Jesus Heals Many

Today on the Lord's day addition of Renewing Your Mind instantly assumes Jesus speaks the war.

The leprosy left him and he was cleansed again. Don't miss the significance of the power of the word of Jesus just as God brought the world into existence by the sound of his voice, by the divine imperative so Christ exercises that same divine imperative on this disease. We can sometimes one of the things that goes for us more than we love God himself. In other words, we love the give more than the giver. It was no different from the people in Jesus day, crowds followed him looking for miracles today. We pick up again at Dr. RC Sproul sermon series through more will consider together how the gospel provide something better than relief from physical pain. Mark tells us that immediately after Jesus left the synagogue in Capernaum. He went with Andrew and Peter and James and John to the home of Peter, which was clearly close by to the synagogue. Last week I mentioned the excavations of the synagogue in Capernaum and how that in the fourth century, this magnificent limestone edifice was built upon the foundation of the first century synagogue, which was obviously the one in which Jesus preached, and where he exercise the demon possessed man. Well, later excavations have discovered a building very close to that same synagogue and dating back to the latter part of the first century and into the second century there is all kind of sacred and religious graffiti written on the walls of this structure that was uncovered. It was a home but was unusually built in that the doors opened into a large area where people could gather and historians and archaeologists are certain from their excavations that this home served as a church in early Christian times and again with almost complete certainty. The verdict of the historians is that this excavated building was the very home of Peter, but any case, we are told that evening after the sun had set, that they brought to him.

This massive multitude of those who were sick and those who were demon possessed and were told that the whole city know this hyperbole, of course, but it means a huge throng of people came to the door of the home of Peter and Andrew in the Jesus healed many who were sick with various diseases cast out many demons and did not allow the demons to speak because they knew him. So just Mark mentions in passing that after this event of the healing in the home of St. Peter after the sun had set and darkness came upon Capernaum. This huge multitude of people were brought to Jesus.

Those who were sick those who were possessed by demons and obviously he spent some time ministering to them into the late hours of the evening.

Then Mark tells us that in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight. Jesus went out, departed to a solitary place and there he prayed, so that our Lord labored long. The previous day. Nevertheless awakened quite early in the morning well before sunrise so that he could distance himself from this pressing mob of people and go to a place of solitude to refresh himself by prayer.

Three times Mark tells us of the prayers of Jesus and obviously Jesus prayed more often than three times during his earthly ministry, but Mark gives specific reference to three occasion all 3 Occasions Take Pl. at night and in the place of solitude were Jesus got to be alone with his father and then we are told after Jesus departs to pray that when Simon and those who were with him woke up and they found the Jesus was absent from him.

They set out to find him and the force of the verb here is that they were on a hunt. They were searching high and low, it was not easy for them to find out where Jesus had isolated himself for prayer. But when they found him they said to them everybody is looking for you for thinly veiled rebuke where you been Jesus you have time to seclude yourself Aaron prayer you have ministry to perform your famous spreading everywhere and the place is filled with seekers.

Everybody is trying to find you. Everybody is coming to you how to. Jesus responded the same.

That's fantastic when we plant a church here we have this wonderful multitude of people that are so excited that I'm healing their diseases.

In fact, Jesus is saddened by the news and he said let's go to the next time that I may preach there also because for this purpose I have come the multitudes work pressing to the door looking for healing not for truth. They didn't come to Jesus to hear the announcement of the breakthrough of the kingdom of God, that in flock to him so that they could listen to him preach the gospel or expound the word of God. They came looking for improvement to their health and their suffering.

Now there's nothing wrong with people coming to Jesus out of their needs of the flesh, but Jesus makes the point here.

That's not the chief and for which I've come. I didn't come to this earth to heal everybody's diseases. I didn't come here to perform miracles for everybody that was in need. I came to preach the truth that my father has sent me to the clear to these people.

Jesus could tell the people were not coming out of faith to receive him and his kingdom there were coming looking for relief from their physical pain. Sometimes were just like that that we come to God in prayer when were sick when our bodies hurt and yet at the same time we don't have the same kind of pursuit of an understanding of his work as a Jesus of these people are so caught up. Now in my power that I want to hear my word.

So let's get out of here. Let's go to the other cities of Galilee, where I can resume my ministry of preaching because that's why I came that interest the Jesus was not going to be diverted from his mission because everybody was screaming with popular applause for his power.

That's not what I'm about to Mark tells us.

They went preaching in their synagogues throughout all of Galilee and casting out demons.

Now we come to this portion that I find most moving. In this section that we've read this morning were Jesus cleanses a leper. Let's look carefully at this we read in verse 40, a leper came to him, imploring him, kneeling down to him and saying to him. If you are willing, you can make me clean. In the ancient world.

There were 72 distinct diseases of the skin that were defined under the broad heading of leprosy which variety of leprosy. This poor man had is not explained in the text. It may be Hansen's disease. The worst form of leprosy that we read about with leper colonies and that sort of thing. In the modern day, but any form of leprosy was tragic and disastrous for people in the ancient world. I like it. They just a minute to go back to the Old Testament to a passage in Scripture that I'd simply do not have the time to read in its entirety, but I like you today when you go home after church if you will take the time to read the entire chapter 13 and chapter 14 of the book of Leviticus.

I'm just going to give you a taste of it this morning and many times I've talked to people and I've asked them how many of you have read the whole Bible, and not very many have I Psalm if you read Genesis and most tab how many of read Exodus and most have how many red Leviticus and that's when the hand start going down because Leviticus is so strange to our ears so foreign to our understanding, because in the book of Leviticus you get detailed description of all of the fine points of the ceremonial laws that defined Jewish worship and behavior. And here's the kind of thing that we run into when were reading through Leviticus out just read a little bit of chapter 13 verse one the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, when a man has on the skin of his body a swelling scab or a bright spot in it becomes on the skin of his body like a leper sore that all should be brought to Aaron the priest or one of his sons, the priest and the priest shall examine the store and the skin of the body that the here and the source turned white and the sore appears to be deeper than the skin of his body. It's a leper sore and the priest shall examine pronounce them unclean, but if the price what is white on the skin of his body and does not appear to be deeper than the skin in his hair is not turned white and the priest shall isolate the one who has in store for seven days then the priest shall examine them on the seventh, eighth, and indeed, if the sore appears to be as it was and is not spread on the skin and the preshow isolating for another seven day mental exam again on the seventh day, and if the sore has faded you with me at the sore is not spread on the skin than the priest so pronounce and claim it's only a scab list goes on for two chapters, and that's where people start to go to sleep when the ring is this is this the word of God. This sounds more like a manual of dermatology that we have here in the Bible never gone to the doctor and had a biopsy and then waited for the lab results. How scary it is when the doctor says yes it's malignant brain have to deal with that. How relieved you are when the lab report comes back and says it's benign to remember if you had this experience the anxiety that you went through waiting for the lab reports to come back. Well, if you're a Jew in the ancient world and you woke up one morning and you had a different sensation and appearance on your skin.

It would strike terror into your heart and the first thing you do is you would go to the priest because was the priest job using the guidance of God's word himself to determine whether this outbreak in your flesh was a harmless skin affliction, or whether it was leprosy because of his leprosy, then that verdict would not only mean a dreadful physical malady that you would have to deal with.

Probably for the rest of your life. But it was also the worst possible announcement you could hear with respect to your fellowship in your home in your community and in your church because if you were found to have leprosy, you are determined not only to be unwell, but you were pronounced unclean leprosy was not healed in the ancient world. It had to be cleansed because the leper was now cast out, of the covenant community was not allowed near the temple could not enter into the gates of Jerusalem.

He had to live alone by himself. Of course, without the fellowship of other lepers or anybody else. Under normal circumstances he had to wear clothes that were falling apart and have his hair in a ghastly mode and cover the lower portions of his mouth so that he could be noticed from a distance that he was dressed like a leper. He was not allowed to come within 50 paces of another human being and if he saw anybody else approaching, he had to cry out in the distance playing unclean because of a leper were standing under a tree and I walked past the tree did know he was there I would be allowed home or go to church because now I would be expelled from the covenant community because I'd be contaminated by coming that close to a leper there to be a leper was to be the ultimate pariah in the household of Israel and this man had been to the priest's been examined. The sore had turned white and the verdict was leprosy so he left his family, wife, his children, his home and live like a homeless person isolated from all human contact and he hears the shops, the acclamation somehow the word comes to them of this miracle worker named Jesus his last hope.

Here's a Jesus is in the neighborhood and he runs up to Jesus. He breaks the law of Moses. He breaks the law of the ceremony he approaches more than 50 paces. He comes right up to Jesus and cries out to him if you will. You can make me clean. I know you can do it. I don't know if you will please Jesus make me clean. Verse 41 then Jesus moved with compassion, stretched out his hand and he touched him.

What is the Lord Jesus Christ, the sinless one who's made in his drink is to do the will of the father to fulfill all righteousness here violates the ceremonial law because not only was a leper not allowed to touch a non-leper at the non-leper was not allowed to touch a leper. Jesus touched anticipating the controversies that would come after that. Is it lawful to do good and it also indicates that Jesus is the Lord of the ceremonial law and that he has the authority to set it aside for his own redemptive processes.

You know sometimes you get into a traffic jam in the eye. Maybe there's been a minor accident than the cars on the side of the road and the policeman shows up to direct traffic. Can you come to the street corner and the traffic light is red but the policeman is standing there and he's waving you through what you do. The officer is telling you to disobey the sign but we have this written into our laws when the law enforcement officer is present. His presence supersedes the written law and so we must obey the embodiment of the law that is found in the traffic officer rather than the red light and Jesus is the embodiment of the law and is the enforcer of the law and in his compassion. He touches a leper.

Yes, I can and yes I will be clean and Mark tells us instantly as soon as Jesus speaks the word. The leprosy left him and he was cleansed again. Don't miss the significance of the power of the word of Jesus just as he would raise Lazarus from the dead, the means by which he raises them is by his word, by his command. Lazarus come forth, just as God brought the world into existence by the sound of his voice, by the divine imperative so Christ exercises that same divine imperative on this disease. You know there's a question about the word that is translated here. He had compassion upon the they could be translated.

He was angry. Not angry because the man violated the ceremonial lawn came up to him. But Jesus righteous indignation against the ravages of the fallen world.

Jesus anger against disease.

Hated disease and he cared for the person who was afflicted by the disease. I can do it.

I will do it be clean. Then he strictly warned him in the several instructions. First, he said see that you say nothing to anyone go on your way, show yourself to the priest.

Make your offering for your cleansing of those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them. Jesus is not just throwing away the law of Moses is you know the law go back to the priest. Make your offering and have the priest declare you claim. Do you realize how rare that was the Rabbi says it was harder to heal leprosy in the race. Somebody from the dead. That was the rabbinic tradition net Jesus said by the law go to the priest give the offering. Keep your mouth shut. Don't tell anybody about this number, he told the same thing to the demons to be quiet.

Why much as been said about the so-called messianic secret of Jesus were Jesus frequently will say to those to whom is ministered tell no man we can guess why that was. But I think the context of what we read this morning gives us a good insight into it.

Everywhere he want people completely misunderstood his mission completely misunderstood what the Messiah would do. They were still waiting for the champion that would deliver them from Rome.

Not for the suffering servant of God would deliver them from their sin, and so Jesus was loathes to make public his true identity, particularly early on in his ministry, knowing that if this leper goes out and tells everybody in the countryside that he was just cleansed by Jesus of Nazareth. Every leper within the sound of his voice is going to rush to Jesus and Jesus never have time to do the mission that he is been called to do so. Jesus said, I'll take care of you would be quiet about this, he couldn't and he didn't. He went out and began to proclaim it freely to spread the matter.

Here somebody who's an evangelist in disobedience.

Jesus told him not to do it and when did it anyway, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places, and they came to him from every direction they came to him from everywhere. I hope the people today will come to him from everywhere but not just simply to get release from the pain come to hear this message God has come into the world unto us is born safe was priced. The good news of Jesus Christ.

It's our prayer that God would continue to bring many to the knowledge of Jesus Christ as the apostle Paul says in Romans one. I'm not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes you're listening to the Sunday edition of Renewing Your Mind. I'm we Webb in the over the past several Sundays we been hearing Dr. RC Sproul, sermon series, through the gospel of Mark. These are messages that RC preach. While he served as senior pastor at St. Andrews Chapel here in central Florida as we are portions of the series were making Dr. scrolls expositional commentary on the Gospel of Mark available to you for your donation of any amount drawn from decades of study and pastoral reflection.

This commentary communicates RC's desire to clearly explain God's word. That's why we believe this commentary is ideal if you're looking for resource to introduce others to the riches of Mark's gospel to receive your copy.

Simply reach out to us with your donation by phone at 800-435-4343. You can also go online to Renewing Your Mind.or well will continue our look at Jesus healing ministry. We hope you'll join us next Sunday for Dr. scrolls sermon on the healing of the paralytic that's on the next awards. The addition of Renewing Your Mind