And he departed, and began to
publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him,
and they all marveled. You heard what great things he
hath done for sinners. How He hath chosen them, redeemed
them, saved them by His grace. Find Luke chapter 1. This is the testimony of Mary.
In Luke chapter 1 verse 46, Mary said, My soul doth magnify the
Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in
God my Saviour." Who is the Lord Jesus Christ? He is God my Saviour. For He hath regarded the lowest
state of His handmaiden. For behold, from henceforth all
generations shall call me blessed, blessed in Him. For He that is
mighty hath done great, to me, great things, and His name is
Holy. His mercy is on them that fear
Him from generation to generation. He hath showed strength with
His arm. He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their
hearts. He hath put down the mighty from
their seats and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled
the hungry with good things. You see, it is what great things
He hath done. The rich hath He sent away empty. He hath opened,
helped His servant Israel in remembrance of His mercy. Oh,
He spake! to our fathers Abraham and to
his seed. Our fathers and Abraham and to
Abraham. Great things he hath done. Now
turn back to Mark chapter 3. The gospel is not what great
things we must do. The gospel is a declaration of
what great things he hath done for us in Christ Jesus. Have you heard about His great
love wherewith He loved us even when we were dead and in sin?
I want to talk about His great love. I'm embarrassed to talk
about my love. I do love Him. Not like I ought
to. Not like I should. Not like I
will one day. But have you heard of His great
love wherewith He loved us? What great things He had done?
Have you heard of Him? Have you heard of His great mercy?
It is of the Lord's mercy that we are not consumed because His
compassion, His love does not fail. Have you heard of His great
love? Have you heard of His great mercy?
What great things He has done for us? Have you heard of His
great salvation? How shall we escape if we neglect
so great salvation? Is there salvation in any other?
Any other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be
saved but in Christ Jesus? Have you heard of the great Savior
who has done great things for us? Those who have heard of Him,
they came to Him. Have you heard of His mighty
grace towards sinners? They heard what great things
he did and they came to him. Those who seek mercy in him shall
find mercy. Is that so? I've never read one
time I have a mercy beggar seeking mercy in Christ Jesus that was
turned away. The Lord always had compassion. He said, come unto me and I'll
give you rest. I'll give you two examples of
this. Mark chapter 1. You remember the leper? Covered with leprosy. Came to
the Lord Jesus. Mark chapter 1, verse 40. There came a leper to him, beseeching
him, kneeling down to him, and saying, If you will, you can
make me clean. And Jesus moved with compassion,
put forth his hand, and touched him, and said, I will! Be clean. Be clean. And as soon as he spoke,
and immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.
I'll give you another example of this. A woman that had the
issue of blood. Turn to Mark chapter 5. The woman
that had the issue of blood. You see, when they heard of Him,
what great things He had done, they came unto Him. And what
He had done that day, and what He did. Mark chapter 5, verse
25. Mark 5, 25. A certain woman had
an issue of blood 12 years. And had suffered many things
of many physicians, and spent all that she had, and was nothing
better, but grew the worse. And when she had heard, she heard,
who did she hear about? She heard of Jesus, came in the
press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, If I may
but touch his clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the
fountain of her blood was dried up, and
she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. And
Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone
out of him, turned about in this crowd and said, Who touched my
clothes? And the disciples said to him,
Thou seest a multitude as strong as thee. How sayest thou, Who
touched me? There were a lot of people there. Someone touched
with the touch of faith. And he looked round about to
see her that had done this thing. But the woman, fearing, trembling,
knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him,
and told him all the truth. And he said to her, Daughter,
thy faith hath made thee whole. Go in peace, go in peace, and
behold of thy plague. Now turn back to Mark 3. It says in Luke 9 that he healed
all them who had need, of healing. Do you have any need, forgiveness,
pardon, mercy, a justifying righteousness, life, salvation, my friend? In Christ Jesus. In Christ Jesus. Look at verse 10 in our text.
He healed many in so much that they pressed Him, or to touch
Him, As many as had plagues. That word right there means afflictions. It means chastisements. Where
did these plagues and chastisements come from? It came from God Almighty. To awaken them to their need
and they sought relief only in the Lord Jesus Christ. These
plagues and corrections and chastisements sent by God to drive us to the
only remedy, whom He loveth. He chastened and scourged every
son whom he received. David said, Lord, in your faithfulness
you have afflicted me that I might learn thy statutes. Here's the
fourth thing. We've seen the rage of the wicked,
the retirement of the Lord, the refuge for those who are in need,
and lastly, in verse 11, we see the reverence of the demons.
And unclean spirits, when they saw Him, fell down before Him,
and cried, saying, Thou art God the Son, the Son of God. And
He straightly commanded them that they should not make Him
known." The reverence of the demons. Holy and reverent is
His name. Who is the Lord Jesus Christ?
He is God Almighty. Turn back to Mark 1 again. Mark
chapter 1, look at verse 24. Mark 1, 24. That unclean spirit
cried out, let us alone. You see verse 24? What have we
to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Thou art come to destroy
us. I know who you are. You are the
Holy One of God. Those demon spirits bowed to
His deity, owned His Lordship. You're the Holy One of God. In
Matthew chapter 8 it says, those demon spirits said, have you
come to judge us before the time? They knew who He was. They recognized
His Lordship. Now listen to me. Those who deny
the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is, those who deny that
He is God Almighty. God manifests in the flesh. Those
who deny the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ are more ignorant
than devils. The devils even know that He
is God. They bow in submission to Him.
They confess His Lordship. James 2.19 says, The devils believe
and tremble. Those who deny salvation is by
grace alone, through the glorious blood sacrifice of the Lord Jesus
Christ alone, given sovereignly to whom he will, deny the very
one in whom is all of salvation. This is eternal life, that they
might know thee the only true God." John 17, verse 3. The only true God. Who is it? Jesus Christ. He is called in
Scripture, God our Savior. God our Savior. Those who deny
the very One in whom is all salvation, deny pardon, deny life, deny
forgiveness, deny righteousness, they're ignorant of God and going
about to establish their own righteousness, are they not?
Will not submit unto the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. They're ignorant of the true
Savior. They are ignorant of the true Savior. My prayer for us is this. Oh
may God give us grace to bow to the Lord Jesus Christ. Bow to Him. Love Him. Our Lord said every knee is going
to bow. Every tongue is going to confess that He is Lord to
the glory of God the Father. Is He your Lord? Is He your Savior? Is the Lord Jesus Christ, is
He all of your righteousness before God? Are you looking to
something you've done, or will do, or have done? No, my friend,
it's Christ alone. When they heard what great things
He did, They came to you. They came to you.