Jesus The Servant
Paul said, "Be imitators of God." In this book, we are about to
watch God in action as a man--God the Son--God himself in action. If we can
learn Christ, we can imitate God. As you look upon Christ, learning him, you
become sanctified.
There are four beginnings mentioned in the Bible. We
know that God created the angels, and that they are created beings. God doesn't
say when this was, but makes reference to it in Ezekiel 28:12-17 in the
creation and subsequent fall of Lucifer. Three of these beginnings have to do
with man:
The beginning of space and time, John 1:1 and Genesis
1:1.
The recreation of earth after the fall and subsequent destruction
of earth (often called the Gap Theory). (Isaiah 14:12-17 describes Lucifer's
fall back to earth. The dinosaur age contained a bio-system which was not
conducive to man. This was all mysteriously destroyed 65 million years ago.
Jesus remarks that he saw Satan fall like lightning to the earth. Isaiah 14
describes Lucifer, now Satan trying to ascend to heaven to throw God off his
throne and being thrown back to earth. Revelation 12:3-4 describes Satan
drawing a third of all the angels into his rebellion. It then describes a
second war in heaven, yet to come, in verses 7-9. This second war must be very
similar to the first, where we see Lucifer being cast down to earth in Isaiah
14:12-14.) So we see that Genesis 1:2-31 describes the re-creation of earth
with a bio-system adapted to man, and then the creation of man.
In Mark
1:1 we see another beginning, "the beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ,
the Son of God."
Mark starts with the ministry of Jesus Christ. The main
thrust of the book of Mark is that Jesus is the servant of God. There is more
action in the book of Mark, more about Jesus' actions than his words. The theme
for the book: Jesus came to serve. He came to push the plow and lay on the
altar. Mark 10:45. "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to
serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." The book of Mark is a fast
moving gospel of miracles, power and service. John Mark was a young boy when
Jesus was around. It is thought that he may have been writing from the
knowledge of Peter. Peter's words in Acts 10:34-43 correspond with the account
in Mark. As we read through the account in Mark, look back from time to time
and read Peter's account here in Acts 10:34-43, which states, "Then Peter began
to speak: 'I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but
accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. You know the
message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace
through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout
Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached--how God
anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went
around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil,
because God was with him.
We are witnesses of everything he did in the
country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree,
but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He
was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already
chosen--by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He
commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God
appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about
him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his
name.'"
It is strongly suspected that John Mark made reference to
himself in Mark 14:51-52, which states, "A young man, wearing nothing but a
linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked,
leaving his garment behind." This was when the Romans and temple guard had
seized Jesus at night and were taking him to the high priest.
In 1 Peter
5:13, Peter calls Mark his son, obviously in a spiritual sense. 1 Peter 5:13.
"She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and
so does my son Mark." Mark most likely wrote the book in Rome around 50-70
A.D., his main audience being Gentile. If you lost the book of Mark, all the
information in the book can be found in Matthew and Luke, so this is probably
the first gospel account written. Acts 12:5-12. "So Peter was kept in prison,
but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. The night before Herod was
to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two
chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel of the Lord
appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke
him up. 'Quick, get up!' he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists. Then
the angel said to him, 'Put on your clothes and sandals.' And Peter did so.
'Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,' the angel told him. Peter followed
him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was
really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first and
second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them
by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one
street, suddenly the angel left him. Then Peter came to himself and said, 'Now
I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's
clutches and from everything the Jewish people were
anticipating.'
When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of
Mary, the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and
were praying."
So we see, John Mark's mother was a believer, and
that many had gathered to pray for Peter's release.
John Mark is a
cousin of Barnabas, who was another apostle (but not of the twelve). In Acts
12:25 we see John Mark was part of a missionary team made up of Paul and
Barnabas. "When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned
from [or to in some manuscripts] Jerusalem, taking with them John, also
called Mark." (Read Acts 13:2-5. John Mark was their helper, as verse 5 states.
This is Paul's first missionary journey, and Barnabas and John Mark were part
of it. John Mark was invited to go along as an assistant. For some reason John
Mark turned around and deserted them (verse 13). This created a split between
John Mark and Paul that wasn't healed for some time. For years Paul would not
trust him to accompany him, so Mark would accompany Barnabas. But in 2 Timothy
4:11 we see there was a healing between Paul and John Mark. "Only Luke is with
me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my
ministry."
Mark 1:1. "The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ,
the Son of God." (NIV) "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of
God" (New King James Version). Most Americans don't agree with the Christian
perspective anymore. We now are outnumbered. The situation is changing very
quickly. With the changing of a very few laws in our land our freedoms as
Christians could be gone, and we could become a persecuted group. Our world no
longer thinks the gospel is Good News. Persecution is coming to the church. As
real Christians we are a very small minority now, even in America. [Nominal
Christians may abound Matthew 7:21-23.]
But this must be our attitude:
Romans 1:16, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God
for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the
Gentile." The gospel is indeed Good News to those who receive it.
Simplistically the gospel of Christ is 'You are a sinner, you need a savior and
Jesus is your savior.'
Psalm 33:12. "Blessed is the nation whose God is
the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance." We are no longer going to
be a great nation. But if you want to become like God, stare at Jesus. You want
to know what Jesus would do? Read the book of Mark. Ephesians 6:19-20. "Pray
also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I
will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an
ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should." We
mustn't be ashamed of the gospel of Christ, which leads people to salvation.
There is power in the gospel, "For in the gospel a righteousness from God is
revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is
written: 'The righteous will live by faith'" (Romans 1:17).
The gospel
in action was good news to this man we're going to read about. This man had all
these demons in him, keeping him a prisoner. Mark 5:1-20. "They went across the
lake to the region of the Gerasenes [Gadarenes]. When Jesus got out of the
boat, a man with an evil [Greek: unclean] spirit came from the tombs to
meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not
even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the
chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to
subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and
cut himself with stones.
When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and
fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, 'What do
you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't
torture me!' For Jesus had said to him, 'Come out of this man, you evil
spirit!'
Then Jesus asked him, 'What is your name?'
'My name is
Legion,' he replied, 'for we are many.' And he begged Jesus again and again not
to send them out of the area.
A large herd of pigs was feeding on the
nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus, 'Send us among the pigs; allow us to
go into them. He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went
into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep
bank into the lake and were drowned.
Those tending the pigs ran off and
reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what
had happened. When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed
by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they
were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the
demon-possessed man--and told about the pigs as well. Then the people began to
plead with Jesus to leave their region.
As Jesus was getting into the
boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not
let him, but said, 'Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has
done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.' So the man went away and began
to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people
were amazed."
How do you serve God, with joy, or grudgingly? Your heart
is important. Mark focuses on Jesus the Servant. Mark 10:45. "For the Son of
Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom
for many." Malachi 3:14-15. "You have said, 'It is futile to serve God. What
did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners
before the Lord Almighty? But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the
evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape." God through
Malachi was trying to deal with this problem. There is no blessing in heartless
service. A true servant serves because he or she loves God. It is out of love.
Psalm 100:2. "Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with
singing." It is our duty to serve God--serving with gladness.
Jesus gets
into this subject when his disciples got into a dispute about which would be
the greatest. Mark 10:42-45. "Jesus called them together and said, 'You know
that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and
their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead,
whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants
to be first must be slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served,
but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Mark starts
out with the ministry of John the Baptist. Mark 1:1-8, "The beginning of the
gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is written in Isaiah the prophet:
'I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way' --[Mal.
3:1], 'a voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make
straight paths for him'' [Isaiah 40:3]. And so John came, baptizing in the
desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to
him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. John
wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and
he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message: 'After me will come
one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop
down and untie. I baptize you with [or in] water, but he will baptize
you with the Holy Spirit.'" John was submissive, humbly obedient to God,
exhibiting the quality of a servant of God. Mark quoted Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah
40:3 here to describe John's ministry. John is a radical in the eyes of the
Jews. He lives isolated, alone, separated from society. He wore clothes that
were different from what those in society wore. He was wearing the type clothes
Elijah the Tishbite wore. He was called to be separate. He came with a very
bold message--calling people to repentance in preparation for the gospel.
Repentance meant not just sorrow for your sins, but coming out of them. It was
a very radical thing John was doing, calling people to repentance and baptism.
He drew them to the Jordan, a wilderness area--a symbol of separating
themselves from the world and it's society.
In verse 4 it states,
"for the remission of sin." The Greek word used for for = with
reference to. i.e. with reference to the remission of sins. This is because
the baptism of Jesus, his death, burial and resurrection hadn't taken place
yet. This baptism was forward looking, to the sacrifice that would pay
for the sins of the world. Some scholars say John baptized as many as 300,000
people. In John 3:30 John the Baptist states, "He must become greater; I must
become less." John wasn't offended when signs of the end of his ministry
started to appear. That's the true heart of a servant--that Jesus would
increase and that John would decrease. We should want Jesus to increase in our
lives and that our own selves should decrease. This is a very deep thing that
will end up going deeper and deeper into our wills. This always involves some
dying of our own wills and desires in our own lives. "He must become greater; I
must become less." There is an infinite God who desires to become greater in
us. "May I decrease, may you increase (in me)" should be in our prayers
daily.
Verse 8, "I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit." Mark was talking of the baptism of the Holy Spirit
into the body of Christ. Jesus came and the Holy Spirit baptizes us into the
body of Christ. There is a specific baptism or filling of us in the Holy Spirit
to ministry that goes far beyond the initial receiving of God's Holy Spirit in
our lives at conversion or being born-again. The book They Found the
Secret by V. Raymond Edman [available from http://www.amazon.com ] details this baptism
of the Holy Spirit for ministry. Jesus refers to this ministry work the Holy
Spirit will do in Christians in Acts 1:5-8, "So when they met together, they
asked him, 'Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?'
He said to them, 'It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has
set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes
on [NKJs: upon] you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in
all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'" [Some believe the
apostles had the Holy Spirit dwelling in them before Acts 2, and that Acts 2
describes a further empowerment of the Holy Spirit for ministry. This could be
true. There are indications in Scripture that indicate it could have been so.]
A true servant of God is empowered by the Holy Spirit. [Refer to the section
about D.L. Moody in the Ephesians link.]
Verses 9-11, "At that time
Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As
Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the
Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: 'You are my
Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.'" This baptism of Jesus,
although he was sinless, was placing himself amongst sinners as a symbol of his
coming to save sinners, covering their sins in his own death, burial and
resurrection--which baptism symbolizes. Jesus said in Luke 11:11-13, "So I say
to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the
door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds;
and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you fathers, if your
son asks for a fish will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg,
will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give
good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the
Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"
Seek God for a greater work of the
Holy Spirit in your life.
Between verses 13 and 14 of Mark 1 is a time
omission of about a year. The events which are missing are depicted in John
chapters 2-3. The territory of Galilee was Herod's territory. Jesus started
preaching boldly, moving into the danger zone. In verses 16-20 Jesus called his
disciples. We see that a true servant of God abandons all to serve God. Luke
9:23-24. "Then he said to them all: 'If anyone would come after me, he must
deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to
save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save
it."
Verses 14-20, "After John was put in prison, Jesus went into
Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God [New King James Version: preaching
the gospel of the kingdom of God ]. 'The time has come,' he said. 'The
kingdom of God is near.' Repent and believe the good news!' As Jesus walked
beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net
into the lake, for they were fishermen. 'Come, follow me,' Jesus said, 'and I
will make you fishers of men.' At once they left their nets and followed him.
When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother
John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they
left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed
him."
The Book of Mark
Mark 1:21-45
What is our definition of a servant of
God?
A servant of God is submissive to God.
A
servant of God is empowered by the Holy Spirit,
A servant of God
is resistant to evil, sin.
A servant of God is voracious for
the Truth, God's Word.
A servant of God is one who abandons all
for God.
A servant of God is one who is noticed, especially by
the demon world. A servant is also noticed by the needy.
A
servant of God is taught by God.
Add all the letters up that
start these words, submissive, empowered, resistant, voracious, abandons,
noticed and taught, and that spells servant.
Verses
21-28, "They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the
synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because
he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. Just
then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit [demon] cried
out, 'What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are--the Holy One of God!' 'Be quiet!' said Jesus sternly. 'Come
out of him!' The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a
shriek. The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, 'What is
this? A new teaching--and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits
and they obey him.' News about him spread quickly over the whole region of
Galilee."
The ruins of a 4th Century synagogue has been
found in Capernaum. The foundation stones date to Christ's time! Probably was
this synagogue. Synagogues didn't have any set Rabbi. Rabbi's who preached at
synagogues were usually just passing through town. Most Rabbi's would only
teach what they had heard other higher ranking Rabbi's teach. So they taught
without much conviction. Then Jesus came in and taught with the authority of
very God. He taught with such great authority and power that it struck like a
bolt of lightning. The presence of Jesus caused this demon to cringe in abject
fear. This demon literally freaked out! After Jesus cast this demon out,
everyone really started to question and notice. But a servant of God, as we see
here, is especially noticed by the demonic world. The more Jesus is in your
life, the more the demonic world takes notice. If everything is going smoothly,
think about it. Are you on the path of light? The more Jesus is in you, the
more the enemy will attack you. But God is doing a good work in those who find
themselves in this boat.
Verses 29-31, "As soon as they left the
synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew.
Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her.
So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she
began to wait on them." We see here that the apostle Peter was married. His
mother-in-law was healed by Jesus and then she started to serve in gratitude.
The response of Jesus' healing is to serve Him. As Jesus heals us our desire
should be to serve. Husbands and wives, give Jesus more room to serve in your
family. Verses 32-34, "That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus
all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and
Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but
he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was." After
sundown, Jesus was still serving, still giving, tirelessly. The needy had come,
the demon-possessed--the real down and outers around Capernaum. Jesus had been
going all day long. These were people no one wanted to be around. His fame had
gone all around town. Now as they showed up he rolled up his sleeves and
started healing all these people. You see here the depth of his compassion. Now
it's late at night, and he's still serving and ministering to others. No one
will ever come to Jesus or the Father and see he's too distracted or tired to
deal with you. A true servant of God is compassionate, not trying to avoid
others in need. Pray God just open your heart with love and compassion for
others. Here's another point, a servant of God is noticed by the needy.
When Jesus is there, the needy will notice and come.
Verses 35-39,
"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the
house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his
companions went to look for him, and when they found him they exclaimed:
'Everyone is looking for you!' Jesus replied, 'Let us go somewhere else--to the
nearby villages--so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.' So he
traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out
demons." After this late night, the Greek implies Jesus got up around the
last watch, which starts at 3 a.m. in the morning, to pray to the Father. Peter
came looking for him saying that many had been stirred up in Capernaum and were
looking for him, but Jesus said that he had to go to the other nearby villages
so he could preach there also. Verses 40-45, "A man with leprosy came to him
and begged him on his knees, 'If you are willing, you can make me clean.'
Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. 'I am
willing,' he said. 'Be clean!' Immediately the leprosy left him and he was
cured. Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 'See that you don't
tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the
sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.'
Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result,
Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in the lonely
places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere." Here is a man
with such a great need. And Jesus heals him. Jesus pointedly tells him not to
tell anyone about what he had done. But this man couldn't keep his mouth shut
about how he was healed. But because this guy didn't do what Jesus said, Jesus
was hindered in his intentions of going into any of the area towns to preach
the gospel. Jesus reached out and touched this leper in great compassion. But
as a result he was forced to go out into the wilderness to preach, areas that
would contain the crowds, allowing him the space to preach to them in an
orderly manner. God is not a God of confusion, but of order. He wants a degree
of control of what's done in his name.
Mark 1:40-45 and Mark 2:1-12
This is a transcription of two sermons given by Pastor Al
Ebeling, pastor of the Waltham congregation of the Worldwide Church of God,
given on 12 & 19 February 2000.
[If you would
like a copy of this transcription or to have a copy emailed to you as an
attachment, see Pete Benson, phone: (978) 342-9495 or email at:
sailor@ziplink.net]
Mark 1:40-45. "A man with leprosy came to him
and begged him on his knees, 'If you are willing, you can make me clean.'
Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. 'I am
willing,' he said. 'Be clean!' Immediately the leprosy left him and he was
cured.
Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 'See that you
don't tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the
sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.'
Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result,
Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in the lonely
places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere." This is quite a
powerful story here in the pages of Mark, one that catches our sensitivity and
emotions. This Scripture is talking about a couple different things. Leprosy
and healing. This account brings to mind a story that is somewhat parallel to
this in the book of 2 Kings 5:1-15. This is the story and account of Naaman. He
was the commanding general of the Syrian army, and he had leprosy. One of his
wife's servants was a Hebrew and Naaman's wife through talking with this
servant came to the realization that God could intervene for Naaman and heal
him of his leprosy. This account goes well beyond what we're going to talk
about in the book of Mark, but it is similar in many ways. Naaman, at first,
didn't believe Elijah's instructions about going into the Jordan 7 times would
bring about his healing. He thought it was a bunch of bunk, so he stormed off.
[Eventually he followed Elijah's instructions and was healed by God, right
after he did.] Now there's a description of the type of leprosy in this
magazine I'd like to read to you, the type of leprosy that Naaman had. "Naaman
suffered from a disease traditionally designated leprosy. The range of the
Hebrew word, which includes conditions of effecting clothing (which is from
Leviticus 13) and buildings (from Leviticus 14). You know the clothing couldn't
come in contact with anyone else. If a leper went into a certain building, no
one else could go into that building. So the range of the Hebrew word makes it
clear that the word denotes more than Hansen's disease, which is Hansen's
disease, which is the modern terminology for leprosy, which is caused by the
micro-bacterium lepri-baccilus and effects humans exclusively. So this
particular disease is only known to humans. Naaman may have been suffering
from, in addition to Hansen's disease, lupus, scoriasis, small pox, skin
cancer, vertigo or a nutritional deficiency such as polagra, etc. And so here
Naaman is a hurting guy. No matter how you look at his particular health
situation, he was hurting. Finally, probably in utter fatigue he goes and dips
himself seven times in the river and comes out clean. He doubted initially that
he could be healed. Especially, he doubted that it could be that simple. He
would rather have seen some waving arms, some chants, maybe a few sacrifices
here and there, maybe some gold or silver offered to idols, anything but what
was required, and that was faith, of simply going into the river 7 times. It is
curious how this leper in Mark 1:40-45 approaches Christ, and he simply says to
Jesus, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." Jesus didn't wave his arms,
he didn't chant, he didn't offer sacrifices, he didn't do any of those things.
What Jesus did was he just tenderly and lovingly reached down and he touched
the leper. Jesus did the unthinkable thing. He touched something unclean, only
to make it clean. Jesus put himself at risk by touching something so unclean
that it was anathema to society. And his loving care and his grace extended
healing.
You know, ironically enough, the verse here, verse 41, that
says, "Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand", that particular
phrase among scholars today is argued. There are some who say that rather, that
translation should be "Filled with anger" instead of "filled with
compassion"--"with anger" Jesus reaches out and touches that individual. And
the reasoning is, they believe this, because the tone Jesus uses when he's
sending the leper off. When he says, "Now don't go and tell anyone what I've
told you--don't tell anyone who you see what I did for you." And their thinking
is that Jesus is so upset with the way humanity has to live, that his anger
came to the surface rather than his compassion. But nonetheless, his strong
warning, because of what he did to the leper, Jesus had to alter his ministry,
and wasn't able to just walk into a community from that point forward. Without,
it says, throngs, multitudes of people waiting for him to enter that city so
that they could be healed. And I'll tell you what, brethren, today if there was
one person, two, three or more people, that could walk anywhere and all they
had to do is touch you and you would be healed, you couldn't keep people away.
People would come to that individual by the scores. Jesus knew that. And he
asked the man not to tell anyone. But, for whatever reason, the leper didn't
heed that advice, but rather went and told everyone.
Now I want to
change gears. When Jesus came here to earth, he did so because he had something
to tell us. He came with a purpose. He came with authority. And as a result of
the authority that was given him to come here, he spoke with authority. He
lived with authority. He was God. But more than that he was God in the flesh.
And when Jesus walked this earth during his earthly ministry he effected
people's lives. Their lives were never the same as a result of an encounter
with him. And I want to ask us that same question. Are our lives any different
because we know Jesus Christ than if we didn't know Jesus Christ? Are our lives
different? Many people listened to what Jesus had to say. They even sensed his
power. They even sensed his authority in everything that he said. But even
though they did, they did not necessarily believe what he said. They liked what
he said. They appreciated what he said. They reaped the benefit in some
instances of what he said and did for them. But did they believe him? You know,
the point is, Jesus' word produces results. All he has to do is say something
and there are results. There's never not a result. You and I have the
responsibility to bear, or as bearers of his Word to make sure that this Word
is heard among a society that doesn't want to listen. Now, what society do we
live in? Many people today suffer from something called loneliness. And I know
you can relate to it. I know without a doubt you can relate to it. I can relate
to it. You don't have to be a certain type of person to relate to loneliness.
If I were to ask for a show of hands of people in this room, right now, in this
room who are or who have experienced loneliness I venture to say that we would
all raise our hands. I venture to say that, that we have either experienced it
or are involved with it. But more than that, some of us live in loneliness.
Some of us live in loneliness. And we can sight various reasons as to why we
do. The society that we live in today, the mechanized society by many instances
lives by computers, where we're isolated at work from any other human beings
because we're on our computer. We're isolated at home for the same reason at
times. We have beepers in our possession to be in touch with people, we have
pagers to find where someone is. There's a certain degree of loneliness that
can be involved in that. There's also the lonely feeling of being abandoned by
a mother, by a father, by a spouse [ouch!], and that in turn creates an empty
spot in our hearts. Human situations like divorce, disease, or deformity also
separate us from society. Some of us experience isolation and rejection from
others, as though we're not accepted--we don't fit in--and so we withdraw. And
we also can experience death, the death of a spouse, death of a child, death of
a parent. Either of those can catapult us into loneliness that almost seems
inescapable. This past week I talked to my sister who is just a few years older
than me. And she just found out that she has a blockage to her heart. She's
going to have to have some surgery. And in talking with her, she said, "You
know, I've come to a realization." I said, "What is that?" And she said, "Life
is too short." And I said, "Well, I agree with you there. Is there anything I
can do for you?" And she said, "Just something that you're already doing." And
I said, "What's that?" And she said, "Keep praying for me." Loneliness is a
painful existence. Any one of us can find ourselves in it for awhile. As we
examine the life of this leper, we find that loneliness is a way of life with
lepers. It's a way of life. This passage includes a lot of information. But
between the lines of this man with leprosy coming to him and begging on his
knees and saying "If you're willing you can heal me", between the lines there
we can realize that this leper lived a lonely life. He didn't wake up in the
morning and go to work and get that simple pat on the back from someone. He
couldn't look forward to a handshake by someone who is able to touch. He
couldn't look forward to the warm embrace of a friend or even family, emotions
that you see were missing from his life as a leper. He was excluded from
society, from all corners. He couldn't wake up or look forward to a hug from
his wife, or his child, or his family. You see, we touch one another every day,
not physically sometimes, but just by being around people we're touched by
people. You know that studies have shown that newborn babies who even if
they're provided food and drink, but are minus human touch will die. That's
sad. When we experience an event that isolates us, there is no doubt that we go
through many, many emotions. Some of them being anger, denial, hatred,
bitterness. They're all emotions that you and I go through when we experience
loneliness. Can you imagine what it would have been like five or ten years
before we were introduced to this leper? What was it like in his life before he
came to Jesus? Can you imagine the very first days when he began to get those
little signs that leprosy was within his own frame, where he began to realize
that these sores that were appearing on his skin weren't going away? And that
there was definitely something wrong with him, something wrong that he didn't
want to face. Eventually these sores would break open and bleed and cause all
kinds of difficulty for him healthwise. You can imagine living with his fear,
the torment that he was going through, and the apprehension as he looked at
what the future was going to hold for him. Imagine what it must have been like
for him the first time his own child must have said, "I can't touch you, Dad.
You're unclean." That was the law. What was to follow was a life of banishment,
a life of banishment, of isolation, a life without that familiar touch from
someone like a wife, a child, a brother or sister, a friend, a neighbor--a life
of others constantly staying away from you. Mothers, as he walked down the
street, would grab their children, to keep them away from him. People would
suddenly turn around and walk the other way. Each day this man would have to
cover his skin to keep the sores isolated. And then finally the day came when
he would have to go to the High Priest. And he knew what the High Priest was
going to say. The High Priest was going to declare him unclean, and banish him
from living within society. And his life of isolation and loneliness would be
heightened. Now while we don't have leper colonies today, we still do build
walls around us, and often times we are stuck behind them. If you are not the
run-of-the-mill, the normal, the traditional, you often wear a label. You might
be a drunk, or your parents might be divorced, or you are divorced. You may be
handicapped, and often if you're deaf you're labeled as dumb, stupid. You may
be crippled, you may have cancer. Sadly our attitudes sometimes say "We have
places that we can put people that are in this condition. And we don't have to
deal with them." "There are others that will deal with them." Many of these
type of individuals live in voluntary exile, knowing that they are going to be
isolated from society and certainly often are. And they don't term themselves
normal anymore. Then there are those who are marginalized by society--those
considered the outcasts of the world. It seems as though these are the people
that Jesus was drawn to, those outcasts, those people who were kind of pushed
to the side by society. That's who Jesus came to. That's who Jesus said "I am
here for you." And yet those considered normal are repulsed by
these outcasts, repulsed by this type of person. If we honestly examine the
message of Jesus we come to realize that he came specifically to the
marginalized people of society. If you'll turn with me to Luke chapter 4 I'm
going to read verses 17 through 19 where Jesus says:
"The Spirit of
the Lord is on me because he has annointed me to preach good news to the
poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, and
recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year
of the Lord's favor."
Jesus said that he came to those people--all the
outcasts, all the misfits, all the geeks that came to him. There is not one
person that would want to associate themselves with a group like this. People
with money often don't want to be around people who are poor. Those that are
criminals we want as far away from us as possible. Don't we have institutions
for the blind? Most of society can't be bothered, at least until it happens to
you or somebody you know. And then perhaps your interest may be peaked. When we
begin to think in physical terms we make a serious mistake. I want to say that
again. When we begin to think in physical terms we make a serious mistake, and
we prevent the full understanding of grace and it's effects on our minds and
hearts. Most of us grow up with the "be good and you'll be rewarded" mentality.
I can't tell you how many times I heard my parents say that one over the years.
You know "If you're good, good things will happen to you." "Pick up your room
and you won't get in trouble." "Do this and that will happen." And I find
myself sometimes saying the same things. And I'm misrepresenting something that
God so much wants to demonstrate to us as human beings. "Be good and you go to
heaven." How often have we heard that? We relate this concept to the idea that
if we receive physical blessings, then God must be happy with us. And if we
don't receive physical blessings, then God must be upset with us. How many
times have we thought or felt that way? How many times did this leper look up
into the sky and say "Why me?!?" How many times have you and I shouted the very
same words, because we're looking at our physical predicament, and we just
can't figure it out. This is not a New Testament teaching. Christians make a
mistake when they equate their physical stature in life with God's grace. Jesus
pronounced very boldly, as he often did because he had authority, that the age
of grace was upon human-kind. That's what he said, that's what he pronounced.
In fact, he said, "The year of the Lord's favor is here." That's what he said,
referring to the age in which would be known as the Messianic Age. Jesus Christ
came and demonstrated by his power, by his healing, physically to show what the
eye cannot typically see, that humanity itself needs the spiritual healing
touch of Jesus Christ--the touch that heals more than the body, more than the
limbs--that reaches inside and it touches our hearts and our souls. When we
look at this particular account of the leper, or the woman who was taken in
adultery [John 8], Jesus' grace was not limited to "good people." Jesus reached
out to the "bad people" and extended them grace [unmerited pardon] without any
hesitation. In fact, when the young man came to him and said "Jesus, what good
things must I do to receive eternal life?", the response that Jesus gave him
was the keeping of the commandments was not sufficient for
eternal life. He pointed out that a complete abandonment of what this
life offers, and that an intimate relationship with him--that is Jesus--was
what was necessary for eternal life. He said, "Unless you are willing
to leave everything and come and follow me," the very same thing he said to the
fishermen, the very same thing he says to you and me. Can you give up physical
for spiritual? That's a very hard thing to give up, isn't it? That's a very
hard thing to look at, that's a very hard reality to come to. And it's a
mistake for Christians to view the physical condition of people, or their
financial status as having anything to do with blessings or cursings. I
know so many times someone will say to me "I can't understand why that person
is blessed." "They don't go to church, they don't do this"--and what they're
saying is--"I go to church, I pay my tithes or my offerings, I do all these
things. Why is it not happening to me?" What are they looking at? What am I
looking at? What can I say to someone like that? You know, I know the success
of life is upon Jesus Christ. That person doesn't. Will they have to be taught
it? Yeah. I know that Jesus Christ is my personal savior. I know that I have
been saved as a result of his extending to me unmerited grace. I know that. And
so many times we forget it. We do no live under the old covenant, a covenant
that was done so long ago that people forgot that Christ came. That was "the
age of blessings and cursings." But we now live in the time of grace, the time
of grace, where we have received every spiritual blessing. Let's turn to
Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians 1:3, "Praise be to the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every
spiritual blessing in Christ." Every blessing we have is in Christ. Being in
Christ has nothing to do with our behavior but with the finished work of Christ
on the cross, and his gracious extension of eternal life to all of us, to all
of us.
This leper represents the ultimate outcast. The person in society
that no one wants. In your mind's eye conjure up a person that no one wants,
and it's represented by this account of the leper. He's an outcast, who didn't
accept his condition, but believed that there was to be a restoration and
redemption. He believed, as an outcast, someone put down by society, that he
could be healed. That's the dichotomy of this little story. Christ is what
every jot and tittle of the Old Testament pointed to, every one. He is the
fulfillment, and is more than sufficient to save us, to heal us, and to touch
us. God touches us. His sufficiency extends beyond salvation to being
righteousness for us. You know it's funny because we are called God's
workmanship. Every law of the old covenant, every Holy Day, every prophecy
pointed to the Messiah, and the age of grace that only he could bring, and only
he could fulfill.
In preparation for his encounter with Jesus Christ
this leper had to go on a specific route. He had to go on the route that would
prepare him to be an outcast so he could be accepted by Christ. It's not an
easy route, is it? It's a route though that we all walk if we want to be
accepted by Christ, because we have to realize that society is without him.
When Christ came over the hill that day the leper jumped out. Let's turn back
to Mark 1. The leper jumped out, and begged him on his knees. He could not walk
along as normal people do and talk to Christ. He could not be counted among
those that easily blend in with the crowd. You know, this leper had to
strategically position himself so that he could have an encounter with Christ.
And so he waited. And when Christ came over the hill the leper jumped out. You
see, if you're an outcast, you don't have to worry about much do you? [tape
reversal missed some]...
...[To] my sister-in-law that I would be
praying for, I said, "I'll get on my knees and pray for you." And she said,
"You don't have to pray on your knees!" I said, "You're right. I could pray
standing up, lying down, sideways, anyway." And maybe you pray a lot of
different ways too. There's probably some pretty extreme ways that we found
ourselves praying but whatever it is that you do, whatever it is that you pray
each week, I want you to open your heart and ask him to show you how you can
reach out and touch someone else, even if it is only one person, that's a
person who needed to be touched. And as we drive away and as we drive home this
afternoon, I want you to look at people you pass along the road and ask
yourself, "Do I want to be that person, or am I glad that God is using me?"
Because God is glad he is using you. There is no one else that God will use in
your situation than you.
Let's pray. "Eternal God, we thank you so much
for opening our eyes and our hearts. We ask Father that as we look at ourselves
this coming week that we are able to see you in more dramatic ways than ever
before. We ask that you help us to see those who are hurting and lonely, those
who, Father, need your assurance and need your touch. It's not easy to overcome
loneliness, but Father we know that you can make it happen. We have to come to
you when we're lonely. We have to come to you when we're hurting. We have to
come to you when we're isolated. We have to come to you and ask you Father to
help us. And you said that you would, and we thank you. And we ask for your
will to be done in our lives. And so Father we here collectively thank you for
all that you do for us. And we ask for your inspiration and guidance, for your
blessings, and Father for your will to be done. Help us to be able to touch
those who are out in this world, Father, needing to be given that hope that we
have, that's a part of us because your Son lives in us. We thank you Father for
your Son Jesus Christ. Amen."
"Friends and Faith"
Mark 2:1-12
Mark 2:1-12. "A few days later when Jesus again entered
Capernaum the people heard that he had come home. So many gathered that there
was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.
Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they
could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the
roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed
man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son,
your sins are forgiven."
Now some teachers of the law were sitting
there, thinking to themselves, "Why does this fellow talk like that? He's
blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
Immediately Jesus knew
in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he
said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to
the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and
walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to
forgive sins...."He said to the paralytic, "I tell you, get up, take your mat
and go home." He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all.
This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, 'We have never seen anything
like this!'"
Quite an interesting account here in the pages of Mark.
Many times people want to know by whose authority am I preaching. Someone said
to me recently, "What authority do you have to say those things to me?" Now,
while I'm not taken aback by some questions, because I realize that sometimes
people just want to know the truth. Sometimes people like to put you on the
spot as they did with Jesus, so it's nothing new. I can't tell you how many
times I've heard people say "I don't like the way the church is organized now.
In fact, I don't trust anything that any man does under the name of
religion." Well, brethren, let me tell you something. It's God the Father who
is our authority, period. No matter what we do in this life, no matter what
line of work we're in, no matter what type of background we have, no matter
what race or culture we are or come from, it is God the Father who is our
authority--God the Father. Now while that may sound simple enough, it's not
understood readily, is it? In today's gospel message we focus on that very same
principle, the principle of authority. It is only God who has authority. And he
extends that authority to Jesus Christ. Jesus seemed to provoke, almost
deliberately, the teachers of the law, by saying to the paralytic, "Son, your
sins are forgiven." And as a result this required them to look at the issue of
authority from which Jesus spoke. Now this particular lesson in Mark 2 focuses
on a number of things. It focuses on the divinity and authority of Jesus
Christ. Mark quotes Jesus as saying "Your sins are forgiven." And we just sang
a hymn--what was that hymn we sang this morning? It dawned on me when we were
singing this, I read the subtitle where the Scripture it says under "Cleanse
me" "If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness." And here Jesus said "Your sins are forgiven" to this
paralytic man. In the time of Christ, and all of the time before Jesus Christ,
and all of the time after Jesus Christ, it is agreed that only God can forgive
sin. Only God can do that. One would have to wonder then if Jesus was almost
baiting those teachers of the law who were within earshot, because the
Scripture does tell us they were nearby and were listening to what Jesus was
saying. We wonder if Jesus was saying something by his statement to address
this very subject. And we know that the Jews of his day were struck by that
fact that Jesus spoke with authority--with authority. Jesus didn't have to
wonder what he was going to say or say it and hope that they wouldn't be
offended by it. In fact, his authority allowed him to say things that people
would be offended by--religious people. It's not like a lot of the lessons that
other teachers of Jesus' day were saying. This particular text is but a
selection, one selection of an account of Jesus that demonstrates the
controversy with which Jesus spoke and his words created in an already
established area of religion. And so what we find is that Jesus speaking
delivered controversy. He claimed, Jesus did, to have the authority to forgive
sins. That claim in and of itself was one to ruffle the feathers of those that
were listening. He also claimed to be Lord of the Sabbath. He also claimed that
he was the one who could heal, and he also proclaimed that it was only by his
authority over disease could this example of healing take place. And he even
healed on the Sabbath day. I think by seeing how Jesus handles himself, and the
devotion that he had to his Father, we can understand the piety that was
associated with him and as a result us. In order for us to receive the new wine
that Jesus was bringing we had to become new containers. We had to become new
wineskins. And so he proclaimed freedom to those whom he wanted to associate
with. We also see by this short account here in Mark 2 that this particular
text focuses on the authority that Jesus had over sin and over disease. Jesus
had authority over those two elements. To the local people who were witnessing
this, this was a new thing. It was more than a new thing, it was a shocking
thing. Before their very eyes a paralytic man, his sins were forgiven, and he
was healed by someone of authority--someone willing to take on the educated
religious leaders that were standing there nearby. What made it even more
complicated was that Jesus was just a regular man to them. Walking in the
flesh, yet claiming to have the authority of God--so much so that he said he
was able to forgive sin. He was able to forgive sin. (We're going to talk about
that in just a moment.) And he was able to heal diseases. This isn't what the
vision that the Jews had of the Messiah was all about. You see they envisioned
the Messiah coming to overturn a political system. They pictured the Messiah as
bringing in, ushering in an era of peace. They didn't envision the Messiah
coming to forgive sins, or to heal the sick, or to reach out to the lonely.
Rather, they looked at the restoration of Israel and their national greatness.
To complicate matters, Jesus happened to be the son of unwed parents, the son
of a carpenter walking and claiming authority given to him by his Father to
forgive sins. This to many, was preposterous, especially to the society, to the
people and culture that saw Jesus. They thought he was blaspheming because he
was proclaiming to possess authority. Jesus never stood behind anything else
other than his Father. And he boasted his Father's authority in his ministry.
Yet their judgment about Jesus Christ was incorrect. Because he was God in the
flesh. He is God in the flesh [cf. John 1:1-11].
The title that I have
for this sermon today is "Friends & Faith", and I want to go through this
account again with that little bit of a background and look at what we have
going on in this particular account, because I think it's quite fascinating.
Mark chapter 2, "A few days later" verse 1, "Jesus again enters Capernaum." Now
we read last week where the man with leprosy had fallen on his knees before
Jesus and was healed and Jesus asked him not to go and tell anyone. And so the
man, listening to Jesus, goes and tells everyone. And from that point forward
wherever Jesus went, the cities he entered into, large throngs of people
surrounded Jesus because they wanted to be healed. And so a few days later when
Jesus enters Capernaum the people heard that he had come to them, or come home.
So many people gathered that there was no room left. Now Capernaum was a small
town. And yet it appears by these simple words that were given here, that word
of Jesus return to Capernaum spread rapidly through the city, so rapidly, that
when Jesus finally entered Capernaum there were so many people waiting there
for him that there was no room left, it said, not even outside the door. And
Jesus began to preach to them. That's what he did. He preached to them. Some
men came. And this is where we're going to have to start identifying some
characteristics. Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four of
them. Now this paralytic in this account is well known to us. We never learned
this paralytic's name. We never will. In fact, in this whole little section
here, the paralytic man never says one word to Jesus Christ. We don't know what
he's thinking. We don't know why he became paralytic. Was it as a result of an
accident? Was it a result of birth? We don't know, really, anything about the
man other than the fact that he's paralyzed. We don't know how he feels about
these men bringing him there. Did they bring him against his will? We don't
know that. We would like to think that this man came to Jesus for healing,
because he heard of the great powers that Jesus held. But what we find is that
some men came bringing to Christ this paralytic, four of them. Four because we
could think there is one on each side [corner] of the stretcher as they carried
this man to Jesus. These four men bring this paralytic to Jesus. Next verse,
"Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd they made an
opening in the roof above Jesus." And so here we find that Jesus was surrounded
by people. A lot of times, you and I, when we try to go to Jesus we think that
there's just too many people for Jesus to see us right now, or for me to pray
to him. But his friends here saw that there were way too many people in front
of them for Jesus to even notice this paralytic man. So his friends pick him up
and they carry him outside of the building to, it appears to be the side of the
house, and up a back staircase. Now these are his friends. And then what they
do, is says they begin to dig a hole in the roof. Now if you know anything
about adobe construction, which is this type of housing materials, it's brick
and mud and straw and wood. And they're digging at it and they don't have their
dust-busters with them, so they're not siphoning up the lose gravel as it's
being unearthed here. Jesus inside the house and those who were around Jesus,
immediately wherever this hole appeared, no doubt, look up and they see the
ceiling beginning to crumble above them. Debris is now falling on a lot of
folks. I don't know which one of them stuck their head through the opening
first, but someone sticks their head through and says "It's only us. We'll be
right there." They make the hole wide enough so they can lower this paralytic
man through the hole. Jesus, I'm sure, is watching this with an incredible
amount of empathy towards their scenario. Others are probably wondering "What
in the world are they doing? The roof is going to cave in. They're going to
fall. What are these guys doing?" O.K. They made an opening in the roof above
Jesus and after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man way lying
on. Now at this point the man is before Jesus Christ. He still hasn't said
anything. He's before the healer. Jesus, it says here, saw their
faith. He doesn't tell us he saw the faith of the paralytic man. He saw the
faith of those men who brought this paralytic to Jesus and left him in front of
Jesus. Jesus looks at the man, seeing their faith, he looks at the man and
says, "Son, your sins are forgiven." Now some teachers of the law were sitting
there, thinking to themselves "Why does this fellow talk like that? He's
blaspheming. Who can forgive sins but God alone?" Their immediate reaction to
what's taken place is problematic. This man has just said 'Sin's are forgiven'
to this man on the mat. Jesus knew in his spirit that this is what is what they
are thinking in their hearts. And he says to them, "Why are you thinking these
things?" and then he kind of throws a riddle to them. "Which is easier to say
to this paralytic man? 'Your sins are forgiven' or to say 'Get up, take your
mat and walk'?" Which was easier to say? There have been times when someone has
hurt me deeply, and there are times when I have hurt people deeply. And people
have come to me or I've gone to someone and I've said to them "I'm sorry. I
apologize." And they've said to me "I forgive you." And I said, "Thank you."
And we go on. You see, it's possible, it is quite possible for humans to
forgive one another's sins, as they effect us, isn't it? There are times when
someone has sinned against another person. Case in point, a man and woman are
married, and one of the two makes a grave mistake and sins. The partner is
crushed, devastated. But when that individual comes and is truly repentant, and
recognizes the error of their sin and sees how it has hurt the other
individual, and apologizes probably a thousand times and that other person is
able to say to them and mean it, "I forgive you", that is an overwhelming human
ability to forgive sin. Now, before you say "Whoa, what is he saying?", only
God can forgive the ramification of sin. Only God can remove the sin as though
it never existed. Only God in his divine authority has the right to forgive
sin. We as human beings have the ability to forgive one another. We as human
beings have the ability to forgive one another's sins as they effect us. We
nowhere can provide authority or salvation to an individual. You know that's
through Jesus Christ. Jesus says your sins are forgiven. Which is easier to
say? "Your sins are forgiven" or to say "Get up, take your mat and walk"? "But
that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive
sins..." This is the first time Jesus uses the phrase "Son of man", and he
refers to himself as that. And he says "to show you that I have authority to
forgive sins and to heal on this earth, he says to paralytic 'I tell you, get
up and take your mat and go home.'" He got up and he took his mat and he walked
out of the place. Now, let's draw some analogies here. The paralytic man was
frozen by his sins into a state of helplessness, whatever those sins may have
been. His friends realize his helplessness and they carried him to Jesus
Christ. We don't know if this man wanted to go to Jesus, but his friends took
him before Christ. And that's where we intervene and we bring our friends
before Christ. Those who are hurting, those who need forgiveness of sins, those
who need Jesus Christ in their life. Jesus freed this man by declaring that he
was forgiven. And as a result Jesus was stating that he has the power to relay
God's forgiveness on earth. And therefore we in the church have been entrusted
with the power and authority through Jesus Christ to tell others that they
don't have to be paralyzed by sin anymore. That it is through Christ's
forgiveness and grace that their sins can be removed. And so we bring our
friends to Christ. The paralytic man could not reach Jesus because the door was
jammed with people. But his friends were not willing to let this deter them.
They didn't see it as an obstacle, they just saw it, "It's going to take a
little more effort to help our friend out." So in their zeal they were willing
to do something that took a lot of energy and strength, and it took a lot of
courage to do--that is to break through the roof of a home to help this man out
[and this home was fiery Peter's house!]. What are some obstacles that you and
I face when we try to help one another out? When we try to help those people
out that can't help themselves there are a lot of obstacles that we will face.
There may be relatives, family or friends who will stand in the doorway and not
allow you to bring that friend to Jesus Christ. That's when we have to take the
back staircase. That's when we have to punch a hole through the roof. That's
when we have to not give up, as this paralytic's friends didn't.
You know, people shouldn't have to commit acts of desperation to have access to
Jesus Christ. They shouldn't have to do this. Christians, you and I, are
commissioned to make it easy for others to have access to Jesus Christ, by how
we live, and how we include others in what we do for them. We need a faith that
won't quit. The faith of these friends of the paralyzed man tell us a
compelling story. We don't know any of their names. Yet the thing that we
remember about them is the moment that they carried their friendship through,
because of Jesus Christ. Many times people are remembered for all the wrong
reasons. There was one mistake that we could make that people will remember us
by forever, no matter how much we apologize or overcome that mistake. That's
unfortunate. That really is unfortunate. But these particular men, their
faithfulness, has been preserved for 2000 years because of this act of kindness
that they extended to someone who needed it. They wouldn't take "No" for an
answer, or let any obstacles stand in their way--because they had passion and
determination. They also must have really believed without any hesitation at
all that Jesus Christ could heal the man. Now I know there will be times when
we stumble across people that are our friends who are hurting, or maybe
strangers that will come up to us and begin a conversation, and it's hard to
keep that conversation going. It's hard, sometimes, even if the conversation is
"Christian" oriented, to sometimes even bring up the name of Jesus Christ. I
know. And I know that we all feel this and go through these things. But you
know what? That's when we need to have the faith of a friend, and bring up
Jesus' name because we believe in his name. We believe in his authority. And to
show us how much this means to us, Jesus, not knowing anything necessarily
about this paralytic man's faith (or I shouldn't say that--I should say) we
don't read about the paralytic man's faith, Jesus sees their
faith. I can't tell you how many times in my life, when I thought to
myself concerning my own mother, that things were going to work out for me,
because I knew my mother was praying about it. I trusted in her faith. I knew
she had faith. And I knew she was praying for me. And I knew, I had no
hesitation, to feeling that whatever the situation was, was going to work out
because my mother was praying about it. I can't describe that, but I can tell
you that I've felt it a million times. So Jesus responded to the faith of those
men. And thus we realize that faith can move mountains. I have no hesitation in
realizing that our prayer for a piano player is going to be answered. I know it
is, partly because I've asked my Mom to pray for it. I know she is, I know
God's going to answer that prayer.
The stretcher bearers had a faith
that wouldn't quit. And there wasn't an obstacle that they allowed to get in
their way to derail them. And then we realize that we can bring about examples
of moving mountains by having faith. And that's what it's all about. And Jesus
gives us faith, but we have to exercise it. Again I tell you about my stories
in gym, and working out for this past month has been eye-opening in so many
ways. It's made me realize that the more I put into practice, and it's only the
three times a week that I go there for an hour or an hour and a half, those
three times a week are yielding results physically for me, and mentally, and
emotionally, and even spiritually, because I'm feeling better. And while I'm
working out I think, you know, this is exactly how the Christian life is. We
have to exercise it, we have to put it into practice, we have to strain
sometimes to take it to the next level. We have to endure the pain sometimes
because we know it's going to be beneficial. And the whole time we're
exercising we have to drink lots of water to stay refreshed. We need a lot of
the Holy Spirit to stay refreshed, otherwise our exercise is going to fatigue
us more than it should.
Jesus Christ is our redeemer. Only he can
forgive our sins. Only he can do that, because he's purchased them by is own
blood, satisfying the penalty of death with his life on the cross once and for
all. And as a result he guarantees us eternal life, salvation. Isaiah said, "I
am doing a new thing." Consequently it's important for us to forget the former
things. Our salvation will be, (in Isaiah 43)'our salvation will be unlike what
the Lord did for Israel. The Lord saved them from Egypt and became their king.
Now the Lord says that it is He who blots out your transgressions, for my own
sake and remembers your sins no more. This is the new thing that I the Lord
will do.' Paul teaches that believers are given the Lord's of ownership, to
show that he is our Master and that God, who is our gift of comfort and
strength, guarantees that we belong to him. And it's only as a result through
these gifts that our salvation is achieved.
And so we take another look
at this passage because it's so unique that the faith of this paralytic man is
just never discussed, it's never expressed, and he is healed with an incredible
healing. You know, Jesus usually says when he heals, "Your faith has healed
you." And in this account he doesn't say that. He says "Take up your mat and go
home." We don't even know if this man ever followed Jesus again. We don't know
if this man ever became a Christian. But what we do know is that the faith of
his friends was something that Jesus saw and responded to.
"A few days
later when Jesus entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. So
many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door. And he
preached the word to them..." Jesus, surrounded by throngs of people, always
preached the truth, the gospel message of salvation, the message of healing,
the message of forgiveness of sins. "And while he was preaching, since they
could not get to him because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof
above Jesus and after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was
lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed
man, 'Your sins are forgiven.'" Now you and I would recognize this as a
miracle. The teachers of the law sitting there thought to themselves, 'This
doesn't mix with our religion. Why does he talk like this? He's blaspheming
God.' "Jesus, immediately discerning what they are thinking"--because he knew
what their religion was. He knew that their religion was not centered on faith.
He knew that their religion was centered on something different. He knew that
their religion had become a matter of laws, and that their religion had become
a matter of routine, and that their religion had become a matter of legality.
"Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their hearts, says to them, 'Why are
you thinking these things? What is easier to say to this paralytic man you've
just seen lowered from the roof of this building before me, 'You sins are
forgiven', or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? But that you may know
that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins" he looks again to
the man and he answers the question by saying, "Pick up your mat, and walk out
of here" indicating that it was much easier to say to the man "You are
healed"--much easier to say that, than to recognize the forgiveness of
sins--easier to say that. And as a result, this man gets up and he leaves. But
the undenying emotion that we leave this particular passage with is that Jesus
has the authority to forgive sins, your sins and my sins. That's the hardest
thing it seems to do. And as a result, he in order to be able to do that, will
sacrifice his life so that your sins and my sins are forgiven. And the healing
is easy from that point on.
Well, we're going to talk more about this
next time. So please join me in prayer: "Eternal God we thank you for allowing
us to share this particular passage of Scripture with one another--your
teaching us of your authority over not only our lives, but your authority to
forgive sins, and your authority Father over healing. And we petition you many
days for healing. We know that your authority to do so is there. Father, we
have learned today that our faith can be of benefit to others, just as it was
for this paralytic man who by his friends faith was healed. Help us to
demonstrate that faithfulness Father, by coming to you and building our faith
stronger every day, our faith in you...the faith that can move mountains. We
ask that you continue to demonstrate that faith in this congregation. We ask
for your presence always in our lives. We ask for your protection as we travel
home this afternoon, and for all those Father, especially the elderly, whom we
know will have difficulty with this weather, we ask that you be with them, and
protect them. And Father, we thank you for all you do for us, through the name
of your Son Jesus the Christ. Amen." [This is a transcription of a sermon given
by Pastor Al Ebeling of the Waltham Congregation of the Worldwide Church of
God, meeting in the First Congregational Church of Waltham, Massachusetts]
MARK 2
Four Principles of Ministry
Mark 2:1-12. "A few days later, when Jesus again entered
Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. So many gathered that there
was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.
Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they
could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the
roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed
man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, 'Son,
your sins are forgiven.'
Now some teachers of the law were sitting
there, thinking to themselves, 'Why does this fellow talk like that? He's
blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?'
Immediately Jesus knew
in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he
said to them, 'Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier to say to the
paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and
walk?' But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to
forgive sins....' He said to the paralytic, 'I tell you, get up, take your mat
and go home.' He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all.
This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, 'We have never seen anything
like this!'"
A ministry needs to be focused on the Word of God--not
healing, not drama, not music--but it must be a feeding ministry, feeding God's
sheep with the Word of God. Healthy sheep beget more sheep. 2 Timothy 3:14-18.
"Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling
about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. Do your best
to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be
ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Avoid godless chatter,
because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their
teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who
have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already
taken place, and they destroy the faith of some." Beware of false teachers and
prophets who are not into the Word of God, but into fables. Today's New Age
movement is our present-day version of these fables. 2 Timothy 3:1-9. "But mark
this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of
themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their
parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without
self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited,
lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God--having a form of godliness but
denying its power. They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain
control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by
all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the
truth. Just as Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth--men
of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. But
they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly
will be clear to everyone."
In the midst of this house (Peter's house)
full of people listening to Jesus giving this Bible study are some Pharisees
and Scribes, religious leaders of the day. As the story unfolds, remember
they're sitting there.
If you really want something spiritual, you go
for it in faith, and you've got it. These four guys bringing a paralytic
couldn't get in because of the crowd. So they went up on Peter's roof and start
disassembling it, making a hole so they could lower this man on a stretcher
down into the room below. They had just made a hole in Peter's roof--fiery
Peter's roof, to lower this man into Jesus' presence! They took the risk of
being embarrassed, chased away or being beat up for vandalizing Peter's house.
Verse 5 says, "When Jesus saw their faith..." You have to have faith, step out
in faith, be willing to risk failure and embarrassment. Understanding the
difficulty of doing a work is measured by the one doing the work. If God is
doing the work in you, great things will result--if you step out and continue
to step out in faith. Faith is real when it takes risks, takes steps.
A
ministry starts out as a desire in the heart that then turns into a vision. The
vision then turns into a ministry.
Now something happens as a result of
this healing. Some churches get distracted on healings or financial
prosperity--on the physical--and not on the spiritual. 1 John 1:9, "If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and
purify us from all unrighteousness." Jesus knew the heart of these Pharisees
and Scribes. Their attitude must have really bothered Jesus. Psalm 139 says God
can read thoughts. Jesus' prime message was that he came to forgive sin. He has
the authority to and came so that all of us could have our sins forgiven. It
wasn't the healing alone that was important here, but the point Jesus was
making, verses 6-12. "Now some teachers of the law were sitting there,
thinking to themselves, 'Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming!
Who can forgive sins but God alone?'
Immediately Jesus knew in his
spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to
them, 'Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the
paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and
walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to
forgive sin....' He said to the paralytic, 'I tell you, get up, take your mat
and go home.' He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all.
This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, 'We have never seen anything
like this!'"
Mark 2:13-22
Four key points. A Christian Church and/or Christian is focused on:
Verses 13-17, "Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A
large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. As he walked along, he saw
Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's booth. 'Follow me,' Jesus
told him, and Levi got up and followed him.
While Jesus was having
dinner at Levi's house, many tax collectors and 'sinners' were eating with him
and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of
the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the 'sinners' and tax
collectors, they asked his disciples: 'Why does he eat with tax collectors and
'sinners'? On hearing this, Jesus said to them, 'It is not the healthy who need
a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but
sinners.'"
Jesus leaves the packed house of Peter's and walked along the
lake, and these people, this large crowd of people, follows him. As he's
walking, he passes this tax collector's booth and says to it's occupant,
"Follow me." Tax collectors were known for making their wallets fat. They were
a despised element in Hebrew society. The Jewish tax collectors were really
despised by the Jews. They were excommunicated from the Temple, and couldn't
serve in any official capacity in Jewish society. Matthew (Levi) had a feast to
honor Jesus. He's a wealthy guy. He gave up his job and wealth to follow Jesus.
Jesus probably changed Levi's name to Matthew, which means "a gift of the Lord
to the people."
So Jesus is sitting down with these outcasts of Jewish
society, "breaking bread" with them. Now to the Jews, the breaking of bread,
eating with someone, was a very symbolic thing. When you "broke bread" with
another person, because you and that other person were eating of the same
"bread," that food became a part of the two of you, part of your bodies. You
were symbolically linked in that manner. That is why the Jews were so against
eating with those they looked down upon or despised. It was symbolic of a sort
of spiritually linking with another person. The Jew would never want to be
linked in a spiritual union with a Roman or pagan. The tax collectors and
sinners, to them, the dregs of society, fell into this despised lot the Jews
wouldn't eat with or spiritually associate with. The Jews got downright
unfriendly about this. The Christian Church, on the other hand, both
corporately and individually, should be friendly. Jesus embraced all kinds, but
especially the down and out--the outcasts of society. He was and is not
accepting of sin, but he accepts sinners so he can embrace them and work a work
in their lives. The church often gets isolated from those Jesus wants to reach
out to and save. That is the attitude of the Pharisees. Calvary Chapel is a
sinner's hospital. A good book to get and read is Larry Taylor's "Doing
Ministry Right." [See if it's available online at:
http://www.calvarychapel.org/products_nav.html
] Matthew 9:12-13. "On hearing this, Jesus said, 'It is not the healthy who
need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy,
not sacrifice.' [Hosea 6:6] For I have not come to call the righteous, but
sinners.'" Jesus embraces you right where you're at.
Point four says
that Christians and Christian churches must be flexible in the hands of God.
Jesus says we're to go out to those in need and reach them with the gospel.
Don't expect them to come to you. A prime example of a church doing this is
pastor Jim Cymbala's Brooklyn Tabernacle, where someone would feel moved by God
to go into a real bad section of New York City, or Brooklyn, and minister
directly with the people, providing food and blankets, and then busing them to
services on Sunday for a church service. The living active gospel of Jesus
Christ was effectively brought to these people, right to their doorstep, which
in many cases was an alleyway or a cardboard box they were living in. To read
of this dynamic ministry and Christian church congregation be sure to order
pastor Cymbala's book Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire. [Available online from:
http:///www.amazon.com ].
Verses
18-22, "Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some came and
asked Jesus, 'How is it that John's disciples and the disciples of the
Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?' Jesus answered, 'How can the guests
of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have
him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from
them, and on that day they will fast. No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on
an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making
the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the
wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined.
No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.'"
This is the symbolic
Monday or Thursday fasting that had been set up and observed regularly by the
Pharisees, to make a religious show. The Jewish custom was, that after a
wedding, the guests stayed around for a week of celebrating with the bride and
bridegroom, and that everyone attending was exempt from this religious
fasting requirement or custom the Pharisees had set up. Jesus was making
reference to this when he spoke of the bridegroom's guest's not fasting, and
that he was the bridegroom. He was also making direct reference to the coming
putting away of the old covenant for the new. God was about to do a new work,
and Jesus was saying that it wouldn't mesh with their old religious system, the
old covenant. The wine represents the gospel, the old wineskin represents the
old religious system, and the old covenant itself. The Jews weren't flexible.
Jesus' point was that the new system, composed of Christians and Christian
churches must be flexible in the hands of God! As I brought out before, Jesus
says we should be going out to those in need and reaching them with the gospel.
Don't expect them to come to you.
The Sabbath
Mark 2:23-27; 3:1-5
"One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as
his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. The
Pharisees said to him, 'Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the
Sabbath?' He answered, 'Have you never read of what David did when he and his
companions were hungry and in need? In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he
entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only
for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.' Then he said to
them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man
is Lord even of the Sabbath.'" (Mark 2:23-27.)
Another time he went into
the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were
looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he
would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand,
'Stand up in front of everyone.' Then he asked them, 'Which is lawful on the
Sabbath, to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?' But they remained
silent. He looked around at them in anger and, and deeply distressed at their
stubborn hearts, said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' He stretched it out,
and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to
plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus" (Mark 3:1-5).
In
Exodus 20:8-11 God instituted the Sabbath into the old covenant he was
establishing with the Israelites through Moses. As earlier chapters in Exodus
show, the Sabbath was in existence before the old covenant and was being
re-introduced to the Israelites well before they came to Mount Sinai (Exodus
16). This is a sticking point between old covenant Christians and new covenant
Christians, the former saying that if the Sabbath were before the establishment
of the old covenant, it couldn't be abolished when the old covenant ceased to
be. True, but wait and see what happened with the Sabbath (and consequently the
Holy Day requirements). They weren't done away with as so many sincere but
misinformed Christians supposed. Something far more interesting happened to the
Sabbath/Holy Day commands. But first let's understand the intent of the Sabbath
command. To do this, let's read it. Exodus 20:8-11. "Remember the Sabbath day
by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the
seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work,
neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor
your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord made
the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on
the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day." God instituted
the Sabbath. The heart of the Sabbath was to rest and seek God. The doctor's of
the law, the Pharisees went banana's detailing just what work was. 24 chapters
were written in the Jewish Talmud defining what was work. They went to such an
extreme in interpreting the Sabbath command that they made the Sabbath itself a
"works" trip. The Holy Days listed in Leviticus 23 and the Sabbath were shadows
for the works of the Holy Spirit in us. The physical Sabbath pictured the
spiritual rest we now have in Christ--through the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit--and it pictures the coming future rest we'll all have in God's kingdom
when Jesus returns.
Let's look at what Paul says about this Sabbath rest
we have in Christ. Hebrews 4:1-13. "Therefore, since the promise of entering
his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have
fallen short of it. For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as
they did, but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who
heard did not combine it with faith. Now we who have believed enter that rest,
just as God has said, 'So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never
enter my rest.' And yet his work has been finished since creation of the world.
For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: 'And on the
seventh day God rested from all his work.' And again in the passage above he
says, 'They shall never enter my rest.' It still remains that some will enter
that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go
in, because of their disobedience. Therefore God again set a certain day,
calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said
before: 'Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.' For if
Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.
There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who
enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let
us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall
by following their example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and
active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing
soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the
heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is
uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give
account."
The kingdom of God is here within us right now. Jesus in us
through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit quiets our souls. The kingdom in its
fullness will arrive when Jesus returns. Zephaniah 3:16-17. "On that day they
will say to Jerusalem, 'Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands hang limp.
The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight
in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with
singing." What quiets us but the love of God in us by His Spirit. Isn't this
true? The Pharisees were misrepresenting God and what he required of them
through the commandments.
Isaiah 11:10. "In that day the Root of Jesse
will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and
his place of rest will be glorious."
Some Christians chose to
look at it this way. The Sabbath command under the new covenant has been
TRANSFORMED. By the rest we have in Jesus Christ dwelling in us through the
Holy Spirit we are in the Sabbath rest Paul spoke of in Hebrews chapter four
365 days of the year. The literal physical observance of the Sabbath was only a
picture, a shadow, of the spiritual "Sabbath rest" we have in
Christ.
The rejection of the Holy Spirit amounts to breaking the
new covenant Sabbath command, because we cease to rest in Christ without God's
Holy Spirit in us. In Old Testament Israel Sabbath breaking was punishable by
physical death. Paul warns us that rejection of the Holy Spirit results in
spiritual death. You can see here that the old covenant Sabbath command is a
shadow of the new, a type, a picture of the reality we have dwelling within us.
The shadow was physical and temporary, the spiritual is eternal and will not
fade away. Colossians 2:16-17. "Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what
you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon
celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to
come; the reality, however is found in Christ." How much clearer can you
get?
Because of unbelief the Israelites that were with Moses never got
into their rest in the Promised Land of Israel. But even the Israelites
(everyone 20 year old and under with Joshua and Caleb) that did make it into
the Promised Land did not experience a perfect rest. The Sabbath rest talked
about in Hebrews 4 that we experience in Jesus Christ is something they never
experienced. As we just read in Colossians 2:16-17, the literal Sabbath (and
also the Holy Day commands) were given as shadows of the great things we would
experience in Jesus Christ through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In
Deuteronomy we find a description of not dwelling in God's Sabbath rest talked
of by Paul in Hebrews 4. In Deuteronomy 28:65 God is describing the frame of
mind the Israelites would have as he scattered them all over the world for
disobeying him. It perfectly expresses the frame of mind of people without
Jesus Christ dwelling in them. They are without rest and peace of mind.
Deuteronomy 28:65. "Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting
place for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you an anxious mind,
eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. You will live in constant
suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. In the
morning you will say, 'If only it were evening!' and in the evening, 'If only
it were morning!'--because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the
sights that your eyes will see." With the world around us the way it is,
without Jesus in us, haven't many of us experienced this attitude of mind.
Hasn't this be been our mindset? But this doesn't have to be, with Jesus in us
there is that peace that passeth all understanding, even in the midst of heavy
trial.
In Deuteronomy 23 we also see that the Law of God allowed you to
pluck the standing grain by hand to satisfy your immediate hunger. The
disciples weren't wrong in what they did, but the Pharisaic law was running
against a higher law of mercy God had given. There was no mercy in their extra
Sabbath restrictions. Look at the next few verses.
Mark 3:1-5.
"Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was
there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched
him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man
with the shriveled hand, 'Stand up in front of everyone.' Then Jesus asked
them, 'Which is lawful on the Sabbath, to do good or to do evil, to save life
or to kill?' But they remained silent.
He looked around at them in
anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man,
'Stretch out your hand.' He stretched it out, and his hand was completely
restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how
they might kill Jesus."
The heart of Jesus is to heal and meet our
needs. This rest that comes from Jesus brings spiritual rest and
healing. Jesus Christ was and is the spiritual fulfillment of the Sabbath in
us--for we rest in Christ. He says, 'Cast all your cares on me and I will give
you rest.' In verse 5 we see that Jesus was first angry and then grieved by the
hardness of their hearts. Man's traditions are blind to the wounds of others.
The needs of man go beyond the importance of the ordinances man tacks onto the
law. The ordinances that the Pharisees laid on people added burdens on them,
whereas the ordinances of God tended to unburden people. Jeremiah 17:5-8 shows
we enter Christ's rest through faith. Let's read it and see what it says. "This
is what the Lord says: 'Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on
flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He will be
like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He
will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one
lives. But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in
him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by
the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It
has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."
[
The Holy Days were shadows of wonderful things to come, both prophetic and
spiritual. To see what the Holy Day shadows represented CLICK HERE.]
Mark 4:1-20
"Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that
gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on
the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge. He
taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 'Listen! A
farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along
the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it
did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But
when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they
had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants,
so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came
up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred
times.'
Then Jesus said, 'He who has ears to hear, let him
hear.'
When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him
about the parables. He told them, 'The secret of the kingdom of God has been
given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so
that, 'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never
understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven.'[taken from Isaiah
6:9-10]' Then Jesus said to them, 'Don't you understand this parable? How then
will you understand any parable? The farmer sows the word. Some people are like
seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan
comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on
rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they
have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes
because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among
thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of
wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it
unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and
produce a crop--thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was
sown.'"
An entire nation could be fed from one seed. The Word of God is
like a physical orange seed or apple seed. Think of the seed that grew the
apple tree that produced the fruit, many apples, from which Johnny Appleseed
obtained his seeds to fill a sack full of them, and then trek across the United
States planting apple trees wherever he went. He is credited with seeding the
entire United States from coast to coast with apple trees! Think of it. And it
started right here in Leominster, Massachusetts! More and more churches are
turning to man's method's of Pop psychology. Mike McIntosh had virtually blown
his mind on drugs as a young man. [Get the book about him "For The Love of
Mike"] As a young Christian (new convert), people got him into the Word of God,
and as he did that, over a period of time, his mind began to be healed. There's
power in the Word of God. We don't understand it, but there's power, a power
that goes beyond any Pop psychology of man. The Word of God interacting with
God's Spirit in a human mind can heal that mind. It's like that little seed and
the power of what it can do, if we plant it and allow it to work in our
lives.
In Mark 4:1 Jesus began to teach by the sea. He started to teach
them by parables. This was an even larger crowd than he had encountered before.
He got into a boat and pushed out away into the water. The shores of the Sea of
Galilee often form natural amphitheaters. More and more as Jesus addresses
these crowds he uses parables. There's a reason. The parable of the Sower gave
an instant visual picture to these people who were from an agrarian society. In
this parable four types of soil were mentioned. 1) The soil where the seed fell
on the wayside, 2) the soil where the seed fell on the rocky ground, and 3) the
good soil, but filled with thorns and weeds in it, and 4) finally, the good
soil without thorns and seeds. Then Jesus says, "He who has ears to hear, let
him hear." I.e. He who has spiritual ears, let him hear. Many who have hard
hearts can't understand the gospel when it's being preached.
Those
already inside the kingdom of God (spiritually speaking,[Colossians 1:13]) have
this ability to hear and understand the gospel message. The parable is used to
illustrate the truth. But many who were listening were already spiritually
tuned out to what Jesus was saying. Many were there just for the miracles, free
food, and healing. Also many Pharisees and scribes were in the audience,
hostile to Jesus and what he was saying. Isaiah describes those with this
attitude. The crowd in general wanted healing and free food, but they
were indifferent to his teaching. Some feel these parables were given to try to
catch their attention in spite of the hard heartedness of many in the
crowd--talking with word pictures the crowd could easily understand. [Some
other Christians feel the parables, much like Isaiah 28:8-13 says, were given
to hide the truth--but no matter, the hard heartedness in many people's minds
hides the truth of the gospel from their ever understanding, regardless of
which interpretation you go along with.] The word parable in the Greek
is parabalo. Para means alongside, and balo means
to cast, to throw. You put the two together and you get casting
alongside, or teaching stories alongside a truth or principle.
That's the purpose of a parable, to illustrate the truth. So Jesus is doing
that and he knows the type of people he has before him, listening. Mark quotes
Isaiah here to show that many had hearts that had grown dull, hard hearted, so
they wouldn't even understand these parables. For those who wanted to hear, the
Holy Spirit would illuminate what they heard. In verse 13 Jesus now explains
the parable to his disciples. The seed sown on the wayside is about people who,
when they hear, Satan (represented by the birds in the parable) comes
immediately and takes away the Word that was sown in their hearts. Likewise,
the seed sown on the stony ground is about people who when they hear the Word,
immediately they receive it with gladness, but they have no root in themselves,
so they endure only for a time, and then afterward when persecution or
tribulation arises for the Word's sake, immediately they stumble.
The
seed sown among the thorns are the ones who hear the Word, but the cares of
this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things choke
the Word and so they become unfruitful.
The seed sown on good ground are
the ones who accept the Word and bear fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixtyfold
and some hundredfold.
Jesus explains that the seed is the Word of
God--the Gospel. Most likely the sower is Jesus, the Son of Man himself. But no
doubt the sower can also be anyone who preaches and teaches the Word of God.
Then he goes on to explain about the different soils, representing the
different hearts of people who'll hear the Word being preached and what their
reception of hearing God's Word would be like. When you teach the Word you can
see by what Jesus taught here that it would be received differently depending
on the state of mind of whoever is listening. Some will be receptive for awhile
until the going gets rough, then quit. Some will start to receive it, but Satan
and his world will take their understanding away. Some won't accept at all, and
some will grab onto what's said and not let go. That's just a fact of life
about the heart of man. All these various mindsets could be in an audience
listening to someone preaching the Word of God. It's just a spiritual fact of
life Jesus was bringing out.
The seeds sown by the wayside, the birds
that come and eat the seed up, represent Satan himself and his demon world.
That's true with some. The seed of the Word comes in, and Satan comes and
removes it before it can have any impact on their lives. Satan comes and seeks
to keep the Word of God from people's hearts, and in some cases he has 100
percent success. Certain hearts are really hard, and when they hear the Word of
God, Satan comes in and takes that Word, that seed, before it can really have
an impact on them. Paul described this very fact in 2 Corinthians when he says,
"But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light
of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on
them." Paul makes the same point. If the gospel is veiled, it is only veiled to
those who have hard hearts. [Satan and the evil broadcast of his attitudes
harden the hearts of those in this evil world and its societies so they can't
receive the gospel. Many Christians and theologians alike don't fully
understand this fact, nor the purpose for which God has allowed this to be
since Adam's time in Genesis 3. Some think they understand why God has allowed
this while others don't seem to have a clue. In Job 1 we see that the Lord uses
Satan like a pawn for his own good purposes. Never forget that God is more
powerful than Satan, and all his demon cohorts! Much will be revealed to us by
the Lord in the kingdom age to come that we don't comprehend now, I'm sure.]
Paul says, "...whose minds the god of this age have blinded." So there's folks,
people, many people who Satan and his demons have blinded. You can share the
gospel, the Truth with them and they're blinded to it. It just doesn't do
anything. Paul says again in 1 Corinthians 2:14, "But the natural man does not
receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, nor
can he know them for they are spiritually discerned." He says the natural man
cannot receive the things of God. The natural man, without the Holy Spirit just
doesn't tune in. They're just not able to receive the Word of God.
The
fact that Satan is actually allowed to take the Word of God from people's
hearts ought to show us something. There's a spiritual battle going on. That
should tell us that we need to pray for the preaching of the Word, that it go
out with power and that Satan is restrained where and when the gospel is being
preached (Ephesians 6:11-20). You know when the minister comes and ministers,
preaches the Word, he is only one person ministering to a whole group,
preaching. But you can minister also. And that is through prayer! You can be
praying that Satan be restrained, because the enemy wants to hinder the
preaching of the Word and its reception in the minds of people. He wants to
distract people. You can pray that this not happen, every Sunday
morning--before the service, during the service, you can battle in prayer, and
it will have a great effect. And if two or more are gathered together doing
this the effect will be even greater. The pastor's preaching will bring forth
fruit, and changed lives, both in the already saved, and those that need
saving, sitting in your midst. Remember Daniel Nash and his companions laboring
in prayer before and during Charles Finney's revival meetings.
Jesus
goes on and explains the next type of soil. It's the soil where the seed lands
on stony ground. At once they hear the Word and receive it with a lot of joy,
but then due to a lack of root in themselves, he says, they stumble when the
heat is turned on, trials come their way--when persecution and tribulation
come. Those who have no depth of root can't handle the heat. And that describes
this kind of heart, they receive the Word of God with joy, but when the tough
times come, they stumble. The danger is when a person's reaction to the Word of
God is only an emotional response. Faith in Christ is an issue of the will and
sometimes there's no emotion involved. That's where our roots have to go,
beyond mere emotion, down to the level of the will. Jesus was describing people
who come to him but only on the emotional level, only because it tickled their
ears, but it didn't effect their will. But when the heat of the day comes, when
persecution or difficulty comes which comes as being a part of the church, they
stumble and leave. Coming to Christ is an issue of the will, really, not an
emotional response.
Persecution, in that sense, is good for the church.
It separates the real Christians from the want-to-be's. Our prayer ought to be
Paul's prayer in Ephesians 3, "...that Christ would dwell in our hearts through
faith, that we would be rooted and grounded in love and be able to
comprehend with all the saints what is the width, length, and height to know
the love of Christ that passes knowledge, that we would be filled with all the
fullness of God." He prayed that we would be deeply rooted and grounded in
love.
The third category in verse 18, Jesus now deals with those seed
sown among the thorns. In verse 19 it shows that these are the ones who hear
the Word, but the cares of this world and the desires for other things choke
the Word, and then because of that they become unfruitful Christians. The first
two categories are definitely not made up of believers, but this third category
could very well be made up of believers, who are just barely going to make it
into the kingdom of heaven. You see this a lot in church. You see them in
church, attending but maybe there isn't a lot of fruit in their lives. The
reason, Jesus says, is they're entangled in the world--they've got two masters.
They have Jesus, and they have the world. Jesus warned the Church of Laodocia,
'I'm about to spue you out of my mouth...I'm not into this half-hearted
devotion.' That's what he's talking about when he talks about these thorns,
choking out the life. He labels these things that choke us thorns of this
world, deceitfulness of riches, and desires for other things." It's not riches
in themselves but the world's siren song that you need riches which is
deceitful. It will not give you what you want, but it will take from you the
good stuff, the fruit of God--what God wants to do in your life. If our focus
starts to turn from Christ to the world, it's going to choke out the fruit--the
Christian growth in the Spirit. That's what Jesus says here. I think of Paul in
2 Timothy when he says to Timothy, "No one engaged in warfare entangles himself
with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a
soldier, and also if anyone competes in athletics, is not crowned unless he
competes according to the rules." Paul says, if you're a Marine, you're devoted
to your Captain, to try to please him and do well. And also an athlete is
focussed on the crown, the prize and goal, and he doesn't get side-tracked.
That's what Jesus is saying, if you're running the Christian race and get
side-tracked, entangled in the cares of the world again, you're going to miss
out on the crown Christ has reserved for you. You're in danger of becoming a
fruitless believer. What kind of fruit is he talking about? He is talking about
love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, and self-control (1 Corinthians
13:4-8). If these things aren't a part of your life, your spiritual make-up,
then maybe this is the reason, you're being choked by the cares of this world,
you're distracted. A good way to know you are drifting spiritually is when
you start seeing things again in your life that were once removed. This is
talking about things that are being re-introduced into your life that the Holy
Spirit once removed before, but now are slowly coming back into your life.
(This is talking about sins, habitual sins, that were once removed by and under
the influence of the Holy Spirit.) If you're not growing, you are not really
stationary, you're actually drifting backward. To hedge against drifting you
must get anchored in Christ. Hebrews 2:1, "Therefore we must give the most
earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away." Unless you do
this you will drift away, seeing things come back into your life that were
taken out. Paul said in 2 Corinthians, "While we do not look at the things
which are seen but at the things which are not seen, for the things that are
seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal." The rest of
the stuff (which riches bring) are great if you are blessed with them, but they
are still temporary. Don't get focussed on them.
The last category Jesus
mentioned is the seed that fell on good ground. This is the soil that when seed
falls on it, it just bears fruit and fruit and more fruit. People in this
category just keep on bearing spiritual fruit and fruit in multiple amounts.
Luke says that these are people that hear the Word, those that receive it, and
those that keep it--hearing, receiving and keeping the Word, three vital things
that make one fruitful. That is the power of the Word of God when applied
properly in a person's life. It's amazing, the harvest that can come from the
Word of God planted on good soil--a receptive mind that hears, receives and
keeps the Word of God.
In conclusion, let's look in John 15. Jesus said
in verse 4, "Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of
itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.
I'm the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much
fruit. For without me, you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he
is cast out as a branch, is withered and they gather them and they throw them
into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in me and my words in you, you
will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you. By this my Father is
glorified, if you bear much fruit, so you be my disciples. Jesus says here in
John, if you abide in Christ, in him, you will grow. In verse 7 he says, 'If
you'll abide in me and my words abide in you--as you obey my words and they
begin to grow in you, you'll be fruitful, and you're going to grow in
Christ.'
That's what David said in Psalm 1. He said, "Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the way of mockers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and he
meditates on it day and night. He's like a tree planted by springs of water
which will yield its fruit in season. Whatever he does prospers..." As the Word
of God goes out, if it's properly assimilated, it will cause you to grow.
That's what Jesus says in John chapter 15. 'If you want to grow, just abide in
me...it will take place very naturally.'
Then John says in 1 John 3, not
only will abiding in Christ cause good stuff to grow, but it will also cause
the bad stuff to be pushed out of you. 1 John 3:6, "No one who lives in him
keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known
him." John says, if you abide in him, you're not going to sin. If you abide in
him it's going to produce fruit in your life, causing these beautiful things to
grow. And it's also going to cause the things that you wish weren't there to
just go out of you. You may not even be able to understand how this takes
place, but it will just take place.
Mark 4:21-34
Mark 4:21-34. "He said to them, 'Do you bring in a lamp to put
it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don't you put it on its stand? For whatever
is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be
brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let him
hear.'
'Consider carefully what you hear,' he continued. 'With the
measure you use, it will be measured to you--and even more. Whoever has will be
given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from
him.'
He also said, 'This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man
scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up; the
seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil
produces grain--first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the
head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the
harvest has come.'
Again he said, 'What shall we say the kingdom of God
is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard
seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it
grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that
the birds of the air can perch in its shade.'
With many similar parables
Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. He did not say
anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own
disciples, he explained everything."
Think of it this way. The spiritual
truth is like we have this spiritual valve on our heart and God has the water
pressure of his spiritual truth all the way up. But we control this spiritual
water valve. For some of us he's standing there waiting to pour his love into
our hearts, but that valve is closed shut. In some cases some people have
cracked that valve all the way open. Most of the people God has used greatly
started opening up to God at a young age. Charles Spurgeon gave his first
sermon at age 16. Greg Lorie started a Calvary Bible study at age 19 which
within a year was packing out the Anaheim Convention Center. Billy Graham was
in his early 20's when he was president of a college, Joan of Arch was just 14
when God radically used her. Many young don't have a lot of baggage we old
people do and just open that heart valve all the way open. Don't forget, Jesus
said, "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
Mark
4:21, "He said to them, 'Do you bring a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed?
Instead, don't you put it on its stand?'" John in his gospel said Jesus is
the true light that gives light to every man. John 1:1-9. "In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in
the beginning. Through him all things were made, without him nothing was made
that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The
light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. There
came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to
testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He
himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true
light that gives light to every man was coming into the world." John 3:19-21.
"This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness
instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates
the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will