Compelled By The Presence Of Christ To Swing Into Action Series

GOOD NEWS PRESENTED BY MARK

Study of the Gospel According to Mark

As you read Mark, be aware that you are reading the very first written account of the ministry of Jesus – a fact well documented by credible Bible scholars. Quite naturally, we want to know who Mark was, and we find that he is mentioned frequently in the New Testament.

What we know about him is that he was the son of a very well-to-do woman in Jerusalem; her name was Mary, and her home became the center of early church get-togethers. So, you can imagine that Mark was there when Jesus’ closest followers came to his mother’s house for a “church council” meeting. Peter the chief elder referred to Mark affectionately as “my son.”

Mark was also the nephew of Barnabas who talked Paul into letting the youngster go with them on one of their missionary journeys - which, you may recall, resulted in Mark’s falling out of favor with Paul by leaving and going back home. However, it’s interesting to note that, years later, when Paul was in prison, facing execution, he asked Timothy to bring Mark with him, “for he is a most useful servant to me.”

I suppose Paul saw in this young man a Christian who had the ability to write; and, apparently having redeemed himself, he could now be counted on to carry out Paul’s wishes. This explanation is plausible because Mark had served as Peter’s scribe and, as such, had written much of what Peter related to him about his eye witness account of the ministry of Jesus.

MARK SERMON II – MARK 2:1-28 . . .

COMPELLED BY THE PRESENCE OF CHRIST TO SWING INTO ACTION

One of the most dramatic events of the ministry of Jesus occurred during a visit in a home in Capernaum. Obviously, Jesus was a sociable person; although He had no place to “lay His head” in terms of a permanent residence, it seems that He was never without a place to stay – at least overnight.

Why Jesus visited this household in which a paralytic was to be healed, I do not know; Mark simply says that Jesus was in a house --- Mark 2:1-5 . . .

Jesus was in a house, in Capernaum, speaking about the kingdom of God. It was not unusual, but rather a custom, for village folks in those days to leave the door to their house open as a way of saying, “Welcome.” While Jesus was in this house, there was no attempt made to keep the town folks from coming in to visit with him. The door was open!

The door opened onto a narrow lane. Most if not all the houses had flat roofs made of straw and soil thatched between “beams” set about three feet apart; grass grew on top for making the roof a type of patio where the family could relax and enjoy fresh air. The staircase to the roof was built on the outside of the house in the narrow space between dwellings.

There were so many people who gathered to hear this now-famous Teacher that the large crowd completely shut off access to the door of the house; so, the four men who brought the paralytic on a pallet had no recourse except to go up the stair to the roof top, make a hole through it, and lower the paralytic on his pallet into the presence of Jesus.

Folks, it takes a cooperative effort on the part of those who really care to bring a person they are concerned about to the Lord. It takes four men to carry a four-cornered pallet! Teamwork!

Although their minds, and ours, might be obsessed with getting the needed physical healing, the greatest of all needs is forgiveness of sins. Jesus sensed the man’s deep longing to be forgiven before turning his attention to the physical paralysis. But you know what? There was another kind of “paralysis” evident in the crowd that day --- Mark 2:7-12 . . .

We might say that Jewish authorities - feeling threatened by the rising popularity of Jesus - had been “paralyzed” by fear of this man Jesus because He spoke with authority. They “planted” lawyers in the crowd to see if they could find a legal cause for getting rid of the threat. But the Lord knew what they were thinking: “No one can forgive sins except God!” Blasphemy – a crime for which the punishment was death by stoning! Perhaps afraid of the crowd, they remained silent. However, Jesus knew what they were thinking.

In response to their unspoken accusation, Jesus said in effect: “You say that I have no right to forgive sins? You believe that if this man is sick he is a sinner and cannot be cured until he is forgiven? Very well, then, watch this!” Jesus spoke the word and the man was cured.