Jesus is Lord!
Mark 2:1-27
Introduction
- Jesus is demonstrated in this book as a “servant”
-- He is the ultimate servant; giving Himself clearly for all who will receive
-- Key verse: Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
- Last week we saw the calling of the first disciples
- We also saw how Jesus’ ministry is personal; it really is one of service to others
-- He physically touched the leper to heal him; showing compassion and grace
- Jesus is the ultimate example of servitude and something we must learn
-- If we are to truly experience Christ’s life, we must be willing to live like Him
-- James 1:22, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
- Today we continue to follow Jesus’ ministry
-- Jesus is Lord (title of this msg); either He is ‘Lord of All’ or ‘Lord of Nothing’
-- What’s key also is that He sees our need BEFORE we even know it exists
-- LOTS of scripture today … remember: God’s word always amplifies itself!
- Read Mark 2:1-12
∆ Point 1 – He is Lord over Sickness and Sin (1-12)
- Again, we see Jesus in Capernaum which is the home town of Simon (Peter)
-- While in the Galilean area, this city would’ve been his base camp
-- He is in the far northern location of the Sea of Galilee
- While he is in a house preaching, some men bring a friend to see Jesus
-- What is particular here is that these friends knew this man had a physical need
-- Jesus saw that his need was much greater than being paralyzed
-- APP: Something to learn here: Do we see the needs of others? Do we ask?
- These men are presented with a challenge: How do we reach Jesus?
-- Imagine a house being full of people, and there’s no way in
-- These guys do the logical thing: they disassemble the house
-- There’s no mention of whose house it is, or the owner’s reaction …
-- But try to imagine yourself as one who needs to see Jesus this badly
-- You are willing to lie on a pallet, be carried onto a roof, and lowered in
-- APP: Sometimes the need is greater than the risk; in this case it WAS!
- V5 is very peculiar in its wording: it says that Jesus “saw their faith”
-- He looks not only at the man, but at the friends who’ve brought him as well
-- These friends must’ve heard about Jesus and said “… we gotta go …”
-- Jesus, with compassion, says “son” which literally means “child”
-- Jesus, being fully God, understood the need of this man: It’s a heart problem
- Cue the disbelievers and the party poopers here …
-- Scribes were the keepers of the Law; they were the biggest adversaries of Jesus
-- What Jesus did was tell them that their way is trash; it’s not about you and I
-- It is NOT about your laws, but about a relationship with the creator
--- FACT: The scribes had put humanity in bondage trying to maintain LAWS!
--- It is the part they missed about God’s giving it; b/c they wanted to control it
-- BIG: God doesn’t need us to be His advisors OR His defenders …
- What Jesus does here is toss their thoughts back into their court
-- He asks, V9, “Which is easier …”; knowing that BOTH are difficult
-- Only God can forgive sin; and only God could perform this bodily miracle
-- Either way he has the scribes in a tough spot: b/c both answers ID Him as God!
- So, while Jesus puts them in their spiritual place, v12 shows the result
-- While (I am sure) they are thinking about it, this man rises and walks home
-- APP: Even the face of naysayers; Jesus is STILL lord over sickness and sin
- TRANS: Jesus is not only Lord over sickness and sin, but over relationships
-- Read Mark 2:13-17
∆ Point 2 – He is Lord over Relationships (13-17)
- In order to enter the city, you had to literally walk through a toll booth
-- This is where Levi (aka Matthew) would be sitting collecting money
-- Their income came from what was collected over and above Rome’s taxes
-- So most, out of greed and bitterness, charged whatever they wanted
- Levi was working in Galilee, which means he was working for Herod
-- His position alone put him at odds with society; he was an outcast of mankind
-- APP: We too were outcasts with Christ, until that day of Salvation
- DISCUSS SALVATION … it isn’t what we bring to the table (never is)
-- We don’t offer God anything of value … He offers everything we need
- The call of Christ is simple (v14): “Follow me.”
-- It’s NOT: “Figure out your plan, get yourself together, and then follow me.”
-- APP: When Jesus says move, you either move … or your disobey
- Scholars have varying opinions on this, but I feel Jesus already has seen Levi
-- Turn to Luke 18 and read 9-14
- FACT: When Jesus tells this parable, Matthew has already been called
-- But you see when that incident happened Jesus wasn’t there (physically)
-- Matthew (Levi) had not yet been called to follow Jesus when he repented
-- But, the Lordship of Christ is being shown through this calling of God’s man
- APP: When Jesus calls Levi to move (in Mk 2:14) his response is instantaneous
-- All he needed was the invitation to GO, and he willingly obeyed
-- Why? His heart was already prepared; he was already justified with God
- So Jesus, having called this man to Himself, is now about to ruin the Scribes day
-- He goes to Levi’s house, and has a meal: which is a sin in this time
-- Cue the scribe’s heart’s again: “We don’t hang out with sinners, we are better than that, and we know everything because we are the religious right!”
- Jesus’ dismissal of their attitude comes in a powerful statement (re-read v17)
-- Doctor’s offices are never crammed full of people who feel good and healthy
-- We go to the doctor because we are sick and need to feel better; cured; etc.
-- Jesus comes because we have an illness that we cannot cure: SIN
-- APP: It’s when you realize God is calling YOU to be made well that you move
- TRANS: Jesus is not only Lord over relationships, but over the Law!
-- Read Mark 2:18-27
∆ Point 3 – He is Lord over the Law (18-27)
- Jewish tradition demanded a fast once a year, on the Day of Atonement
-- What the Pharisees believed is they were more religious b/c they fasted more
-- Not only did they feel they were more religious, they told others about it
-- Matt 6:16-18, “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
- What Jesus says (v19) is that they shouldn’t fast when with the bridegroom
- Why? The wedding was a tremendous time of celebration for those involved
-- Engagements could go on for years, and so now they rejoice
-- The wedding day was an opportunity to celebrate
-- William Barclay writes, “There was actually a rabbinic ruling which said, "All in attendance on the bridegroom are relieved of all religious observances which would lessen their joy." The wedding guests were actually exempt from all fasting.”
∆ - v20 is the key verse in this chapter: confession of what Jesus is here to do
-- Jesus has begun to sow the seed that He will not be here forever
-- There is work to be done, and that work begins with this celebration meal
- Then in classic form, Jesus describes a task they would all be familiar with (v21)
-- Jesus proclaims that something new is happening; former things are no more
-- Luke 4:18-19, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
- God doesn’t mend our hearts, but the heart is literally transformed and made new
-- Ezekiel 36:26, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
-- We are given a new purpose; a new life; a new mission to make disciples
-- APP: We cannot live the old way and claim to be under new management
-- Jesus confirms this with this parable, and with the clarity of His words
- To further amplify this, Jesus shoots right at the heart of Pharisees thinking (v23)
-- To challenge the Law of the Sabbath was really the epitome of insults for them
- The disciples were merely pulling off the stalks, shucking them, and eating them
-- To a Law keeper, this was REAPING and thus … sinful to do on the Sabbath
-- But Jesus, ever-knowledgeable of Jewish history (He was there!) reminds them of a spiritual hero, a King in their eyes: David … and David was in need!
-- 1 Sam 21:1-6, “David went to Nob, to Ahimelek the priest. Ahimelek trembled when he met him, and asked, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?” David answered Ahimelek the priest, “The king sent me on a mission and said to me, ‘No one is to know anything about the mission I am sending you on.’ As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place. Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find.”
But the priest answered David, “I don’t have any ordinary bread on hand; however, there is some consecrated bread here - provided the men have kept themselves from women.” David replied, “Indeed women have been kept from us, as usual whenever I set out. The men’s bodies are holy even on missions that are not holy. How much more so today!” So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence that had been removed from before the Lord and replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away.”
- APP: David was in need; and so he was allowed to eat the “consecrated bread”
- Matthew recalls this same incident happening but adds one critical line to it:
-- Matthew 12:7, “If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
- HUGE: What Jesus does is cut through the legalism and exposes their heart
-- The Sabbath had become a day of rules and regulations; instead of a day of rest
-- IMP: The religious will always seek to control (according to them)
-- APP: They totally miss that we live by the grace of God alone, through FAITH
∆ Big Ideas
- So what does Jesus say and do in this chapter that we need to learn from?
- 1. Every person has the opportunity to be forgiven of their sin
- 2. Every person who accepts Christ’s Lordship becomes part of a family
- 3. Every believer is freed from the legalism of the Law (HUGE!)
-- How exhausting is it to pretend to be free, but live as a prisoner to other’s rules?
- Pray
