Sermon for Sunday 17 June 2012 – Liquid Worship – Mark 1: 21-34 – Jesus brings us Freedom and Healing

We start this week’s part of the series in Capernaum. This is probably because most of the disciples stayed there. Verse 29 says that Simon and Andrew had a house there, yet I suspect that there is another reason why Jesus took them there. They had to witness for Jesus among those they knew before they moved on to work for him elsewhere. So here we see that Jesus begins his teaching ministry.  He taught in the synagogue. He healed people. Then he cast out evil spirits. There was no show or ceremony. There was no prescribed ritual by which Jesus gained power over the spirits. He just spoke to them with an authority they had to heed. He spoke. Things happened.  He has the authority to overcome Satan and sickness.

The people believed in demons, evil spirits, and such, so Jesus just went along with them pandering to their misunderstandings. In truth, we would likely say he was healing their psychological disorders, their personality maladjustments. For Mark, it was a question of authority. Whatever the definition of reality we want to stick with, Jesus' words had impact. They accomplished their mission. They spoke to the issues people faced and brought them to wholeness.

Mark tells us that this man who was unclean in spirit cries out to Jesus. At that point in his words, this could have just been some disgruntled, sourpuss, mean-spirited sort of a person, just as we would describe them. “Impure in spirit” is his way of putting it. There was something wrong with him. It is only when Jesus speaks however, that Mark gives us a definite understanding of what is going on. Jesus speaks not to the man, but to the reality behind him. As the unclean spirit leaves, there is transformation. It is in this transformation—the visible results of Jesus' authority—that we find what has truly transpired. Jesus chose not to speak to the man. He spoke to what was within him. He spoke to the origin of his words and actions, to the source of the problem and the greater reality we might wish to ignore or overlook. There was no incantation or magical ritual to be followed or prescribed.  Rather, there was authority to address the invisible reality.

Before the man confronted Jesus, his life was open to interpretation. He may have had psychological problems, may have been under the influence of some evil spirit—one of the demons or gods of the nations around. They came to accept that the world was indeed inhabited by some spiritual entities that might be those so-called gods worship by others or some lesser spiritual beings. They could be good or evil, angels or demons in our terminology. They could at times influence people by promoting illness or directing their actions. BUT we must remember that not all evil in the world, sickness or suffering was and is attributed to the demonic. Problems were also understood as the result of sin—one's choices and actions falling short of God's will. There were not any clear cut answers in every case as to what occasioned illness, mean-spiritedness, or insanity. What was clear in this case came as a result of Jesus' words and dealings with the man.

It is authority which claimed Mark's attention. It was authority that claimed the attention of the crowd. It was an authority that even the impure spirit obeyed. There was no question of being right, being wrong, getting one's way, or self-righteousness. The question was how to respond to the authority of this Jesus. Deuteronomy pointed to the coming prophet from God we must heed. This is what Mark heard in the story: Here is the One we have awaited. His authority is God's. If even the unclean spirits heed Jesus' authority, how should we respond in our living?

Jesus could do this because he was divine and he was always able to speak on any subject. Such a response would not be very helpful to disciples who were going to imitate him as fishers of men. Instead we need to consider the preparation Jesus would have made as a man. For many years, Jesus had filled his mind with the teachings of the Old Testament and he was able, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to speak at a moment’s notice. Later on he assured his followers that the same Spirit would give them words to speak even in difficult situations.  

His teaching created astonishment. Jesus spoke with authority, which describes the effect his message had on his listeners. The obvious implication of this statement is that the ones who imagined they spoke with authority – the scribes – did not have any.  Their general approach was to review and repeat the traditions of the elders, much of which had nothing whatsoever do with the Old Testament. Much of what they presented would be above the heads of those in front of them. In contrast, Jesus spoke with simplicity and with freshness as he interpreted the Old Testament accurately. We have samples of his teaching throughout the Gospels and we can see from them that he used illustrations to help his listeners appreciate what he said. He also refuted the distortions the scribes had made concerning the character of God. His disciples should have observed that this is the way to catch men. But they would have also noticed that Jesus’ method included direct application – the audience realised they were not watching a performance as much as listening to a challenge as to their relationship with God.

Opposition was aroused in the outburst of the demon-possessed man. The issue that brought his secret to the surface was the presence of Jesus. It is not possible for evil to dominate a situation in which Jesus was involved. The demon had to face up to the fact that his realm was under attack. Something similar happens whenever the gospel is preached with authority. A person senses his or her sin and becomes defensive. They sense conviction and realise they are being rebuked; therefore they respond with various ways of self-protection. The man here tried to minimise his lifestyle by suggesting judgement should not happen. There was also a willingness to give Jesus a certain place, although what the words reveal is that all the man had was head knowledge of who Jesus was. But even the truth about Jesus has to be admitted even by those who detest him. The presence of light reveals the hidden things of darkness.

The incident shows us that no-one is too bad for Jesus to deal with. The man even tells Jesus to go away. He was spurning the aid of the only One who could help him. It was good for that man that Jesus did not listen to him, but instead showed mercy towards him and delivered him from his spiritual bondage.

Those who observed all this could not keep it to themselves. By word of mouth, the news of the arrival of Jesus was spread throughout Galilee. They now had something good to speak about – they had seen evil defeated before their eyes and they had to share it with others.

Jesus goes with the disciples to Simon and Andrew home and on entering the house, the residents told Jesus about Simon’s mother-in-law.  Merely telling is not a sign of weak faith; instead it is evidence that they had already submitted to the Lordship of Jesus. They may not have known what to ask for, but they knew that Jesus would know what to do. Intercessory prayer is often telling Jesus about those for whom we are burdened. ‘If we have committed our way unto the Lord in prayer, and meekly told him of our crisis it will be our wisdom to be still, and watch till God the Lord shall speak. He cannot be either unjust or unkind, therefore should we say, “Let him do what seemeth him good”’ (Spurgeon).

Jesus responded gently and lovingly.  Jesus’ actions told his disciples to have time for people, to interact with others according to their weakness. I’m sure the woman eventually forgot the intensity of her fever, but she would never forget the touch of Jesus’ hand. Often what is remembered is not what we did, but how we did it.  The only appropriate response of someone whom Jesus has helped – she served him in her capacity. Gratitude was written all over her actions. Service according to what Jesus expects is the best, indeed the only proper way to express gratitude.

Questions:

·         Do you find it easy to come under authority? If not why?

·         Paul says it is in living out our love for Christ Jesus that we are united with God. Are we as prepared as this evil spirit to submit our lives to the authority of Christ Jesus, laying aside our own will?

·         Are we prepared to be a servant of the Servant and share in this wonderful work – leading people to freedom and healing?  

·         Are we able to follow Jesus’ example of spending time with and listening to people who are ‘strange’ to us – may have mental health issues or a depilating illness or have disabilities.  Who do you shun and why?