The idea for this sermon comes from Beth Moore’s book "Jesus, The One And Only."
I want to start this morning by asking you to get a picture in your head that illustrates ministry.
Was your mental image of ministry:
• A man passing out tracts on a street corner?
• A missionary sharing Jesus with tribal natives?
• A preacher with a Bible?
• A gospel meeting?
Maybe you had a totally different image; for example:
• Two men eating lunch at a business convention.
• Two friends out playing a game of tennis?
• Two construction workers up high on a steel beam, conversing in the noonday sun.
Now in all honesty most of you probably imagined images like the first five. After all, those are evangelistic settings, right? We’d probably call those “spiritual”, in context: the church, the gospel meeting, the missionary.
And we’d probably figure the other three were worldly in nature. an business luncheon, a game with an old friend, sweating on the job site. We usually think there’s nothing “spiritual,” in those scenarios, unless those people were talking about the Good News of Jesus Christ!
I believe it’s an Interesting concept, but one that’s false. Jesus Himself ignored the labels of “worldly” and “spiritual,” because any place He went became sacred. In reaching out to sinners, He personalized the gospel to each individual, speaking in terms the world understood, wherever He met them.
I want you to first notice about our reading today that Jesus leaves the Synagogue to minister. Let’s look at Marks account of the day’s events in Mark 1:29 –31
As soon as Jesus and his followers left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a fever, and the people told Jesus about her. So Jesus went to her bed, took her hand, and helped her up. The fever left her, and she began serving them.
I have been involved with too many churches that think if the doors are open on Sunday then the church will grow. Now while I know that there is some ministry that goes on in this building I want you to see today that 99% of it goes on out side.
Anywhere that we happen to be we have the opportunity to minister. Ken Abram tells us that if we live to the age 75 and have attended Sunday School, Morning and Evening worship on Sundays, Wednesday evening Bible Study, and Two weeks of Gospel Meetings a year we will die only having spent 1% of our lives in worship. Guys 1% doesn’t cut it anywhere.
Today let’s look at this wonderful story and see what we can learn from Christ.
I. Jesus made house calls
I can’t tell you how relieved I was when I realized that God doesn’t just go to church, He goes to our homes!
My nieces Cassie and Caylie were three years of age when they told me they knew where Jesus lived. Thinking about the heaven discussion I was about to have with 3-year-old girls I must say I was startled when Cassie announced that it was behind the stage at Mayfair.
As we talked I realized that in their minds the baptistery was where Jesus lived. If you want to be a Christian all you have to do is go to Jesus’ house take a bath and there you go.
Brethren I am happy to report that God doesn’t live in the baptistery. He lives in the hearts of those who trust Him and in the homes of those who provide Him room.
But sometimes we don’t bother to ask Jesus Christ into our homes until we are overwhelmed by this world.
After my marriage I realized how one person suffering in a home is enough to affect everyone who is living there. The more people you add the worse it gets. We don’t know how many people were in the crowd that left the Synagogue and went to Peter’s house but the crowd could have been upwards of 50 people.
I am sure the large group of guests combined with the sickness of the hostess made for a stressful situation. But whether it is storms on the sea of Galilee or storms in our families the very presence of Jesus will bring peace.
Now don’t miss the point found in verse 38, “they asked Jesus to help her". Understandably, she would not have been in a position to seek help for herself.
Aren’t you thankful we can approach Christ on another person’s behalf? Aren’t you also thankful that others have approached Him on yours?
Our homes today are threatened by fevers of all sorts-far beyond the physical: There is so much unresolved conflict, unforgiveness, unfaithfulness, compromising media communications, pornography, and more. We need Jesus in our homes.
II. Jesus connected to other people’s lives.
When Jesus went to help Simon’s mother-in-law, Luke 4:39 tells us He "bent over her."
Now I don’t want to over simplify this but I picture Christ being so concerned that He had to get close.
Those of you who are mothers know what I am talking about. Any time one of your children are sick do you stand back and look at them from afar, checking off a list of symptoms. Or do you bend down and draw them close cuddling them?
Christ could have healed Simon’s mother-in-law from the front porch. But He didn’t. He got close. You see Christ involved Himself one-on-one with those He helped. Luke says that when the sick came to Christ He put his hands on each one of them.
God has the desire to really have a relationship with us be intimate with us. You see being familiar with someone and being intimate with someone is not the same thing. Each has value but you can’t substitute one for another.
Us getting familiar with one another is bound to happen. It happens without you knowing it. You have gotten used to me standing up here preaching. You know that every point will be made from a different side of the pulpit. You know that I am going to tell you stories that will make some of you laugh and some of you won’t think it’s funny. And when it’s over I will pass out gum at the back of the building.
Intimacy is usually hard to come by. It must be deliberately sought and opened up and responded to. There are people here that are very comfortable talking to me about the things going on in their lives and then there are some here who wouldn’t tell me if their dog was sick.
When we are familiar with each other we have a degree of ease and comfort. But those we can be intimate with are those who we have a deep understanding and personal appreciation for.
III. Jesus encountered lots of desperation
This passage gives us two snapshots of desperation that no doubt pierced the heart of Christ.
First, the people came only after the sun had set.
Being a Gentile, the reason was not so obvious at first. Verse 31 tells us it was the Sabbath day. It was unlawful for the Jewish people to carry the sick on the Sabbath. The Jewish "day" ends at sundown; so, God fearing people had to count the moments until the sun would set over the Sea of Galilee. As the darkness of a new day fell, they bundled their sick and brought them to Christ. The thought here is that they watched the clock of the law tick until it finally struck, grace.
A second snapshot is that as Jesus rose early and went out to pray, the needy people searched Him out.
We don’t know how long Jesus got to commune with His Father, but Scripture seems to imply it wasn’t long. I don’t think we give enough thought to how challenging a prison of flesh must have been to Christ. Prior to His arrival, He was completely unencumbered by the natural laws governing the human body. Suddenly He experienced for Himself the pull to be in many places at once and the challenge to prioritize not just the good but also the goal.
He stated the goal as nothing less than to "preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent" (v. 43). Healing the sick seems like an awfully important ministry to me, but the Savior plainly said that it was not the priority work He came to accomplish.
IV. Jesus was determined
Luke 4 concludes in verse 44: "He kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea."
He kept on-no matter how many directions He felt pulled.
No matter how many needs remained in each town.
No matter what others prioritized for Him-He kept on.
Why? Because every other need we had was secondary to the need to hear and receive the gospel. Not unimportant, mind you. Just secondary. Physical healing affects this life alone. The kingdom is forever.
Preaching the good news of the kingdom of God was Christ’s absolute priority. One of the biggest temptations even mature believers face is being sidetracked by the urgent. Many situations need our attention. They tempt us to let them steal our focus. Christ may have faced the same temptation when the people came to Him and tried to keep Him from leaving.
The people’s attempts to hold onto Christ may not have been limited to the vocal and emotional. They may have hung onto Him physically too. How His heart must have broken for them. I believe He may have been torn emotionally, but He was not discouraged. The best thing He could do for them was to stay true to the goal.
Can you imagine how Jesus longed for the time when His work would be accomplished and He could dwell within the hearts of all who would receive Him, never to leave them? Until then, He had a job to do. Christ ignored neither the urgent need nor the ultimate goal-but He never allowed the former to hinder the latter.
Today Christ longs to dwell in your heart. Have you put Him on in Baptism? Have you allowed the pressures of this world take His place?
If so the invitation is yours while together we stand and sing.
