Mark 1:21-45
Key Verse 1:41

  “Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing’, he said. ‘Be clean!’”
 

Today’s passage is about the typical day in the life of Jesus in his ministry. When we read it we see that Jesus is quite busy. He was busy from the early morning until late in the evening. In his busy schedule, served many kinds of people. He healed those who needed healing and he preached and taught the word of God. When he needed time to sleep at night, he cut his sleeping hours back and instead took time to pray. We can say that Jesus’ ministry was God centered. He put God’s will first, people second and then himself last.  Our typical day is thinking mostly about ourselves and our needs and how to survive. By the time evening comes around, we just want to relax, eat, watch some TV and go to bed.

In this passage we see that the content of Jesus’ ministry was to teach the good news of the kingdom of God and to heal the sick with the compassion of God. Through this passage, may God help us to learn from Jesus how to truly serve God and how to serve people. Especially, may the compassionate heart of Jesus touch you so that by his mercy you may be made clean

PART 1. THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS’ WORD (21-28)
 Let’s read verses 21-22, “They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.”   Jesus began his teaching ministry in the town of Capernaum, in the region of Galilee. He did not begin his ministry in the big city of Jerusalem. Capernaum was a mid-sized blue-collar town. It was the Sabbath day, the day of worship, and he went into a synagogue to teach the Bible.

The synagogue was a small Jewish house of worship. It was the social and religious center for the Jewish community. In the synagogue, the prayers were said and the Scripture and other things were read. When Jesus went in to teach immediately his teaching had impact. According to verse 23, the people were amazed at his teaching. Why? Because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. What did the teachers of the law teach? They did not teach and expound on the Scriptures, nor did they believe what they taught. Instead, they taught many traditions and rules and regulations to the people. They talked monotone and without any dialogue to the people. As they taught, many people’s minds wandered away. Some yawned and still others eye lids felt like they weighed a thousand pounds. Their teaching had no power and no life in it. Therefore, people’s spiritual lives were very dry.

 But Jesus’ teaching was not like the teachers of the law. This is because he taught the Bible and he taught with authority. This means he taught the Bible with faith believing that the Bible is the living and active and absolute word of God (Heb.4:12)  He believed that the Bible makes people wise for salvation (2 Tim.3:15-17) He believed that the Bible could set men’s hearts free from sin.

Jesus said in John 8:31-32, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”  Last week we saw that Jesus was tempted by the devil in the desert after fasting for 960 hours. He was tempted to solve his bread problem, take the easy going life and have a short cut to glory. When Jesus was tempted by the devil, Jesus kept saying, “It is written…It is written…”  He said, “It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matt.4:4). Through the word of God, Jesus could resist the devil and have the victory.

Here in this synagogue, we see the faith of Jesus. When Jesus saw these people, they looked like the living dead. They had no human hope. They were poor, and down trodden. It looked what they needed was money and many material things. It looked like what they really needed was freedom from the Roman Empire.  But Jesus did not give them this. He gave them the word of God. He taught them the good news of the kingdom of God. He taught them Genesis and about the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and the promises of God. He taught them the love of God and the glorious hope in the kingdom of God. Jesus believed the power of God’s word could change these people if they really repented and believed his teachings. When they heard it, they were amazed because they saw that he really believed it. It was so refreshing and inspiring.

From Jesus we learn the best way to help people is by giving them the word of God. When we believe the Bible and teach it with faith like Jesus we can move the heart of people and even amaze them. In UBF we can see that those who have faith in God’s word and teach it with faith can be like Jesus.  Korean missionaries came to the United States to teach the word of God. They had to overcome many cultural shocks. They spoke with Konglish. How could they help American students in America. Many people come to America to get help. But they came to America to give help. How could they teach American students the Bible? It was with faith in God’s word. Though some of their sheep could not understand what they were saying, at least they heard the word of God and were changed by it. It is because they spoke with the authority that come through having faith in God’s word. Many have become Shepherds and missionaries through their faith in God’s word.

 Therefore, it is not how much we know or how poor our English is. It is, do I believe the Bible is the absolute word of God? Do I believe what I am teaching? If we do, then God will give us authority like Jesus. God will give us confidence and strength when we teach the Bible with faith like Jesus. Then our sheep and family will recognize us as good Bible teachers. They will say, “How do you know so much without going to Seminary School?” They will really start to listen to us instead of staring at us with glassy eyes during 1:1 Bible study or yawning a lot or dozing off.

 What happened while Jesus was teaching the Bible with authority in the synagogue? Let’s read verses 23-24, “Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, ‘What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are---the Holy One of God!’”   For a long time this man sat in the back row of the synagogue every Sabbath Day, staring out the window. The teachers of the law’s teaching did not touch his heart or challenge him. Then Jesus came and taught the living word of God with authority.  When he taught, the evil spirit in the man spoke through the man in a crying voice, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are---the Holy One of God!”

 This evil spirit is also called an unclean spirit. It took control of his life and made him think many dirty thoughts and do many dirty things. Over time this man felt dirty inside. He had desire to do what was right and to live a clean life with a clean heart and with clean thoughts. But the evil spirits in him were too strong. In the world, the work of the evil spirits is prevalent. We read every week of young people planning to blow their schools up or to kill someone. At Galludet University right here in Washington DC, one student robbed and murdered two fellow students within the space of four months right in their dormitory rooms. But murder is not just being done by young  people. I heard not so long ago of an 86 year old man killing someone out of anger. It is the work of the evil spirits.

The evil spirit in this man recognized who Jesus was and was afraid of Jesus. Jesus came into this world to free people from the slavery to the evil spirits which are the coworkers of the devil. How did Jesus free this man? Let’s read verse 25, “’Be quiet!’ said Jesus sternly. ‘Come out of him!’” Jesus spoke sternly with the power and authority of God. Jesus did not try to have a conversation with the evil spirit. He forbid him to speak and rebuked the evil spirit to come out of the man. What was the result? Let’s read verse 26, “The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.” By his powerful words, Jesus set this man free.

How did the people react? Let’s read verses 27-28, “The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, ‘What is this? A new teaching---and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him.’ News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.”  Jesus’ teaching and power of his word revived these people and refreshed their hearts.  In the past nothing could amaze these people. They were slaves to evil spirits. But when Jesus came and spoke with the power and authority of God, their hearts were moved. Not only so, when Jesus’ words drove out the evil spirit from this man, the people’s lives were filled with new joy and with new hope. As a result, the news about Jesus quickly spread over the whole region of Galilee.
 
 

PART 2. JESUS HEALS MANY (29-34)
 Let’s read verses 29-30, “As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her.”  Simon’s mother-in-law became sick with worry when she heard that her son-in-law had quit his job to follow Jesus. She worried about how her daughter could survive by living with such an impulsive man. Jesus heard that she was sick and went to her. Let’s look at how Jesus helped her. Let’s read verse 31, “So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.”  Jesus did not abandon Simon Peter’s family. In his busy time, Jesus took a detour from the crowded synagogue to personally visit his disciples home and take care of his old mother-in-law with love and tender care.

Here we see that God rewarded Simon Peter’s faith when he left everything to follow Jesus. Likewise, we must believe that when we sacrifice for Jesus, God will help our family and those related to us because God loves them also and wants them to know Jesus’ tender love and care. We see that when people like Jennifer Roberts and Shannon Smith began committing to follow Jesus, their parents began to attend Sunday Worship. When Jesus took this woman by the hand and helped her up, her fever left her and she could wait on them. Jesus restored her. Jesus made her healthy again. After this, Simon Peter’s mother-in-law said to Simon Peter, “It was not a mistake for my daughter to marry you. You are my favorite son-in-law.”

After this healing, it was time to retire for the evening and relax. However, there came a knocking at the front door of Simon Peter’s home. It started small and grew , “That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.” What was all the noise about? Let’s read verses 32-34

 It was the whole town with all different kinds of sick people. Some brought paralyzed people. Some came with very depressed people who cried  a lot.  Those who had tooth aches came to Jesus. Those who had many demons were brought to Jesus to be healed.  Every kind of sick and lame person came or was brought to Jesus. This scene might look like a big hospital with much confusion. Everyone demanded of Jesus thinking their problem was the worst. It became very noisy.

What could Jesus do? He could say to these people, “Don’t you know the laws of this town? No public gathering outside any place of residence after 10PM”?  He could mention about the noise ordinance, too. He could say, “It is late, and I am tired. Come back at 9AM tomorrow morning.”   However, Jesus said none of these things. Jesus did not reject these helpless people who needed his personal attention.  Instead, according to verse 34, he healed them. According to Luke 4:40, Jesus healed them one by one. Jesus took care of each one of them with the personal love and touch of God. This is indeed amazing and very moving. Jesus did this in the evening time when he was exhausted and should get a good night’s sleep to work hard for God the next day.

Most people consider the evening time as their own time. Some people after a certain hour of the night, won’t answer their phones. We like to use the evening time for ourselves. We want to relax after a long day of school or work. We want to eat, watch TV and lay down. But Jesus did not do this. In our ministry, many people work full time during the day. This makes the evening time most important. However, we try to use it for God. Though we are tired we try to overcome our tired bodies and our personal desires and come to meet with each other for Fellowship, or go fishing and feed Jesus’ sheep.

This action surprisingly does not make us more tired. It actually gives us strength because we are following our Lord Jesus and learning and doing his sacrificial life. When we offer our evening time to God like Jesus we can really taste the life of Jesus. Especially, even in the evening, there is always someone who needs the word of God. Sometimes, people have had a really lousy day. They become very depressed and fatalistic. How great it is that we can come with the good news about Jesus! Let’s learn from Jesus to use our evenings for the glory of God to serve instead of relaxing and serving our own desires

PART 3. JESUS PRAYS IN A SOLITARY PLACE (35-39)
 In Jesus’ busy day and busy night, when did he ever have time for himself and time to wind down? It looks like he had no time because of the demands of the people kept growing and growing. However, Jesus made time. Most importantly, Jesus made time to pray. Let’s read verse 35, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where prayed.”

 Jesus got up very early in the morning, while everyone was in a deep sleep dreaming many dreams.  Maybe it was at 3AM when Jesus went to pray. He went to a solitary place. Perhaps it was in a grove of trees or near a rock. Why is early morning  prayer so good? Why did Jesus do this for?  It is because it is very quiet. In this quiet time, there was no one who could disturb Jesus. What is prayer? Prayer is listening to God and talking to God. Prayer is an expression of our faith. In prayer we can come to God and tell him all our problems. We can cast all our anxieties and burdens on him. Through prayer we can find direction for our lives and new encouragement. Through prayer our souls can be refreshed and restored. Through prayer we can grow as spiritual men and women of God. In the gospels,  we read many instances where Jesus prayed. For example, right before he chose the Twelve disciples, he spent the entire night praying to God. When he took Peter, John and James to the Mountain of Transfiguration, he prayed. Right before his arrest to be crucified, Jesus spent the night in prayer. Before all important events, Jesus prayed. It was his habit to pray whenever he could.

 Jesus’ early morning  prayer life shows how important Jesus thought it was to pray to God the Father. When Jesus prayed, he could overcome his flesh and take up his cross for world salvation.  This is because through prayer we can come to rely on God and his strength and not on our selves. It is only when we learn to pray like Jesus that our personal faith can grow as well as our ministry.  Jesus said in Mark 11:24, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

 From Jesus we need to learn the importance of early morning  prayer. In the morning, our minds are sometimes very busy. I used to worry so much in the morning about the new day and have many anxieties until I learned to pray to God early in the morning and cast all my anxiety on him.  It is not easy for anyone to get up early in the morning to pray. We all want to sleep just a little more. When the alarm goes off, we want to go back to sleep just a little more. I once knew someone who after his alarm clock went off, kept hitting the snooze button. He did this on average of ten times every morning. He would then get up at the last minute and would not pray.

In order to have early morning prayer and to experience its power and refreshment, we must overcome our flesh. We must have a little desire to get up and meet the Lord who is waiting for us to come to him. When we skip early morning  prayer thinking what we need is more sleep, then we do not pray. We then become busy during the day and find no time to pray. Then we tend to act and think more on our emotions and on our own strength. In this way we become exhausted and frustrated.  We lose control or say something foolish and do something foolish. We also feel like we have to fight the whole world. This is what happens when we don’t pray in the early morning. But when we begin to taste early morning  prayer after a while we come to like it. We feel after those times that everything is bright and hopeful. Especially, we learn to put everything in God’s hands and we rely on Jesus. In this way, we know that we are being led by God and not by our own changeable desires.

 So let’s learn from Jesus and remember even the Son of God got up early in the morning to pray. When your alarm clock goes off in the morning, don’t say, “I am so tired. I want to sleep more!” Say, “Jesus got up very early in the morning to pray.” Remember Jesus who got up very early in the morning to pray. Then get up and pray. You won’t have any regrets at the end of day because you will the great difference it makes. What happened while Jesus was praying? Let’s read verses 36-37, “Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: ‘Everyone is looking for you!’”

 Simon Peter had gotten up and noticed that Jesus’ bed was empty. He wondered what had happened to Jesus.  He took some of his companions with him to find and Jesus. When he found Jesus, he wondered what Jesus was doing kneeling down. He said to Jesus, “Everyone is looking for you!” Simon Peter was excited. This ordinary fisherman was not used to all the noise and being in the shadow of Jesus’ popularity. He thought  Jesus should come and show himself to the world and not be in this solitary place on his knees.

Simon Peter’s view was that of an earthly messianic kingdom. He wanted Jesus to have him as the number 2 man, probably the Secretary of State. Simon Peter was spiritually ignorant. He did not know what he was saying. So Jesus taught him the reason of his coming.

Let’s read verse 38, “Jesus replied, ‘Let us go somewhere else---to the nearby villages---so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.’”  This verse sums well the ministry of Jesus. It was not to please people and be just a healer or a magician. It was to preach and teach about the kingdom of God. Jesus’ healing was not the major focus. His healings just supported his preaching and teaching ministry. After Jesus prayed early in the morning, he was strengthened to resume this work. Through prayer he was reminded why he came. He must go from village to village to preach the good news of the kingdom of God. In this way, people could hear the message and repent and believe and be saved from their sins. Healing is good, but it doesn’t save a person’s soul. Many people are healed physically by God and then they go back to live a life without God. Only the word of God can change someone’s heart and grow them in faith to live as a child of God.

We can apply this to our ministry. It is to go from college campus to college campus to preach the good news of the kingdom of God. Our 1:1 Bible ministry is like Jesus’ ministry. Jesus’ words here also remind us of his world mission vision. It starts small, village to village, but eventually it encompasses the whole world. Our 1:1 Bible study ministry looks very small. It is not mass evangelism which looks like it can save thousands of people within one or two hours. It takes years, but it is personal and God’s way.  God continually uses it to raise up men and women of faith who can go into all the world with the gospel.

 What did Jesus do next? Let’s read verse 39, “So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.”

PART 4. A MAN WITH LEPROSY (40-45)
 As Jesus was in one village, a man with leprosy approached him. Let’s read verse 40, “A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, ‘If you are willing, you can make me clean.’” What is leprosy? It is an infectious skin disease that eats away skin and bones. One begins to lose eyes and noses also. It makes their eyes rot away. It disfigures a person’s whole body.  These people had no cure. They would die from their disease. To the Jewish people, lepers were considered as unclean and condemned people. They had to live away from society in special leper towns. If they came within 30 feet of someone who did not have leprosy, they had to shout and raise their hands, “Unclean! Unclean!” They were considered as social outcasts and cursed by God. With this kind of view of them and with their leprosy, lepers could only be fatalistic and hopeless about their life. These people were like AIDS patients.

 However, this man was different. This man who came to Jesus had faith to be healed.  When he heard that Jesus had healed all kinds of sick people he thought to himself, “Why can’t he heal me just the way he healed these other people?”  In his heart, he believed that Jesus could heal him if only he could go to Jesus. In order to go to Jesus, he had to overcome himself. He might think that Jesus might not want to go near him since he was unclean. Maybe people might discourage him and throws rocks or sticks at him if he came to close, since they did not want any infection. He went to Jesus, not worrying about what others might say. He went to Jesus not thinking about his ugly and wretched condition. He just went to Jesus as he was. He had hope in Jesus. He begged Jesus and fell on his knees in desperation and asked Jesus, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

 How did Jesus respond to the man’s request? Let’s read verse 41, “Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing’, he said. ‘Be clean!’”  Jesus’ heart was moved by this man’s faith. We see here that Jesus did not see him as a wretched and cursed creature. He saw his as a human being who was suffering and who needed his healing. Though Jesus is God Almighty, he is humble and understanding. He is full of compassion for those who are suffering. He has compassion on those who the world rejects. Especially, Jesus never turns down those who have faith in him.

When Jesus reached out his hand to touch this man, he was willing to help him, even though Jesus himself risked becoming unclean. Perhaps no one had touched this man in years. As we know, human beings are social creatures. We need fellowship with others. We need a pat on the back, a hug, and a handshake every now and then or we feel worthless and rejected. Jesus reached out and touched this man in order to heal him. He could have just said, “Be clean!” and then that would be it. But Jesus reached out and touched him. This is very personal and caring. This means that God sent Jesus to reach out and touch sinners and heal them.

 This man with leprosy represents all sinners. This is because sin is like leprosy. Sin disfigures us who are made in God’s holy image. Sin makes us ugly and miserable inside and even out. Because of sin, many people are too ugly to be with. Sin in its form cuts us off from God and from people.  What happened when Jesus touched this man with leprosy? Let’s read verse 42, “Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.”  Jesus’ touch immediately brought healing to this man. Once the man had been all ugly and disfigured. His skin was full of rashes and holes. Now his skin looked like a baby’s skin. It was clean and smooth. His face was no longer disfigured. He had a handsome face. He became a new creation in Christ because the compassionate hand of Jesus had touched him. Praise God who sent Jesus to heal us and make us into new creations! Praise God for the compassion of Jesus!

 After he was cured, Jesus gave him direction. What was it? Let’s read verses 43-44, “Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: ‘See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”  Jesus wanted this man to fulfill the law in matters like this. It was necessary that he go to the priest and do what the law said. Then he could get his certificate of cleanness. This is the way that Jesus helped him to get back into the normal flow of society.

 However, this man did not listen to Jesus. As a result of his disobedience, Jesus could not find any time even to pray this. Let’s read verse 45, “Instead, he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.”

 This  morning we saw the typical day in Jesus’ ministry. We learned that Jesus healed the sick and taught the people the word of God. We saw how Jesus personally served the people, even one to one so that they could experience the compassion of God and be healed from their sin sickness and various diseases. Praise God who sent Jesus to help us and to restore us in the image of God.