10-16-2016 Mark 1-2 - Jesus' Example of Meeting Needs in Others' Lives

Last week Pastor Mike started looking at the Gospel according to Mark. Michael Card - one of my favorite songwriters and favorite theologians - has written a commentary on the Book of Mark as part of his Biblical Imagination series. Last week, Mike described the Gospel of Mark as a foundation – a concise, hard-hitting look at the life of Jesus with 5 main themes:

Jesus and His authority over evil
Self-Sacrificial Discipleship
Cost of Discipleship
The Failure of the Disciples
And The Power of Prayer
He mentions that the book was most likely written from Rome to Gentile believers. Mike also mentioned that there is a word that Mark uses over and over again – so watch for it today – and that word is “Immediately.”
Who was Mark? A little background:
Peter had been thrown in prison – looked like he would be executed – the angels appear, Peter is freed – realizes he has been freed – and then we see in Acts 12:12 that Mark is referred to as John Mark – and he was the son of Mary. We know that this Mary, Mark’s mother, was probably fairly wealthy to have had a large house in Jerusalem where the disciples would often meet. Might this be the same house where the Last Supper took place? It very well could have been – and Mark at some point follows them to the Garden of Gethsemane – I’ll get to that later – but this may give some insight into how Mark knew certain things that even the disciples may not have known – What Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, for instance.
Mark was the cousin of Barnabas – and Mark was the focus of a bit of controversy between Paul and Barnabas – when Paul did not want Mark to accompany them on the next mission trip – so Barnabas took Mark with him…
Acts 15:36 After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return and visit the brothers in every town where we proclaimed the word of the Lord to see how they are doing.” 37 Barnabas wanted to bring John called Mark along with them too, 38 but Paul insisted that they should not take along this one who had left them in Pamphylia and had not accompanied them in the work. 39 They had a sharp disagreement, so that they parted company. Barnabas took along Mark and sailed away to Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and set out, commended to the grace of the Lord by the brothers and sisters. 41 He passed through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
However – by the end of Paul’s life, we know that Mark was back in good standing with Paul:
2 Timothy 4:11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is a great help to me in ministry.
Mark never specifically mentions himself in his gospel – but there are some clues from the rest of scripture that give us some insight into who Mark was. In 1 Peter, Peter refers to Mark as “my son” – 1 Peter 5:13
The church in Babylon, chosen together with you, greets you, and so does Mark, my son.
and so we know that Mark was with Peter as Peter wrote his epistle. So some speculate that either Peter has taken Mark under his wing – or actually led Mark to the Lord. Clement of Alexandria quotes Eusebius writing: “When Peter preached the Word publicly at Rome, and declared the Gospel by the Spirit, many who were present requested that Mark, who had been for a long time his follower and who remembered his sayings, should write down what had been proclaimed. Having composed the gospel, he gave it to those who had requested it.”
To give even more context to the Gospel of Mark – it is believed to have been written shortly after the Great Fire that destroyed much of Rome – the fire that was most likely set by the Roman Emperor Nero (or those under his command) – and Nero blamed the Christians and caused many to be put to death as a result. In fact, both Peter and Paul were martyred in this first wave of persecution after the burning of Rome. The gospel has been referred to as “a pamphlet for hard times” – and so, as we think we have “hard times” – we are reminded what genuine persecution looks like – but recognize that this gospel was written for us today as well.
Mark may have given himself a cameo in his gospel… - it is widely accepted that this person is thought to be Mark – - as I mentioned earlier about Mark following Jesus and the disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane - after Jesus was arrested in the garden, we find this verse:
Mark 14:51 A young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they seized him. 52 But he pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked.
And most scholars speculate that that was John Mark. He may have been right there when everything was going down and was able to report these things to us.
It is known that the Gospel is very much influenced by Mark’s relationship with Peter. Mark is much more of an emotional gospel.
Let’s pray…
Father, thank You for the opportunity to hear from Your word today. Give us wisdom and insight into how You are working in our lives – and working in the lives of those we know – that we can see needs in peoples’ lives to meet them – even as we see Jesus doing in the book of Mark.
When Mike asked what I was preaching on this week – I was thinking of preaching on Mark 7 – the Pharisees and the disciples – and tying it with Romans 14 – building our own convictions – and it felt like the Spirit was preventing me from going down that path – so this message took a turn Friday morning – and hopefully is what God wants each of us to hear today.
Mike finished up last week talking about the spiritual battle that is going on around us – and how Jesus healed a man who had an unclean spirit in a demonstration of power and authority. This week, I’d like to look at how Jesus meets people where they are – and determines the need of their hearts – and ministers to that need – and how we should do the same. He does this in varied ways – we’re reminded again of last week how He powerfully cast out demons with authority. We’ll see this week how sometimes he is compassionate and tender. Jesus was always assessing the need of the moment and meeting that need in the most loving way. We need to seek the leading of the Holy Spirit – Christ in us - to try to assess what needs people have and try to meet those needs in the most loving way.
A couple weeks ago, one of our life-group members was having a struggle at work. It seemed like he was being misunderstood – a certain person had taken what he said the wrong way. He texted me about it – I asked if he needed to apologize – he said that he already had – but was worried about how things would progress from there. I texted him back that “God has your back.” – God is looking out for us. A couple of days later, I texted him back asking how it went and he asked if I had a minute to talk. So he called and we talked it through and I encouraged him to look to Psalm 91 – where the Psalmist is encouraged by God being with him in his trials.
Incidentally, I did ask this person for permission before sharing this today.
As we see needs – one of the first things we need to do is to share the word – if you can share the Scripture with someone in an innocuous way – God’s word has its desired effect – and it raises the flag – that you are a Christ-follower and take the Bible seriously.
Continuing in Mark where Mike left off last week:
Mark 1: 29 Now as soon as they left the synagogue, they entered Simon and Andrew’s house, with James and John. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was lying down, sick with a fever, so they spoke to Jesus at once about her. 31 He came and raised her up by gently taking her hand. Then the fever left her and she began to serve them.
This is such a tender picture of Jesus healing Peter’s mother-in-law.
(Incidentally – before continuing – I have to say – When I asked for permission – from the person in one of my life-groups about sharing his story – he said that would be fine – but that they might not be in church today because one of his children had had a fever for the past couple days… - I responded, Bummer - Have you tried raising her up by gently taking her hand? Mark 1:31… Praying her fever breaks (That passage where Jesus heals Peter’s Mother-in-Law is up on my screen right now.)
Ha-ha, we’ll try that when she wakes up from her nap. – then 6 minutes later he responded back – She just woke up from her nap and her temperature is 98.6!)
Anyway – back to Mark 1…
I’ve always gotten a chuckle out of this verse – here is Simon Peter’s mother-in-law – sick with a fever – Jesus heals her – and she immediately gets up and begins to serve them! They say a woman’s work is never done, huh?! I think this is a huge contrast to the casting out of the demon in the previous section – which some could see as a spiritual power struggle – but in this instance, it says Jesus came and raised her up by gently taking her hand. He assessed the need of the moment.
Jesus was there for Peter’s mother-in-law – and in the same way – we need to assess the situation – praying for the Holy Spirit – Christ in us – to discern where people are in their spiritual journey and what is the greatest need. From people in our small groups to people at work – to church leaders – we need to learn to exemplify one of Grace Summit’s values:
GOSPEL: Sharing the truth of the Gospel with those we meet in our daily lives through word and actions.
We are trying to give examples of what that looks like in the day-to-day. I had about 4 of these experiences this week and I wanted to take some time to share some of these with you. It might mean encouraging a fellow-believer. It might mean “raising the flag” – letting someone know you read the Bible and follow Christ. It might mean finding out where someone is on his (or her) spiritual journey. It might mean referring someone to a certain section of Scripture. It might mean praying for or with someone – right in the parking lot or over the phone or wherever you are.
I had a ‘raising the flag’ experience this week:
This week we were out on a walk around the neighborhood and there was a new guy mowing the grass at a home that had recently been purchased. I waved, as we typically do… - a few minutes later the guy is driving by and asking, since he is new to the area, where he could go to get a gas can and some gas. It is hard to describe - so I decided to just hop in his car and go with him. While we’re travelling around he asks what I do – I tell him I’m an engineer for TimkenSteel – but also a co-pastor at Grace Summit – and that I would be preaching this weekend. He asked what time the services were – and I told him 9:30 and 11 – he said – definitely not the 9:30 – but maybe we’ll see you at 11 (so we’ll see!) Again, this is what we like to call “Raising the Flag” – letting someone know you are a Christian, without being in your face about it. I know you are not a pastor – but I do know that you go to church – or read the scriptures - so it might mean mentioning that you’ll pray for someone or mentioning a Bible verse or mentioning that you have a small group/bible study where couples meet for encouragement. In fact, rather than referring to a life group or small group when talking with those outside the church – I’ll typically refer to it as our couples’ Bible study group. These are just ways to let someone know. Moving forward…Continuing in Mark 1:
40 Now a leper came to him and fell to his knees, asking for help. “If you are willing, you can make me clean,” he said.
Leprosy is a terrible terrible skin disease. Lepers were required to wear bells on their clothes and to cry out “Unclean, Unclean” – they experienced terrible discrimination. The Law prevented someone from touching the leper or he, too, would be considered unclean. If they had a movement, it would have been #LeperLivesMatter. But Jesus knew that this man’s life needed to be cleansed as much as his body – the leper would have been cut off from Jewish life, from temple observance – basically ostracized.
I didn’t notice this in the first several readings -
41 Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing. Be clean!” 42 The leprosy left him at once, and he was clean.
For the first time in recorded history – the clean traveled to the unclean! We see the compassion of Jesus in restoring the man to health. We see His willingness to touch the untouchable – to love the one others considered unlovable – we see His willingness to stand with the marginalized – and to stick up for the one who had no voice. This is social justice at its finest.
Now the twist:
43 Immediately Jesus sent the man away with a very strong warning.
These words don’t do it justice – these words are a serious turn from compassionate and tender to a strict command:
44 He told him, “See that you do not say anything to anyone, but go, show yourself to a priest, and bring the offering that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”
We often wonder – why would Jesus command him not to say anything to anyone? Doesn’t He want His ministry to spread? The problem Jesus was experiencing was people were flocking to him to be healed – but were missing the real reason He came. They were seeking a sign – a miracle – instead of seeking Jesus Himself.
As Michael Card puts it in his commentary on Mark: “The best of Jesus’ call to preach the good news is being eclipsed by the good of His ability to heal.”
45 But as the man went out he began to announce it publicly and spread the story widely, so that Jesus was no longer able to enter any town openly but stayed outside in remote places. Still they kept coming to him from everywhere.
Even with Jesus’ stern warning – the man couldn’t keep the news to himself – Oh, that we would be so bold as to proclaim how Jesus has healed us and saved us!
Again – we need to seek the Spirit’s leading in assessing what the needs are in our friends’ lives – and ask for His help in meeting those needs. I’d like to give you some examples of how this can work out in real life – again – one of our values - GOSPEL: Sharing the truth of the Gospel with those we meet in our daily lives through word and actions. I had the opportunity to pray with 3 people this week.
A couple years ago – a friend opened up to me that his mom had cancer. I asked her name and told him that I would pray for her. Last year, he sent out an email saying he was going to have to put his beloved pet of 13 years down. I responded that “I guess we knew this day would come but it is never easy – that was one of the toughest days of my life…” – Then on the day it was supposed to happen, I sent him an email saying, “Praying for you ” – He sent a note back how much it meant to him to know it was one of the roughest days of my life. Then he said he had some spiritual questions – he didn’t exactly phrase it that way, and wondered if we could get together sometime. Just those two little instances - but then in August – he opened up to me about the divorce situation – and his concern for his kids. I asked if it would be okay if I prayed for him – right then and there. He said, yes, so I prayed that God would give the judge wisdom – to give the right amount of custody – and that God would take care of his kids and that God would work in the hearts of those involved in the situation…
The next day – I dropped him a note thanking him for opening up to me and that I continue to pray – he wrote back: “Thanks for making it comfortable to open up…Thank you for listening and most importantly for the prayer – I thought you had the right message for sure. I’d like to talk more about some things that run through my head and I wonder how I should ask for guidance/support…”
So we talk Tuesday night – one of his questions was – am I violating any command if I don’t take my kids to Mass? What does the Bible say? Well – I said, there is no specific command to “be in church every week” – but that it is strongly encouraged in verses like Hebrews 10: 24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
We talked for quite some time. During this time I felt led to ask him where he is on his spiritual journey. He said he had been to church 3 times this year. I said – I don’t mean your religious journey – do you have a relationship with Jesus? No, he replied. Okay – assess the situation – what is his greatest need right now? Jesus of course – but what is the best way for him to get there? Well – where to go from there? At least he was honest with me. I think the most important thing is for him to start reading the Bible. He could incorporate what he is learning into the spiritual development of his kids. I encouraged him to download the YouVersion Bible app – and to allow it to read to him – on the drive to work – when he is doing yardwork – when he is getting ready in the morning… - I use it in all those times and even when I am exercising. There are these firsthand accounts of WHO Jesus is and what He has done for us and how much He loves us.
I took an even bolder step in this conversation. I hesitated to bring this up – as this person admits he doesn’t have a relationship with Jesus – BUT – I went back to the fact that his initial question was whether he was breaking any command in not taking his kids to church – Plus the fact that I had listened to this section on my way to work earlier in the day – I brought up the section from Mark 10 on divorce.
I specifically told him – I don’t want this to hinder you as you seek a relationship with Christ – but I just listened to this section today and I think it is important to know what Jesus said about divorce:
Basically – the Pharisees were asking if divorce is permissible in any circumstance. Jesus, as Jesus was apt to do, turned the question on them – what do you think? What does the Law say?
Well, the Pharisees replied – Moses permitted a man to divorce his wife.
Jesus told them that Moses wrote that because of the hardness of our hearts – and that it was originally to not be that way – God created us male and female – so that what God joins together, man should not separate.
If there is any chance for reconciliation – I would encourage that.
Again – at the end of the conversation with my friend, I asked if I could pray for the situation – and I did and he thanked me for the prayer and for my time. I continue to pray for him and we’ll continue to talk.
I know some people have been burned by these verses and feel like they are being judged by the church and that is not the case at all.
Back to the section on divorce – I just want to give a caveat from Michael Card – “To those who have been abused by this verse, to those who have suffered through a divorce and then remarried, I believe the operative words in Mark 10:9 are ‘What God has joined together.’ Because of the hardness of the human heart, marriages occur that do not have as their foundation this bond created by God. Those marriages do not fall under Jesus’ severe conclusion. But we must be cautious and preserve His original intent. If two people come together acknowledging that the Lord has bonded them and made them one, then when temptation arises to give up on that union, they must take seriously what Jesus said about the undissolvable bond God has created. The biblical provision for divorce is a sad concession God has made due to the hardness of our hearts, not His.”
If you or someone you know has been divorced – it is not something to be condemned for, it is something that needs support and assistance – and if you have any questions about it – feel free to ask me about it – I would guess that Pastor Mike would have a better understanding of what the Scriptures say – so feel free to talk to him. I felt it was the need of the moment – and I trusted the Word to not come back void - -even though he is not a follower of Jesus. I think we DO need to be careful to not hold unbelievers to the same standard as believers. So, just a little caveat there – as you are working with what I like to call ‘pre-believers’ – be sensitive to those types of things and the leading of the Spirit there.
Again – we need to seek the Spirit’s leading in assessing what the needs are in our friends’ lives – and ask for His help in meeting those needs. Another real-life example:
Wednesday I ran into a coworker in the parking lot as I was heading out to run at lunch time. I knew his wife had had some health issues and I asked how she was doing. For about 10 minutes, he detailed the situation – scary situations where he didn’t know if she would live or die. It seems that the doctors are doing some pretty amazing things to try to fix the problem – and she has an appointment coming up to determine if the treatment is working. I knew it must have been difficult for him to go through all that he was going through. I asked if I could pray for her – right then and there. And I did. And he thanked me. He also said – you know, Jef, I’m a little rough around the edges – but I pray every day. Every morning I ask God to give me wisdom to face the day and to be a better person. Actually – he recited what he prays each morning and it was really quite beautiful and a little convicting! I realized I need to be more prayerful and mindful of the Lord throughout the day.
Thursday – I got a call from Dave Brunelle – He is the pastor of The Rock Community Church up in Cleveland that Grace Summit planted in 2002. We talked about what we were preaching on this weekend – He is teaching on “the care of our souls” – that it is a stewardship – like putting money in the bank – and how do we care for our souls? We speak to it. “Why so downcast, oh my soul?” We encourage it – “Put your hope in God!”. We remind it of God’s goodness! I also prayed, over the phone, with Dave.
When I went back into the building – another of my friends is going through a divorce situation. She has been really struggling lately. We’ve had spiritual conversations before – and she considers herself to be a believer (I’ve given her a “Do you know for Certain” tract and she says that she has put her faith in Christ) – so in light of my conversation with Dave, I asked her, What are you doing to care for your soul? I told her what Dave had just shared with me – about caring for our souls. The most important thing in her life is her kids – and I told her that by nourishing her own soul, she will be nourishing her kids’ souls. I encouraged her to download the YouVersion app and to start listening to The Psalms – as those are real people crying out to God – sometimes complaining to Him – “How long will evil triumph?” which is okay to do – provided we come back to – “But Your love for us is never ending – You are in control – You know what is best.”
So I encourage you to be looking for these situations – as you are out on the soccer fields with other parents – or watching your kids play other sports – ask how people are doing – and ask – we pray as a family – is there a way we can pray for you? Make it natural and normal – don’t force it - but as you care for them – you will recognize needs and how you can meet them.
Just like Jesus had different approaches to meeting needs in people’s lives, each of us will have different approaches with different people – and we’ll have different approaches from each other. My approach may not work for you. I encourage you to seek the Lord to find out the best approach for you as you go to meet needs in people’s lives. There is no right or wrong approach, provided you are seeking God’s wisdom in helping someone on his or her spiritual journey.
I’d like to close with the opening passage of
Mark 2:
When He had come back to Capernaum several days afterward, it was heard that He was at home. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them. 3 And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men. 4 Being unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying. 5 And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 6 But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 Immediately Jesus, aware in His spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them, “Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven’; or to say, ‘Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk’? 10 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, 11 “I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home.” 12 And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”
I love this story. It tells of a group of guys who are willing to be radical in their approach to helping their friend. They knew if they could just get him to Jesus He would heal him. They were willing to do WHATEVER IT TAKES to get their friend to Jesus. When we start loving our unsaved friends with that type of faith, He will heal them. He will make them whole.
Are we so desperate for our friends? Their faith healed him. As we pray for our friends and as we look for these, what the kids in Sunday school call “God-moments”, that we ask the Lord to help us meet these needs in peoples’ lives.
Another caveat – what about the verses that say – don’t let your prayers be before men. God knows your heart – if your heart is to show off that you know how to pray – that probably falls into that category. But if your heart is to care for your friend and to take a moment right then and there to pray – showing that you really care for them – that is where your heart is and what is really important.
Some people say that Christianity is a crutch. It’s intended to be an insult – like, only the weak need a crutch. But we are all weak. In fact – Romans 5: 6 For while we were still helpless – helpless – at our weakest - at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. We all need Jesus. In fact – this story makes it even more clear – Christianity is not a crutch, but a stretcher! As it is said – it is okay to not be okay – but it’s not okay to stay there. And may we love our friends so radically that Jesus can make them whole.
Let’s pray.
Holy Spirit – help us to find the approach that brings our friends to You so You can heal them.