University Church Meets At:
397 South Church Street
Athens, Georgia 30605 USA
Telephone: 706-546-1923
| Scripture Intro: Continuing
our series on Mark’s gospel today we read Mark 1:40-2:17. Last week
we saw Jesus’ authority over scribes, over spirits, and over sickness.
He commands demons with a word and heals fever with a touch – demonstrating
power over mind, spirit, and body. This week we learn that Jesus’
authority over the body is correlative to another authority: his authority
over sin. He can heal the sickly body, but can he save the sinful
soul?
Scripture Reading Prayer Intro: We meet Jesus as the Great Physician in this passage, so I’ll warn you I’ve chosen lots of medical illustrations. Nicole once worked in the only major Burn Unit in the Saint Louis region. Burn patients were flown in from around the Midwest to be treated there. It was an intensive job. The production and traffic of illegal Methamphetamines is a problem in rural Missouri just like it is in Georgia. And the Burn Unit in St. Louis was regularly occupied by the casualties of private Meth Labs gone wrong. If you mix the chemicals wrong you get a big explosion see. One notorious dealer found himself in the hospital after his concoction had blown up in his face. As a patient care technician at the time, Nicole was partly responsible for this young man’s wound care. The case was in the news, and this guy was posted with a full-time police guard outside the unit. With time they managed to heal the skin on his face and to preserve much of his eyesight. But after healing his body, when this fellow was released he was taken directly into state custody and transferred to the prison system for safekeeping. You see his problems ran deeper than what the physicians could do for him. They could heal his body, show compassion for his physical affliction, but they can’t forgive his crime. Human hospitals are quite limited in this way aren’t they? Our best doctors still don’t have the authority to forgive sins. We are a race afflicted by sickness and disease but more fundamentally we are a people plagued by sin. As we approach God with our needs we are not simply victims of circumstance, we are also offenders. We not only need God’s compassion on our afflictions, we first and more fundamentally need God’s grace in forgiveness. Jesus claims the authority to forgive sins in this passage, he not only heals bodily afflictions, but he also offers salve to the soul. He calls sinners to himself, and… Prop: Since Jesus saves sinners, We must turn to him for healing.Jesus has compassion to heal our afflictions, authority to forgive our sins, and he calls we sinners to himself. First… MP1: Since Jesus has compassion to heal our afflictions (sinners), We must turn to him for healing.In vv. 40-45 we see Jesus compassion to heal those who ask, to heal the Jews, and to heal beyond taboo. SP1: Jesus has compassion to heal those who ask.The leper comes to Jesus imploring, kneeling – “If you will, you can make me clean.” The scripture is very specific about Jesus’ response, it says – “Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will, be clean.” There was no verbal interchange when he healed Simon’s mother-in-law from fever earlier in the chapter. This exchange with the leper is more intimate and more dramatic. It highlights Jesus’ willing compassion toward those who approach him with imploring humility. The leper takes the proper posture in addressing Christ. Jesus is moved with compassion to heal those who ask. And Jesus’ command in the next verses especially emphasizes that… SP2: Jesus has compassion to heal the Jews.It is no trivial matter that Jesus’ sends the healed man to the priest to be declared clean in accordance with the law of Moses. It says, “Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once.” The man is to offer what Moses commanded for cleansing – “for a proof to them.” Jesus wants to show the priests, not only that his healing is genuine, but that he operates in accord with Torah – he wants his healing work to stand in cooperation with the Law of Moses. There are 31 verses in Leviticus 14 delineating the proper rituals for a leper to be declared clean after healing. Various rituals are prescribed including animal sacrifice. We know that Jesus came to give himself in sacrifice, to do away with the Temple service and usher in a new age of forgiveness and mercy abounding, he came to give his life as a ransom for many – that’s what Mark’s gospel is about. But before the cross the old order is still operative, and it seems Jesus wishes for the leper to bear testimony to the Temple priests that his work stands in line with the old order, that he comes with compassion for the people under Moses, he comes to heal the Jews. But the healing of the leper especially shows us that… SP3: Jesus has compassion to heal beyond taboo.Most of you know that the leper was an outcast in ancient Israel according to Mosaic prescription. Leviticus 13: 45-46 explain that “The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, “Unclean, Unclean.” He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp.” Now it was not a sin to touch a leper, but if you did so then you also would become unclean for a period. Of course the Rabbis of the first century added extra laws which made you unclean if you simply passed by a leper at the wrong time. They counted the leper a wretched sinner. Jesus puts all this aside when he reaches out to touch the leper. We know Jesus has power in his word; he need not touch the leper; he could have spoken healing over the man. One commentator notes that this is the most powerful event yet in Jesus ministry. There were people who went round exorcising demons and healing fevers in the ancient world, we’ve seen Jesus do that, but the Rabbis said that to heal leprosy was akin to raising the dead. When everyone else shouts “I won’t!,” Jesus says “I will”. And when he wills - it happens. Jesus has compassion on our afflictions beyond taboo. You understand what I mean by taboo right, a taboo is something so shameful and threatening that it cannot be mentioned. Jesus moves beyond our shame and fear, he has compassion beyond taboo. Illus: There was a disturbing case study offered in one of Nicole’s continuing education lectures. The particular doctor sharing the story worked in the ER somewhere in North America and one night a young Muslim girl showed up in great distress. She had had an abortion but was still producing milk (galactorrhea), swearing that despite her youthful age her parents must not know about the procedure because they would reject her from the family and her life may be in danger. Though she was under 18 there is a designated judge on call who is given special jurisdiction to override parental consent for cases deemed exceptional. The call was made. The override was granted. A few weeks later this young girl showed up in the news. It was a homicide – all evidence pointing to her brother. You see there was no mercy for the sinner here – no compassion beyond taboo, only judgment, only death. This is the orthodox way for many Muslims (not all). Fulfill Shari’a law, execute judgment, keep your family pure. But this should never be the scenario in a Christian community. Make no mistake, what this young girl had done in becoming pregnant outside of marriage – we call it sin too. But Jesus, the Christ, leads us beyond taboo to have compassion on the mother and on baby. This is the glorious freedom of the gospel, no judgment necessary, but love commanded. Jesus has great compassion not only for our physical afflictions but also for the affliction of sin in our lives. Jesus has compassion to heal our afflictions. App: Do you see Jesus as one who cleanses you from your uncleanness and touches you beyond taboo? As a Christian, a disciple of Christ, are you willing to follow Jesus example in touching the outcast, the unclean, the sinner? Are you willing to extend special favor to the diseased and afflicted in your neighborhood or in your family? Does your experience of Jesus’ compassion move you to compassion for others? Do you listen for those who are asking whether God is willing to make them whole again? The person who needs your touch may not be ostracized by a dramatic taboo at the moment, after all, there are few taboos left in our society aren’t there. Actually we pretend they don’t exist anymore, but they still do. Despite our boasting of shamelessness, there is still shame and fear associated with sin and disease and especially death in our culture. Age and death may be the final taboo in our culture. There may be someone in this church, someone in your workplace, or in your immediate family who still wonders if they can really come to Jesus, if he is really willing to make them clean. It may be your brother or your mother, your daughter or your neighbor. Are you willing to ask God to meet you in your place of need? May God grant us the humility to receive his compassion, and the courage to extend it to others. I see this compassion in many of you here, you are an example to me, but remember that it is a heritage from our Lord. We didn’t get beyond taboo by our own devices. Jesus has compassion to heal our afflictions. But he not only has power to heal, praise him!, Jesus also has authority to forgive. And… MP2: Since Jesus has authority to forgive sins, We must turn to him for healing.In the next episode Jesus famously offers forgiveness to a man who has come for healing, before he finally does heal the man. It’s unexpected, but it is made all the more explicit on this occasion that Jesus’ healings are not arbitrary demonstrations of power, but instead clear signs intended to point up the distinction of his person – in other words the miracles show us who Jesus is by demonstrating what type of authority he has and how he choose to exercise his unique power. In vv. 1-12 Jesus exercises his authority to forgive in response to faith, and he demonstrates his authority to forgive by his power to heal. First… SP1: Jesus exercises his authority to forgive in response to faith.As with the leper who came imploring, kneeling, asking Jesus for cleansing, so the paralytic arrives in an even more humble estate. He cannot even bear himself to Jesus but instead rides upon the shoulders of others – four men convinced in good faith that Jesus can even heal the paralytic. You see it’s a step up again, a new challenge to Jesus’ power – some lepers occasionally did show up clean after all, but paralytics!? – that’s a lifetime affliction. These men believe Jesus has power to heal like no one before him, and Jesus delivers not only healing, but forgiveness of sins to this paralytic. Faith is the operative instrumental condition for approaching Jesus properly. V. 5 says “…when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “My son, your sins are forgiven.” Jesus exercises his authority to forgive sins in response to faith. But somewhat to our astonishment… SP2: Jesus demonstrates his authority to forgive by his power to heal.The first action of the scribes in Mark’s gospel is to accuse Jesus of blasphemy – a foreboding sign of things to come. “Who can forgive sins but God alone?”, they say. It did not require divine perception for Jesus to see that they questioned in themselves (by the way) – any good teach will recognize the spiteful students in her audience. And the best teachers will sometimes play to the spiteful as an educational opportunity. That’s what Jesus does here. They accuse in their hearts and he answers by laying down an either/ or challenge. “Which is easier to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?” The critical phrase here is “which is easier to say?” You see forgiveness is largely an internal matter, but healing is objectively verifiable. Forgiveness may be the prerogative of God, but healing demonstrates the power of God readily at hand. The harder thing to say is – “pick up your bed and walk”. Jesus is helping the scribes and everyone else make the connection between his power to heal and his authority to forgive. He’s helping us all to read the signs plainly. Make no mistake, this is not about a specific sin that the paralytic may have committed. No specificity is given – Jesus warns us elsewhere (e.g. John 9) about making such connections between physical ailments and specific sins. No, instead this is a broad declaration by Jesus that all this man’s sins are forgiven. Jesus wants us to understand that his healing work is more fundamentally grounded in his authority to forgive sins. He’s not just treating symptoms, he is striking at the root of human affliction. Jesus, the Son of Man, has authority to forgive sins. Illus: Nicole had a patient at the pain clinic in St. Louis, I’ll call him John, he was a 16-year old, active, athletic high school student who had developed a rare tumor on his spine. This tumor was quite large and life threatening. If it grew it would eventually shut off John’s ability to breath. No surgeon would touch it because of the danger of slicing John’s spinal cord. What’s worse – the pressure from this tumor caused debilitating pain. John had no good options for recovery. In the meantime, all that could be done was to manage his pain. Nicole could prescribe medications for John that allowed much relief, but she could not treat the source. Remarkably, one specialist from another part of the country stepped up do the surgery and it worked. In a delicate procedure he opened the spinal cord, eliminated the tumor, peeling off each remaining bit, and then sealed him back up, and now John is back home anticipating full recovery to an active life with prospect of no more need for painkillers. Like the skillful surgeon, When Jesus declares forgiveness to the paralytic he strikes at the source of human frailty. He’s advertising the fact that his ministry is not about treating symptoms but about providing the cure. Jesus is not just another painkiller. He’s the surgeon who removes the tumor of sin. He’s talking about the big picture when he addresses the paralytic. It means all his sins are forgiven, he’s no longer under Adam’s curse. The Bible teaches that human sin is the fundamental problem in our world, and our newspapers seems to confirm that don’t they. Jesus is declaring forgiveness not only for the paralytic, but he’s inviting us all to look to him for the solution to the problem, the forgiveness of sins. Jesus has authority to forgive sins. App: Does Jesus have authority to recognize you as a sinner and to extend his grace to you freely in forgiveness? Are you willing to submit to the surgery needed for your cure, or are you content to take painkillers and treat the symptoms of your affliction? Jesus offers you the forgiveness of sins. It means power to confront sickness and disease with dignity, to face aging and death itself with confidence, to overcome depression and perversion in this life. Forgiveness means cleansing and liberation for your soul. It means mercy is available for both oppressor and oppressed. His forgiveness marks the beginning of healing, the beginning of wholeness. Jesus treats the whole. He heals the whole person. He has power to heal the whole creation. He restores all things. The Son of Man has authority to forgive sins. Jesus has compassion for our afflictions, he has authority to forgive sins, and, gloriously, he only calls sinners to himself. And… MP3: Since Jesus only calls sinners, We must turn to him for healing.The calling of Levi – the tax collector – sparks a new bit of controversy among the scribes. Not only does Jesus touch lepers and forgive sins, but he also associates with sinners, calling them to walk as his disciples. But two types of sinners show up in the text – Jesus calls the notoriously sinful and he calls the notoriously righteous – but all are sinners. First… SP1: Jesus calls the notoriously sinful.Like today, Tax collectors in the ancient world were not well liked by anyone – after all, no one very much enjoys passing their income along to the government. But this resentment was especially aggravated among people like the Jews who resented Roman rule as a foreign occupation. Some nations of conquered people learned to welcome the power and wealth and culture that Roman rule brought over time – but not so much the Jews. Most Jews were hoping, praying for the day when God would deliver them from unclean hands of Rome. You see, not only were the Romans considered occupiers, but they were also idol-worshiping pagans whose religion deeply (and rightly) offended Jewish sensibilities – a people who had learned to worship the one God at his one temple in Jerusalem. Idolatry was considered the first and worst of sins to the reverent Jews. But some Jews capitulated to the Romans for the sake of personal gain and the tax collectors were first among such traitors. You see Levi, a Jewish man, was collecting taxes for Rome there in Galilee. And what is more, these tax collectors had a bad reputation for extortion. You see Tax Collectors effectively leased their positions from the Roman authorities. They were not carefully regulated. They essentially collected enough money to pay Rome for their post and then collected as much more as they possibly could to make profit. Tax collectors were jerks, they were notoriously unjust, and they worked the oppressors. But Jesus called Levi, a notorious sinner to follow him and he goes along to eat at his house. This was much more controversial than calling fishermen. But Jesus calls another type of sinner in this passage when he speaks to the notoriously righteous. SP2: Jesus calls the notoriously righteous.V.2: 16 And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" The Pharisees were the opposite of tax collectors. They were men
highly respected for their religious values and religious knowledge.
Especially the scribes among the Pharisees were consulted – sought out
– for consultation in religious matters. The Pharisees followed the
letter of the Mosaic Law and added extra rules on top of them to follow.
They fasted two days a week and they gave 1/10th of their money and possessions
to the poor and to the service of the Temple. These were godly
men, the sort of men you wanted to know and to be on good terms with (whether
you like them or not). They were notoriously righteous, they were
proud about it, and they were watching for any chance to call Jesus down
on a religious matter. They resented Jesus’ teaching because he did
not follow their rules. So they challenge Jesus’ disciples (but not
Jesus directly) about eating with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus
hears and responds with a proverb and an invitation to the proud Pharisees.
(Mark 2: 17) Those who are well have no need of a physician,
but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."
The proverb was well known and the scribes would have agreed with such
a statement about the work of a healer dealing with the sick. Jesus
was speaking to them on their terms. But when he makes his meaning
explicit Jesus effectively declares that unless you count yourself among
sinners then you have not part with him – no place in the kingdom of God.
It was a provocative invitation for the Pharisees to acknowledge their
own self-righteous pride, confess their own sin, and follow Jesus.
You see Jesus does call the notoriously righteous – but in doing so he
only calls sinners.
Application: Many of you here may fall in the category of the notoriously righteous person. Are you sometimes offended at the people whom Jesus receives? Are you tempted to resent the inclusion of the notoriously sinful in the blessings of God? Do you question whether a person of low social status deserves the grace of God or whether you really want to associate yourself with such a person who participates equally in the church of Jesus Christ? Do you believe that you somehow deserve God’s grace more than others? Do you strive to associate only with the notoriously righteous? If so I encourage you to repent of self-righteousness and examine your own need before God. Self-conceit is a subtle, stubborn, and blinding master. Religious pride has sapped the life from many a church. Are you aware of your own sin? Do you count yourself among the sick? Do you have need of healing? Do you have need of a Physician? If you are unsure of your own flaws then I encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit for exposure and ask your neighbor for accountability. Remember that if you have no need for healing then you have no place in the Kingdom of God. Jesus only calls sinners. Concl: Arthur Galston, a famous botanist, died last month on June 15th at age 88. You can read his obituary in the Economist (June 28th – July 4th issue). Galston is most notable for his contribution to the discovery of Agent Orange, a toxic herbicide which was poured relentlessly over the Jungles of Vietnam during the American engagement there. Galston had originally developed Agent Orange at the University of Illinois to be used in light doses to make soybean plants flower earlier in the season. But the U.S. military used Agent Orange – some 20 million gallons of it – to kill back vast swaths of jungle because in heavy doses Agent Orange defoliates plants; it dissolves the cell wall between leaf and stem – it cleared the jungle back so that U.S. soldiers could find the enemy. Galston suspected that the herbicide was harmful to humans and must be linked to the deformities and tumors showing up on soldiers and civilians alike in Vietnam, and Galston wrote the government to beg their attention. It was sworn that Agent Orange caused no harm to humans, it was used on American bases to keep grasses down, and apparently “some GIs hosed each other with it for fun”. But as many of you know, Agent Orange was later verified to cause among other things, chronic leukemia, and there is to this day an entire department of Veteran Affairs which is dedicated to caring for people exposed to Agent Orange. We are fragile creatures, but under strong delusion we are easily persuaded that toxic chemicals are benign and harmless to us. Sin is sort of like Agent Orange. We can become so convinced –
systemically convinced – that our sins are harmless and we can even become
determined to show how some sin works to our advantage. We spray
one another with it like a game. But the toxicity of sin is often
subtle and time-delayed, the diseased effects are not immediate but they
show up in time, and the connections are made in time. Sin is toxic
and it is very expensive. If we think it is not then we operate,
like the proud Pharisees, under a strong delusion of self-righteous self-content.
We are sinners, and we must turn to Jesus for healing. He is the
Great Physician – he meets every need.
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University Church Meets At:
397 South Church Street
Athens, Georgia 30605 USA
Telephone: 706-546-1923
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