Tension began to develop between Jesus and the crowd.
So last week we saw thattension began building between Jesus and the throngs of people who sought him. See, Jesus came seeking absolute surrender. He commanded men to turn from their sins, die to the inner compulsions of their sinful natures, and embrace him as King over all their heart, mind, body, soul, and relationships.
But the crowd was less than interested in deep surrender. They simply wanted their desires fulfilled. They were interested in Jesus' identity only to the extent that Jesus would fulfill their desires. Isn’t that same thing often true today?
The crowd wanted healing without surrender, blessing without repentance, and life without obedience. Their mantra was, "Make us well." They didn’t want a king. They wanted a slave who would be subject to their whims and desires. Jesus was perfectly willing to become a servant, even a suffering servant. But he would not allow the crowd to hijack his kingdom. Christianity means only one thing— it’s that Christ would become sovereign in our lives.
This is one reason we see Jesus eluding the crowds. They wanted to be healed, but were unreceptive to having a right relationship with a holy God. "Jesus, help me fulfill my dreams, help me find my purpose, my meaning, and my mission. Helpme accomplish my goals, better my life, my family, my business, and my home. Jesus, make me happy and make me prosperous."
Christ came to reorient our lives around his authority.
This is the tension of ministry. By default, we are the consumers who are seeking Christ on our terms. But Christ comes to reorient our lives around his power, authority, and throne.
Remember what thedisciples in said in Mark 1:37 (NIV)? "Everyone is looking for you!"Yes, they were looking for Jesus, but for all the wrong reasons! But are we willing to seek God on his terms? Is it our goal to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness? Are we willing that Christ be sovereign over our whole life? We cannot have it both ways. Christ doesn’t share his throne with anyone or anything— especially not with our corrupting desires.
So you see why it became necessary for Jesus to elude the crowds. Mark 1:38-39 (NIV) says," 'Let us go somewhere else— to the nearby villages— so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.' So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons."
Jesus came preaching forgiveness, the power of the Holy Spirit to rescue us from our dark side. Jesus was about capturing our hearts through repentance, faith, confession, and baptism. The terms of Jesus’ kingdominvolve total surrender. The crowd rejected his ministry.
Leprosy was seen as a spiritual curse.
So it’s in Mark 1:40(NIV) that we read what happens next."A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, 'If you are willing, you can make me clean.' "It’s difficult to know exactly what type of leprosy this man had. In the Mishnah, there are over seventy types of leprosy described. Leprosy was prevalent in biblical times, and could cover the whole body. It consisted of rashes, painful swelling, and oozing sores.
Leprosy was seen as a spiritual curse that God would afflict on the proud, those who blasphemed holy things, or those who violated God’s laws. For example, if a person engaged in sexual immorality and contracted a skin disease, it was seen as a punishment of God. By the way,this view is common in our culture— thatsexually transmitted diseases such asthe AIDS virus, is God’s curse on the wicked. It is a curse on drug users, people engaging in the homosexual lifestyle, and the promiscuous.We see this in Genesis, when Abraham prostituted his wife to foreign men and they then found themselves afflicted with disease. The assumption was that anyone with leprosy deserved whathe got, and did not deserve compassion.
Thosewithleprosy paid a dual price. In addition to their physical suffering, they were strictly isolated from society, lest their infection spread to others. They could not participate in worship assembly. They could not eat at the table with others. Socially, they were considered the living dead. They were as unclean as a dead corpse lying in a street. People prayed for, and waited for the leper to die. It was a hopeless situation for them.
Everything about Mark 1:40 is extraordinary. No one with leprosy was to approach anyone. This man was violating all decency and public safety. His begging Jesus demonstrated incredible faith, since no oneever got healed of leprosy. He also came with humility, "If you are willing..." He wasn’t presumptuous about being healed. He recognized Christ’s sovereign will over matters of life, death, and health. These are the same words Jesus would use the night before his crucifixion as detailed in Luke 22:42 (NIV)."Father, if you are willing, take this cup (of suffering) from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."
But notice the man’s request, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." He reflected a profound knowledge not just of his physical condition (leprosy), but of his spiritual condition. But more than that, he believed Jesus could make him physically and spiritually and socially whole.
Jesus healed the leper and demonstrated the power of God's kingdom.
Imagine a person dyingof AIDs, thathe contracted from living a high risk lifestyle. Imaginehim not only being healed physically, but knowing God forgave his sins, andknowing that he could be restored as an equal brother to the family of God and to society at large! This is a big league miracle, and a big league request.
And notice Jesus' response to the leper in Mark 1:41-44 (NIV)."Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. 'I am willing,' he said. 'Be clean!' Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning:'See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.' "
This miracle was an undeniable demonstration of the power of Christ’s kingdom. And this miracle was intended for one audience in particular— the priests. Not only does God have compassion on those afflicted with the consequences of their high risk lifestyles, but he has the power to forgive them and make them spiritually clean as well. It’s a total cleansing of forgiveness. It's a complete restoration to God!
And the first people Jesus wanted to see such a miracle were the priests and the uncompassionate religious community. God is a God of love and forgiveness. He came to suffer and die on a cross to absorb in his crucified body the curse of all sin. He became a curse for us so that we might be made alive in God.
The leper gives his testimony.
But notice what happens in Mark 1:45 (NIV).The man doesn’t go to the priests as he was instructed. "Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere."
Notice the tension again. The crowds pursuing Jesus everywhere. But Jesus refused to let the crowds hijack his ministry, redefine his identity, and redefine the nature of his kingdom.
Mark 2:1-4 (NIV) says,"A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on."
Here we are, yet again, for the third or fourth time. The whole town was gathering at Jesus’ door. Their needs were drowning out Jesus' message of forgiveness and redemption. Now the ceiling is caving in because four men want their friend healed. Could the crowd be anymore obnoxious, overwhelming, and frustrating? But for Jesus, this is a teachable moment.
With the paralyzed man laying on a mat in front of him, surrounded by dirt, mud, and debris from the collapsed ceiling,what would you expect Jesus to say first? "Get up and walk?"No way! This was a teachable moment. Mark 2:5-12 (NIV) details the incident."When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven.' Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves,'Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?' Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, 'Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….'He said to the paralytic,'I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.' He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, 'We have never seen anything like this!' "
In the midst of extreme physical suffering, both the leper and the paralyzed man experience a kind of healing that transcended anything thought possible in their day. And it wasn’t just their physical healing that was controversial. It's thatJesus had the authority to truly forgive their sins and restore them to a right relationship with a Holy God!
All of us pay a heavy physical toll for our sins and indiscretions. Our bodies fail because of our excesses. We overeat, we worry instead of trusting God, we smoke, drink, carouse, take deadly drugs, and engage in high risk sexual behavior. Some of you are paying a physical price as a direct result of sins you committed in your youth. You have leprosy— physically, socially, and spiritually. You feel shame, guilty and alone in your sins. You are the living dead— waiting to die and feeling the curse of God.
I wish God were always willing to heal you physically for this life. To take away the leprosy, the cancer, and the consequences. But I’ll tell you what God is always willing to do. He is willing to give you a fully healed, resurrection body in which to dwell with God for eternity. Read 1 Corinthians 15:42-44. God loves you. He is a compassionate God even though his people aren’t so compassionate. He offers forgiveness and cleansing. This iswhy he has come to earth. Not to give us more in this life, but spiritual life!