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HE TOOK OUR ILLNESSES Daniel Patz, Lead Pastor Grace Church, Sunday Worship Mark 1:29-45 November 6th, 2011
Mark 1:29-45 ESV And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. (30) Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. (31) And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them. (32) That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. (33) And the whole city was gathered together at the door. (34) And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. (35) And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. (36) And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, (37) and they found him and said to him, "Everyone is looking for you." (38) And he said to them, "Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out." (39) And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons. (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 Isaiah 53:4 Isaiah 53:3 ESV He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Matthew 8:17 Matthew 8:16-17 ESV That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. (17) This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: "He took our illnesses and bore our diseases."
OBSERVATIONS and INTERPRETATIONS – What does the text say and mean? The Text: In this text we see a lot of action (remember – Mark is more like an action film): 1) 29-31: Jesus heals the fever of Simon’s mother-in-law 2) 32-34: At sundown the crowds show up at the house to be healed and exorcized of demons and he does it. 3) 35-38: Jesus goes out to pray, Peter finds him and has a conversation about Jesus’ mission 4) 39-45: Jesus travels throughout Galilee healing and exorcizing and cleanses a leper What stands out to me are three things that will be summed up into the main three points this morning. But before we get to the main points here are three questions that stand out to me: Q1: What do Jesus’ healings say about Him then and how do they relate to us today? Q2: Why does Jesus constantly tell demons and healed people to be quiet about who He really is? Q3: Is it significant that this story ends with Jesus being forced to the desolate places after gaining fame from His leprosy healing? But let’s look at three important Truths that we see of Jesus in these stories: 1. We see the Supremacy of Christ over Cell and Satan. When I say “cell” I mean sickness or disease. When I say “Satan” I mean the evil spirits and demons. There is a distinction between these two but they are often related. Jesus first heals Simon’s mother-in-law in their house. He lifted her up and the fever left her and she served him (showing that she was completely healed). Fever was significant in the bible times. It was viewed as more than a symptom. It was something that God would bring upon Israel for judgment. Deuteronomy 28:22 ESV The LORD will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought and with blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish. This doesn’t mean that this woman was being directly judged, but it meant something more significant to them than to us. Jesus heals many after sundown, He heals many in Galilee (39) and He casts out demons. There is an important principle here: Jesus has supreme power over everything. But what about today? Does God normally heal like he did then by the use of miracles with men or women touching people and they are instantly healed? I don’t think so. The normal way of God in the Bible was not to bring constant works of miracles. There were three periods in the Bible of miracles and that is 1) The exodus time, 2) The times of Elijah and Elisha, 3) and the times of Jesus and the early apostles (book of Acts). By the time of the later epistles we hear very little of healings and only that Paul and his friends are ill but not getting instantly healed. These three times have something in common: a unique time when God was revealing a new plan or way. By the later times of the early church there is no instruction or example of healing. Paul is sick and not healed and he has many friends who are sick and not healed. We should pray to God for healing. We should ask God to heal through doctors and through supernatural means (miracles) but we should not think that it is God’s normal way of doing things today. Meaning, we should not think immediately that we have done something wrong in the prayers or that the prayer is wrong. Our faith should not be shaken by this. Jesus is the same and His power over cell and Satan is still the same. However, He has much bigger plans that we do when it comes down to the need to be healed. 2. We see the Determination of Christ choosing the Father over Fame. In verses 35-38 we see Jesus going deliberately to the mountain or countryside and there he prays early in the morning. Peter is bothered by this because He thinks Jesus should take advantage of the fame. “Cease the moment” your popularity is going viral in the countryside. Jesus shows his need for intimacy with His father. He longs for fellowship with God and this is more important than stirring things up with the crowd. Jesus is not a people pleaser although He is a people lover. Jesus is a Father pleaser (as we saw earlier in His baptism). Jesus answers Peter by saying that He has other places to go to fulfill His purpose for coming into the world. Jesus does not deflect glory because he is shy (although he appears that way here). He deflects glory because he knows that the glory that is coming is not based on a response to His teaching of the Gospel but on the basis of people wanted to see a good show and have their physical needs met without their hearts turning to Christ. Why the Big Secret? In this chapter we see Jesus telling demons and the leper who was healed to be quiet about who he is? Why does he do this? We see this in verses 25, 34, and 44. Why does he command them to be quiet? I think this has a lot to do with his focus on the mission that God had given Him and his focus on that and not a fame that is fleeting and external (rather than rooted from true worship). Jesus knows that the true glory that people needed to receive and see and rejoice in was not from healings alone and the displace of divine power. The glory that they needed to see was the glory that would be seen on the cross. Jesus was more concerned about the quality of the followers faith than the quantity of followers. 3. We see the Purifying Work of Christ for cleansing of Sin. When I read the final story of Mark chapter 1 I can’t help but think of Hebrews 1: Hebrews 1:3 ESV He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, “After making purification for sins” is prefigured in this passage. The leper is unclean. In the bible leprosy had symbolism of sin and mean that you were unclean to worship God in the temple. Leviticus 13:45-46 ESV "The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, 'Unclean, unclean.' (46) He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp. The significance here is that the man comes and knows that Jesus can heal him or cleanse Him. In the NT times the rabbis viewed the healing of leprosy as next to raising someone from the dead. The leper was alienated, unclean, unfit for society, a true untouchable. Yet, Jesus touches the unclean man – “he stretched out his hand and touched him”. In bible times if you touched an unclean thing you were made unclean. Yet Jesus is the Purifier of all things. When he purposely touches the unclean they are made clean. Ezekiel 36:33 ESV "Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. Ezekiel 37:23 ESV They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
APPLICATIONS – What does this text mean for me today and what should I do? What does this tell us about Jesus and how should we respond? 1. Jesus is supreme over cell and Satan and our trust should be in Him in all things. 2. Jesus calls us to follow His example in loving the Father more than outward show. 3. Jesus went outside the camp and touched the unclean and we are to do the same with the Gospel.
Out to a Desolate Place: I want you to see the Gospel here. The unclean leper was restricted to desolate and lonely places because of His uncleanness. Jesus touched Him and he was made clean and entered into community and a new life. But there was a cost to Jesus. Jesus, as a result was pushed out to the desolate and lonely places. This is the Gospel! Jesus took our infirmities and our illnesses and our sin and was sent to the place of punishment and loneliness so that we would have fellowship with God. Hebrews 13:12 ESV So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.
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