Sermon Series: The Good News Is Why He Came 

The Amazing Good News 

Mark 1:40-2:12

PSBC 12/16/01 AM

In a nutshell: The events of the leper being healed, the paralytic being healed and having His sins forgiven amazed the people who saw and heard these things. What do such miracles evoke from you? It should be amazement, as well.

I. Introduction

A. Amazing Story

Jack Wurm had an amazing thing happen to him. In 1949, Mr. Wurm was broke and out of a job. One day he was walking along a San Francisco beach when he came across a bottle with a piece of paper in it. As he read the note, he discovered that it was the last will and testament of Daisy Singer Alexander, heir to the Singer sewing machine fortune. The note read, "To avoid confusion, I leave my entire estate to the lucky person who finds this bottle and to my attorney, Barry Cohen, share and share alike." When the matter was taken to court, the courts accepted the theory that the heiress had written the note 12 years earlier, and had thrown the bottle into the Thames River in London. From there it had drifted across the oceans to the feet of a penniless and jobless Jack Wurm. His chance discovery netted him over 6 million dollars in cash and Singer stock.

When you think of this man's need, the provision to meet that need, and the timing of that whole incident, we'd have to say that this whole story is truly amazing.

B. Tozer Quote

One of my favorite Christian writers, A. W. Tozer, wrote some thoughts about amazement concerning our relationship to God. I've included them on the front of your WIG's this morning…

The gulf that separates the Creator and the creature, the gulf between the being we call God and all other beings, is a great and vast and yawning gulf. ... If you do not engage in deep thinking, it may not seem so amazing, but if you have given yourself to frequent thoughtful consideration, you are astonished at the bridging of the great gulf between God and not God. (Christ the Eternal Son. Christianity Today, Vol. 36, no. 6).

In this mornings message, I want to engage you in some "deep thinking" about two miracles Jesus performed. And my hope is that in understanding what happened in the context of these miracles, you will be amazed at the good news-the Person of Jesus, whose birth we celebrate in just a couple of weeks. Turn with me to Mark 1, verse 40…

II. The Man With Leprosy

Mark 1:40 40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean."

Leprosy is not something any of us have had to deal with. It's a disease that, except in remote areas of the world, has all but been wiped out. Yet at the time of the New Testament events, and before that, it was probably the most dreaded disease that a person could contract.

William Barclay, the commentary writer, describes the disease like this…

"The whole appearance of the face is changed, till the man loses his human appearance and looks like a lion or a horse. The nodules grow larger and larger. They ulcerate. From them there comes a foul discharge. The eyebrows fall out, the eyes become staring. The voice becomes hoarse, and the breath wheezes because of the ulceration of the vocal chords. The hands and the feet always ulcerate. Slowly the sufferer becomes a mass of ulcerated growths. The average coarse of the disease is nine years, and it ends in mental decay, coma, and ultimately death. The suffer becomes utterly repulsive-both to himself and to others."

That's a pretty ugly description, isn't it? But at the beginning of our passage today, that's what Jesus is faced with.

Mark tells us that this event occurred just after Jesus had finished a several-day preaching tour that took Him to many of the towns in the Galilean region. Just after He finishes His last sermon, a man in some state of this "ugly" disease, comes up to Him and says, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." Let me engage your mind in some "deep thinking" and show you four things about this incident.

A. The Attitude of the Leper-Humility

The first thing is very brief, but very important. It is the attitude of humility in which the leper came to Jesus. This attitude serves to remind us of the attitude everyone of us should have when we come to Jesus. Jesus isn't some person on the street. He's not a genie in a bottle. He's not some clerk behind a counter. We're talking about God, here. When we approach Jesus, we need to recognize His authority-we must treat Him with respect.

B. The Attitude of Jesus-Compassion

Mark 1:41 41 Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!"

The Greek word that's translated "compassion" here comes from the same word that is translated "bowels" or "intestines", or in everyday language, "guts". When this expression is used it means that Jesus felt the pain of this man, right down to His very core. This is more than pity, more than empathy, and more than sympathy. As one commentator put it, "This is gut for gut identification." (Stedman)

But not only that, we're also told that before Jesus healed him, "He touched him." There's an old quartet number that my dad used to sing, called "He Touched Me". I still get chills when I hear the song sung: He touched me, Oh He touched me; and O the joy that filled my soul. Something happened, and now I know, He touched me and made me whole.

That text comes from these verses. Jesus loved this ugly, repulsive, and unclean man so much that He touched him. It was probably years since this leper had been touched by another human being. But Jesus, out of true compassion, reached out his hand and touched him, because He loved him and wanted to make him whole.

That desire on Jesus' part is still there, my friend. He wants to touch you today, no matter what you have done in your past, no matter who you have hurt, no matter what the condition of your finances, or the condition of your personal life. He wants to touch you with His love, and heal you of your hurts and the disease of sin. Just like He did with the leper.

The result of Jesus' touch is found in the next verse…

Mark 1:42 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.

No matter your problem, if you come humbly to Jesus, you can be cured, as well. Now, let me show you a third thing…

C. A Reason for Obedience

Mark 1:43-44 43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 "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."

The third thing that happened in this miracle had to do with obedience. Jesus had a reason for asking this leper to obey Him. Jesus asked the man to do what was required by Jewish law-he had to show himself to the local priest, and get his approval that he was cured.

Now in asking for this, Jesus had a much bigger purpose in mind. This miracle was going to be a testimony to the local priest. Jesus was intending for this miracle to be a sign of the long awaited Messiah. Jesus knew that every priest knew the signs of the Messiah's coming. Isaiah, the Old Testament prophet, was very specific about what they were: The eyes of the blind would be opened; the lame would leap like a deer; the tongue of the dumb would sing; and the lepers would be cleansed. This miracle was one of those signs being fulfilled. And by obeying Jesus, the priest would have been introduced to the Messiah in terms that a religious leader would understand. And the chances were pretty good that this would have a powerful impact on the entire religious community in that area. This leper's obedience would be a testimony to the Messiah.

And friends, there is an important point of application here. Our obedience to what God's Word teaches becomes a testimony to those who need to know the truth about Jesus. The Bible sets down very specific instructions for us on how we are to behave in our marriages, in our relationships with one another, how we raise our children, how we are to live in our neighborhoods and treat our neighbors, and what we are to do for our elected officials. When we follow these commands, we become a testimony to the Messiah-Jesus Christ.

D. Disobedience results in a hindrance to the Gospel

But when we choose not to obey, or ignore what God has to say, the leper illustrates how we can become a hindrance to the gospel. Look at what happened when the leper didn't obey. This is the 4th thing I want you to see in this miracle…

Mark 1:45 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.

Disobedience to Jesus resulted in losing the opportunity with the local priest, and hindering the progress of the gospel.

Do we really know more than God does? When we say it like that, it sounds kind of ridiculous, doesn't it?! After all, God wouldn't be much of a God if He didn't know more than you or I know. Yet in practice, we often say, "Forget it God, I know more than you, and I'll handle things my way."

In my experience, I've seen a lot of arrogance in God's people toward God's Word. -When conflicts come up in the church, I've seen people act as if they are the focus of the church, rather than God. -When disagreements crop up in marriages, I've seen couples choose to rely on instinct, and selfishness rather than God's Word. -When Christians have problems with their children, I've seen so many go to secular psychology, rather than the Bible. And every time God is ignored, a chance for God to show His relevance and power to the people around us is lost. And we miss a chance to be a link in the chain that could bring a person to faith in Jesus Christ and rescue them from eternal Hell. We need to wake up to the fact that God's Word works to accomplish God's plans. Don't mess with it! Just know it and obey it.

Now, in our text, we're going to move forward a few days…

III. Healing the Paralyzed Man

Mark 2:1-2 1 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.

Jesus' fame was spreading. So much so, that when He went into a home that had become His hide-a-way, (His Camp David) the people were so anxious to hear Him that they filled the house and spilled into the street.

Now this was a typical home in that region of the world. It was constructed of clay brick. It had a single room for sleeping and living. And connected to it was a stable that housed the domestic animals. The roof of the house was flat, supported by beams and covered with straw and packed mud. On the outside of the house were a set of stairs, leading up to the roof. Let's continue reading…

A. The Faith of the Five

Mark 2:3-5 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

To this crowded house came five men. One of them was paralyzed and laying on a stretcher, while his four friends carried the stretcher from the four corners. But when they tried to get in, they couldn't because the crowd was so big. So, they came up with an alternative plan. They climbed the steps on the outside of the house, ripped open a hole in the straw roof that was large enough for this bed to fit through, and they carefully lowered their friend through the hole in front of Jesus.

Verse 5 is very specific. When Jesus saw their faith-the reference is to the faith of all five of these men-He said to the paralyzed man, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

Now, before we go any farther in the story, since Jesus called attention to it, I think we should as well. What did Jesus see in their faith that impressed Him so much? Let me identify three things that I see…

1. They dared to do the difficult

First, they dared to do the difficult. As I've come to understand faith in the past 10 years, that's the point where faith always shows itself. It was no easy thing trying to carry the dead-weight of a paralyzed man, on a bed, up a set of narrow stairs. This was a difficult thing.

My grandfather used to say, "Nothing worthwhile ever comes easy. If it did, then we wouldn't appreciate it like we should." Well, that's similar to what impressed Jesus about the faith of these men. They dared to do the difficult-that's seldom easy, but is always effective.

Illustration: An article that appeared in Christianity Today (June 21, 1974), a number of years ago was about Christians in the Soviet Union, trying to show hope in the midst of very difficult circumstances. A former criminal by the name of, Kozlov, who later became a Christian and eventually a church leader in Russia, wrote about life in a Soviet prison:

"Among the general despair, while prisoners like myself were cursing ourselves, the camp, the authorities; while we opened up our veins or our stomachs, or hanged ourselves; the Christians (often with sentences of 20 to 25 years) did not despair. One could see Christ reflected in their faces. Their pure, upright life, deep faith and devotion to God, their gentleness and their wonderful manliness became a shining example of real life for thousands."

Friends, when our faith attempts to do the difficult, it becomes a shining example of real life to the people around us.

2. They dared to do the unorthodox

A second thing that I believe impressed Jesus about these men's faith is that they dared to do the unorthodox. I don't claim to be an expert on Middle Eastern cultural practices, but I can guarantee you that tearing up a neighbor's roof was not an accepted social custom. There were going to be repercussions for what they did. But they counted the cost and decided that getting their friend to Jesus was more important than following normal practices and procedures.

I wrote this in my Pastor's Heart e-mail this week… "attempts, no matter how big or small, to advance God's Kingdom are preferred to no attempts at all." Friends, I'm convinced the God is honored when we intentionally attempt to do something-anything-to reach out to…and have an impact on what is most important to Him-and that's people.

3. The dared to be costly

The third thing that I think impressed Jesus about the faith of these five men is that they dared to be costly. Let's face it, someone was going to have to pay for that roof. I almost laugh when I think of what the face of that homeowner looked like as daylight become visible, then a hole big enough for a bed to go through, appeared in his roof. You and I would be running for our homeowners policies. But these men dared to take on the cost in order to get their friend to Jesus.

Illustration: When I served my first church as a senior pastor, I inherited a $10,000 per month mortgage and a church split that left 125 people remaining. Talk about a costly situation! We didn't have the direction from God that we should move or get out of the situation, because it was such a strategic location for ministry. So we dared to be costly in our faith-we stayed put and talked to God a lot. Our church board spent a lot of their meeting nights on their knees, instead of doing normal church business. The huge cost we needed each month made us realize that we didn't have the luxury of being self-sufficient. So we were driven to our knees. And do you know, in the four years I was pastor there, we never missed a mortgage payment, a payroll, and all our needs were met.

Transition: Well, Mark gives us all this, in order to move into the second part of the story where the emphasis shifts from the faith of the five men to the lack of faith of the religious establishment.

B. The Religious Leaders

Mark 2:6-7 6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 "Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

They didn't say those words out loud, but they thought them. And they were right on in their thinking. The Bible is pretty clear that only God can forgive sins. And if you weren't God, and claimed to forgive sins then you were guilty of blaspheming and deserved to be taken outside the city and stoned to death.

But what Mark doesn't mention is another thought process that existed in the Jewish mind. Sickness equaled sin. They believed that a sick man was sick because he had sinned. We see this even in the disciples understanding of things when they asked Jesus about a man who was born blind…

John 9:2 2 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

Sin and suffering were connected quite closely. So, Jesus knowing their thoughts said…

Mark 2:8-9 8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'?

How do you prove or disprove that a person's sins are forgiven? If Jesus was a charlatan He could bluff His way through a situation by saying to everyone He encountered, "Your sins are forgiven." And who could disprove Him?

Real proof in the Jewish mind would be that when the man's sins truly were forgiven, he would also be healed of his paralysis. So Jesus says…

Mark 2:10-12a 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . ." He said to the paralytic, 11 "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all.

Jesus did it! The very thing that would prove to the Jewish leaders that this man's sins had indeed been forgiven, HAPPENED! He was healed. So by the Jewish leaders' own reasoning, they had to admit what they didn't want to admit-Jesus, the baby born in Bethlehem's manger 30 years before, was the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God!

IV. Conclusion

The conclusion to this section of verses is the theme of this morning. We see it in the reaction of the people who were crowded into that house in Capernaum…

Mark 2:12B 12 This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"

Friends, think deeply this Advent season. The good news of Christmas, and really, every time of the year…is not a story, or a feeling, or lights, or presents. The good news of Christmas is a person. His name is Jesus. And as we've seen today, He is the healer of hurts and the forgiver of sins. And He wants to know this morning… ARE YOU AMAZED ENOUGH BY WHAT YOU'VE UNDERSTOOD TODAY, TO LET HIM BE THE LEADER OF YOUR LIFE?

Illustration: General William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, was once asked by a newspaper reporter, "What is the secret of your amazing life? Booth answered, "I told the Lord that he could have all that there is of William Booth."

And that's one of the results of a relationship with Jesus. If you are amazed enough by Him to let Him be the leader of your life, your life will take on amazing proportions, as well.

Amen.