The Story Within The Story

Scripture: Mark 2:1-12; Psalm 103:2-4

Title: The Story within the Story

Within the Story that John Mark shares in chapter two is the deeper story of the power of forgiveness – for healing and wholeness physically, emotionally and spiritually.

INTRO:

Grace and peace this morning from God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!

Rarely do we watch a movie or read a story that is linear in scope. Most of the time we discover that while there is an overall story there are many different little stories that are being shared as well.

Think for a moment about a movie or a TV show that you have recently watched. You saw an overall story, perhaps the mystery was solved, or the family endured a great struggle but while you were watching or reading what was going on there were all these little stories also going on at the same time. The characters were dealing with all kinds of issues – family issues, work related issues and intertwined personal issues.

That is how life works. We all have the main things that happen to us each day. But intertwined with those main things are all kinds of little things that happen to us – we get a phone call from a family member, we talk to someone at the grocery store, we see something happening while we are driving down the street. The list could go on and on.

It’s that way with our Gospel story this morning.

There are all kinds of little stories that are going on in this passage. Let’s take some time to see if we can unravel some of them and see what they say to us.

1. It’s a story of a man coming home after a journey.

Mark starts off with telling us that Jesus had been gone for a while with His disciples.

+They had been meeting new people.

+They had been sharing the Good News – Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.

+They had been instrumental in helping people be freed from the penalty and the power of sin.

Mark doesn’t tell us how long Jesus had been gone on his trip only that he had decided it was time to come back to Capernaum.

We all know what that is like. We have gone on a trip either for pleasure or for work. We have had a great time but there comes a time when we must come back home. We need to do some laundry. We need to see how the yard and the house are doing. We need to catch up on what has been happening while we have been gone.

That’s just life. And even though Jesus is the Son of God, He has chosen to live as one of us and therefore it was time to do some laundry, see how the house was doing and no doubt do some chores. It might have even been time to do some woodwork to get ready to pay for the next trip.

2. It’s the story of a man who just wanted to have some down time.

As you read the story you can glean that Jesus didn’t send out a message that he was coming back to Capernaum. He didn’t expect to be greeted by a brass band or have the paparazzi follow him around.

Jesus was coming home to rest. To take a few days off before deciding what to do next.

It’s just that simple. Jesus was tired of walking and traveling. No doubt the four disciples that he had with him at the time – Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John were road weary. After all, they had been fishermen not road warriors. They were exhausted as well and probably needed to get back for a few days to connect with family and friends.

3. It’s a story of interruptions

Jesus’ reputation was soaring. It wasn’t just his teaching or his message on salvation. It was His ability to free people from their physical, emotional and spiritual issues.

It seems like word got around quick that the carpenter turned healer was back home.

And all kinds of people showed up at his door and then inside his door.

In fact, Mark tells us that there wasn’t any room for anyone inside the house or around the house.

It must have been quite the sight.

People are looking at your furniture. They are picking up your cookware and anything else that they could get their hands on. They are sizing up your house and everything else that they could see.

I don’t know if I would have responded as Jesus did. He just opened the door, welcomed everyone in and started teaching them.

Did anyone have something to eat?

How about some donuts?