GOSPEL OF MARK: GOD’S SERVANT IN ACTION
JESUS IS IN THE HOUSE
A. Mark 2:1-2 (READ)
ILLUSTRATION:
In churches where I have ministered over the years, on Sunday nights after evening worship we would head over to either our house or another member’s house for a FAMILY DEVOTIONAL. All the PARENTS and their CHILDREN were invited to these DEVOTIONALS that consisted of eating
finger foods, singing, praying, and sharing a message from God’s Word.
These DEVOTIONALS were always well attended with 60 to 70 or more people gathering in one HOUSE. All the chairs would be filled and the rest of the people would be sitting on the floor. It would be CROWDED, but everybody seemed to ENJOY it and looked forward to the NEXT one in someone else’s HOUSE. My GROWN children still FONDLY talk about the FAMILY DEVOTIONALS that we used to have in our HOMES.
B. Imagine what it would be like to be in the HOUSE in which Jesus was TEACHING?
1. Mark said that the HOUSE that Jesus was in was so CROWDED that there wasn’t any room left INSIDE
or OUT.
a. Jesus returns to Capernaum after HEALING the LEPER, and is probably at Peter’s HOUSE where He had HEALED Peter’s mother-in-law and where the CROWDS had gathered with their SICK and
DEMON-POSSESSED.
b. We learned last week that after the LEPER told everyone how Jesus had CURED him of his LEPROSY, the Lord was unable to enter a TOWN openly because of all the PEOPLE who were
CROWDING around him just to be HEALED.
2. This time, however, Jesus isn’t HEALING—He was PREACHING, and people were FILLING the
HOUSE to HEAR Him present the Word of God.
a. Again, last week we studied how “the PEOPLE were AMAZED at how Jesus taught God’s Word with such AUTHORITY” – Mark 1:22.
b. His MESSAGE was the same as that of John the Baptist and a MESSAGE still so NEEDED today: “REPENT of your SINS and BELIEVE the Good News”- Mark 1:15.
3. When JESUS IS IN THE HOUSE amazing things begin to HAPPEN.
MESSAGE:
I. JESUS IN PETER’S HOUSE
COMMENT:
Although the TEXT doesn’t say for certain that Jesus is preaching in Peter’s house, I believe
it is safe to ASSUME so. However, the owner of this HOUSE really doesn’t matter.
A. Faith of FOUR FRIENDS- Mark 2:3-5 (READ)
1. These four men have a friend who is PARALYZED, and they are desperately trying to get him to
Jesus to be HEALED. No doubt they heard what Jesus did the last when He was at Peter’s house.
COMMENT:
The house is so full of people, they just can’t get their FRIEND in past the CROWD. So, they go to PLAN B and climb up to the ROOF of the house. The common structure of first-century homes of Judea were FLAT ROOFS with STEPS on the SIDE of the house going up to the ROOF.
2. Their friend, being PARALYZED, is lying on a MAT.
a. Once they are on TOP of the ROOF, they make a PLAN as to how they are going to get their
FRIEND to Jesus.
COMMENT:
One of them comes up with the HAIR-BRAINED SCHEME to dig a HOLE in the ROOF large enough to LOWER their FRIEND while he is lying on the MAT into the ROOM where Jesus
is PREACHING
Imagine how WIDE that HOLE has to be—unless they just TIED him to the MAT and send
him down feet first, PRAYING that he wouldn’t SLIP OUT.
b. Have you ever wondered what the people INSIDE the HOUSE are thinking while these men are on the roof DIGGING through the MORTAR, TAR, STRAW and whatever else, making a
HOLE for their FRIEND?
ILLUSTRATION:
If someone was DIGGING through our FLAT ROOF right now making at 6-foot wide HOLE, don’t you think we would NOTICE? DUST and DEBRIS would be falling on us. Did Jesus keep on PREACHING, or did everyone STOP what they were DOING and WATCHED while a
PARALYZED MAN was being LOWERED from the ROOF?
If this is Peter’s HOUSE, what do you THINK is on his and his wife’s MIND right now? “Hope it doesn’t RAIN!” “Glad we don’t LIVE in Indianapolis!”
3. I’m not sure what anyone else is thinking, but Jesus is thinking, “Look at the FAITH of these guys.”
a. Mark records, “When Jesus saw their FAITH, He said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are
forgiven.’”- v. 5.
COMMENT:
I don’t know if this man’s PARALYSIS is the result of SIN or not. In John 9:1-3 when
“Jesus’ disciples thought that a man’s blindness was the result of sin, Jesus said it wasn’t.”
We do know, however, that one’s SINFUL LIFESTYLE can certainly lead to ILLNESS or ACCIDENTS. Think about the HIV virus, or INJURY or DEATH caused by DRUNK DRIVING.
b. Regardless of what caused the PARALYSIS, Jesus focused on the man’s most URGENT need— not that he couldn’t WALK, but that the man was a SINNER and needed to be FORGIVEN.
B. Silent REBUKE by RELIGIOUS LEADERS- Mark 2:6-7 (READ)
1. Teachers of the law (SCRIBES) had the responsibility of copying Scripture to preserve God’s Word.
a. They were the EXPERTS, the SCHOLARS, of the LAW of Moses and the PROPHETS.
b. They were probably in that HOUSE because they were CHECKING-UP on Jesus to make sure that He accurately presented the TRUTH of God’s Word.
2. When Jesus FORGAVE this man’s SIN, they undoubtedly thought about the words of the prophet
Isaiah that states that “It is God who forgives sin, not man”- Isaiah 43:25.
COMMENT:
Frankly, this must have appeared rather BLASPHEMOUS to these LAW EXPERTS. They don’t KNOW that Jesus is the Son of God. To them He is just an ordinary MAN who says that He
can FORGIVE SINS.
It would be like Millie turning to Don Ralston and say, “Don, all of your SINS are forgiven.” I think Millie can do a lot of WONDERFUL things, but she doesn’t have that AUTHORITY.
C. Commanding AUTHORITY of Jesus- Mark 2:8-12 (READ). How Jesus revealed his authority:
1. Jesus can READ MINDS.
ILLUSTRATION:
When I was a teenager attending the Oklahoma State Fair, I walked up to one of those mechanical FORTUNE TELLERS that could read MINDS and predict the FUTURE, and put a NICKLE in it. That thing told me that I was going to be a MILLIONAIRE and TRAVEL the
WORLD. I’M STILL WAITING!
a. These LAW EXPERTS were calling Jesus a “BLASPHEMER” in their MINDS, which, by the
way, was the ACCUSATION made against Jesus when they CRUCIFIED Him- Mark 14:61ff.
b. Jesus calls them out, “Why are you thinking these things?”
COMMENT:
Whatever they THINK of Jesus, He KNOWS. I imagine by now they were trying their BEST to CLEAR their MINDS and not THINK anything DEROGATORY about Jesus.
2. Jesus can FORGIVE SINS.
a. Jesus asked, “Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or to say, ‘Get
up, take your mat and walk’?”
COMMENT:
Jesus is not saying, “Which is easier to say phonetically.” “Which sentence has less
words.”
To the Law Experts, it would be easier for Jesus to say, “Your sins are forgiven”, because they couldn’t PROVE otherwise. The Teachers of the Law could have said, “You didn’t remove the GUILT of this man’s SINS.” Then Jesus could have replied, “Did too.” And they could’ve gone on and on: “Did NOT.” “Did TOO.” “Did NOT!” “Did TOO!”
b. In reality only God can do BOTH!
3. Jesus can HEAL the LAME.
a. Jesus replied, “Okay, to show you that I have authority to forgive sins…” He said to the
paralytic, “Get up, take your mat and go home.”
b. “The man got up and starting walking in FULL VIEW of EVERYONE.”
COMMENT:
By doing the VISIBLE, Jesus is proving that He can do the INVISIBLE. He can HEAL EXTERNALLY and INTERNALLY—PHYSICALLY and the SPIRITUALLY.
c. Mark records that “this AMAZED everyone, and they PRAISED God.”
COMMENT:
The LAW EXPERTS learned that day that JESUS IS IN THE HOUSE!
II. JESUS IN MATHEW’S HOUSE
A. Jesus WALKS up to a TAX BOOTH- Mark 2:13-14 (READ)
1. Sitting at the TAX BOOTH was a man named Levi, also known as Matthew.
a. The people really didn’t CARE to know his NAME because all they saw was a fellow Jew who had become a TRAITOR working for the Roman Government and a THIEF who robbed his own countrymen.
COMMENT:
Being a tax collector at a TAX BOOTH, Matthew was authorized by the Roman Government to CHARGE taxes on anyone TRAVELING by. He was required to send a certain amount of TAXES to Rome, but he could CHARGE whatever he wanted and KEEP the rest for himself.
b. We can imagine what the CROWD was thinking when Jesus walks up to a TAX COLLECTOR
and says, “Follow me.”
COMMENT:
That’s the same INVITATION that He gave to Peter, Andrew, James and John, legitimate business men. And now Jesus is asking a THIEVING, DISHONEST TRAITOR to be part of his
DISCIPLES!
Did Jesus know what kind of man Matthew was? YES! Was He aware that having a Tax Collector as one of His chosen APOSTLES could bring REPROACH upon Him and DAMAGE His REPUTATION? I’M SURE HE DID. Didn’t Jesus CARE what others THOUGHT about Him and His APOSTLES? NOPE!
2. Just like the FISHERMEN, this TAX COLLECTOR gets up immediately and FOLLOWS Jesus.
a. Luke records that “Matthew left everything and followed Jesus”- Luke 5:28.
COMMENT:
Matthew didn’t grab a few SHEKELS and his CLIENTS’ LIST as he stepped away from the
BOOTH. He didn’t say to Jesus, “Can you wait until my shift is over? Time is MONEY.”
b. There was SOMETHING about Jesus that MEANT more to him than his JOB.
3. We make JUDGMENTS on what we SEE.
COMMENT:
And while the people saw a TAX COLLECTOR who was nothing more than “the SCUM of the EARTH”, Jesus sees past the SIN to a man who is UNSATISFIED, and maybe even DISGUSTED, with his LIFE and his PROFESSION.
When Jesus looks at us not only does he see our MESS, but He sees our POTENTIAL. Others might REMIND us of the DARKNESS of our PAST, but Jesus sees the BRIGHTNESS of our FUTURE. He sees what we can BECOME, and not merely what we ARE.
B. Matthew INVITES Jesus to his HOUSE- Mark 2:15-17 (READ)
1. Matthew decides to throw a PARTY for Jesus, and INVITES his friends.
a. And guess who his FRIENDS are?
b. They are just like him—TAX COLLECTORS and SINNERS.
COMMENT:
How SCANDALOUS it was for a RABBI to be in a HOUSE full of “tax collectors and sinners.” If Jesus was truly the Son of God, there’s no way He would associate with those kind of people!
2. Ever since Jesus healed the PARALYTIC, the Teachers of the Law and now the Pharisees were
keeping a sharp eye on Jesus.
a. The word “PHARISEE” means “SEPARATIST”.
b. The Apostle Paul, being a Pharisee and a son of a Pharisee, described Pharisaism as being the
“strictest sect of the Jewish religion”- Acts 26:5. The best of the best that Judaism had to offer.
COMMENT:
We don’t read anything about Pharisees in the Old Testament, but then we find them CONTENDING with Jesus in the gospels. The reason for their FORMATION was an honorable
one.
In the first century BC, many of the SCRIBES (Teachers of the Law) and faithful LAYMEN began to see how the Jewish people were TURNING AWAY from God and His Word. So, they formed this group known as PHARISEES to bring the people back to the Law of Moses.
The problem was, they began to ADD their own TRADITION and MAN-MADE RULES to God’s Word and BIND them on others. It’s what we call “LEGALISM”. In so doing, they looked at themselves as being the only RIGHTEOUS ONES and CONDEMNED everybody else.
3. Now, these Pharisees are SPYING on Jesus.
a. Undoubtedly, watching Jesus speak to a TAX COLLECTOR and then have him JOIN Jesus’
FOLLOWERS, concerned them.
b. They watched as Jesus went to Matthew’s house, and then was joined by other “tax collectors
and sinners” and had a MEAL with them.
c. That was all these Pharisees could take, so they asked the disciples of Christ, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
4. Jesus overheard them and answered, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have
not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
a. Jesus reminds us in John 3:17- “For God did not send His Son into the world to CONDEMN the world, but to SAVE the world through Him.”
b. Jesus is exactly WHERE His is supposed to be—among SINNERS showing them the WAY to
ETERNAL LIFE.
COMMENT:
All these PEOPLE sitting in the HOUSE of Matthew were SINNERS needing their SIN dealt with. The last person you want to DEAL with your SIN is a SELF-RIGHTEOUS PHARISEE!
Jesus came not to CONDEMN, but to FORGIVE. He DEALS with our SIN PROBLEM gently like a FRIEND, not an ENEMY. After all, He is known as the “Friend of sinners.”
That’s why Matthew was ready to GIVE UP his LIFE of SIN and FOLLOW Jesus.
COMMENT:
IS JESUS IN YOUR HOUSE?
Revelation 3:20 (READ)
EXPLAIN the PAINTING by William Holman Hunt
