“Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” Psalm 127 There are two ways to look at what can be built and established in this world. What God establishes and what man establishes.
The tower of Babel was built by people in the years after the flood, so that they could make a name for themselves. The Lord did not build this tower and the only reason we even know the tower ever existed is not that it was built so well that it remained as landmark in architectural achievement, but instead we know about this tower because it caused the scattering of the nations and confusion of languages.
As the church we don’t try and build a Tower of Babel 2.0, we recognize the folly in trying to build a name for ourselves. No building committee would ever put forward such an ill- fated design concept. It is self evident, that if you try and build something that is opposed to God’s design, something that tries to compete with God- it will certainly fall with a great crash!
We don’t try and remake the tower of Babel, we know our house needs to be built on the foundation of rock- not on sand. Yet if we are honest with ourselves, we are very often in the business of building our own house. After all we live in a world that rebuilds the tower all of the time.
Part of our American culture is that we often expect that whatever plans we make in life, they will come true because we work hard and stay determined in life. As if we are entitled to have our wishes for success come true.
We often come up with an idea of what is going to work out in life, or what we would like to see happen. And we may pray about decisions we are going to make in life, but so often our minds are already made up. We have a good handle on what is going to work in our lives, and too much deliberation on God’s Word very well may slow us down from where we are going.
And what happens as we move forward so quickly in life with our own plans? We are of course humbled. God’s ways are not our ways. We face disappointment and failure as we see for ourselves how difficult life in the fallen world can be as we try to chart our own future. Some of our plans may come together, but if the motivation for our plans is for our selfish gain or material pursuits, we will find empty results.
The imagery of a house does not only describe our future plans, but also our very lives, body and soul. If our house is built on something other than the foundation of
Christ the cornerstone, our labor is in vain. Apart from Christ you may build and rebuild and redesign things in your life, but there will not be a maturation of purpose and identity.
There will be no central thread of purpose or hope. Think of those who live life apart from the Lord’s promises. What gives life meaning for people who do not ‘seek first the kingdom of God’?
Maybe an inspirational quote on a calendar here and there. Some good times with family and friends from time to time. Some favorite programs or stories perhaps. Some achievements and recognitions in society. But what ties a life together if only for this world you have hope? What is life from one year to the next? From one day to the next even?
Our gospel reading begins with people that doubt Jesus, and in fact accuse him of being crazy. Out of contempt for what Jesus is able to accomplish, they accuse Jesus of building his foundation with Satan as the driving force for his miraculous works.
Unless the Lord builds the house… how could Jesus perform any of the works he does without the power of the Lord? What would it really accomplish? Maybe a few moments of popularity or 15 minutes of fame? But by this time in Mark chapter 3 we hear about how Jesus has cleansed a leper, cleanses a man with an unclean spirit and helps a paralyzed man walk, and healed many others.
Of even greater significance than the healings and expelling of demons, Jesus accomplished the obedience to God’s Word that all mankind before were unable to achieve. For forty days after his baptism, Jesus took our place in the wilderness and faced temptations by Satan. And Jesus overcame the temptations through the power of God’s Word. Clearly the labors of Jesus were built by the Lord.
Jesus answered the scribes who came down from Jerusalem, he refuted the logic of their claim that He was possessed by Satan. “How can Satan cast out Satan?” If Jesus was really drawing on the power of Satan, how would Satan possibly stand for Jesus casting out demons and tearing down Satan’s kingdom?
The only possible answer is that the power of Jesus is of God. Only as the Son of God could Jesus have the power to drive out demons. This is what Jesus means when he talks about how the strong man must be bound in order to plunder his goods. How could anyone take Satan’s minions down a notch if Satan himself is there defending the house?
The Lord built the house of salvation in Israel through the promises of a Savior. Genesis 3:15 shows us the first promise of the Savior. Adam and Eve’s descendant will crush Satan’s head at the cost of a devastating blow to the heel.
This house was built not on human logic- it was built with a genealogy, and people who were imperfect and marred by sin. Patriarchs like Jacob who gained an inheritance though deception and greed. The genealogy even includes the scandalous mention of Tamar who was so let down by her family that she wrongfully committed incest with her father in law Judah, as we see in Genesis chapter 38.
The house of salvation was built by the greatest scandal of all- that the Son of God should suffer and die on the cross.
On this house of salvation, on the rock who is our Savior Jesus, nothing can harm or destroy. Listen to the words from our gospel lesson about the forgiveness Jesus promises: “Truly I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter.”
After the Fall Adam and Eve were afraid to be in the presence of God. They did not believe their sin could be forgiven by God. Adam tried to save himself, not by appealing to God’s mercy, but by blaming Eve. It is hard for us to believe that our sins are forgiven, even the blasphemies we may utter such as blaming others or blaming God for our own sin. Yet this forgiveness is exactly what Jesus is promising.
In the context of talking about how He alone is powerful enough to bind Satan- the strongman who tries to occupy our house, Jesus talks about the sin against the Holy Spirit, which alone cannot be forgiven.
This sin is to exclude Jesus from your life, reject the confession that He is your Lord and Savior, and open the door for the strongman Satan to be unbound and be the ruler of this world to you.
As believers we cannot commit this sin against the Holy Spirit unless we become firm that we no longer wish to follow Jesus, that God’s salvation is not for us. We pray for those who become confused in their thinking to conclude that somehow building your own house is the better option than what the Lord delights to build for them.
As we journey to the last day, the Lord does indeed build our house, and our labors of faith are never in vain. Amen.