Following Jesus: Mark 2 Series

Following Jesus (2)

Scott Bayles, pastor

Blooming Grove Christian Church: 1/8/2017

If you were with us last week, you know we began a sixteen-week journey that will take us through the deserts of Palestine, along the shores of Lake Galilee and the Jordan River, and into the cities of Nazareth, Bethlehem and Jerusalem as we follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

The Gospel of Mark will be our tour guide on this journey, as we strive to see Jesus more clearly. As I mentioned last week, at just sixteen chapters, Mark is the shortest of the four Gospels. It’s also the first, written as early as 45 AD. And Mark wrote it as a fast-paced, action-packed drama, making it the ideal starting point for anyone wishing to follow in His steps.

Last Sunday, we witnessed Jesus’s introduction to the world. John the Baptist built anticipation for Jesus’s arrival, preparing the way for the Lord’s coming and announcing both the worth and work of Jesus. But when Jesus finally stepped onto the stage, allowing John to baptize him in the Jordan River, the heavens split apart, the Spirit of God drifted down onto Jesus, and the voice of God proudly proclaimed, “This is my beloved Son, who brings me great joy!”

Soon after that stellar introduction, Jesus meets Simon Peter and his younger brother Andrew along the shore of Lake Galilee and calls out to them, “Come, follow me…” Simon and Andrew didn’t hesitate; they left their nets and theirs boat and immediately set out to follow Jesus who begins preaching from town to town, healing the sick and casting out evil spirits. That brings us to Mark 2.

If you have a Bible or an app on your phone, go ahead and open it up to Mark 2:1-12. While I would love to include every detail of Jesus’s life in this series, even Mark’s Gospel—as short as it is—has far too much material per chapter for me to pack into one twenty minute sermon. So we’ll just be focusing on the first twelve verses, which should be familiar to many of you. In this unforgettable story, I want to highlight three attributes of Jesus beginning with His popularity!

• POPULARITY OF JESUS

By the time we get to Mark 2, Jesus is already more popular than the Beetles. Throngs of fervent fans followed him everywhere he went. From town to town, from shore to shore, they would walk miles just to catch a glimpse of him. So as Mark begins this chapter, he writes:

When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them, four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. (Mark 2:1-4 NLT)

What a comical sight this must have been! Honestly, it sounds like the kind of harebrained scheme you’d see on a television sit-com.

Now, scholars tell us that homes of that day had a unique flat roof made of wooden beams that rested on the walls of the building. These beams were placed about 3 to 4 feet apart and were covered with thick branches, brush, reeds, mud, grass and clay. The resulting layers on top of the beams would measure from 4 to 6 inches thick. Wealthier homes, such as this one, often had ceramic-like tiles on top that helped in diverting the water from the rains.

So as word gets out that Jesus is in town, these four guys just grab their buddy and carry him across town. Of course, when they get to the house where Jesus was staying, the place is so packed with people they couldn’t get through the door. Just imagine crowds of admirers peeking in through the windows, camping out on the lawn, and having a tailgate party in the street! It must have been like showing up to Walmart on Black Friday before the doors are open or to the newest Star Wars movie on opening night. But these guys would not be deterred.

They don’t care if they throw their backs out carrying their buddy around.

They don’t care if they ruin the roof.

They don’t care if they interrupt Jesus’s sermon.

They were willing to go to any lengths just to get to Jesus.

Wouldn’t you like to have friends like that? But what I want to underscore is not the persistence of the four men, but the popularity of Jesus. Everywhere he went, Jesus was surrounded by admirers, devotees, fans. People wanted to be where Jesus was—to sit in his presence, to listen to him speak. Up until now, Jesus wasn’t healing anybody. He wasn’t giving away free food, like when he feed the five thousand. Rather, this crowd formed just to listen to Jesus. Mark says, “he was preaching God’s word to them.”