An Overview of Chapters 1-5

    In Chapter One Frame argues that there is no neutrality in apologetics, i.e. a Christian of necessity must argue from his Christian understanding. This does not mean that there is no common ground between a believer and unbeliever, for all unbelievers have a faded memory of the true God. Furthermore, the success of the Christian apologist is assured because the true God is active in convincing unbelievers. Frame sees the apologist, not as replacing God, but as working with God “practicing a divinely ordained human vocation” (17).

    Frame argues that belief in the sufficiency of Scripture does not diminish the value of natural revelation, which he sees as “the word of God” and “authoritative” (23), as long as extra-biblical data is subordinated to the “corrective” measures of Scripture. He sees verbal revelation as meeting man’s need of a saving promise and as a means “to correct our sinful misinterpretations of natural revelation” (22). This is an important point that Frame makes in viewing natural revelation through the lens of Scripture.

    In Chapter Two Frame sets forth the message of the Christian apologist establishing the philosophical framework from which a believer argues. A Christian does apologetics from a metaphysical belief in the ultimate reality of a personal God who as Creator is distinct from creation, who is sovereign and who exists as a Trinity. This leads the apologist to argue on the basis of a personal rather than an impersonal plan for the world. This also means that though God is immanent in that He is involved in all of creation, He is yet transcendent in His separate-ness from creation. The Christian apologist stands on the ground of God’s sovereignty in that He rules the world and works all things according to His wisdom. The doctrine of the Trinity preserves the personality of God as well as the oneness and diversity of creation.

    A Christian apologist’s epistemology presupposes that God is the origin of truth and the authority for all knowledge. As opposed to human reason, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.

    The message of the Christian apologist is not simply an alternative to conventional wisdom but is good news because it offers the free gift of divine forgiveness.

    Chapters Three through Five discuss methodological issues in apologetics as well as proof for the existence of God and the gospel. Frame interacts with Van Til’s presuppositionalism (transcendentalism) showing both the positive benefits as well as the limits of the transcendental argument. He also shows that the use of traditional arguments are not antithetical to presuppositionalism. Frame, as a presuppositionalist, is more friendly that Van Til to the use of traditional arguments. He does not believe that there is one single argument that can prove the existence of God. Unlike Van Til, Frame believes that positive arguments are useful and can be just as transcendental as negative ones. Frame appeals for a presuppositionalism of the heart that does not simply depend upon argument itself but also “the behavior/language” (87) accompanying the argument. Frame argues that it may not be possible to distinguish presuppositional and traditional apologetics simply on the externals, because they both may employ similar empirical phenomena. The difference lies in the attitude of the heart.

    Frame introduces various arguments for the existence of God. One is an argument on the basis of morals -”Moral values, therefore God” (91). He argues that you moral obligation within relationships and that you can only have an absolute moral obligation with an absolute person. You can only have absolute moral standards if an absolute moral person exists. The God of the Bible best fits the kind of God that absolute morality demands. Another argument is an epistemological one that begins with human rationality and leads to an absolute rational divine personality. He also shows how certain metaphysical arguments (teleological, cosmological, ontological) can be utilized moving from the implications of a reality in the universe to God. Frame appears to have retained a presuppositional apologetic while showing how evidential arguments are useful within the framework of presuppositionalism.

Chapter Six: “Apologetics as Defense, the Problem of Evil, 1- Questions, General Principles, and Blind Alleys”

    Frame discusses the issue of resolving the problem of why evil exists in a world where God is supposedly good and powerful. His approach is to examine the teaching of Scripture. At the outset he confesses the inability to find complete answers though we can find answers that bring encouragement (152). In this chapter he first disposes of solutions that contradict the Bible. Describing evil as an un-reality or an illusion contradicts what the Bible teaches about God’s sovereignty over all events, good and evil (156). Suggesting that God is incapable of overcoming evil undermines the biblical teaching of God’s omnipotence and sovereignty (157). Saying that a world with evil is the best possible world and one which is logically necessary to achieve certain ends is a plausible explanation, yet it assumes that God is not free to make things that are imperfect (158-9). The defense that asserts that evil exists because of the free choice of rational creatures allows for a freedom that goes beyond the Bible. Men are free to carry out only what God has foreordained (161). The explanation that views evil as a character building device assumes that the character which God desires can not be developed in any other way (163-4). The argument that a stable environment is necessary for human life and therefore creates the possibility of evil mistakenly blames creation rather than the evil of human hearts (164-5). The assertion that God is the indirect, not direct, cause of evil does not logically, though true, relieve him of responsibility for evil (165). The solution that God is outside of law and therefore free to do things which we perceive as wrong fails to recognize that, though we are forbidden to criticize God, he yet conforms to the law which he has given to us (166-8). Frame, lastly argues against the explanation for evil that simply attacks the unbeliever who offers the question rather than answering the question (168-170).

Chapter Seven: “Apologetics as Defense, the Problem of Evil, 2 – A Biblical Response”

    In this chapter, Frame begins arguing that the absence of a clear answer to the problem of evil is God’s prerogative, soliciting trust from us. In the absence of cogent explanations, we are to simply accept and obey what the Bible clearly reveals and to trust Him for the doubts and suspicions we may have (171-178). He proceeds to explain that believers have a “new historical perspective.” This perspective includes a look at the past where God people waited and suffered until the justice and mercy of God were vindicated at the cross. This perspective also includes an outlook on the present that utilizes a refinement of the greater-good defense. Since God’s ultimate purpose is to glorify himself and our chief end to glorify him and enjoy him then the Scripture teach certain ways that God uses evil to bring about greater good (184-7). Also, this new perspective offers encouragement to trust and obey while we wait for that day when there will not be a problem with evil (187-9). Finally, Frame concludes: “Believers, even with their new hearts, do continue to ask about the problem of evil. But there are so many reasons for giving thanks that we can never look at evil with the same passion as the unbeliever” (190).

Evaluation of Chapters Six and Seven

For the most part, Frame briefly, yet adequately refutes the inadequate answers to the problem of evil. The one place where his refutation is lacking is in his discussion of the “Free-Will Defense.” On page 161 he offers scriptural proof that God determines free choices, both good and evil. The problem is that none of the verses cited by Frame offer the same degree of certitude regarding God’s determination of free choices. What can be deduced from those verses is that man’s free choices fulfill God’s plan, correlate with God’s plan; are overruled to accomplish God’s plan, etc. In the purest sense of the word “free”, no one is free. Our freedom is not exercised in a vacuum but in a world where God is sovereign and powerful. Nevertheless our freedom is actual and is in some ways an explanation for the evil that exists. However, our freedom is never a threat to God’s sovereignty and power; our freedom will never thwart his ultimate plan for the universe; and the evil that our freedom creates will never be so great as to be beyond God’s justice and mercy. All of this is not so far from Frames earlier statement in chapter one that “… God’s sovereignty does not exclude, but engages, human responsibility. Indeed, it is God’s sovereignty that grants human responsibility, that gives freedom and significance to human choices and actions, that ordains an important human role within God’s plan for history” (15).

    The greater-good argument correlates with the free-will argument as an expression of God’s power and wisdom over the evil that free-will creates. God allows evil and employs evil to accomplish greater glory for Himself. We do not have all the answers as to why God foreordains an evil event, but knowing that he does encourages us to trust him in the midst of evil (187). Because believers have a new heart, they “can never look at evil with the same passion as an unbeliever” (190).

Chapter Eight – “Apologetics as Offense: Critique of Unbelief”

    In this chapter Frame reviews the fundamental distinction between the “absolute personality of Christianity and the ultimate impersonalism of every other system…” (191). He shows that the unbeliever in his suppression of the knowledge of God and of truth enters two ways of thinking: atheism and idolatry. Atheism and idolatry may be held in isolation from each other or they may be mixed together. Frame sees atheism and idolatry as the only alternatives to Christianity, either the unbeliever denies all gods or gives his allegiance to a false god. He offers arguments against what he calls atheistic relativism, idolatrous rationalism, and atheistic idolatry (201-2).

    His last chapter is an example of how to talk to a stranger about the gospel. The book closes with an evaluation of the Ligonier apologetic as opposed to presuppositionalism. Frame adequately shows that an evidential apologetic that “starts with the self’ is a rationalistic apologetic that denies the biblical assertions upon which Van Til’s apologetics were based: “(1) that human beings are obligated to presuppose God in all their thinking, and (2) that unbelievers resist this obligation in every aspect of thought and life” (223). Frame shows how presuppositionalism utilizes rational arguments and how evidentialism is often presuppositional. The main point of difference is how evidentialists and presuppositionalists understand autonomy. Evidentialists hold that before one can presuppose God he must first think about Him, i.e. “we can not make God our supreme standard unless we know that he exists” (228). On the other hand, presuppositionalists, going back to Van Til’s two main assertions, hold that autonomous reasoning is not possible, because all reasoning is inherently religious, either acknowledging the truth about God or suppressing it in atheism or idolatry.

Asking the Right Questions about the End of the World

The previous passage contrasted the honor one might obtain in human society by concealing one’s allegiance to Jesus and his teaching with the shame or repudiation seen in the light of our participation of God’s eternal kingdom. Jesus spoke about dying for the gospel, a real possibility for first-century Christians and for Christians in many parts of the world today. Although I have never faced imprisonment or threats of death for my faith in Christ I have had the opportunity to meet those who have. There can be no dying for the gospel if not living for and in the gospel.

Shame now, sacrifice now, losing your life for Christ’s sake and for the gospel, is a small price to pay for future honor and acknowledgment. You progressively and purposefully grow in what it means to lose your life (translated “soul” in Matt. & Luke, “life” in Mark) for Christ’s sake and for the “gospel” (only Mark). This involves the literal loss of earthly life which we are called to accept as a potential result of following Jesus. We can extend this to the loss of privilege, reputation, advantages, comfort and so forth yet we must not set aside the radical and primary focus of the text. Let us be clear – to cling to life according to that which humanity values most is the way to forfeit true life. The acceptance of the possibility of death, for the right reasons, is the way to real life. Jesus himself in his death and resurrection will be the supreme example of this new perspective, one which we must adopt but cannot without a new and deeper understanding of who Jesus is along with a fresh and ongoing experience of his grace.

The specific mention of the “gospel” in Mark is related to an active role in mission where Christians more often encounter persecution and death. And we will have to ask ourselves – “Living in a time and place where persecution and martyrdom are unlikely how should be lose our lives for Christ’s sake and the gospel?” You may never suffer real persecution or martyrdom for the gospel but if you adopt the attitude of sacrifice and the investment of your life for the gospel you will be prepared to live for Christ or to die for him. The gospel does not call us to ease, to the advancement of our purposes, and to the attaining of our comfort and material acquisitions. That is not the message we find in the Bible. It is not the message the message you will find in this church. It may be too radical for many but by God’s grace we will not lower the bar. We are not about buildings, about programs, about entertainment, about Christian consumerism or health and wealth prosperity, about meeting all our felt needs. We are about the gospel, about worship, about mission, about the glory of God.

Now Jesus will give us a glimpse through the eyes of three disciples – not only of what will be when he comes in glory – but what and who he is now. Talking about “losing your life” for the gospel sounds pessimistic. They needed to see something that would in time enable them to face death not as an enemy to avoid but as following in the steps of Jesus. We will see that Jesus is more than he appears to be (and the same can be said of his kingdom. The veiling of Jesus did not alter the reality of his glorious person. Neither does the veiling of the God’s present reign alter the reality of its present outworking.

In asking questions about the end of the world as did the disciples there are some truths that need to be established. Jesus will give fuller teaching on the end of the world in chapter 13. For now, let’s see that the right questions are not about how and when the world will end but how will we live in a world that does not recognize Jesus as king. In other words, how do we as Christians live in a world hostile to the cross? It is easy to allow the modern era and world events determine our questions.

1. The Bible is not preoccupied with many of our questions
How a Christian should live and die was of far more the concern to the community to which Mark wrote this gospel than the fruitless speculations of our days. How do they live as a persecuted minority which has adopted a new way of seeing and new way living, a way that will lead for many to martyrdom? When seen in that context the questions which are often asked and the answers given are far removed from biblical concerns. How often have we heard people announce the end of the world (Camping), to see in present day events some supposed fulfillment of biblical prophecy? Obviously we should study what the Bible says about future things – we call that eschatology – but we should not be fixated on figuring everything out, we should avoid fanciful interpretations, and we should shun sensationalism which creates either unrealistic expectations or unnecessary fear.

The passage before us demonstrates the difficulty of interpretation. To what was Jesus referring in 9:1? What is clear is that Jesus gave a select group of disciples a promise that they would not die before they saw the kingdom of God after it had come in power. There is disagreement on what event 9:1 refers to – cross, resurrection, ascension or even the destruction of Jerusalem. However, it seems best to understand that in the immediate following event, in his transfiguration, Jesus provides a preview of the future glory of the kingdom of God, a kingdom which Mark had already described as “near” (1:15), a kingdom which Jesus inaugurated as evidenced by his authority over, demons, disease, and death, yet a kingdom that cannot be immediately perceived by the senses but must be experienced in submission to the king.

The disciples have a heavenly preview although future events like those mentioned would make this clearer. They needed reassurance after the projection for their likely destiny – “to taste death” – perhaps not only to die but to die violently. This event enabled them to see God’s sovereignty affirmed and his purposes worked out in the coming of the Messiah. There was a visible alteration of Jesus (word for metamorphosis). Matthew alone reports that Jesus’ face shone like the sun. Luke 9:32 tells us “they saw his glory.” However that they did not perceive the significance can be seen later in James and John’s request that they be seated in place of honor in the kingdom (10:35-37) and the disciples arguing about who would be the greatest (8:33-34). All this leaves the disciples bewildered. You have to love these guys. They are so much like us! And Peter didn’t know what to say so he said something – build three tents so this experience can continue.But compare 2 Peter 2:16-18 which Peter wrote having grasped what it was all about:
16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.

Why Elijah and Moses? Promise of Elijah’s return (Mal. 4:4-6). 5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”

“A prophet like Moses” (Deut. 18:15-19). Both symbolized the coming of the long-expected Messianic Age. Both considered “deathless” – Elijah taken to heaven and Moses’ grave never found. Both met with God at Mt. Sinai and heard his voice (echoes of Ex. 24 where Moses takes three with him, then the cloud covers the mount for six days). Now on another unidentified mountain (not important which mountain since the kingdom does not have territorial limitations or distinctions). How much of this the disciples grasped we don’t know but their presence evoked a sense of the climatic place and ongoing purpose of God in the presence of Christ.

2. To follow Jesus now in his suffering is to share in his ultimate triumph and glory
Mark 8:31 and 9:12 are like parentheses – “the Son of Man must suffer many things” and is part of the key to unlock the meaning of this passage. We understand the presence of God’s kingdom in the world today means that God reigns in and over us, not that we reign. Losing our lives for Christ’s sake and the gospel are possible only when we adopt the truth of God reigning in us rather than us reigning in the world. At times in history churches have sought to exercise secular authority over populations. It has always resulted in disaster. In our times it is tempting to impose our way of life on people, forgetting that our way of life is impossible apart from God’s work of regeneration = giving us a new heart, new eyes, and new life.

Luke tells us that Moses and Elijah spoke about his “departure.” Christ’s rejection and death will lead to vindication and his followers must be prepared for similar experiences. How ironic it is today that many Christians have visions of reigning now and imposing their values on others by law rather than by radical devotion to Christ. Recently a mass rally was held in Washington D.C. with tens of thousands, mostly Republicans, mostly middle-class and white, and with many evangelical Christians in attendance. Among the organizers and speakers were radio personalities and political aspirants. What was most interesting to me was a claim that “America today begins to turn back to God.” Certainly there are elements of political conservatism which resonate with conservative Christians. This makes for good drama and good business. However, 1) the God who was invoked by the speaker in question God is not the God of the Bible, 2) America can’t turn back to some mythical past, and 3) God’s political agenda is the kingdom of Christ, presently inaugurated awaiting eschatological consummation. We as the church of Jesus Christ, the people of God, must not pander to a political party – whether right or left, red or blue – or follow any call to action or demand for allegiance which contradicts Scripture and/or contravenes our calling as disciples of Christ. We may be lonely at times and fewer in number than if we were to follow a populist agenda and jumped on the right bandwagons. I am not suggesting that Christians abandon the political process and abdicate their responsibility as citizens in a modern democracy. I am saying that we must never equate the kingdom of God with any human political agenda.

I Pt. 2:9 – “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation (ethnos), a people for his own possession.” There you have it – nationally, religiously, ethnically, and politically! In Christ our lives are given eternal significance as we are caught in God’s story, as we journey in his history.

There are many voices clamoring for attention today. The Father had already spoken in 1:11 “You are my beloved son; with you I am well pleased.” Now the Father says, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” You don’t get to live life your way any longer. You are a subject of Christ’s kingdom, part of Christ’s church which does not receive her charter or her orders from the State, and as such liable to rejection because you confess Christ as Lord. As such, there is no political, national, or ethnic allegiance which trumps our allegiance to Christ. Someone has said: “The political left is not noticeably more interesting than the political right; both sides tend toward solutions that act as if the world has not ended and begun in Jesus” (Resident Aliens, 28). When we witness our world as it is we are reminded that something is wrong and that Someone has come to set things right.

3. The world as we know it will end but there is more – a new heaven and earth with a king
This scene transports us into the future, a glimpse of the reality of knowing and being known. Moses and Elijah were there as themselves. We may not know exactly how they looked or what form they took since at the resurrection they along with us will receive glorified bodies like Jesus’ resurrection body. Elijah and Moses were in what we call the intermediate state. It is the time between our death and the resurrection of the body. We know little about the nature of our existence at that time except that we will be “with the Lord.” But we will be with him in a disembodied state, that is, without the body which we receive at the resurrection. Going to heaven then is not the ultimate destiny of believers. As one writer (N. T. Wright) puts it, there is life after life after death. There is life after death but there is also life after that intermediate period between death and resurrection.

The prophecy concerning Elijah’s return has been fulfilled in John the Baptist (explicit in Matthew 17) in his rejection and death. This is the pattern which will be fulfilled in Jesus. Rejection and death (compare Elijah and Moses – rejection although their death was unusual). Some understand that there will be a double fulfillment and that Elijah will appear again. That may be. Yet we see that the Malachi fulfillment as taught correctly by the scribes was fulfilled in a way that was not fully anticipated. I fully expect that we will all receive some correction of our understanding of future events.

Notice the double use of “it is written.” These things are necessary as part of Old Testament patterns and prophecies. There will be rejection and death. And yet the tone is not gloomy or fatalistic. The death of Christ is not meaningless or a tragic fate but freely accepted and filled with purpose.

The death of Jesus was not the triumph of Christ’s enemies but the fulfillment of the Father’s eternal purposes. The disciples needed to see not only Jesus’ destiny but their own. They were slow to learn but they came to understand that in light of who Jesus was that discipleship could never be the same and neither would they. You either live in society which has been called a “vast supermarket of desire” where you are encouraged to stand alone, take what the world owes you, and create your own reality. Or you will be part of that band of Jesus followers, perhaps insignificant in number – certainly when compared to events which draw huge crowds in our day mostly for entertainment – refusing to exercise power and influence by coercion, and yet like the disciples, having had a glimpse, faint as it may be, of the glory, majesty, and splendor of King Jesus, who reigns, and before whom one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. As for me, I bow today. I confess today and invite you to join with me and others in confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Faith in the God-Sent King

Introduction:

In this text we have two severe crises and one great need in the midst of these crises.

The great need is to have faith that Jesus Christ is the God-sent King whose Kingdom triumphs over all kingdoms.

On the surface it may seem that the great need is to be delivered from a crisis, and in both of these instances the external crisis was resolved. But the deeper crisis in the lives of these two people and the disciples is the crisis of faith.

Do we believe that the kingdom of Jesus triumphs over the kingdom of Satan? Even though that kingdom is not here in its fullness, is the kingdom present and growing?

Both of the miracles that take place are signs and promises of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. They are not ends in and of themselves nor are they ultimate final deliverances. Eventually both people that are delivered will die. The ultimate deliverance is that from unbelief to faith.

    The most difficult challenge in life is not simply to endure great suffering. The most difficult challenge is to have faith in the midst of suffering that the Kingdom of Jesus triumphs over the kingdom of Satan.

    I know that someone may say after seeing the outcome of these stories that “of course it easy to believe when your crisis is resolved.” But if you read carefully you see that faith was present before the crises were resolved. The resolution of the crisis did not bring them to faith, it strengthened an already existing faith. The record of these miracles strengthens our faith in Jesus Christ (John 20:31).

    Both of these miracles display Christ’s power over the ultimate enemy – kingdom of darkness and death. According to the OT law a dead body and a hemorrhaging body had the same uncleanness because the loss of blood or bodily fluid was the loss of life. Ultimately, His resurrection will declare emphatically that He has power over death and the grave. In some sense our call to faith is a bit easier because we live in this side of the resurrection.

Today I want us to see that God calls us to believe that Jesus Christ is the God-sent King who Kingdom triumphs over all kingdoms.

34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

36 Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

Colossians 2:6-7 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

2 Cor 5: 7 We live by faith, not by sight.

Is Jesus the One sent by God who ushers in a kingdom that invades and plunders the kingdom of Satan?

The Invitation to Faith

21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet 23 and pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” 24 So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years.

    Jesus crosses over the Sea of Galilee from Gerasa on the east side of the lake to Capernaum in Galilee. This is His year of popularity as his fame spreads. A huge crowd gathers around him. But Mark focuses our attention on two individuals. One is a good Jewish man names Jairus who is president of the synagogue. The other is an unnamed, impoverished woman who is ritually unclean because of her illness.

We see from these two intertwined stories that what often invites people to Jesus is the crisis that they find themselves in.

    Both Jairus and this woman are in the middle of a crisis. Jairus has a daughter who is near death. He is helpless, broken hearted, and desperate. The woman is at the end of herself. She has exhausted her resources and has been disappointed by every available means of help.

    On the one hand we have a father who is hurting because he looks at the pain of someone he loves. On the other hand we have someone who is hurting because her life for 12 years has been one of physical suffering and enduring one disappointment after another.

    There is tremendous social significance in this story. We have a male of high status in society and a woman who is a marginalized outcast because of her physical condition.

Jesus is prepared to help anyone who comes to him in faith. His kingdom incorporates all strata of society – those on the top and the bottom of the social scale. They all enter the same way – faith.

    Jairus and this woman are you and I and everyone. We suffer for the love we have for others and we suffer for our own personal pain. We find ourselves helpless to relieve the suffering of those whom we love and we find ourselves frequently disappointed by all efforts to solve our own personal dilemmas.

Life eventually brings everyone to a point of crisis and sometimes to many crises. Desperation is often a catalyst for spiritual growth. It often drives people to Jesus. Desperation is not fun but it’s useful.

    Your crisis is God’s invitation to come to the end of yourself and to come to Christ.

    Think for a moment of what it took for this man to come to Jesus. He was a man of position and pride. We know that many men who held similar positions were antagonistic to Jesus. Religious rulers were threatened by the growing popularity of Jesus Christ and the power of His teaching. He risks his reputation and friendships by this bold public act.

    Unlike Nicodemus who came to Jesus at night to ask him questions, Jairus comes to Jesus on a crowded lakeshore and prostrates himself before Christ. He forgets his position and his pride and falls on his knees, begging for help. Matthew uses the term for “worship” to describe this act of respect and urgency.

    He is a helpless father with a needy 12 yr old whom he is responsible to protect and provide for – but it helpless.

Ultimately, this is how anyone must come to Jesus – in a simple, desperate faith that is rooted in knowledge of our own helplessness and hopelessness and His ability to help. (Mark has told us much about Jesus –the beloved Son of God, the Messianic king who invades and plunders the kingdom of Satan; the one who declares the arrival of His kingdom and calls everyone to repent and believe the gospel.

In other words, when Jesus preached the gospel, He was preaching “the gospel of the kingdom” (Matt. 24:14)—that the kingdom of God was breaking into this present world through the life, death, resurrection and ascension of the Messiah. The gospel, then, is the message of the Kingdom. Repenting and believing is the means by which we are included in the gospel story of God’s work throughout history. God is redeeming for Himself a people out of a fallen world; we enter into the gospel story by grace through faith alone.

To declare Jesus and to declare the gospel is the same thing. Jesus does not bring the gospel—he is the gospel, because the gospel is that God has broken into history and accomplished everything necessary for our salvation.”

At this point in the life and ministry of Jesus, the death and resurrection have not taken place. The gospel at this point includes the announcement of His kingdom and the evidence of his invasion and plundering of Satan’s kingdom.

Faith in Jesus at this point in Mark’s narrative means believing that He is the one sent by God to bring in the kingdom that triumphs over sin, disease, and death. Today faith includes the heart of the gospel – the substitutionary death and resurrection of Jesus.

Why not begin to see the crisis which you face as God’s invitation for you to come to Jesus Christ in faith?

We not only come to Him this way in salvation but we keep coming throughout life. Our peace is found in our coming to the end of ourselves and in faith trusting only Him.

    As Jesus responds to this man’s plea and begins to go with him, their journey is interrupted.

The Clarification of Faith

25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” 31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

In this large crowd there is a desperate woman suffering for 12 years, impoverished as a result of trying to find a cure, and hopeless because all available medical knowledge has been exhausted. She suffers from continual loss of blood that makes her ritually unclean according to the Mosaic Law. Whatever she touched became unclean. If people in the crowd knew her condition they would have ostracized her.   �

This woman takes a great risk just by being a in a crowd of ritually clean Jews and then by touching a holy man like Jesus. Her response of “fear and trembling” when she is exposed is understandable. She would face condemnation and ostracizing by the crowd. She knew that she had not approached Jesus in a socially proper manner. She simply wanted to sneak in and sneak out (Borrowed).

Jesus says, “Who touched me?” “What strange words,” the disciples thought! Everyone was touching Jesus, as the crowds pressed against him. The disciples aren’t as spiritually perceptive. They aren’t aware that it was a touch that was rooted in faith. God honored the faith of this woman and released healing power from Jesus to her. Jesus was aware that it was more than an accidental touch.

Jesus wants us to understand the nature of true faith. He wants to remove any errors from us of magical thinking. He also wanted her to move beyond impersonal action to a real personal interaction with him. We to know that it wasn’t the touch but God through Jesus himself who secured her healing.

She came to the right person for the right reason – he could help her.

Rather, the woman was healed because she touched Jesus believing that God would heal her if she could only but touch the one whom he had sent. This was the reason why God’s healing power had gone forth from Jesus just as soon as she touched him. This becomes clear in verse 34 when Jesus “said to her, `Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.’” Jesus not only heals her, he then pronounces a divine benediction upon her–”go in peace and be free.” This benediction refers both to her emotional distress (“peace”) and physical illness (her suffering).

How often religious people rely on relics to promote spirituality – a picture of Jesus, a cross, the Shroud of Turin, the bleeding heart of Mary, or a type of Christianity that says do this and this and everything will be right. You don’t need to be “touched by an angel” or to touch an angel. God is interested in one thing only – FAITH in Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 11:6

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Jesus makes clear that faith is not a private matter. By asking, “Who touched me?” he calls her to confess him before others. “Private faith” is an oxymoron. Baptism is about making a public confession of faith in Jesus Christ. An “unbaptized Christian” is also an oxymoron.

Jesus calls all who follow him to confess him publicly:

Matthew 10:32-33

“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.

Psalm 107:1-2

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.Let the redeemed of the LORD say this– those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,

Jesus wants her restoration to be complete.
What she needed was more than physical healing. She needed peace and wholeness in her soul and she needed to be reintegrated into society. Her suffering also included the emotional effects of all that has taken place over 12 years. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go (keep going)in peace and be freed(Keep on being whole) from your suffering.”

“You faith has saved – delivered – both from brokenness of body and brokenness of soul – Go in peace! (Peace comes from knowing you are forgiven. You are delivered from sin and the resultant alienation from God that disturb the soul).

While all of this is going on with Jesus, his disciples and this woman, what do you think an anxious father is thinking during these moments of delay when he has an emergency?

The healing of this woman is both a test of his faith and encouragement to his faith. He will need the encouragement because shortly he will receive word that his daughter had died. God uses delays to test and encourage our faith.

This woman participated in an aspect of Jesus’ kingdom that preceded an even more radical one in the raising of Jairus’ daughter.

The Triumph of Faith

35 While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher any more?” 36 Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” 37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40 But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.

When news comes that the daughter has died during this time of delay, Jairus would naturally be shaken and would be inclined think there’s nothing more to be done. Jesus answers, almost rudely, pitting his words against those of Jairus friends. “They say, ‘give up’, I say, don’t be afraid only believe   �

The entire history of responding to redemption is summed up in Jesus’ words to Jairus: “fear not only believe.”

This is faith – believing that Jesus is the Messianic King who truly has power over the ultimate enemy – death. Can His kingdom truly invade the kingdom of Satan when Satan’s kingdom appears to have triumphed?

    Jesus takes just three of his disciples (the inner circle) who will later bear witness to his power (“in the mouth of two or three witnesses, let very word be established”).

    When Jesus tells the mourners that she is not dead but is sleeping, they laugh because they are not people of faith. “Sleep” is the biblical term that those who believe in resurrection use to describe death.

    Here Jesus confronts and is victorious over the powers of darkness and the ultimate enemy death. He demonstrates the ultimate victory over the kingdom of Satan. Here he truly invades and plunders Satan’s kingdom. (Ca. Hebrews 2:9-10)

His power over death (physical) confirms his power over spiritual death also (Eph 2:1 – “and you have he made alive who were dead …”)

HIS COMPASSION FOR THE GIRL

    He shows compassion on the girl by commanding silence about the miracle she doesn’t become a curious object and he asks that she be fed. How considerate and caring Jesus Christ is. Plus their immediate silence allows him an escape from the crowds who would seek mob him.

Conclusion:

    This is the Christ in whom we are called to believe. Because in his death and resurrection, he is victorious over the ultimate enemy of death we can trust him, knowing that in Christ ultimately all of our crises come to resolution, either now or in his coming again.

I watched a documentary on the healing ministries of Bennie Hinn and the German evangelist, Bannke. My opinion is that they perpetrate a fraud which leaves behind many people who are disillusioned and disappointed. They would look at a passage like we looked at today and conclude something like this: “Whatever God did for anyone in the gospels, He will do for us now.”

However, it is clear that God does not answer in the same way every cry of a desperate father or of a woman in despair. We must understand that these miracles are signs and promises of the kingdom of Jesus, i.e. they are intrusions of the eternal kingdom into the present and they guarantee the future. They demonstrate that Jesus is the Messianic King and that all who believe in him will share in his final and complete deliverance. We are a people of hope who wait for the full and final resolution of the sufferings of this world. Jesus answers all of our cries for relief from suffering – sometimes now and always finally when his kingdom is completely established.

We hope in Jesus who in His glorious coming will put an end to sin and death.

We are called to live by faith!

Heb 10

19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful

You need faith that the Jesus is God-sent king whose kingdom triumphs over the kingdom of Satan.

If through faith in Jesus, who died and rose again, you have entered His Kingdom, you will share His triumph. We experience it here partially, but look for the day of the final and perfect expression of the Kingdom of Jesus.

Mark 3:31-35 31 ¶ And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” 33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

Family – when we use that word it evokes all kinds of emotions, and some good some not so good. Each of us places different values on the word, for many of us it involves struggle and turmoil. In the life of Jesus Christ the same holds true – I’m sure there were happy times for Jesus as a boy – but those years are silent to us, except for extra biblical sources (excluding Christ’s visit to the Temple as a young man). One of the few stories about Jesus pre-passion family involvement outside of this synoptic account is found in John 7. It recounts his brothers suggesting he take a trip to Jerusalem and impress more people with his miracles, after the sermon to eat his flesh and drink his blood which turned many disciples away (John adds a note hear that Jesus brothers didn’t believe in him), they were taunting him. This afternoon we will explore who Jesus calls family.

At the surface of our text there is a clear and simple message we can take away from this text – That God’s people are those who do his will. A truth which is succinct and to the point and most definitely true, and one we will unpack a little later in the message.

We must however, always be sensitive to the Author’s intent and the context of scripture when searching out Truth. What we find with these passages is a kind of story telling technique that Mark uses to illustrate the ideas he is trying to get across to you & me.

The first phrase of our passage begins “and His mother and His brothers came” – it begs the question why or from where. This simple word “and” – which is kai in Greek can mean lots of things and in the way Mark has been communicating to us thus far with “immediately” & “suddenly” moving the story along with quick flashing clips like a video blog. The word kai can also be translated “Then” which fits the technique that Mark is using here, (and is translated this way in the NIV, NASB, and NKJV). Whether we use then or and – we realize this passage is connected to the previous passages.

Back in Vs. 20 & 21 of the chapter we see Mark introducing Jesus’ family into the story, after which he injects the Story of the Pharisees, after which he then returns to finish the story of the family. Mark uses this technique of sandwiching one story between two halves of a second story 9 times throughout the book – in each instance he is emphasizing a particular spiritual truth. The technical term used by most commentators surprisingly is – Sandwich. So why does Mark divide his story and inject the gooey center of the Pharisees and the unforgivable sin? To illustrate a greater point. Let’s reread the passages that pastor John taught threw last week, which precedes our text –

Mark 3:20-30 20 ¶ Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. 21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.” 22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” 23 And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house. 28 ¶ “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”– 30 for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

Did you see the sandwich? Mark starts the story with Jesus family on the stage in verse 20 and we end with His family back in view in verse 31, in the middle Mark interjected the Pharisees accusation and the consequence of their words. So what is Mark trying to teach us?

Let’s review what we learned from the passage last week. Pastor John told us that Jesus went home – where that exactly was we do not know – but while there, the crowds surrounded him and the newly appointed 12 inner circle disciples. They were so crowded and busy that they couldn’t take care of their physical needs.

When I was in Seminary I worked as a videographer and editor – one of my projects involved a rush project for an advertising promo for a Christian ministry. They were launching a big new endevour and I was pulling doubles to get the tape in the can and edit as we went. After shooting over a hundred hours of video for a 15 minute promo I needed to push through to get a first draft. I left at 6 AM for my office and stayed at my workstation with a big jug of coffee and some snacks and told my wife I didn’t know when I’d be home. My wife, Bev, called and asked if I was going to make supper, I told her that I needed to finish and after all I had only been at it for about 12 hours, she kindly informed me that she hadn’t seen me in a day and a half – 36 hours had gone by and I didn’t know it.

When reports came to the family of the conditions Christ was ministering under they came to seize Him. This word Seize or Krateo means to take control by force – it’s being overpowered, captured – this idea is used 8X throughout Marks text. The opinion of his extended family and friends was that Christ was out of his mind. As we learned last week, for a first Century Person this was the equivalent of saying he was under Demonic influence.

I was raised in a deeply religious Catholic Family – we were serious about our faith. I attended parochial school well into secondary education and was at one time considering the priesthood. Teenage hormones and public university took care of my yearnings for the prenoviciate. When I came into the presence of the Grace of Jesus Christ I was around 20 years of age and had spent the past 5-6 years living as a hedonist, (which didn’t conflict with my religious practice) and I had the desire to share my living faith with my family. The results were rather ugly but in summary it was determined I was either in a cult or possessed – in the view of my closest kin.

So, what was the big deal to his family? – The family in the First century was incredibly close made up of grandparents and aunts and uncles with lots of cousins all living in close proximity to each other – often villages were made up of just a dozen or so family units and they were all relationally interconnected. What Christ’s family was displaying was shame for the ministry Christ was conducting.

Well meaning but deceived people will conclude – “Sure, good works and speaking about God’s kingdom are good things but not if it interfered with your life – we need to place limits on ourselves don’t we?” Sound familiar? – When you’re sold out for Christ don’t be surprised to hear your friends, family, and coworkers tell you to tone it down.

For most of us, large extended families living in close proximity doesn’t exist – The only parallel community most Americans live in is that of their career, you know the place where you don’t want to rock the boat in fear of losing a promotion or the approval of your colleagues, a place where your actions cost something? To Jesus’ family he was over the top and at risk of bringing “shame” to his family.

Mark jumps from this story right into the next, and introduces the middle part of our sandwich with a change of persons – onto our stage strolls the Pharisees and they are trying to dismiss Christ’s miracles and teaching as being under the influence of demons and Beelzebul. Prior to this encounter they engaged Christ with questions like, “why don’t you’re disciples keep the Sabbath,” and “why do you eat with sinners?”, but after the healing on the Sabbath at the beginning of this chapter they are now coconspirators with the Herodians in the plot to destroy Jesus.
As an aside –the Pharisees and the Herodians historically distrusted and disliked each other; both thought the other group was iligitimate, no good, and only looking out for themselves – kind of like Democrats and Republicans. The Herodians were loosely associated politically to the Sadducees. To illustrate this common distrust one needs only to look at Paul’s plight in Acts 23:6 when Paul was being questioned before being sent to Rome and to cause his accusers to lose their unity he cried out he was a Pharisee & son of a Pharisee and that he was being persecuted for believing in the resurrection – At that point the Sadducees and Pharisees went to task against each other. The Herodians would have jumped in on the Sadducees side.

In regards to Christ the old adage – the enemy of my enemy is my friend – so the disagreeing groups plotted together to commit Murder. Jesus uses a series of simple proofs to refute the poor logic and spiritual poverty of the Jewish leadership and ends with a warning that those who turn their back on God and His Son by defaming the works of the Spirit are in danger of apostasy.

You might ask at this point – what do these two stories have in Common? – What spiritual truth is Mark asking us to use as a baseline to move into our next story in Mark 3:31ff.
Mark is connecting the blatant sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit and its strong consequences perpetrated by the obvious outsider group – the Pharisees – who were trying to discredit Jesus and minimize his influence – (The parallel account in Matt 12 has the people asking if this is the messiah – the Son of David which prompts the Pharisees to discredit him with the Beelzebah accusation), with the subversion of His extended family trying to stop his ministry.  Both groups are attempting to interfere with the Work of the Holy Spirit. So whether you think you’re an insider who’s not, but is misguided - or a deliberate outsider – your motives and actions are the same – limiting the work of the Holy Spirit. These two groups inform our current text.

Many church fathers and post apostolic writers attempt to soften the reality of the bottom slice of the sandwich. The first family group seen in verse 20 & 21 were made of what some might call kin – anyone who was part of his family – but in vs 31 and following Mark records a stunning blow to the historic & cultural view of the Family – on the scene arrives Jesus’ Mother Mary and Jesus’ Brothers.

Other Gospel writer’s record the incident in Parallel accounts In Matt. 12:46-50 & Luke 8:19-21 and give us a unity of representation within the Synoptic Gospels – showing us an irrefutable position that Mary & Christ’s siblings were not “insiders” at this point, but outsiders. Whether Christ’s nuclear family moved to Capernaum or traveled from Nazareth for an INTERVENTION we don’t know – the distance between Nazareth and Capernum = 20 – 30 miles, (When American Pioneers walked West with their wagon’s and livestock they averaged 20 miles per day. So they may have traveled to intervene in Christ’s ministry).

The Family seems to be outside the house and not able to draw Jesus attention to themselves so some of the disciples confer the message –“Your Mother and your brothers are seeking you”

(This is a timeless scene right out of any adult child’s life. It’s the phone call you get at work from your parent who has an urgent need to talk to you in the middle of an busy season, only to find out it’s about something trivial.) In the passages context it’s more than an annoyance, Christ is about His Father’s business, he is on the offensive against evil people & spirits, and is gaining momentum realizing that he is headed soon to the CROSS.

The words calling and seeking used by Mark in the text for his mother and brothers activity binds them to the two groups of subversives in the previous section. The word used here for calling is KALIEN and is used throughout the text in the way Christ called his disciples – not just a, “come here and look at this” but “come here and join yourself to us”. Jesus Mother and brothers were trying to stop his work to call him to his senses. The idea behind the word ZATIEN – was not a casual look for – like for a parking place, but “Looking for” as in – to take over, to control. It is used 10X throughout the text ALWAYS has a negative connotation.

How Ironic is this picture Mark has painted for us? Christ is at home surrounded by those who seek him, either for his ministry of miracles or his ministry of the Word. His extended family and his nuclear family are out of sight and out of mind until they have had enough with Jesus activity calling him out of his mind, demonically oppressed, and His mother is telling him it’s time to be done and come home, (perhaps well meaning but still misguided). Most homes are characterized by family on the inside and acquaintances on the outside – teh reverse is in view here. (Many of my friends in Christ have experienced this same situation).

If Mark began his dark portrayal of the family in generality he concludes it in Specificity – Mary is in with the Enemy. Christ Declares –  “Who are my Mother and my Brothers?” Christ decimates the millennia old paradigm of family. Christ declares the new covenant relationship of family – is the family of God. Christ sets the record straight – Those who view themselves “IN” because of proximity by birth or by association ARE NOT, they are outsiders – THOSE WHO VIEW THEMSELVES AS FAROFF, CASTAWAY, DISCONNECTED FROM HIM – have access to HIM, relationship is available, peace with God is at hand. HOW??

Christ answers the question in Verse 35 – as the true seekers; the true family takes it in – “”Here are my mother and my brothers! –  35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

There is hope for Anyone; for Everyone to become part of the family of God – even those in Christ’s biological family that are currently not joined to the family of God have hope, (and later on we find that parts of his biological family do Join the new family – most notably his brother James).

Christ is declaring that the New Everlasting Family is greater than any Household, Clan, Kin, or Tribe —– blood lines need not apply – but those who spend time in Jesus presence and do the will of the Father – they are in – everlasting brothers and sisters.

In the beginning of the chapter he chose the first 12 disciples now He is calling out from the pages of Marks Gospel to you!! — ARE YOU MY BROTHER…MY SISTER…MY Family? Are you in a relationship with Christ? If not, today right now, you can ask him to become your Lord. He died for you – because the debt you owe is too great for you to pay – but it’s not to great for Christ. That would be doing the will of God in your life.

Are you already enjoying the reality of being in Christ? What is doing the will of God for you? Furthering the Kingdom. Are you doing good works in the name of Jesus Christ? Are you telling others of what he has done for you? Christ is invading the kingdoms of this world and it’s ruler Satan are you taking part, are you becoming more like Christ, are you sharing good news with others?

So what was Mark Pointing at?

Discipleship – being an active part of the everlasting family of God.
(excerpts from The Pillar New Testament Commentary – James R. Edwards, The Gospel of Mark, A socio-Rhetorical Comentary – Ben Witherington III, IVP New Testament Commentary, The NIV Application Commentary – David E. Garland, and The New International Greek Testament Commentary).

The text we will be looking at today is Mark 3:22-30. Between the text of last week and this week’s text are verses 7-19 which introduce what some would call the “later Galilean ministry of Jesus. The earlier ministry was prior to the religious leaders plot to bring about his death. The later Galilean ministry occurs after that plot and continues through 6:6a.After the plot to kill him, Jesus remains in the north away from Jerusalem where the religious leaders would have more ability to fulfill their evil plot. He’s not ready yet to give his life. First, he enjoys the popularity of the common people as they throng to him from east of Jordan, south of Judea, and from northern coastal cities. He continues demonstrating his power over Satan and his demons, as he commands them to silence, not wanting his fame to be announced by demons and perhaps not wanting the title ‘Son of God’ attached exclusively to the physical aspects of his ministry.

Also, recorded is the choosing of the twelve. Knowing that His mission is to die and knowing that the religious leaders are plotting to take his life, he chooses leaders who will carry on his work.

Mark 3:13-15
¹³ ¶ And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. ¹⁴ And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach ¹⁵ and have authority to cast out demons.

Their calling involves three things in serving Jesus Christ:

1. That they might be with him – relationship and training
   
2. To send them out to preach (heralds) – ministry of the word
   
3. To have authority over demons – assurance of victory
   

    

We resume the story as Jesus returns to an unidentified place called home, perhaps Nazareth or his headquarters in Capernaum.

Mark 3:20-30
²⁰Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat.²¹ And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”

Mark begins this account reminding us that at this point the family of Jesus are not yet committed followers. Mark has not mentioned Mary at all until now and even here not by name. Jesus and his disciples are in a house in his home The crowds relentlessly come to him with their needs so that he and his disciples do not take time for one of the most basic necessities of life – eating. To his family, this is not normal, perhaps even dangerous to him, so they want to seize him because he’s not in his right mind.\

Perhaps they are concerned for the reputation of his family. In the ancient world, mental disorders were often associated with demon possession. Under Jewish law, false teachers controlled by evil spirits were subject to death Even though Jews could not carry out this penalty under Roman law, the charge itself could be damaging to a family’s reputation.

Often, the call of the Lord upon your life and your commitment to follow him makes those are not believers scratch their heads and wonder what’s wrong with you. Why would doctors who can become wealthy in America become missionaries to 3^rd world country.

His family thinks he crazy, but even worse, the religious leaders think that he is possessed of the devil and under the power of the devil. Listen to them:

²² And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.”

Often exorcists would call upon the name and power of a greater evil spirit to cast out a demon. Though Jesus casts out demons by his own power and authority, they accuse him of being an exorcist under the power of evil spirits.

²³ And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? ²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. ²⁶ And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. ²⁷ But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house. ²⁸ ¶ “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, ²⁹ but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”– ³⁰ for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

In out text today, Jesus warns the Pharisees about having a cultural prejudice that blinds them from seeing God at work. The Pharisees demonized Jesus because of their prejudices. Do we not, as these teachers of the law, question and limit the power of God? Are we not motivated by similar prejudices that blind us from seeing God as work or from expecting God to powerfully work?

As we saw last week, we all have ways of looking at life and the world that affect what we believe about the power of God and what we expect of the power of God.

I understand the difficulty these teachers of the law have with Jesus’ ministry. His method and results did not fit their religious and cultural paradigm. They could not see God working outside their box.

Illustration: When I was in seminary, I developed a friendship with an Indian man, KC. We called him KC because his first name was difficult to pronounce and his last name was about a foot long.

KC was an evangelist from India working on an advanced theological degree. I spent a lot of time helping him write his dissertation on a comparison of Vedic sacrifice and Mosaic Sacrifice. We talked often about life and ministry in India. At times I would come away bewildered because his stories did not match my theology. KC was not Pentecostal or charismatic by formal definition, yet he spoke of unusual experiences. At times God gave him gifts of language to evangelize in Indian dialects he had not known. He also shared stories of instant miraculous healing in answer to prayer that God used to open the door for the gospel.

My dilemma was this: I knew that KC loved Christ and the gospel of Christ; yet his experience in the gospel differed so much from mine. I often asked myself, “is what KC telling me of God or of the devil?” (Prior to that I had often been quick to declare what was of the devil and what was of God.)

I confess I had many prejudices that blinded me to the power of God. At that time I would have said that all supernatural gifts (such as tongue and miraculous healing) were apostolic and ceased in the 1^st Century.

Because I was not willing to attribute to Satan the things that KC shared with me, I had to take a fresh look at Scripture that took me out of the theological box I was in, and now I would say that those supernatural gifts are not normative for 21^st Century church life but that God may and does make them available to accomplish his purpose of redemption, especially in areas where the gospel is being newly introduced.

I eventually had to ask, “is what KC describes contrary to what I know Jesus has the power to do and has come to do?”

The work of the Spirit in Jesus Christ has a way of disturbing the tight grids that we construct. Remember how Jesus described the work of the Spirit in John 3:8. He said that Spirit’s work is as a wind which blows where it pleases and though you may hear its sound you can not tell from where it comes or where it is going.

In the Pharisees tight theological grid there was no room for a man who had this kind of power over Satan’s kingdom. They had no room for a Messiah that exercised power over Satan’s kingdom but not the kingdom of Rome. They were not willing to believe that Jesus was inaugurating the kingdom of God and that his power over Satan’s kingdom demonstrated that the kingdom of God had come in Jesus. Jesus did not fit their conception of a Messiah. Their God worked only within their box. In their thinking, if Satan’s kingdom was being invaded by the casting out of demons, then Satan himself must be behind it. Most of us are more comfortable with “God in a box.”

Why do we struggle with “God’s working in ways” that doesn’t fit our way of thinking? What is it that motivates such strong judgments. Put yourself in the Shoes of the Pharisees for a few moments.

They may have come to their conclusion for any one of a number of reasons

1. Sometimes people say, “It’s not of God” because they can’t explain or they fear the new thing happening.

Mark doesn’t give us the entire context of Jesus’ words to the Pharisees. Matthew tells us that Jesus had just healed a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute. In the Matthew text, Jesus declares himself to be the Messiah. He says, “If I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come unto you.”
Casting out demons was not an everyday occurrence in 1^st Century Palestine until Jesus came Yes, there were sorcerers who worked their black magic in cooperation with demonic forces. And, on rare occasions a rabbi or teacher would be successful in exorcism. To them it clearly was an evidence that God was at work.

The teachers of the law just couldn’t accept that God was at work in Jesus’ exorcisms. His success rate and his teaching were too radically new – Had the kingdom of God actually arrived in the ministry of Jesus Christ?

Do we have any less difficulty believing that God can work in ways that are radically new?

In evangelical Christianity, we have passed along a “slogan” which served to protect our traditions – “If it’s true it’s not new; if it’s new; it’s not true.” Is that slogan reliable?

If it’s contrary to God’s word, it is not true, but it may be true even though it’s contrary to my theological system or my cultural expression of Christianity.

How many times have Christians opposed something as not of God because it was new?

    Some of you remember the advent of the TV. Christians called it the Devil’s box. They were sure that God couldn’t work through something that was capable of enormous evil. The same thing has been said about the computer. Does God work through satellites and internet? Some would still say that they belong to the prince of the power of the air.

    I wonder if we realize that the introduction of the pipe organ into cathedrals was initially opposed as a worldly abomination. Not too long ago it couldn’t be imagined that drums and guitars were could be used of God. One Far Side cartoon depicts harps being given to those entering heaven and accordions to those entering hell. (Accordions were associated with a carnival like atmosphere.)

    There are those who question whether modern translations of the Bible are of God or Satan.

Our cultural upbringing creates a lens through which we look at the world. Culture changes can be discomfiting. Today in some places there is a culture of earrings, nose-rings, eye-rings, and belly-button rings. Tattoos are no longer the exclusive domain of drunken sailors and outlaw bikers, they are now fashionable. Tattooing is body art!

Can God really work in and through a tattooed, body-art culture? Can a tattooed, pierced-body singer be used of God? Suppose I pulled up my sleeve today and showed you a tattoo on my shoulder. Would you begin to question whether I can really preach the Holy bible with an unholy tattoo? After all, would Jesus wear a tattoo?

One of my sons has a fish on his arm with the Greek word ‘fish’ -
standing for Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Savior. Is that of God or the devil?

    (Now I’m not advocating that all kids begin to press their parents for body piercing and tattoos. I only hope that parents when they object would simply say, I don’t like it; it’s illegal, you can make that choice when you’re older, without trying to build a case that it isn’t of God and good Christians don’t do that.)

Does your fear of the new, blind you from seeing the power of God?

2. Sometimes people say, “It’s not of God” because they are afraid of losing power – they are protecting a tradition and their stake in it;
 

Jesus was making inroads on the Pharisees turf. The common people heard him gladly. The lame are walking, the blind see, the deaf speak, and Jesus gets credit for it. This is disturbing to the teachers of the law! Often we ask, what I am to gain or to lose if I accept such and such as God’s work.

Some of the major revivals in history have been most opposed by religious leaders who stood on the outside and watched and saw nothing happening in their own congregations.

Over the last 20 years most evangelical congregations have been involved in worship wars – the battle over musical styles. Initially the cry was and still is among some, “that new music can’t be of God.” Often behind that cry of the opposition is, “if that music takes over what will happen to my tradition.”

Now we may see the reverse happen. As contemporary churches desire to have more liturgy and historical connection, what will the reactions be?

    It is an anomaly that many evangelical churches that had healthy foreign mission programs reacted most strongly to the need to adjust to cultural shifts in America. On the one hand, those churches, expected that any good missionary would learn the culture of their target group and communicate the gospel in forms that were culturally relevant – in language, dress, musical styles, etc.

    Yet, those same churches reacted strongly to any change of language, dress, musical style within their own churches. WHY?

Let me suggest that many churches no longer see themselves as a mission outpost invading Satan’s territory. Preserving their culture takes priority over seeing the power of God.

    The question should not be “what am I going to gain or lose?” Rather it should be, Does your fear of losing what is familiar and comfortable blind you from seeing the power of God in advancing His kingdom?

3. Sometimes people say, “It’s not of God” because they want to preserve their “good guy” status by branding others as bad guys;
 

In psychology the theory of ego-defense suggests that people who feel threatened and uncertain about their own worth reject people unlike themselves (the in group versus the out group; the good guys versus the bad guys).

The Pharisees are the good guys and they want to preserve that status. They do so by demonizing Jesus. I remember one man int he past, objecting to including contemporary music in our worship. He tried to preserve his good guy status by demonizing me! One of his statements was that “I am a punk-rocker in disguise.” That’s pretty funny because I don’t even have enough hair to spike it and color it orange and of all the musical genres I like, Punk-rock is not my favorite.

If he had followed me around, what he’d find it this.

I am just as comfortable listening to …

The screaming guitar sound of Hard Time blues by Walter Trout;

The bright and fast moving jazz guitar of Wes Montgomery playing “Stomping at the Savoy.”

The solemn and grand sound of a Requiem by Bach or Mozart;

The bluesy rock and roll of Creedence Clearwater Revival singing “Down by the River;

The soothing and deeply emotional combination of Isaac Stern on the violin and Yo-Yo Ma on the cello playing Brahms Double Concerto.

The folksy ballads of Bruce Cockburn.

    Or dancing to the celebrative worship and praise of from the CD, “Worship Together Live.”

We all need honest reflection at times to make sure that our objection to what God may be doing differently through the ministry of others is truly theological and not personal.

How does Jesus respond to their prejudicial charge? He actually does two things:

1. He challenges them to think about what they’ve said. He asks one probing question and offers 3 illustrations.
 This is the first mention of parable – the casting of spiritual truth alongside of a natural illustration.

2. He gives them a severe warning.
 

• Jesus challenges them to think about what they’ve been saying – “How can Satan drive out Satan? Prejudice often turns logic upside down.

Think about it for a moment! Putting your prejudices aside, is Satan really at work through these new things? What is actually being accomplished through this ministry of Jesus? Does not the casting out of demons, the preaching of the gospel, the exalting of Christ, the appeal for salvation in Christ, the call to commitment and discipleship say clearly that this isn’t Satan’s work.

He is not saying, “the end justifies the means.” He certainly is saying “the end justifies the end.” That Satan is cast out and his house is plundered is all that matters.

They were so tied to their own prejudice that they couldn’t see God at work. The work of God is to invade and conquer the kingdom of Satan through the power of Jesus Christ.

Listen to what Jesus says:

1. He invades the kingdom of Satan as an outsider. Why would Satan initiate something that insures the dissolution of his kingdom?
   
2. He (Jesus) binds the strongman (Satan). Would Satan bind himself?
   
3. He plunders the kingdom. Would Satan plunder his own kingdom?
   

2 Corinthians 4 tell us how God invades Satan’s kingdom with the gospel: 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

Jesus continues to invade the kingdom of Satan with the gospel and He plunders that kingdom with the gospel? The Pharisees were so caught up in their turf-protection mode that they failed to appreciate what was really happening – Satan’s kingdom was being invaded and plundered. God is not limited to our comfort zones in invading and plundering the kingdom of Satan.

    That can happen in a suit and tie setting or a jeans and T-shirt setting.

    That can happen in a classical setting or in a rock and roll setting.

    That can happen in a no cosmetic, no jewelry gospel setting or a tattooed, pierced body setting.

God can even powerfully invade the kingdom of Satan in spite of our disagreements.

14 Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill.16 The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice…Phil 1

There are times when the gospel is preached that we may not understand, or agree with, or even personally like the choice of methodology, But God forbid that we should be so self-righteous that we cannot rejoice that the gospel is invading the kingdom of Satan.

NOTE: Admittedly, as believers we live with a tension of knowing Christ’s power over Satan’s kingdom, invading, binding, and plundering, while being called to live with an awareness of Satan’s attacks (Eph 6:10ff; 1 Peter 5:6-11; Rev 12:11; ). Satan’s power is broken and useless over those who rest in Christ victory. We wrestle and fight a foe who is a defeated, emaciated weakling when confronted by the triumphant work of Christ. We can be defeated by this weakling if we use weapons of the flesh (2 Cor 10:3-5), but when we are strong in the Lord and armed with gospel armor (Eph 6:10-18), we are more than conquerors.

• He gives a severe warning. Don’t denigrate Jesus’ power over the kingdom of Satan or dare to limit him to those means with which you are comfortable?
  

The Pharisees were close to committing an unforgivable sin. Let us beware!

If Satan’s kingdom is plundered, if the power of Jesus Christ is exalted; if the gospel is proclaimed; if lives are changed that live for the glory of God, then let’s give God the glory.

Theologians have discussed the question of the unforgivable sin for ages. As I understand the context, let me say up front that no one here is in danger of committing the unpardonable sin. The unforgivable sin was attributing to the devil the work of the Spirit in the ministry of Jesus Christ. Jesus is not here in person, performing deeds that are unquestionably of God. Though the Spirit continues to work through the church, none of us serve God with unmixed motives and none our deeds are totally free from the corruption of human nature.

At the same time, let me say that just because we have not committed the unforgivable sin does not mean we haven’t committed sins that need to be forgiven. Jesus assures us that any other sin can be forgiven.

If there is a sin that is similar to this today, it would be the sin of resisting the Spirit’s work in pointing you to Jesus as Savior and Lord. Of course, as long as you resist, you cannot be forgiven, but thankfully some of us have resisted but have repented and been forgiven.

Isn’t it possible that we get so caught up in preserving our traditions, protecting our territory, and preserving our good guy status that we become blind to God’s working outside our box or that we depend little upon his power and expect little from Him.

In the past, I have been filled with so much prejudice that has hindered me from seeing what God is doing and can do around the world. I’m not now totally empty of it. But I want to see the power of God at work, even if it’s outside my box.

Let me suggest some indicators in our lives where we place limits in expecting and experiencing the power of God.

1. Our prayer life – does God have power to save the worst sinner and transform her life. Does God have power to intervene in the circumstance around me so that so that I can live fully for His glory? 
2. Our conversations – does God have power to use the simplicity of His Word, the gospel, to convert sinners? Do I speak the gospel freely and boldy?
3.  Our struggle with sin – does God have power through his word to restore broken minds, remake broken lives, transform, broken marriages, break the power of life-consuming sins, etc?
    Does Christ have power over all the evil forces and spirits in this world? Did he cast down the Prince of this world through his victory on the cross? Did he defeat Satan and his hosts and make a show of them publicly by his resurrection from the dead? Through victory at the cross, through His Spirit, and through the armor of God, can he equip the believer to live in victory over the power of evil? YES!
   

   Tonight, how does your blindness or prejudice keep you from seeing in Jesus the power to bring salvation and transformation to your life and to the world in which you live?
   

   Where specifically do you need to pray, “Lord, I repent of my sin and my blindness, and ask you in Jesus name to show your power in this area of my life.”
   

   
   

The Gospel and Patriotism

Dr. John P. Davis

Note: I am indebted to Steve Wilkins’ article on “Biblical Patriotism” for some of the major points and the basic thrust of this blogpost.

Recently in the United States, the last Monday in May was marked by the remembrance of those who have given their lives as members of the Armed Forces of the United States of America. In just one week on July 4 we will celebrate Independence Day. National occasions such as this raise the question of ‘what does it mean for a Christian to be patriotic?’ Were you to draw a continuum of Christian opinions on this subject you would have a myriad of views including pacifists, ‘just war’ proponents, some who will not swear loyalty to any earthly government, others who are actively involved in the political process, etc.

Though Christians may disagree on this subject, every Christian must ask, “how does the gospel transform my view of what it means to be patriotic?”

Let me suggest a few points to think about!

1. The gospel re-prioritizes our loyalties.
True patriotism understands that there is one King and Ruler over all kings and rulers, the Lord Jesus Christ (Wilkins). We confess with the apostle Paul in Phil 3:20-21:

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

2. The gospel helps us understand that liberty is the gift of God and not a privilege granted by the government. Though we might think that a constitutional republic is the superior form of human government, we should know from our own American experience that true freedom is not equivalent to democracy. The supreme goal is not democracy. The supreme goal is freedom in Christ. Sin enslaves people whether under communism or representative governments. The gospel of Jesus Christ sets men free regardless of the human tyranny they may live under.

3. The gospel transforms our patriotism from a love of governmental systems and parties to a love of people. Politics by its very nature pits people against each other. The gospel gives Democrats who become Christians the ability to love Republicans and vice versa. It also gives both Republicans and Democrats the ability to discern the evil in their own parties. Some Christians may even in good conscience refuse to join any party. The priority of Christians is not the triumph of a political party but the triumph of King Jesus in the hearts of all men. Christians refuse to violate the law of love by vilifying political opponents.

4. The gospel gives us discernment to evaluate and appreciate the true blessings and inheritance we’ve received from our forefathers. What is the most treasured inheritance of Americans that undergirds the greatness of America? I would say that it is the recognition in the Declaration of Independence of the God given rights of humankind and the 1^st Amendment to the Constitution – the freedom of religion – i.e., that the state neither supports nor hinders any religious expression that does not impinge on the basic rights of others.

5. The gospel calls us to a non-divisive, humble patriotism. There are a billion Chinese who though oppressed by their present government nevertheless love their country and their heritage. When we were kids we bragged about our Dads. “My dad can beat your dad.” The gospel moves us beyond “childish patriotism” to one that recognizes that people across the world feel the same passions for their country as we do for ours. The gospel calls us to love others as we love ourselves.

6. The gospel alters our view of war. We know that all war is an outcome of human sin and ultimately leads to tragic death. Christians who go to war never do so lightly. Thoughtful Christians always struggle between the patriotic duty to take a human life in what might be called a ‘just war’ and the biblical mandate to rescue human life through the preaching of the gospel. Consequently, some Christians conscientiously object to participating in war as a matter of their Christian conviction. Whether we agree with them or not, their understanding of the Bible’s teaching on that subject is not unorthodox. No Christian should be so quick to join a government in taking life unless he has first manifested a passion for saving life.

7. The gospel calls us at times to civil disobedience. The true patriot, because he loves his country, is one who is willing to oppose his country when it opposes God (Wilkins). Peter and the apostles in Acts 5 disobey the government not in an attempt to overthrow, nor in any show of force. They simply choose to obey God rather than man.

8. The gospel moves us beyond blind loyalty to any government. So called ‘just’ governments are not all just. The best of governmental systems are administrated by men and women who themselves are not beyond deceit, selfishness, pride, hatred and all the others evil passions that drive nations to war.

9. The gospel causes us to see that there are things more important than winning elections. A victory that is gained by being indifferent to God’s truth and righteousness is a defeat. To vote for the lesser of two evils in hopes of voting for the winning candidate is to idolize political victory. The lesser of two evils is still evil. The late, great 19th century theologian R. L. Dabney noted that “it is only the atheist who adopts success as the criterion for right.” (Steve Wilkins).

10. The gospel leads us to repent of sins and humble ourselves before the living God and beg for mercy on this land and all lands that the gospel may go forth in power and freedom. We pray for our land particularly not because we are superior but because it is our heritage. America is not the hope of the world: Jesus is. Do not accept the mistaken notion that America has some sort of messianic destiny to bring salvation to the world. We already know today that the greater harvest of souls and the growing missionary impetus is in third world countries not the United States. We pray for their success and pray for our country that we may lead “a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and honesty.”

The foundational question of Christian patriotism should always be: “How does the gospel of Christ, by which I am transformed, through which I am called to evangelize the world, and on account of which I am called to live by the law of love, inform my understanding of what it means to be patriotic?”

Introduction:

What is happening in these early chapters of Mark is what we might call a paradigm shift – A paradigm shift is a change in the way in which you look at and interpret life and the world.

The most radical paradigm shift is when you move from seeking fulfillment in life though the pursuit of rebellion or self-righteousness to resting in the finished work of Christ on the cross and from living life for your own pleasure and glory to living life for the glory of Christ. This is radical and joyful!

One of the most notable paradigm shifts took place in the Middle Ages.

Can you imagine living in Europe during the Middle Ages – a time when religious and political authorities were wedded together and were generally unquestioned? The church leadership accepted the Ptolemaic view of the world (127-145 AD) that the earth was flat and stationary in the center of the universe and that the sun, moon, and stars all revolved around the earth. They derived from this a system of fixed crystalline spheres which asserted that the farther you moved from earth the less change there was until you finally reached God who is unchanging. Then comes Copernicus in the mid 16^th century who describes a different scenario that is later confirmed by Tycho Brahe, Kepler and Galileo. Listen to Nicholas Copernicus as he writes in reaction to the accepted Ptolemaic views that the earth was stationary:

The great majority of authors of course agree that the earth stands still in the center of the
universe, and consider it inconceivable and ridiculous to suppose the opposite. But if the matter is carefully weighed it will be seen that the question is not yet settled and therefore by no means to be regarded lightly. Every change of place which is observed is due, namely, to a movement of the observed object or of the observer, or to movements of both, naturally in different directions, for if the observed object and the observer move in the same manner and in the same direction no movement will be seen. Now it is from the earth that the revolution of the heavens is observed and it is produced for our eyes. Therefore if the earth undergoes no movement this movement must take place in everything outside of the earth, but in the opposite direction than if everything on the earth moved, and of this kind is the daily revolution. So this appears to affect the whole universe, that is, everything outside the earth with the single exception of the earth itself. If, however, one should admit that this movement was not peculiar to the heavens, but that the earth revolved from west to east, and if this was carefully considered in regard to the apparent rising and setting of the sun, the moon and the stars, it would be discovered that this was the real situation (Copernicus 1543).

When Brahe observed in the unchanging spheres a new star and a comet that went right through the supposedly fixed, unchanging spheres, his view of a perfect unchangeable heaven was shattered.

It’s very discomfiting to have your world shaken – for someone to suggest that the way you look at life and interpret the world is flawed. In 1600 BC Giordano Bruno had been burnt at the sake for suggesting that the earth rotated around the sun. In 1633 Galileo was banned by the Church and put under house arrest. The Decree from Holy Office said that it was heresy to believe the Sun is at the center of our solar system. Galileo recanted to save his neck. (See appendix).

The central issue of life revolves around the question of who Jesus is! Why should I believe Him? Why should I follow Him? Why should I leave the religious tradition of my ancestors? Or, why should I give up my quest for self-fulfillment through autonomous rebellion? Who is He to challenge the way that I think about God and about life? Who is He to question our understanding of what is right or wrong? Why does He rock the boat and disturb the status quo?

Imagine what was going through the minds of these religious leaders. They were the guardians of the law. They interpreted the law and decided what was right and what was wrong. The people revered them as men of authority and superior knowledge.

Now this carpenter’s son, illegitimately conceived is challenging us. He is winning the favor of the people. He heals the sick, causes the blind to see, enables those with paralysis to walk, etc. The common people throng to him. Now he has the audacity to come to our turf (the synagogue) and provoke a confrontation through which he seeks to embarrass us.

You know how it is when you don’t like someone – they can’t do anything right. Our judgment is often clouded by our feelings toward people. We often make the mistake of thinking are enemies can’t do right and our friends can’t do wrong.

Jesus is disliked because he shook the nice safe religious world of the Pharisees by challenging their understanding of the law. People who follow a man-made religion become insecure when their system is challenged and shaken by an outsider.   �

The entrance of Jesus is always like a Copernican revolution. He calls into question the very way that you are accustomed to looking at the world. He calls you to see life from His perspective.

Let me suggest a few things that Jesus might want us to learn from this text, as Jesus confronts a 1^st Century religious world (and our worls) that had the Scriptures but had lost sight of the Messiah and the gospel of grace.

Following Jesus at times means challenging existing religious authority and tradition.

I know we need to be cautious here, because sometimes our rejection of authority and tradition is rooted in our rebellious desire to be autonomous and not because we have come under the power of the gospel in submission to the Lordship of Christ.

The Pharisees are a good example of people who possessed the truth but lost sight of the Messiah in the midst of their traditions.

They are so intent on protecting their way of understanding the law that they miss recognizing the Messiah in the Word of God. Jesus said to the Pharisees: John 5:39
³⁹
You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,

They are so engaged in guarding their influence and authority that even their hateful actions bring shame to them as religious leaders.

They have become like private detectives. They follow Jesus, not to love Him, but to catch him in something for which they could accuse him – so they watched him closely. On the surface they have this intense love for the Law, but deep inside they have no love for Jesus. They were faultfinders who watched the disciples closely and “kept score” of their failures.

It’s an easy and common mistake to make. I see it happen often with people who want to defend their tradition or even when they see themselves as “defending the Word of God.” Somehow we lose sight of the two greatest commandments – love God and love others. Unfortunately, some of the most unloving people on earth are religious people who see their traditions being threatened and who lose sight of Jesus along the way.

Jesus knew exactly what was going on with these religious leaders and he exposed them. He looked at the man with a palsied hand and said – “Stand up in front of everyone.”

This is actually the last of a series of five conflict narratives, the last two revolving around the Sabbath. Here we see Jesus who is so committed to his mission of mercy that he risks facing the hostility of the religious leaders. This is the heart of the gospel – Jesus risks all for our sakes. He boldly and publicly confronts the hypocrisy of those who are spying on Him with risk to His own life.

Let’s face it! None of us our immune to hypocrisy. Even those who follow Jesus can lose sight of him and get so wrapped up in their culture and traditions that even Jesus would be unwelcome.

Illustration:

Some of us remember the Jesus people of the 60′s and 70′s. Maybe you were one of them. The established church didn’t quite know what to do with this group that had a whole new simple, non-traditional approach to Jesus and Christianity. Basically, the established church rejected them apart from a few Californians, like Chuck Smith who saw a genuine hunger to know God through Jesus Christ.

Today we have Generation X churches, postmodern churches, hip-hop churches, churches meeting in warehouses –no organs, no choirs, no dress code. They are simply saying that the traditional church doesn’t hold the corner on truth when it comes to doing church. To them following Jesus means they can break out of any mold that isn’t prescribed by Scripture. (Again, the danger is that when you reject the authority of cultural tradition, you may also reject all authority. Remember, we are free from the law to live under the law of Christ).

When we talk about challenging religious authority and tradition we must distinguish between Biblical tradition – what the bible prescribes (such as Lord’s day worship, ordinances of communion and baptism, preaching the word as central to worship, etc), cultural tradition, some of which is contrary to Scripture and should be rejected, and some of which is consistent with Scripture, though not prescribed (such as Sunday School, times of worship, forms of worship, etc), and traditionalism, which is the worship of and adherence to cultural tradition as if it were prescribed by God. Traditionalism is idolatry.

It’s not enough to say – I resist the authority of religious culture if you are not saying at the same time, I submit to the authority of Jesus.

Following Jesus involves focusing on the deeper issue of redemption.

It would be a mistake to read this text and only see the issue as Jesus conflict with a legalistic interpretation of the law. Though certainly, the Pharisees were guilty of making the Sabbath regulation a burden. The Sabbath was given as a delight to Israel. The Sabbath offered time to stop and reflect on the wonders of God in creating the universe and redeeming the nation of Israel out of bondage in Egypt. The Old Covenant Sabbath was a foreshadowing of our Sabbath rest is in Jesus (Mt 11:28-30) and the eternal rest that God would grant in the restored creation..

Last week John Leone gave a fine exposition of another Sabbath controversy over Jesus’ disciples plucking grain to eat on the Sabbath. In response to the Pharisees, Jesus said this:

2:27-28 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.”

Instead of the Sabbath being a gracious gift to man, the Pharisees, by their minute regulations, had made man a slave to the Sabbath. “As the Lord of the Sabbath Jesus delivers both the Sabbath and man from a state of distress” (Lane 1974, 124).

But the real issue is deeper than delivering the Sabbath from a state of distress! Jesus question to the Pharisees brings out the real issue - “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” Note the parallel in these lines – to do good = to save life; to do evil = to kill.

In other words, Good is that which accomplishes redemption – saving life; Evil is that which works against redemption – destroying life.

 We need to remember that Jesus defined his mission in Mark 1:14-15: After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”

John’s Gospel most clearly brings out the life bringing mission of Jesus: “I am come that you might have life…, I am the life …, I am the resurrection and the life …, Drink the life-giving water that I give you ….”

Jesus came to announce the good news of the great day of salvation as promised in the Scriptures. He came to make people whole. Because his ministry ushers in a new age, he heals the sick, forgives the sinner, shares a table with tax collectors and sinners, feasts rather than fasts, and violates Sabbath tradition. There are no constraints on Jesus’ kingdom work.

So, the real issue is not the debate over interpretation of Sabbath law, but rather the claim of Jesus’ authority in ministry to conquer sin and death and all the effects of sin and death.

“Jesus was not simply another scribe who advocated an independent opinion; he constituted a threat to true religion and ancestral tradition. When Jesus failed to submit to the scribal regulation of the Sabbath he broke the tradition, and authority confronted authority” (Lane 1974, 124).

Now the Pharisees would not have argued against saving a life on the Sabbath. They would have argued that healing a crippled hand wasn’t a life saving situation. However, from Jesus’ perspective, God’s redemptive role is realized in making a person whole.

The restoring of life to a dead withered hand points to Jesus kingdom message and power to restore all things – including one’s relationship with God. Ultimately to accomplish this Jesus will have to go to the cross where he will bear the punishment for our sins and will triumph over Satan, sin, and death.

Withered hands exist because sin exists. Even this man’s withered hand stands as a reminder of the brokenness of this world due to sin – not that all personal brokenness is related to personal sin, but that all that is wrong in this world is rooted in mankind’s rebellion against God.

Atoning for sin, conquering sin, and removing the effects of sin is the mission of Jesus.

As an aside, it’s helpful to note the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. For some people there seems to be no connection between serving God and treating others humanely. They had piety without any compassion. They could oppose a healing yet plan a murder. Is it all right to think evil and to plot murder on the Sabbath? The Pharisees were guilty of the hypocrisy of external conformity to law that veils an evil heart. We may be also guilty at times.

The Pharisees just did not comprehend God’s purposes in redemption. Their obsession with keeping their tradition blinded them from appreciating what Christ was doing in bringing in the kingdom.

Following Jesus includes enduring opposition.

Jesus is angered at their heartlessness and grieved at their blindness. Nothing makes Jesus angrier than hypocrisy and more grieved than heartlessness. He speaks to the man with the palsied hand: “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.

This infuriates the religious leaders. Jesus’ actions undermined their interpretation of the law, their piety, and their actions (who is the legitimate authority? What is godliness? How do I live a life pleasing to God? – Jesus overturns the answer to all of these questions. Along with those Jews who were pro-Herod, they began to plot his death.

This isn’t just a dispute over interpretation of the law. This is a fundamental dispute over whether God has acted in history through the ministry of Jesus Christ. Jesus words and works call for a decision. But they remained silent!

Jesus is a threat who cannot be easily tolerated or lightly dismissed. He must be ignored, eliminated or surrendered to as Lord. Which are doing?

Conclusion:

I understand the discomfort that comes to someone whose whole worldview is challenged by the claims of Jesus Christ. The thought that I could be wrong; or that my parents and their parents maybe were wrong, especially those who have been nurtured in a long history of religious, ethnic, cultural tradition and whose very identity is wrapped up in that tradition. Their whole conception of sin and redemption, of the world and life’s purpose is being torn apart.

Very often before you experience the overflow of peace that comes when you finally trust Christ as you Lord and Savior, you will suffer the most terrible internal conflict.

The social pressure may be even so overwhelming that you may lack the courage even to act on what you are persuaded to be true. Like Copernicus, though persuaded that the geocentric view of the universe was wrong, he recanted saying, I curse and detest the said errors and heresies… What will it be for you – the courage rooted in faith or the denial rooted in fear?

“The Disciples Plucking Grain on the Sabbath” by Gustave Dore (1832-1883)

Mark 2:23-28 (ESV) One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain.  24 And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”  25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: 26 how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” 27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

Introduction

From 2:1 to 3:6, Mark narrates a series of five incidents, or controversies. In each narrative, Jesus and His disciples are “covertly (2:6-7; 3:2) or openly (2:16, 18, 24) challenged by the Pharisees and the scribal interpreters of their tradition.” The common theme of this unit of Mark’s gospel is conflict.[1]

There is conflict due to the coming of Jesus Christ as Lord.

The coming of the King challenged the established powers and kingdoms of this world. The kingdom of God that Jesus proclaimed and embodied threatened the very foundations of all earthly religious and political kingdoms.

Jesus was a very, very threatening figure to the rulers of the age, especially religious rulers such as the Pharisees. Jesus continues to be a very, very threatening figure to the rulers of this age, both religious and political.

I would venture to say that the Jesus Christ that is depicted in holy Scripture is the most astonishing and threatening figure ever to grace this earth.

In Mark’s gospel, do we not continually read about how the actions and words of the Lord Jesus bring amazement and great fear to the multitudes?[2]

He is so very threatening and terrifying because, if we take His person and His teachings at face value, we all begin to realize the enormity of our wickedness and rebellion against Him.

We begin to realize the utter worthlessness of our earthly and fleshly pursuits.

We begin to realize that we have enthroned ourselves as lord and ruler and center of our own little universe.

Embracing Christ as Lord and King requires us to turn away from the pitiful little man-centered empires that we all have built up in our lives.

It requires us to, with the apostle Paul, come to the realization that we must

“indeed…count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him…” (Phil. 3:8-9).

The word “rubbish” (σκύβαλον or skubalon) refers to “what is thrown [away] to the dogs, i.e. refuse: dung,”[3] “the excrement of animals.” It points to something as being “worthless and detestable.”[4]

Christ the King announced in Mark 1:15 that the “kingdom of God” was “at hand.” His call was to “repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).

Such a call, when properly understood, is threatening and disturbing to men’s souls.

It is threatening because it requires us to turn away from all of our efforts at making our own way in this world. It ultimately requires us to regard all of our earthly trophies and human-centered sources of pride as “worthless and detestable,” as “dung.”

Jesus’ call is a radical one that challenges the powers-that-be at every level, both personal and corporate.

At times we are guilty of minimizing the radical nature of discipleship. We soften the radical and mind-bending demands of Christ as Lord in order to suit our easy-pleasy, utterly Americanized faith. I am just as guilty of this as anyone.

It is at times like this when we must remember that our Lord was tortured and put to death because of the radical nature of the kingdom that He manifested!

It is at times like this when we must remember texts like

Matt. 10:34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

To the establishmentarians of His day and ours, Jesus’ person and ministry represents something that is threatening and provocative. The radical nature of Jesus’ ministry represents something that must be eliminated and destroyed.

It is for this reason that the rulers of Jesus’ age began to plot His death.

The five incidents from Mark 2:1 to 3:6 occupy a very important position in this gospel in that they begin to inform our understanding as to why Jesus was put to death.

The claims of lordship that Christ made could not have passed by without notice, unchallenged by the established powers.

It is in these five narratives that we begin to understand that Jesus’ coming unavoidably brings conflict.[5]

Text

1. Mark 2:23 One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain.  24 And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”

These verses initiate the account of the fourth of the five controversies that Mark recounts in this section of his gospel.

Jesus and His disciples were walking through a grainfield when some of His followers “began…to pluck” the heads of grain.

In the parallel passage in Matthew 12, we are told that the disciples “were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat” (v. 1).

According to Scripture, there was nothing sinful about this act. Deut. 23:25 states, “If you go into your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor’s standing grain.”

The Pharisees, who were surely aware of the teaching in Deuteronomy, were getting worked up because they saw this activity as a violation of their religious rules regarding work and the Sabbath.

The Pharisees were attempting to enforce Sabbath regulations that were grounded in teachings such as found in the Ten Commandments:

Ex. 20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work,  10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work…

Also of note is the following from Ex. 31:

Ex. 31:12 And the LORD said to Moses,  13 “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you.  14 You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.  15 Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death.

The Pharisees believed that Jesus’ disciples were “profaning” the Sabbath, as instituted by God.

So we see here that the Pharisees did have a biblical basis for their controversy with Jesus. But, as Jesus points out to them, they were guilty of placing the emphasis of God’s teaching on rules, and not on God’s purpose for the rules.

The Pharisees were guilty of placing an “extravagant importance”[6] upon their religious rules regarding the Sabbath, rather than upon the people for whom God had created the Sabbath.

Jesus points this out to them in 2:27: And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

God did not create man to enslave him by the Sabbath. The Sabbath was instituted as a blessing and gift to humanity.

In Jesus’ day, the observance of Sabbath rest from labor

“was perhaps the supremely important demonstration of a Jew’s loyalty to God and to his nation. Some later rabbis said that the Messiah would come if all Israel kept the Sabbath!… The Pharisaic understanding…was that almost everything else was to give way to observe this command. So, in the Jewish Maccabean revolt (168 B.C.), and in subsequent wars, many Jews refused to fight on the Sabbath, even to save their [own] lives.”[7]

Application: In our own time, many well-intentioned conservative evangelicals and fundamentalists are situated in a position not unlike the Pharisees of old.

There are many church leaders who take a biblical precept or principle and begin building up walls and fences and layers of religious rules, usually with the noble intention of honoring God and His Word.

However, what inevitably ends up happening is that the new categories that they create begin to become “hardened,” and ultimately become beliefs that are functionally accorded the same level of importance as Holy Scripture.[8] Anyone who dares to challenge the new traditions are punished in various ways, from verbal rebuke by one or more Christians or church leaders, to shunning and separation, to actual church discipline.

It is in this type of environment where relationships between believers are destroyed.

In a rule-centered environment, the dignity of the person is degraded and dismissed all so that the structure of religious rules can be protected.

The focus is on safeguarding and defending rules rather than ministering to people in need.

Adherence to the religion of conservative evangelicalism or fundamentalism becomes more important than showing love and grace to a brother or sister in Christ.

“A man’s soul is in a bad state when he begins to regard manmade rites and ceremonies as things of superior importance… It is a symptom of spiritual disease.” J. C. Ryle [9]

2. Mark 2:25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: 26 how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?”

In response to the challenge from the religious leaders of His day, King Jesus refers to an incident that occurred in the life of a revered figure in Jewish history, King David.

In 1 Sam. 21:1-6, David, the rightful future king of Israel, is with a group of hungry men who are fleeing from the rage of King Saul, the ruler at that time. In the urgency of situation during the course of his mission, David breaches the law of God by asking for provision of bread from the high priest, which he is given.

The point of contact between this OT account and Mark 2 is that both King David and King Jesus “represent a new, as yet unrecognized ‘regime’” that finds itself in “emergency circumstances.”[10]

The point is that the actions of Jesus and his disciples are closely connected with their kingly mission.[11]

Here we have two unrecognized kings and their men foraging for food and violating the laws of God and men in the exigency of their particular situation.[12]

The issue boils down to the question “of whether in fact Jesus’ message and mission [came] before the observance of such an important commandment as Sabbath” rest.[13]

The issue is one of calling and authority, for only one who has been called by God and invested with heavenly authority can rightly justify violating God’s Sabbath.

Prior to the incident with the bread of the Presence in 1 Sam. 21, we see that David had already been anointed and empowered by God as the rightful future king:

1 Sam. 16:1 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons…. 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him [David] in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward….

With these verses fresh in mind, recall another anointing and empowering by the Spirit of God of another Bethlehemite King that took place in Mark 1:

Mark 1:9 In those days Jesus came… and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.  11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

So it is that we are to understand the parallels between King David and King Jesus and their authority.

This issue of calling and authority over the Sabbath is directly stated by Jesus in Mark 2:27-8, and is, in fact, the entire theological point of this narrative.[14]

3. Mark 2:27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

Jesus points to his authority and primacy over the religious system of His time in the parallel account in Matthew:

Matt. 12:6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. 7 And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ [Hos. 6:6] you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.

By virtue of Jesus’ authority and mission as the rightful King of Israel, He presents Himself as judge and arbiter over what is permissible or not on the Sabbath.[15]

I’m going to ask everyone to bow their heads and consider the questions and call I’m about to place before you this day.

Application:  Jesus is the rightful Lord and King not only over Israel, but over the entire universe, and over your life. The Pharisees didn’t understand this and failed to yield to His divine authority.

Do we fully understand and appreciate the claim of King Jesus on our lives?

Can we honestly say that we are always yielding in every area of our hearts to Him and His authority over us?

Do we truly understand the radical nature of His call and claim upon our lives?

Or, are we like the Pharisees of old, who stubbornly held onto the structures and rules of their earthly kingdom, even in the presence of the King Himself?

Do we not recognize that it is the King who determines the rules and their application, and not us?

Or do we go about enforcing our own rules in our own way?

The call today is a call to yield to the lordship and kingship of Jesus Christ.

Will you respond to this call?

Will you respond in grateful submission and loving adoration to the King of the universe who not only created you, but also pursued you in your sin and rebellion against His authority?

Will you respond to the One who lovingly pursued you, the One who took the punishment for your sin upon Himself on the cross, and with His life as a ransom, purchased you out of the bonds of the slavery of sin and death in order to give you life abundant and eternal?

Will you enthrone Jesus as Lord and King of your life?

[2] Cf. 1:22; 2:12; 5:15, 20, 33, 36, 42; 6:2, 50-51; 7:37; 9:6, 15, 32; 10:32; 11:18; 12:17; 15:5, 44.

[3] Key Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, based on the Greek Strong’s Dictionary, ed. by Rick Bennett, Version 1.4, Accordance Bible Software, 8.4.6, Oak Tree Software, Inc., 2010.

[4] Joseph Henry Thayer, Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, Version 1.4, Accordance Bible Software, 8.4.6, Oak Tree Software, Inc., 2010.

[5] Lane: “This Galilean unit [of five narratives]…is balanced in the latter half of the Gospel by a series of five controversies in Jerusalem (11:27-12:37),” 91.

[6] J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (n.p., 2007; reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2007), 37.

[7] Larry W. Hurtado, Mark, New International Biblical Commentary, ed. by W. Ward Gasque (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2004), 47-8.

[8] I find it sadly ironic that Protestants decry the practice of the Roman Catholic Church in elevating their traditions and catechisms to the same level as Scripture, when in reality, many conservatives functionally elevate their own religious beliefs to a similar canonic status. In some ways, I have more respect for the Romanists than for conservatives and fundamentalists in this regard, because the Romanists at least publish their catechisms for public inspection and consumption, while the rules of conservative evangelicalism and fundamentalism are unwritten and subject to all kinds of shifting and exception-making.

[9] Ryle, 38.

[10] Hurtado, 48. He notes vv. 23-4, stating that, “The actions of Jesus and his disciples are to be seen as happening in the context of their itinerant ministry, in which they proclaimed with prophetic urgency the approach of the kingdom of God.”

[11] Hurtado, 48.

[12] Lane states, “The relationship between the OT incident and the infringement of the Sabbath by the disciples lies in the fact that on both occasions pious men did something forbidden…” (117). Although believing that this explanation is satisfactory, I don’t believe he goes far enough in that he neglects to mention the further points of contact between the mission of the unrecognized king (David) and his men in 1 Sam. 21, and the mission of the unrecognized King (Jesus) and His men in Mark 2.

[13] Hurtado, 49.

[14] Lane: “With this word [vv. 27-8] Mark drives home for his readers the theological point of the pericope. These things were written that they [his readers] may understand Jesus’ true dignity: he is the Lord of the Sabbath” (120).

[15] Hurtado: “Mark’s point is not some generalizing principle like ‘people are more important than rules’ (which sounds so congenial to the modern reader). Rather, by virtue of Jesus’ authority and the urgency of his mission, he is presented as free to judge how to employ even the Sabbath day in the pursuit of his task, in which he heralds the arrival of the ultimate ‘good’ for humanity, symbolized in the gift of the Sabbath rest” (49).

Jesus Meets the Greatest Human Need

Mark 2:1-12

Mark 2:1-12 And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home.  ² And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them.  ³ And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.  ⁴ And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay.  ⁵ And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”  ⁶ Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,  ⁷ “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”  ⁸ And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts?  ⁹ Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?  ¹⁰ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”–he said to the paralytic–  ¹¹ “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”  ¹² And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

You may feel at times as we go through Mark that some of what is being said about Jesus is strangely familiar. (Did I take the same content from another encounter and transfer it to this one. Yes and No) We will find a persistent consistency in who Jesus is and what His concerns are.

Introduction:

    This event in Jesus’ life raises some interesting questions for us. How and why do people come to Jesus? What is humankind’s greatest need? When we look at our friends and family struggling with life, what is their greatest need? Who is Jesus and what power does He really have? Why do religious leaders get so upset with Jesus?

This is a story about a paraplegic who is miraculously healed but who received something more valuable than the ability to walk again – his sins are forgiven.

There are anywhere from 250,000 to 400,000 people with spinal cord injuries in the US. 47% with paralysis of the lower extremities; 53% are quadriplegic. 80% are male. About 90% live a normal life span. More than half were injured between the ages of 16 and 30.

I read the story of Trevor Snowden, a world class snowboarder whose back snapped in two. He describes his accident:

At Snow Qualomy Pass, Snowden was the third boarder to make a practice run off the sculpted snow ramp designed to catapult contestants over a flat area and onto a steep landing slope. The first two riders barely cleared the flat section and contest officials were worried. “The walkie-talky guys said to get more speed, so I touched it up a notch,” said Snowden. He hit the jump and not only cleared the flat but sailed over the entire slope, landing in another flat area 103 feet below the ramp. “I was doing a backside 360 (helicopter) and, when I turned around, I saw that I was too big,” he said. “I thought about skidding on my side or leaning back but my mind just decided to stick it – to land on my feet. I was so high and so far and the hill was so flat that there was no way my body could stand the compression.” “I hit and all I remember is hearing my bones rattle inside my flesh,” he said. “I hit so hard that I bounced off the snow like a beach ball.

I also read of Tasha Schuh a beautiful 18 year old girl who fell through a 12 ft.trap story on a stage landing on a concrete floor. She said after the accident:

“I had a lot of different emotions, following my prognosis. At first I was crushed. I was so sad, I didn’t even want to live. I never thought I could live my life successfully in a wheelchair. I would never be able to play volleyball again, my most favorite sport, and I would not be able to play piano. I had taken lessons for 8 years, and someday I wanted to be a music teacher. I never thought I would be able to go to college, hold a job, or get married and have kids.”

Imagine the situation described here. Jesus is back at his Galilean headquarters in Capernaum, preaching in a crowded house either his house or, as traditionally held, the home of Peter and Andrew. There are people on the floor, in the doorway, at the windows. Passersby stop in curiosity at to what or who is attracting such a crowd.

This reminds me of the dedication service of Bethsaida Church in Northwest India. This is the church for which an American church has funded the construction. The guests from the states were tucked against the front wall in the small building with people sitting or standing on every square inch of floor space. Even the stairs going up to the roof were packed with children.

The particular house where Jesus was had outside stairs going up to a mud and straw thatched roof. Four men arrive with a paralyzed friend lying on a homemade stretcher. They’ve heard about Jesus and believe that He can heal their friend. When they arrive, they cannot enter the house because of the overcrowded situation, so they go to the roof.

Now imagine sitting on the floor in this house listening to Jesus, as little pieces of straw and dried mud begin to fall from the ceiling. Soon there is a bit of sunlight shining through, then a large hole, and suddenly, a man on a stretcher is lowered right in front of the preacher.

This had to be quite a chaotic situation. What’s the owner of the house thinking as his house is vandalized? What are the guests thinking as they are covered with dust and their service is interrupted? And, what does Jesus think of the somewhat abrasive forwardness of these intruders.

Imagine having friends like these men or being a friend like these men were. Friends who care about you so much that they’ll do the unusual in order to help others. We know there were at least four friends carrying the stretcher and the text implies that there were more. Here they are a group of friends who care about one of their own. We don’t know how long this man was paralyzed or what brought about the paralysis. We simply know that he is suffering with this incurable ailment and his friends watch him suffer. They hear about Jesus, know that He’s in town, and decide to take their friend to Jesus. They were interested in his healing; little did they know that he would come away with much more.

Jesus recognized that these men had faith. It was more of a curious, seeker type of faith than saving faith. They didn’t say to themselves – “Jesus is preaching the gospel so let’s take our paralyzed friend so he can get saved.” They came to Jesus so He could heal their friend. It wasn’t a mature biblically grounded faith. But it was faith that was headed in the right direction and a faith to which Jesus responded.

1. Jesus responds to genuine concern. He saw their faith
   

Sincerity doesn’t save you – but sincerity gets the attention of Jesus. I have at times diminished the sincere faith of others because it was misguided, misinformed, and without solid theological foundations. Jesus recognized their faith, as misdirected as it was, because it was a ‘first step’ in their beginning to look beyond themselves for a solution to an overwhelming issue of life.

These friends saw someone they loved suffering and they desired relief for him. His inability to walk, possibly even his inability to talk, were disturbing to them. Unless you are sadistic or masochistic, no one likes to look on suffering, especially the suffering of those whom you love.

What initially brings them to Jesus is not their deep spiritual concern. They aren’t overwhelmed with the lost condition of their friend. It’s not their friend’s sinfulness that they see as a problem. It’s his suffering. There’s no indication that they have made any theological connection between sin and suffering. They aren’t coming to Jesus as the Redeemer who forgives sinners, but to Jesus the one who is moved by compassion at the suffering of the multitudes.

They simply are not mature in their understanding of redemption. However, they know at least two things – their friend needs healing and Jesus is a proven healer.

Let me pause for a moment here to say that this is normally the level at which the Spirit of God is beginning to work in lives and causing people to seek after the living God. Often God is using pain and suffering to arouse people to seek Him. Not every beginning prayer is as clear as the publican who went into the temple and cried out, God be merciful to me a sinner.”

More often than not the cry is one of desperation – I’m hurting. God, please help me. Have mercy on me.”

Also, more often than not, this is the level at which we become concerned about others. We see their suffering and not their sin, and we cry out for them.

Though there is a deeper level of concern for someone’s life that we need to approach, I don’t want to minimize any genuine concern for others that causes you or them to turn to Christ for any kind of help.

In verse 5 we read that Jesus saw their faith. It wasn’t mature saving faith but it was genuine faith accompanied with unusual action. Jesus responded to this faith.

This is a necessary reminder that God is always at work in a world that is full of suffering. Think of the suffering that people face:

Marriage struggles

Racism

Poverty

Illness

Tragedy

Injustice

Trevor Snowden talks about the spiritual impact of his suffering.

The accident has made him more spiritual, he said, by forcing him to understand that there are more important things in life than snowboarding. “I had everything,” he said. “I was fully sponsored by Fila, I was finally getting a regular paycheck, MTV was filming the Bud Tour and I was finally ready to really break out into the sport. Then it was all taken away.” Snowden said that one reason he has adjusted so quickly is that he was unhappy with his life. “I had all those great things but I was still kinda bummed, life just kinda sucked,” he said. “When it was all taken away, it was refreshing to know that I had a new beginning. I was wrapped up in snowboarding, because that’s all I had.”

I was talking with a pastor friend one day about ministering to needy people. He suggested something like a “Headlines Ministry.” He noted that people in the headlines normally don’t want to be there and whether they are innocent or guilty they are suffering. A letter and flowers from a Christian letting them know that you care may open a door for addressing the deeper issues of one’s life.

We can bring everyone’s need to Jesus, but we know that Jesus will always probe the deeper issues of life.

1. Jesus probes the deeper needs. Son, your sins are forgiven.
   

He’s always looking at the heart issues. Some would that the discussion of forgiveness in this setting is inappropriate, insensitive, or irrelevant. Do Jesus’ words seem a bit out of place to you.

As He looks deep into the heart of this paralyzed man, he sees a heart crying out for release from guilt. The friends knew the man was imprisoned by a paralyzed body but did not see the more severe imprisonment of the soul, paralyzed by sin.

As Jesus looks at this paralytic man, he looks past his paralysis deep into his heart. He knows that the deepest yearning of this man’s heart is to be rid of guilt – to be forgiven. “A Dutch poet called man’s guilt ‘the root of all human problems.’ A British psychologist has called man’s sense of having been forgiven ‘the most healing force in the world.’ And how often have not specialists informed us that many patients could be dismissed from mental institutions if they were only able to convince themselves that their guilt had been blotted out” (Hendriksen 1975, 89-90).

The OT background sets the stage for understanding that there is a relationship between sin and disease and forgiveness and healing. “Healing is a gracious movement of God into the sphere of withering and decay which are the tokens of death at work in a man’s life. It was not God’s intention that man should live with the pressure of death upon him. Sickness, disease, and death are the consequence of the sinful condition of all men. Consequently, every healing is a driving back of death and an invasion of the province of sin. That is why it is appropriate for Jesus to proclaim the remission of sins…. Jesus’ pronouncement of pardon is the recognition that man can be genuinely whole only when the breech occasioned by sin has been healed through God’s forgiveness of sins” (Lane 1974, 94).

The presence of illness in any of our lives is a reminder that we belong to a race of sinners. Not that a particular sin brings about a specific consequence of illness but that all illness is linked to fall of the human race and is evidence of that fall. The presence of illness brings about a longing for wholeness that can never be attained without forgiveness. “What we cry out for, all of us, sometimes without knowing it, is to be whole within, to be restored at the center of our being, to be at peace again with God. And that happens when God forgives us” (Brownson 1993, 93).

Any experience of the temporary removal of the effects of sin is a token of the ultimate application of redemption in the removal of sin and all the effects of sin from the universe.

The experience of illness, i.e. the effects of sin, should always drive us to the cross where Jesus died so that sin can be forgiven and the ultimate effect of sin, death, could be conquered.

Also, as He looks into the hearts of the religious leaders, He sees skepticism.

The religious leaders heard Jesus’ pronouncement of forgiveness and didn’t say anything out loud. But, in their hearts they were ridiculing Jesus. They have a theological problem with Jesus. Actually, they have a good theological principle but erroneous judgment. They confess properly that only God can forgive sin. This is affirmed repeatedly throughout the OT Scriptures. But their theological understanding is very limited. There’s no room in their thinking of the possibility that God could take on human flash and that Jesus could possibly be the incarnation of God. So they conclude in their hearts that Jesus is guilty of blasphemy. We know from the later gospel narrative that this charge follows Jesus all the way to His crucifixion. To them Jesus is a charlatan, a fake. He’s taking the easy way out. Words are cheap and how can one verify whether or not forgiveness has taken place.

Jesus asks them a few questions: “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’?

Which is easier to say? The religious leaders thought that words of forgiveness were easier; Jesus implies by his question that the physical miracle is the easier of the two. It’s a far greater miracle for a man to be forgiven than for him to walk again.

“To offer forgiveness took infinitely more. For that, God needed to come among us and share our humanity. For that, he had to take on himself the whole weight of our guilt and rebellion. He had to suffer and be forsaken in our stead. He had to die on the cross for our sins. That’s how difficult how costly it was for the Almighty God to forgive sins” (Brownson 1993, 95).

If forgiveness is our deepest need and God’s grandest miracle, there’s nothing in all the world we ought to seek more eagerly, both for ourselves and for others (Ibid., 95).

If Jesus is God, and only God can forgive sins, then Jesus holds an exclusive power to forgive. This exclusive power to forgive continues to be a root of controversy in a pluralistic world.

Often our problem is not that we do not care about people who are suffering; our problem is we fail to see the deeper, need of forgiveness. We long for people to be relieved of temporal suffering, but care little about the eternal suffering they face.

1. Jesus forgives sin and removes the effects of sin.
   

   10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” He said to the paralytic, 11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all
   

Jesus now addresses the skeptics. They considering him to be blaspheming when he says, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” So, he gives the skeptics an opportunity to come to faith – so that you may know. These words are identical to those in 1 John 5:13 – so that you may know that you have eternal life.

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Jesus opens a window of opportunity for these skeptics. His healing of the paralytic is not only an act of compassion (Indeed, it is!) but a confirmation of his authority to forgive sins.

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He is the Son of Man – one who is truly man and the True Man. Sometimes there is a bit of ambiguity in the use of the phrase “Son of Man” in reference to Jesus. Is Jesus merely a son of man or is Jesus the Son of Man? The reader is left to decide. (We sometimes say of others – “He’s the man” – no we are all less than the man God intended us to be). Jesus is The Man, the second Adam who succeeds where the first Adam failed.

Listen to His words and look at the healing of this man. Can he really forgive sins? Can he and will he eventually remove all of the effects of sin?

To make it even more personal – does he have authority to forgive my sins? Will he, whether now or later, remove the effects of sin in my life and in this world? In Christ we experience the miracle of forgiveness that brings healing to our wounded soul, resulting in immeasurable delight and unending peace with God.

This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Whom do I know that needs this amazing Jesus?

To what extent am I willing to go to bring them to Jesus?

What do I really believe Jesus can do?

Conclusion:

    Hear the call of Jesus Christ!

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Listen to this unusual story:

Mark 1:40-45
⁴⁰ ¶ And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” ⁴¹ Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” ⁴² And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. ⁴³ And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, ⁴⁴ and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” ⁴⁵ But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.

Introduction:

In an ancient society, there was probably no disease as dreaded and hated as that of leprosy. Though we know much more about it today and can even cure it, in the past lepers were avoided with fear and later were placed in leper colonies. We know that through the use of various Hebrew terms in the Bible that…

…leprosy was prevalent, and variously described as “blotches,” “scars,” “eruptions,” “whiteness,” “bright patches,” and “ulceration”; it had many forms, most of which can be only approximately identified in the Hebrew terms. Despite the ignorance about germs, the danger of contagion was realized and isolation enforced. Detailed religious rites of “purification” from leprosy’s “uncleanness” were elaborated.

Lepers were scary people who were pushed to the fringes of society.

This is a very unusual and courageous act for a leper to leave his isolation and come publicly into Jesus’ presence, casting himself at his feet. Most people would have run from the presence of a leper!

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1. Jesus is approachable even by really scary people.
   

We normally avoid people who make us uncomfortable. It may be the young person with multiple rings in his eyebrow, ears, and tongue who transgresses our sense of cultural propriety. It may be those who flaunt their transgression of God’s standard of sexual morality. It may even be that one who’s suffering from a dreaded illness like cancer, which seems to threaten our own sense of well being. It may be that person of another culture whose difference of color, language, or even someone’s smell that threatens our safe and secure world.

Who is it that makes you uncomfortable? Possibly, had this leper fell on his knees at our feet we would have walked around him and kept going? No! We would have run!

This is why we find Jesus so attractive! Scary people can come to Jesus! For him there are no scary people. Those that are on the periphery of society feel comfortable coming to Jesus – whether it’s crooked tax collectors like Zacchaeus, or adulterous women like Mary Magdalene, or a Paul, who murdered Christians – Jesus is the friend of sinners. Scary people can come to Jesus!

Actually, all of us are like lepers because of our sin. If we could see each other’s hearts there’s enough there to scare anyone. Listen to Isa 1:6.

Isaiah 1:6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness– only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with oil.

This verse and Romans 3:10-23 describe the spiritual condition of every human being. We are all scary people whom Jesus welcomes! ! Scary people can come to Jesus!

2. Jesus is moved with compassion at societal outcasts. ⁴¹ Moved with pity…

I prefer the translation – “moved with compassion” which offers some interesting and perplexing insight into Jesus Christ.

In theology God is sometimes described as impassible. The idea is that One who is perfect in every way must not be susceptible to feelings and emotions. Certainly it is a mystery as to how an immutable and Sovereign God – “I am the Lord your God. I change not.” – can be affected in any way by human circumstances. Some even think of God as cold, hard, unfeeling, and purely deterministic – unmoved and unchanging in regard to human suffering.

The image that some have of a Sovereign, immutable God is His standing unmoved by the bedside of your suffering child or unmoved at the bedside of your father suffering with cancer. Can an impassible God be moved emotionally by my suffering?

In reading the Bible we get a much warmer picture of God. For instance as the people of God are suffering as slaves in Ancient Egypt God calls a man, Moses, to deliver them and says to him:

I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey (Ex 3:7-8).

Throughout the Old Testament we find that God is One who sees suffering and responds because of His compassion. This was the hope of the Psalmist when he suffered – that God would show compassion.

13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him (Ps 103:13).

Yet, with all of the evidence of God’s display of compassion throughout history, God still offers weak and doubting humans a clearer, concrete demonstration of His compassion in the incarnation of Jesus, God the Son. As you read the gospels and see God in human flesh interacting personally with a suffering world, you are moved by the deep emotion in which Jesus responds to human suffering. The cross of Jesus Christ screams “I love you, I care for you. I am moved with compassion at your desperate and helpless struggle with sin and death.”

As Hebrews 4 says: “he is touched with the feeling of our infirmities.”

This leper covered from head to toe with a cancerous, disfiguring disease falls on his knees at Jesus feet and begs him for deliverance. Jesus is affected by this appeal. The Greek text says very clearly that Jesus was “moved with compassion.” Normally, this verb when applied to Jesus is in a passive tense, indicating that some other agent other than himself is causing this action.

Whether it’s the multitudes that are as sheep without a shepherd, or a hungry crowd of 5,000, or blind men by the roadside, or crowds filled with sick people, Jesus is moved with compassion.

His compassion for suffering sinners runs so deep that in the gospel he actually takes on him the defilement and sin of humankind that he might deliver us – “He who knew no sin is made sin for us.” Using the image of the story before us – he takes on leprosy in order to deliver lepers.

Your suffering – whoever you are and regardless of what you’ve done – moves Jesus.

3. Jesus touches with power and cleanses the unclean.

Were you to live in 1^st Century Palestine, you would have often heard people crying out, “Unclean, unclean.” It was the obligation of every leper to warn those who came near him that he was infectious. Imagine having to live your life always acknowledging your contagion – a life where your communication with others was limited to warning them about how scary you really are.

The Law of Moses provided for the examination and ritual purification of a leper but held no power to rid one of leprosy. We don’t know how many times this leper had been to a priest only to be told that he was still infected by leprosy. Jesus does what the Law cannot do! This is the futile plight of religion – it can expose human failure and sin but offers no power to deliver.

The way that Jesus heals this leper is a sign and parable of his ways with mankind. He’s not afraid of our sin. The most horrible things that cause others to shrink back from us pose no obstacle to Jesus. He takes on our humanity and moves into our world that he might touch us reach us, and cleanse us. Actually, in violation of the religious law, Jesus touches a leper. For Jesus, He is not under the law; rather the law is in his hands. For Jesus the law of love is a higher law. Jesus is in the business of touching those whom no one else will touch and cleansing them – and he does so without rubber gloves.

A novel way of looking at the church is that the church of Jesus Christ is a community of lepers that have been cleansed. Look around you today at lepers (scary people) who have been cleansed. Don’t forget it! Let’s give to others the same mercy that we have received.

Why does Jesus reach out and touch us? He wants our healing. He wants our wholeness. He wants our deliverance. He wants our restoration.

Conclusion:

The leper’s response to Jesus instruction poses an interesting dilemma for us. The leper is instructed to tell no one about this miracle because at this point in Jesus’ ministry notoriety would not be an advantage. The leper is also told to go to the priest for the ritual cleansing that would affirm for society’s sake that he was truly free of leprosy and would also be a witness to the priests of Jesus power. This was a difficult command to obey. How can one be silent about the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to him?

The cleansed leper does neither of the things Jesus commands. He cannot restrain telling others what Jesus has done for him. He is sincere in his desire to give tribute to Jesus by telling others, yet his sincerity is still immature disobedience. His disobedience is not rebellion but more like the inability of a child to restrain his emotions.

If his command was difficult, ours is easy. We are instead told like the demoniac at Gadara (Mark 5) is later told – “Go home to your friends and show them what great tings God has done for you.” His command to us today is the opposite of what he told the leper. He tells us – go and tell the world. He grants us the freedom to express the joy we have experienced at His powerful deliverance. What do we tell the world?

1. Tell the world that Jesus is approachable by anyone regardless of whether they are socially acceptable or outcasts.
2. Tell the world that Jesus is moved with compassion by their desperate plight.
3. Tell the world that Jesus has power to cleanse and transform them.

This is the Jesus we need to get to know better and this is the Jesus we proclaim to a sinful world! Jesus is a friend of societal outcasts.

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