Sermon Tone Analysis

*POWERFUL HEALER*

July 13, 2008

*/Printed Text: Mark 1:29–45/*

 

29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew.

30 Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her.

31 So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up.

The fever left her and she began to wait on them.

32 That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed.

33 The whole town gathered at the door, 34 and Jesus healed many who had various diseases.

He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.

*/ /*

*/Jesus Prays in a Solitary Place/*

35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

36 Simon and his companions went to look for him,

37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”

38 Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also.

That is why I have come.”

39 So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

/ /

*/A Man With Leprosy/*

40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

41 Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.

“I am willing,” he said.

“Be clean!”

42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.

43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 “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.”

45 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.

* \\ Lesson Aims*

/After participating in this lesson, each student will be able to:/

/1.

Describe Jesus’ early ministry in and around Capernaum./

/2.

Tell what Jesus’ healing ministry reveals to us today about who Jesus is./

* *

*Key Verse */Jesus healed many who had various diseases.

He also drove out many demons.

—Mark 1:34/

/ /

*Why Teach This Lesson?*

Some people receive healing from their infirmities, and some die from them.

I wish I knew why.

I imagine you do too.

It doesn’t make sense to us.

When decent people suffer terribly, it seems so unfair.

John the Baptist was left in prison where he was executed (Mark 6:14–29), but Peter was miraculously delivered from prison (Acts 12:1–19).

Why did God allow them to be treated differently?

Haven’t you asked yourself that kind of question?

Jesus healed many, but he didn’t heal everyone.

This lesson is important partly because we all struggle with the question, */“Why?”/*

But we dare not lose focus on the fact that the healings that Jesus /did/ perform prove his identity.

Ultimately, that fact is more important than whatever physical healing we may or may not receive personally.

The proof of Jesus’ identity should cause your learners to make a renewed commitment to glorify God.

He is always worthy of our praise.

*Introduction*

*A.

Are Miracles Credible?*

There are many miracle episodes in Mark’s story.

For some folks, miracles are impossible because they do not conform to known natural laws.

Thus the skeptics discount the historical reliability of the Gospels.

Skeptics cut away those portions of the story they find offensive to the “reasonable” secular mind.

*But the miraculous is so embedded in the story line of the gospel that a radically different picture emerges if the miraculous is removed!*

*(See 1 Corinthians 15:13–17 - */If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.

And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.

More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead.

But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.

For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins./*).*

Jesus’ story is a continuation of Old Testament Israel’s story.

That story looked forward to a time when a compassionate king would reign in righteousness and justice.

His reign would result in the oppressed being set free, the eyes of the blind being opened, the ears of the deaf being healed, the lame leaping like a deer, and the mute tongue shouting for joy (see Isaiah 32:3, 4; 35:5, 6; 58:6; 61:1, 2).

Jesus embodied that vision as his power and authority were manifested in acts of mercy and compassion to victims of various afflictions.

We caution ourselves that Jesus’ miracles must not be misinterpreted.

The Jewish authorities admitted that Jesus had miraculous powers, but rather than repent they attributed the source of the miracles to the demonic (Mark 3:22).

Cities where Jesus performed many mighty deeds of power were rebuked because his miracles did not result in repentance and recognition of his authoritative status (Matthew 11:20–24).

Jesus had no interest in being perceived as a mere wonder-worker.

A theme dominant in Mark’s Gospel is Jesus’ repeated efforts to deter recipients of his healing powers from speaking publicly about healings (Mark 1:44; 5:43; 7:36).

The message of the gospel is primarily “repent” (Mark 1:15), not “come and get your physical problems fixed.”

Thus the miraculous healings are proof of a greater spiritual reality of the in-breaking kingdom of God.

The miracles are to be understood as proof of this (John 14:11).

*B.

Lesson Background*

Mark, the briefest of the four Gospels, is a book of action.

After an introduction of only three verses, the record is that “John came, baptizing … and preaching” (Mark 1:4).

The action continues at a brisk pace when Mark records only five verses later that “Jesus came.”

Next we see that “the Spirit sent him” (v.

12) and “Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming” (v.

14).

The other three Gospels give us more details at various points, but Mark likes to keep the action moving with his condensed style.

*After the call of the first disciples (1:16–20), Mark records a series of scenes in and around Capernaum (1:21–39).

That’s where we pick up today’s lesson.*

Before moving into the lesson proper, we should take note of first-century Judaism as the backdrop of Jesus’ healing ministry.

Foundational for Judaism is the profound commitment to God as the healer and sustainer of all life (see Exodus 15:26

/He said, “If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.”

/

/See now that I myself am He!

There is no god besides me.

I put to death and I bring to life,  I have wounded and I will heal,  and no one can deliver out of my hand.

/

Isaiah 6:10 Make the heart of this people calloused;  make their ears dull and close their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

Jeremiah 8:15 We hoped for peace but no good has come, for a time of healing but there was only terror.

*IS SICKNESS USUALLY A SIGN OF GOD’S DISFAVOR OR ANGER?*

 

John 9:2,3 - His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.

Sickness and various infirmities are often viewed as signs of God’s disfavor resulting from one’s sinful condition, although Jesus does not necessarily endorse this view (see John 9:2, 3).

*The miracles demonstrate the advancement of the kingdom because they demonstrate God’s power to accomplish his will*.

*I.