October 7, 2005

“WE HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS!”

Mark 1:21-2:12

Ten years ago, Esther Ruth and I had the opportunity to spend two weeks in the land where Jesus lived when he was on earth. One of the things I found most amazing was just how small a geographical area was actually involved; especially the area around the Sea of Galilee where Jesus spent so much of his time and where much of his public ministry took place. As one stands on the hill above the Plain of Gennesaret and the lake, it is possible to see almost all the sites where significant ministry events took place.

In the center of this area, there on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee lie the ruins of the small town of Capernaum. In the center is a partially restored synagogue. While this particular synagogue represents a later era, it stands on the same site as the one Jesus’ would have worshipped and taught in, and archaeologists can even identify the line of foundation stones that would have been there in Jesus’ day. The synagogue is surrounded by excavations showing the small stone houses in which the people lived.

It is to this small fishing village that Mark’s account now takes us. This should not surprise us. As I mentioned last week, Mark was closely associated in ministry with the apostle Peter, and it was Peter’s personal, eye-witness reminiscences that Mark used to write his account. And guess what? Capernaum was Peter’s home town.

Today we are going to look at six short video clips of Jesus’ early ministry, all of them taking place in Capernaum and the surrounding area of Galilee. All six of them deal with a common theme in Mark’s presentation. It is the theme of authority.

In Mark’s opening words in Mark 1:1 he states that he is writing “the good news about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” Now, that is an astounding statement. Imagine that you are a Roman citizen, and you are presented with a document that begins with such a claim. What kinds of questions might come to your mind? One very central and obvious one would be the question of proof. Anyone can make a claim like that. But can you prove it? What kind of evidence can you present for such an outlandish statement?

The Romans especially, as a culture, put great emphasis on power and authority and credentials. Official seals and signatures and documents were the order of the day. “By what authority?” was a key question to get things done. With the right authority you could accomplish almost anything. Without it, you were helpless. So Mark begins to document the credentials, the authority of Jesus in these six video clips.

The first takes place at a Sabbath service in the synagogue. (Read Mark 1:21-22) According to custom, visitors were often given the opportunity to speak. So Jesus, as a newcomer, was extended this courtesy. But as he spoke, they were aware immediately that something was different. He taught as one who had authority and not like the teachers of the law. The scribes who usually taught would seek to support anything they said with multiple quotations from other scribes and rabbis. They had nothing new to add, no fresh spiritual food to offer. But Jesus stood and began to teach, and his words rang with authority. He didn’t have to quote anyone else. In fact his words often contradicted the standard teachings of the day. There is a verbal formula that Jesus used repeatedly in the Sermon on the Mount: You have heard…but I say unto you…This was new. This was powerful. And the people were amazed. Jesus demonstrated his authority in the realm of truth by his teaching.

The second video clip also takes place in the synagogue. Right there during the service, a man suddenly began to cry out in a loud voice. 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! Now, Mark explains that this man had an unclean spirit or demon. The Bible teaches us that there is a spiritual kingdom that is ruled over by Satan or the Devil. We have already seen Satan earlier in the chapter when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness. Satan has, under his dominion, a host of spirit beings called demons or unclean spirits. Through them he seeks to extend his influence and control over events and people. Often they are invisible and their influence can be very subtle. But under certain circumstances they  gain such control or mastery over a person that he is described as possessed by the demon or demonized. Such was the case with this man. The demon in the man recognized Jesus. In the hierarchy of the spiritual realm, he recognized that Jesus had authority over him. He reacts in terror and aversion to the Holy One of God. Jesus sternly told him to be quiet and then commanded the demon to depart. After throwing the man into one last convulsion and giving a final shriek, the demon left. Mark describes the response of the people. (Read 1:27-28) Jesus demonstrated his authority in the realm of spiritual powers by casting out demons.

For the third clip, the scene shifts a short distance from the synagogue to Simon Peter’s home. Here a domestic crisis presented itself. Peter’s mother-in-law lay sick in bed with a high fever. When they told Jesus about her, he immediately went to her, took her by the hand and lifted her up. As he did so, the fever left her. I’m sure we have all had the experience of being ill and running a high temperature. I know from my occasional bouts with malaria while living in Africa how abruptly a fever can break and depart. But I also know that the only thing I felt like doing after the fever departed was to lie very still and sleep! So powerful was Jesus’ touch that she got up immediately and began ministering her usual hospitality to Jesus and his followers. There followed that evening a scene that Peter and the other disciples would never forget. The Sabbath day, in Jewish custom, lasted from sundown to sundown. Now as soon as the sun was set and they could again work and move about freely, the whole town began to gather outside the door, bringing everyone they knew who was sick or troubled by demons. And there in the gathering dusk, after the setting of the sun, Jesus healed them, one after another. Jesus demonstrated his authority in the physical realm by healing the sick.

The next scene moves us from dusk to dawn. In spite of the long day of ministry the day before, Jesus rose very early, while it is still dark. He slipped, unobserved, out of the house and out of the village to a deserted area where he could be alone, and he spent the time in prayer. When the rest of the village awoke, they again begin to gather around the house to pick up again where they left off the night before. When they discovered that Jesus was missing, Peter and the other disciples set out to find him. When they finally located him, they were rather put out with Jesus. Everyone is looking for you! Jesus, fresh from his time in prayer to his Heavenly Father, refused to be manipulated by the situation. “Come on,” he says, “It’s time to move on to the other villages nearby so that I can preach in them as well. That is the reason I have come.” Is there an authority issue in this scene? I believe there is, although it is more subtle than the others. In this scene, Jesus demonstrated that the source of his authority was heavenly by remaining true to his divine agenda. He refused to be bound by the tyranny of human need or popular expectations. He had a divine mission to fulfill. That mission alone would set his agenda and determine his time table.

The fifth video clip takes place during this Galileean preaching tour. It is a very moving and powerful story. It involves a man with leprosy. Leprosy was the AIDS of the ancient world. It was the most dreaded of all diseases. There was no cure. Everyone who acquired it eventually died. But even worse than that was the social stigma and isolation caused by the disease. Once someone was diagnosed with leprosy, he was required by law to be quarantined from the rest of society and his own family in order to prevent the disease from spreading. They lived in isolated places with other lepers. If they ventured out in public, they were required to call out “Unclean! Unclean!” if anyone got too close. It was a kind of living death that often dragged on for many years. This man came to Jesus, begging for help and falling on his knees in front of him. His words are a poignant mix of hope and despair. If you are willing, you can make me clean. Somehow, he had the faith to believe in Jesus’ power. But he was not yet convinced of Jesus’ willingness. Did his compassion extend to the dregs of society, the outcast whom everyone else had rejected?

I love Jesus’ response. The text tells us that he was moved with a deep visceral compassion. Then he did something remarkable. He stretched out his hand and he touched him! This was probably the first time this man had been touched by anyone since he’d been driven from his home and family with the words “Unclean!” ringing in his ears. Jesus defied all the social restrictions of his day, broke all the rules, and touched him. Then he spoke: I am willing. Be clean. And immediately the leprosy left him. His skin and flesh were whole and clean again. Jesus demonstrated the extent of his authority by curing the incurable.

As I’ve said, leprosy was deemed incurable. There are only two accounts of anyone being healed from leprosy in the Old Testament. The first was the case of Moses’ sister Miriam. She was miraculously stricken with leprosy when she argued against Moses’ leadership. She was in turn cleansed of the leprosy when she repented. The second was the case of Naaman, a Syrian general whom Elisha the prophet cured as a testimony to that nation. There are no cases of any Jews ever being cured of the awful disease. It was a disease that was held by popular belief to be a disease that only Messiah himself could cure. This aids in our understanding of the follow-up to this story. Let’s read it: (Read v. 43-45) This was God’s design. There were specific instructions in the Law of Moses for someone to be proclaimed clear of leprosy. As far as we know, these instructions remained unused throughout Israel’s long history. Can you imagine the impact on the temple hierarchy if a man from Galilee showed up and asked to be pronounced clean?

“How did this happen?”

“The man named Jesus healed me!”

It was to be a testimony to them. “Go right away!” Jesus said. “Don’t linger along the way. Don’t tell anyone what happened. Go offer the commanded sacrifices. Then return and celebrate with your family.” Sadly, the man ignored Jesus’ command. With understandable but still misguided enthusiasm, he told everyone he could. As a result, the priests in Jerusalem never saw the evidence of Jesus’ authority. What’s more, Jesus’ local ministry was hindered. This case brought so much attention to his ministry that he could no longer even enter the villages. He had to stay out in the uninhabited areas and let people come to him.

The final video clip we want to look at today takes us back again to the town of Capernaum. Some days later, Jesus returned to the town, and was again in a home; very possibly Peter’s once again. Word spread that he was back. The people gathered. They filled the house and spilled out the door. We are told that there were so many that there was no room to even stand outside the door. Outside, seeking a way in were four men, each carrying one of the four corners of stretcher-bed. On the bed lay their friend. He is identified only as paralytic. Whether the paralysis was the result of a disease or an accident, we can only speculate. He lay helpless, unable to move. His four friends were convinced that if only they could get him to Jesus, Jesus could heal him. But there was no way to get close to the door, let alone through it into the presence of Jesus. But they refused to give up. They carried their friend up the outside stairs onto the flat roof of the house. With rough calculation, they figure out where the living room must be. Then, taking whatever tools they could find, they began to attack the roof, prying up tiles, pulling away the supports, until they broke through to the room below and had enlarged a hole big enough for the stretcher to pass through. I have often wondered what Peter thought of all this, if it was, in fact, his house! Once the hole was large enough, they lowered the stretcher down, with their friend on it, right in front of Jesus. I can just picture the faces of these four friends, peering down into the room below to see what would happen.

Now the story really gets interesting. The text says: When Jesus saw their faith…Whose faith? My own opinion is that it was the faith of the man and his friends. I don’t believe they took him unwillingly to Jesus. But the faith of the friends was definitely a part of the story. When Jesus saw their faith - what did he do? Here’s another surprising twist in the story. He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Be honest. If you’d never heard this story before, is that what you would have expected? I wouldn’t have. The man is paralyzed. He has a physical problem. He needs to be healed. Why is Jesus talking about forgiving sins? Had this man sinned so grievously that God inflicted the paralysis on him in judgment? It is useless to speculate on this individual case. We don’t know enough. We can say that beneath all our personal and physical problems lies a deeper spiritual problem; the problem of sin. We can also say that any solution to our physical and personal problems that does not ultimately get to the bottom of our sin problem will ultimately be only a temporary solution. So Jesus reaches out to address the core issue, the problem of sin in the man’s heart. Your sins are forgiven.

These words provoked a reaction among the teachers of the law who were gathered in the room. Look at it in verses 6-7. (Read)

Here is the important part about their reasoning. They were absolutely right about their basic premise. Only God can forgive sins. At least in the absolute sense that Jesus uses the phrase here. We can and should personally forgive offenses that others may commit against us. But we cannot give absolution or forgiveness for all of a man’s sins the way Jesus forgave this man. That left only two possible conclusions. Either Jesus was blaspheming be taking to himself a power that belonged to God alone. Or he was, in fact, God in human form. Jesus goes on to force the issue. He knew what they were thinking. From their faces, their body language, and from his own ability to know the spirits of men, he knew their internal debate. Look at verses 8-12: “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 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.

Here is the reasoning. Only God can forgive sins. Jesus has just assumed the prerogative of deity in forgiving the sins of the paralytic. That is a hard thing to do. In fact it is an impossible thing to do unless you are God. But…it is not a hard thing to say because the forgiveness of sins is something invisible. There is no visible evidence of whether it has happened or not. To heal a paralyzed man is also an impossible thing to do – unless you are God. But this thing is not only hard to do. It is also hard to say, because the proof is visible before everyone’s eyes. “So,” Jesus says, “I will prove I have the power to do one by doing the other.” So he spoke the words, and the man got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all.

Jesus demonstrated his authority and identity as the Son of God by doing what only God could do.

The response of the watching crowd was instantaneous. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Remember Mark’s opening statement: “This is the good news about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” We talked about the response of a citizen of Rome when he read those words. Now Mark’s book has been placed into your hands. How do you respond when you read those opening words? Do you ask, “How can I know that it is true?” It’s a fair question! But when you ask a question, you need to listen to the answer. Mark’s response is quick and sure: “Let me tell you what he did. Let me relate to you the credentials that demonstrate his authority. He taught with authority. He cast out demons with authority and they obeyed him. He healed the sick. He kept to his divine agenda. He cured the incurable. He did what only God could do.”

With this evidence, based on eye-witness accounts, the challenge remains the same today as it did in Jesus’ day as presented in Jesus’ own words in Mark 1:15. Repent and believe the good news!