Mark 1:35-2:12 (Wednesday Evening Bible Study

Mark 1:35-2:12

• Mark 1:35-39
  • 35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he got up, went out, and made his way to a deserted place; and there he was praying. 36 Simon and his companions searched for him, 37 and when they found him they said, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38 And he said to them, “Let’s go on to the neighboring villages so that I may preach there too. This is why I have come.” 39 He went into all of Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
  • In last week’s lesson, we looked at a busy day at Capernaum…Jesus had no time alone
  • So we see Him at the start of this lesson making sure He found time alone with God
    • If He was going to be forever giving out, He must be at least sometimes taking in; if He was going to spend Himself for others, He must constantly summon spiritual reinforcements
    • Dr. A. D. Belden “Prayer may be defined as the appeal of the soul to God” In ignoring prayer we ignore, “the possibility of adding God to our resources”. “In prayer we give the perfect mind of God an opportunity to feed our mental powers”
    • Jesus knew this; He knew that if He was to meet people He must first meet God. If prayer was necessary for Jesus, how much more must it be necessary for us?
  • Even in His time alone, the crowds and disciples were still seeking Him out
    • Prayer is great, but it is never meant to be the end.
    • Pray! Then put the work in…not either, or; both, and!
    • Prayer will never do our work for us; what it will do is to strengthen us for work which must be done
    • “Pray like it depends on God. Work like it depends on you.” (St. Augustine, Martin Luther, Mark Batterson)
  • Jesus then left on a preaching tour of the synagogues of Galilee (Probably weeks or months worth of travel and preaching”
  • He preached and healed as He went
    • Three pairs of things Jesus never separated
      • Words and Actions
        • Talk the talk and walk the walk
      • Soul and Body
        • He cared as much about the person’s physical needs as He did the spiritual (James 2:15-17)
      • Earth and Heaven
        • There are those who are so concerned with earth that they forget about heaven and limit good to material good
        • There are those who are so concerned with heaven that they forget all about earth and so become impractical visionaries 
        • C. S. Lewis “Aim at heaven and get the earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither”
• Mark 1:40-45
  • 40 Then a man with leprosy came to him and, on his knees, begged him, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched him. “I am willing,” he told him. “Be made clean.” 42 Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43 Then he sternly warned him and sent him away at once, 44 telling him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go and show yourself to the priest, and offer what Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” 45 Yet he went out and began to proclaim it widely and to spread the news, with the result that Jesus could no longer enter a town openly. But he was out in deserted places, and they came to him from everywhere.
  • Leprosy (The terrible disease)
    • In the NT there is no disease regarded with more terror and pity than leprosy
    • The fate of the leper was truly hard
      • E. W. G. Masterman “No other disease reduces a human being for so many years to so hideous a wreck”
    • Three kinds of leprosy
      • Nodular or Tubercular
        • Begins with lethargy and pain in the joints
        • On the back, symmetrical discolored patches of skin begin appearing
        • Nodes start appearing on the discolored patches (begin pink and then turn brown)
        • The skin thickens and the nodes begin gathering especially in the folds of the cheeks, the nose, the lips and the forehead
          • The whole appearance of the face is changed until the person does not look like a human anymore (ancients described them looking like a lion or satyr)
        • The nodes grow larger and larger until they break open with a disgusting discharge
        • The eyebrows fall out; the eyes become staring; the voice becomes hoarse and breath wheezes due to the ulceration of the vocal chords
        • The hands and feet also break open 
        • Slowly the person becomes a mass of ulcerated growths until  ending in mental decay, coma, and finally death
        • The disease can take around nine years to run its full course
      • Anaesthetic
        • The beginning stages are the same (lethargy, pain, discoloration)
        • Along with this, it affects the nerve trunks of the effected areas (lose all sensation where the patches appear)
        • As it develops, it causes discoloration and blisters where the nerves are injured
        • The muscles waste away
        • The tendons contract until the hands become like claws (always disfigurement of the finger nails)
        • Chronic ulceration of the hands and feet which leads to the progressive loss of fingers and toes (ultimately a whole hand or foot may drop off)
        • The disease can take 20-30 years before ultimately leading to death
      • Combination
        • This is the most common form of leprosy
    • Leviticus 13 describes leprosy in the sense of the Law
      • Psoriasis, ringworm
      • Tsaraath 
      • In Jewish thought, any creeping skin disease, and the diagnosis of leprosy did not distinguish between them
      • Rendered the person unclean
        • Banished from the fellowship of others
        • Dwell along outside of camp
        • Torn clothes, bared heads and coverings on upper lips
        • As they were traveling, they had to yell ahead, “Unclean, Unclean!”
      • If ever cured, a complicated ceremony of restoration had to be performed per Leviticus 14
        • Two birds were taken, one killed over running water
        • Cedar, crimson yarn, and hyssop, along with the live bird were then dipped in the blood of the dead bird, and then the live bird was allowed to go free
        • The man washed himself and his clothes, shaved himself
        • 7-days later he was reexamined
        • Shaved his hair, his head, his eyebrows
        • Sacrificed two male lambs without blemish and a ewe lamb; a measure of fine flour mixed with oil, and a full measure of oil
        • The priest then touched the tip of the right ear, the right thumb, and the right big toe with blood and oil
        • He was given a final examination, and if clear, he was allowed to go with a certificate that he was clean
      • A most revealing picture of Jesus
        • He did not drive away a man that had broken the law
        • He touched a man that was unclean
        • Jesus sent him to fulfill the prescribed ritual
      • Here was see compassion, power, and wisdom all at work together
• Mark 2:1-5
  • When he entered Capernaum again after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 So many people gathered together that there was no more room, not even in the doorway, and he was speaking the word to them. 3 They came to him bringing a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4 Since they were not able to bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and after digging through it, they lowered the mat on which the paralytic was lying. 5 Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
  • Jesus returned to Capernaum after concluding His preaching around Galilee
  • It did not take long for the city to know that Jesus had returned
  • Life in Palestine was very public
    • In the morning, the front door of the house was opened, and it was an open invitation to come in for anyone that wanted to.
      • A shut door was only when someone deliberately wished for privacy
    • A crowd had filled the house to capacity along with the street around the entrance
    • Four men arrive carrying a paralyzed friend on his mat when they realize that they cannot get to Jesus
      • Roofs were flat, and regularly used as a place of rest and of quiet, so usually there was an outside stairwell that led to the roof
      • Flat beams laid across from wall to wall about three feet apart; the space in between filled with brushwood and then packed tight with clay, making it water tight.
      • Very largely the roof was made of earth and often grass covered the entire surface
      • Digging through was relatively easy, and repairing the roof wood have been simple as well
    • They lower their friend directly to the feet of Jesus
    • “Son, your sins are forgiven”
      • Jews believed that anyone sick or injured was so because of sin. No one was healed without being forgiven by God
• Mark 2:6-12
  • 6 But some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts: 7 “Why does he speak like this? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 Right away Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were thinking like this within themselves and said to them, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat, and walk’? 10 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he told the paralytic— 11 “I tell you: get up, take your mat, and go home.” 12 Immediately he got up, took the mat, and went out in front of everyone. As a result, they were all astounded and gave glory to God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
  • Scribes were present because the crowds that Jesus had already begun attracting
    • More than likely, these scribes had been sent by the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, to track what Jesus was doing
    • The Sanhedrin was charged with dealing with anyone who was found to be a false prophet, so they were keeping an eye on this new potential threat
  • Only God could forgive sins, and to claim to forgive sins was a claim to be God, and considered blasphemy (called for death by stoning)
  • Scribes were not happy with what Jesus had just said, but there were not ready to launch an attack publicly
  • Jesus knew their thoughts, so He challenged them with a question that leveled the playing field
    • Which is easier, “your sins are forgiven, or, take up your mat and walk”?
    • Anyone could say your sins are forgiven and there is no tangible way to tell if it was true
    • Get up and walk could be tested right there and then
    • Basically, Jesus is saying “You say that I have no right to forgive sins? You hold as a matter of belief that if this man is ill he is a sinner and can’t be healed until he is forgiven? Watch this!”
  • The scribes were caught at their own game
    • Their own stated beliefs said he couldn’t be healed without being forgiven, yet they watched him healed, therefore, his sins must be forgiven
    • Here was something that must be dealt with; if this went on, all orthodox religion would be shattered and destroyed. In this incident Jesus signed His own death sentence—and He knew it
  • What does it mean that Jesus can forgive sin? Three possible ways of looking at this
    • Jesus was conveying God’s forgiveness
      • Nathan and David
        • Nathan was not forgiving David or his sin, he was conveying God’s forgiveness of David
      • Could be true, but doesn’t seem to carry the whole truth of the situation
    • Jesus was acting as God’s representative
      • John 5:22 “The Father, in fact, judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son”
      • If judgment is committed to Jesus, then so must forgiveness
      • Power of attorney
    • The whole essence of Jesus’ life is that in Him we see clearly displayed the attitude of God to men and women
      • It was an attitude of perfect love, of a heart yearning with love and eager to forgive
      • He literally brought men and women God’s forgiveness upon earth. Without Him, they would never have even remotely known about it.