Brushing Up Against Jesus

A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering... He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

M‌ark 5: 24b-29, 34

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The passage tells us that in spite of all the money this woman spent and all the suffering she endured, she only grew worse and more desperate. But then she heard about a man who could heal every disease with a touch. She had already suffered so many disappointments. Did she dare to believe this Jesus could heal even her? 

She did. She believed that Jesus could do what no one else had been able to do for 12 years. She said to herself “If I can just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” So, she found out where Jesus would be. She worked her way through the crowd and came up behind Him and reached out her hand in faith and touched Him. Actually, she didn’t even touch Jesus, just his cloak. And that was all it took! Scripture says that her bleeding stopped immediately. She was healed.

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Now, many people touched Jesus that day, but she alone touched Him in faith. And that made the difference, because God responds to faith. He has, by His own Divine decree and character, determined that He will honor those who come to Him in faith. Her touch seems to have called the healing forth automatically. How? 

The key is that she touched Him in faith. No one else was healed. Surely some of those other people in the crowd who brushed up against Jesus had bad backs and sore knees, but they weren’t healed because though they touched Him they didn’t touch Him in faith.

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Did you realize that faith really does matter in the Christian walk? A person can walk the aisle and pray a prayer of salvation but if they don’t pray it in faith, they won’t be saved. A believer can come to church week after week, but if they don’t come with faith, expecting God to do something, asking Him to do something, then it will profit them nothing. You can open your Bible to read it, but if you have no faith, it will only lie lifeless before you.

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So when you come to Jesus, when you come to church, when you come into your quiet time alone with God... come with faith. Don’t just brush up against Jesus like the crowds did. Reach out and touch Him in faith! I’m NOT saying that if you have faith all your problems will go away. I AM saying that faith really does matter, it counts for something in the Christian walk.

Hope for Hurting Hearts

When the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

Matthew 14:35-36

The gospels regularly highlight the miraculous nature of Jesus' work on earth. It would be hard to overestimate the dramatic impact Jesus had on the lives of the people He healed. Think for even a moment about the woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years (Matthew 9:20), or the woman who had been crippled by demonic possession for eighteen years (Luke 13:10-13) and it's impossible to deny the amazing life change Jesus wrought for them. Even more, if you pause to consider that the man Jesus healed by the pool of Bethesda had been invalid for thirty-eight years (John 5:5-9) or that the blind man He healed in John 9 had never known sight at all, then it's impossible to miss how completely their lives were turned around. 

Today's passage, however, highlights for us just how easy it was for Jesus to bring about these major changes. All it took was one touch of the garments He wore and the course of a person's whole life was changed.

This should bring us hope. It tells us that our problems and our struggles are not beyond God's power! Whatever you are anxious about today, whatever you are stressed about, whatever keeps you awake at night is easy for God to handle. But this truth that ought to bring us joy and cause us to reach out to God in faith like the people in this story reached out to touch His cloak, instead often causes us to doubt and to question.

"If it's easy for God to solve my problems, then why doesn't He?" We ask. "Is God punishing me? Does He enjoy the fact that I am suffering? Why isn't He helping me?"

As believers we know that God is good and loving and that He doesn't take joy in our suffering. He has promised us that although not everything that happens to us will be good, He will work all things together for our good (Romans 8:28). And so, we choose to trust that God hasn't solved our problems yet because there is some good for us in them. There is some good in us learning to hope in Him, in learning to wait on Him, in learning to reach out to Him and pray to Him. Sometimes there is even good in persevering through the trial. (According to II Corinthians 12:7, Paul's thorn in the flesh was ordained to help keep him from pride.) 

It's hard for us to imagine that the things which pain and challenge us have been allowed or even ordained by God for our good. But if we are to believe in a good and a sovereign God, then we must accept this truth. If you are struggling to do so today, then I commend to you Psalm 13. Make it the cry of your hurting heart. Make it your prayer.

How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
  How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
  and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
  How long will my enemy triumph over me?

Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
  Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
  and my foes will rejoice when I fall. 

But I trust in your unfailing love;
  my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the Lord’s praise,
  for he has been good to me.

God Subverts Pain

For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

2 Corinthians 5:1-5

Since it is God's expressed purpose for His children to one day trade in their mortal bodies for immortal, heavenly ones, it makes perfect sense that He would subvert the pain of death and growing old (which is brought on by our sin) to His own purposes such that even this pain would cause us to groan more longingly for heaven. The aches and pains of growing old can little-by-little help tear us away from our attachment to this earth and to these earthly bodies. The frustration and discomfort we feel can actually serve as fuel to cause us to long all the more intensely for heaven and for our resurrection bodies.

The simple truth is that we cannot receive our heavenly bodies until we have first been stripped of these earthly bodies. Some believers lose their life and vitality in a moment. Others endure long drawn out battles with pain, sickness, and death. The slow tearing away of a person's health and vitality, as terrible as it is, can be used for the Christian's good if he will trust God. It can be that the crippled man's daily hardship serves as a reminder that no one will be crippled in heaven. His disability can actually be a spiritual asset. Paul the apostle struggled with a "thorn in the flesh." Paul found peace after God revealed to him that God's strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). Your physical disability, your physical suffering, can be the weakness that God uses to work His strength in your life to focus your spirit all the more intently on heaven.

So the next time you want to curse that bad knee or bad back or even that reoccurring cancer, don't. Accept it as from the Lord. Let God work it to your good. Instead of groaning, "Why, Lord!?" Groan, "When, Lord? Oh, when will I be free of these troublesome pains in heaven with you?" Let His strength be made perfect in your weakness. 

For further reading...

• 2 Corinthians 12:1-10- Read about the Apostle Paul's thorn and God's strength in our weakness.
• Romans 8:18-39- Read about how God works our suffering for our good.

Carry Them Up the Mountain

Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

Matthew 15:29-31

With what difficulty they must have climbed that mountain to see Jesus! For many of the lame, the crippled and the blind it was a trip they could not make on their own. They had to be carefully guided or even carried up the mountain. The passage clearly states that they were brought to Jesus by the crowds and laid at His feet. Those needing healing are not the actors in the passage. They are being acted upon by their good friends. They had friends who exerted great energy to bring them to Christ. Oh, but with what ease these same men, women and children must have gone skipping back down the mountain they had been carried up! Upon meeting Jesus their eyes were opened, their deepest hurts removed, and their injuries healed. Take careful notice of the outcome on the people as whole: worship. The crowd was in awe of Jesus' power and they praised God!

The Bible tells us that sin has an amazing power to blind and deceive us, so that people who are still lost in their sin do not know to come to Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:3-4). They do not know that healing can be found in Him unless we tell them, unless we bring them to Him.

Who are you working to bring to Jesus right now? What friend or family member are you inviting to church? Who are you telling all that Jesus has done for you? You must bring people to Jesus. When you do, the powerful working of the gospel in their lives will lead to greater worship for the Lord both now and in eternity. 

I know that sometimes it feels like pointing your friends to Jesus is an impossible task. Sometimes it may feel like you are carrying them up a mountain, but press on! Don't give up. Continue to encourage your friends to turn to Jesus, for if they will look to Him in faith He will surely heal their every hurt and pour out on them the life that only He possesses.

For further reading...

• Mark 2:1-12- A better known story that presents the same principle.
• 2 Corinthians 4:3-4- Blinded by sin.
• Matthew 28:16-20- The great commission.

Give Jesus Your...Worst

When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

Matthew 8:1-4

It is not uncommon in the church I serve in to hear people talk about giving God your best. Specifically, I hear Christians talk about dressing a certain way when we come to church in order to give Him your best. I think I understand the heart behind this, but today I want to ask, what about giving Jesus your worst?

In Matthew 8 we come across a man who made it into the biblical record because he brought his worst to Jesus believing that He could heal him. And Jesus did heal him! I think this man's story is included in part so we can follow him as a model. Notice this man didn't have to tell Jesus what his problem was. His illness was obvious. He simply said “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Do you know that you can't hide your need any more than he could? You might be able to cover it up with a nice suit and tie at church. You might be able to hide it behind a fake smile at work. You might even be able to pass it off as "just being tired" at home. But you can't hide your sin, your brokenness, or your need from the Lord. 

Are you trying to hide your sin? Do you do your best to keep your brokenness out of sight? Do you have secrets? Chances are you do. Most people don't enjoy airing their dirty laundry. But be careful you don't start to think that you are smarter than you really are, because you can't hide these things from God. They are as plain to Him as the nose on your face. He knows about your pride and your selfish ambition, your jealousy, and your greed. He knows about the lust, the pornography, and the affair that they led to. You wear it on your sleeve every time you enter His presence. You can't hide it from God.  

I don't have a problem with dressing nice to go to church. In fact, I do it every Sunday. But you better make sure that the condition of your heart matches the condition of your clothes. Otherwise that suit or that dress may function more like a disguise than an outfit spiritually speaking. And to me it seems that it would be rather insulting to God for you to enter His presence week after week thinking that you were somehow fooling Him. 

So today, why don't you bring Him your worst and ask Him to heal you? What sin is in your life that you haven't turned away from? Bring it to the Lord right now believing that because of His death on the cross He can forgive your sin and set you free from the power it holds over you. What part of you is broken and hurting and in need of a healing touch? Bring it to Jesus believing that it is easy for Him to heal you if it's His will. What discouragement has grabbed hold of you and is beating you down today? Bring that discouragement to Jesus. Be honest with Him about how you feel, then lift it up to Him and ask Him to give you the courage to persevere in growing nearer to Him.

God sees the worst in your life. You aren't fooling Him, so stop hiding it from Him. Bring it to Jesus and ask for healing.

For further reading...

• Matthew 11:28-30- Come to me, all you who are weary...
• Psalm 51- David's psalm of repentance.
• Matthew 8- Read the rest of Matthew 8 to encounter to mind blowing power of Christ.

Too far gone?

When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”

Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.

A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

Mark 5:2-13

My wife and I recently moved. You never really know how much stuff you have until you move! But moving gave us a good chance to sort through all of that stuff and get rid of anything that was old, worn out, or no longer necessary. Having just gone through this process of purging myself, I can say with confidence that there are two kinds of people. One group evaluates objects based on their inherent worth and all the possible future uses they could have. These people tend to keep more than they throw away. Others evaluate objects based solely on how likely it is that they will be used again. I fall into this latter group, and I am fairly likely to throw a perfectly good item away just to declutter my home. People like me often find it entirely too easy to treat another person this same way though. It's too easy for me to write a person off as "too far gone" and toss them on the trash heap of my mind just to get them out of my hair. Thank heaven that Jesus is not like me! If He was, the story above would have turned out much differently.

If ever there was someone of whom you could say, "He is just too far gone," it would be the man Jesus encounters in Mark 5. The passage reveals that he is possessed by a legion of demons. A legion was the largest unit in the Roman army consisting of 6,000 foot soldiers plus support staff. However, considering that it was the demons themselves who made this statement as they were trying to manipulate Jesus, most interpreters do not believe that it was literally 6,000 demons but rather a very large number (ESV Study Bible). In fact, we know that it was a large enough number to run two thousand pigs off a cliff and into the sea. All of these demons have crammed themselves into this one man with a single purpose: to destroy him. They are out to destroy the good creation of God in this man who (like all people) was created in God's image. The destruction of this man's life by demonic influences takes on some aspects that our culture should find familiar:

• Cutting
• A preoccupation with death
• Isolation and Dehumanization- Lane points out that it is likely the man had been bound by the townspeople to try to protect themselves from him, but since the demons were strong enough to break any fetter, the townspeople had driven him out of town (Lane Commentary).
• Pain severe enough to make him cry out night and day
• Killing animals- the demons actually do this after they have left the man. If they are unable to destroy the image bearer of God, then they will destroy other aspects of His creation (ESV Study Bible).

Surely this man lived a cursed life. By Old Testament standards he was triply cursed. Not only was he demon possessed, but he also lived near to pigs and dead bodies both of which caused ritual uncleanness and prevented one from approaching God. So if ever there was a lost cause, it was this poor man. Yet, notice what Jesus does! He doesn't dismiss him as too far gone. He sees beyond all the damage the demons have done and He sees the potential this man has to once again bring glory to God. And Jesus in His mighty power casts out all of the demons at once with a word. And verse fifteen tells us that when the townspeople came to see it, they found this man who so many had been unable to restrain sitting at the feet of Jesus at rest, clothed, and in his right mind (Lane Commentary). This is the power of Jesus!

Certainly this story has good news for all of us. You may see some of your own struggles mirrored in this man. That doesn't necessarily mean that you are demon "possessed," but you can be sure that where the image of God is being destroyed, Satan has been at work. Maybe you feel like you are too far gone or not worth saving. Know that you aren't too far gone! Jesus is willing and able to save the worst of us! I have experienced His redeeming power in my life. So today if you long to be set free from your bondage, turn to Jesus, repent and believe.


For further reading...

• Mark 5:1-20- Read the whole story.
• Mark 9:14-29- Another example of how demons seeks to destroy people as ones who bear the image of God.
• I Peter 5:8-9- The devil wants to devour you.

- ESV Study Bible. Crossway Bibles, Wheaton, IL. 2008.
- Lane, William L., The Gospel of Mark. The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.: Grand Rapids, MI. 1974.

A Withered Hand Enters into Sabbath Rest

Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”

 

Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.

 

He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

Mark 3:1-6

 

 

It is clear from verses three to five that Jesus knew healing this man on the Sabbath would displease the Pharisees. Indeed, in the full council of Scripture it appears that their frustration with Jesus’ breach of their understanding of Sabbath rest was one of the major contributing factors to his crucifixion. The pragmatist might say “Jesus should wait a day. He can still heal the man tomorrow without causing dissension.” But Jesus does not wait. Jesus does the right thing even when he knows it will be unpopular. This is hard to do. The Book of Proverbs says, "Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act" (Proverbs 3:27). So too with us, when we know what the right thing to do is, we ought to do it immediately. For Scripture also says, “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them” (James 4:17).

 

Look at the faith of the man who is to be healed. Jesus calls him up in front of the whole synagogue and asks him to stretch out his hand. Scripture records no hesitation. The man extended in full view of all those present that most loathsome part of himself which he probably worked hard to keep hidden his whole life. What faith! This man must have had faith that Jesus had good things in store him…that his weakness would not be exposed for no reason. So too with us, it takes faith to expose our sin before God and others. It takes faith to acknowledge that we need salvation, but there is no other path to healing or salvation than this reaching out in faith.

 

How fitting it is that this man’s hand should be healed on the Sabbath. This man’s hand had been bound by the marring effects of sin for we do not know how many years. What better day than the Sabbath for his hand to enter into the Sabbath rest of God. Are you bound by sin? Turn to the Lord for salvation today. Jesus is still setting captives free no matter what day it is. Scripture says, “Today is the day of salvation" (II Corinthians 6:2). But even Christians continue to struggle to live out the freedom we have received in Christ. If you have allowed some part of your life to slip back under the crippling control of sin, do not hesitate. Extend that part of your life to Jesus even now for healing. Jesus may not solve all your problems. (Surely, this man’s only trouble in life wasn’t his hand!) Yet, in His goodness He may give you a little taste of the kingdom of God (that is heaven). For this man that meant a restored hand. For you it may mean a restored marriage or relationship with your child. It could mean a restored desire to know Him. Reach out in faith today. Extend those parts of yourself that are bound up by sin to Him and receive healing. And remember that His grace is always sufficient to help us bear those burdens which He does not take away. (II Corinthians 12:1-10).

 

For further reading…

• II Corinthians 12:1-10- In His sovereignty, the Lord doesn't always tell us why He chooses to leave us with some burdens, but we choose to trust Him.
• Ephesians 5:21-33- A little help for Christian marriages. Remember your marriage and your happiness aren't the end goals. Marriage is a training ground for glory. It is a symbol or picture of our relationship with God in Christ.

Jesus and the Tax Man

Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.

While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Mark 2:13-17

How interesting that Jesus calls as one of His chosen twelve, Levi, a man who was a tax collector. Now tax collectors are hated pretty much universally for obvious reasons, but in the first century there were extra reasons for the Jews to hate a man like Levi. The Roman Empire had conquered Israel and now they were taxing them. Levi, a Jew, had taken a job working for the Romans taxing his own people and giving that money to this occupying government. What is more, it was very often the case in that day that tax collectors would overcharge and pocket some of the excess (Luke 19:8). This Levi, also called Matthew*, was so hated as a tax collector that the Bible lumps him and the other tax collectors together with a social class of people that were known at that time simply as "sinners." Verse 15 tells us that many of these tax collectors and "sinners" followed Jesus.

When you stop to think about it, this is really surprising. If you were to imagine God coming to earth in human form, who would you expect Him to hang out with? Not sinners! Even by the Old Testament understanding the Messiah was expected to judge sinners harshly, not hang out with them. So how do we explain this? Well, Jesus explained it quite nicely in verse 17. In my opinion this is one of the all time mind-blowing statements in the history of the world. Jesus explains that He is like a doctor who has come to bring healing. It's the sick people who need to see the doctor, not those who are well.** It's clear that Jesus knew exactly what his purpose was, and He set about doing God's business. He came to "seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10).

What characterizes your interaction with lost people? Some Christians avoid the lost altogether. Like the Pharisees we turn our noses up at them. We create labels that we attach to them in a vain attempt to show our own perceived moral superiority. But this doesn't reflect the love of Christ, and it doesn't advance God's kingdom in our world at all. Other Christians embrace sinners, but they also run headlong after the same sinful pleasures as their lost friends. They emphasize their acceptance of lost people by living a lost lifestyle with them. But this type of behavior doesn't offer the true healing that Jesus came and died to offer. This healing comes only through repentance. Still others, following more closely in the footsteps of Christ, dedicate their lives to seeking and saving the lost. They embrace lost people by showing them the love of God for them that was made manifest in the cross of Christ. In so doing, they show the lost the true cost of their sin and urge them to repentance for the healing of their souls, for the glory of God, and for the exaltation of Christ our Savior. Could anything be more noble a passion than this? Praise God that Jesus came to seek and to save the lost! Praise God that He is still calling them to repentance today! And commit yourself to this most noble of endeavors while there is still time. Love lost people with the love of Christ.

For further reading...

• Luke 19:1-10- Read another story about a tax collector whom Jesus befriended.
• Matthew- Read some of Levi's account of the life of Christ. 

*Jesus not only takes this one tax collector Levi into his inner circle of twelve disciples, but Levi is also believed to have later authored the Gospel of Matthew.

**Of course, Jesus' statement is filled with irony. He came to bring a spiritual healing that everyone needed. We are all ill with sin. The difference was that the "sinners" and tax collectors knew they were sinners and were willing to admit it. They knew they needed Jesus' healing. The Pharisees weren't willing to admit their sin, and it is hard to be healed when you don't know and/or won't admit that you are sick.

A Startling Encounter with Jesus

A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 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. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

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? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” He said to the paralytic, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Mark 2:1-12

Again right at the beginning of this passage we are reminded that Jesus' priority in life is to be about His Father's business. As the people find that Jesus has returned home and the crowds gather hoping for a chance to encounter the popular healer and teacher, what do we find Jesus doing? Taking up an offering? Enlisting an army to lead a revolution and make Him king? No, He is preaching the Word of God., proclaiming His truth, announcing His coming kingdom, and expanding His glory. May our hearts be set so singularly on God's purposes as well! 

Into this typical scene (i.e. Jesus teaching a crowd) comes a disruption. Four men make an opening in the roof of the house and lower their paralyzed friend through it. Their determination to get their friend to Jesus reveals their faith in His ability to bring healing. Their faith is even noted by Christ and in some way accounted for in His decision to heal the paralytic. May we show the same determination to bring our friends to Christ for the healing they need!

As surprising as this interruption must have been, Jesus' response had to be even more surprising. He says to the man, "Son, your sins are forgiven." Jesus' statement must have seemed "inappropriate and even irrelevant to the immediate situation" (Lane, p.94). This man has come for healing not for forgiveness. Please understand that Jesus is not saying that this man's paralysis is God's punishment for some specific sin he has committed. (Jesus clarifies that not all health issues can be traced back to specific sins in John 9:1-7.) Rather, he is making the point that all health issues are symptomatic of sin's general stain on creation. So it is because of sin that this man is paralyzed. If there was no sin in our world then he would not have been paralyzed. However, it is not necessarily because of his own sin that he is paralyzed. Again Lane is helpful. "Sickness, disease, and death are the consequence of the sinful condition of all men. Consequently every healing is a driving back of death and an invasion of the province of sin" by the advancing kingdom of God. 

Not only is Jesus' audience startled by His response but it becomes a source of conflict. Believing that Jesus is merely a man, the scribes accuse Him in their hearts of blasphemy. But Jesus corrects them in a most astonishing way. He proves His power to forgive sins by healing the man on the spot. The same paralytic that was lowered into the room through the roof walks out of it carrying his mattress under his arm. And the Bible says that all of them (presumably even the scribes) were amazed and praised God because of Jesus' great work. May the kingdom of God advance in us in miraculous ways that bring startling change to our lives and drive people to praise God! 

For further reading...

• Romans 2:16, II Timothy 4:1, & Acts 10:41-42- Jesus has the power to forgive sin not only because of His death on the cross, but also because He is the final judge of the living and the dead. One day we will all stand before Jesus and have to give an account for how we lived our lives. 
• John 9:1-7- Although sickness and disease is the result of sin, it is not always causally related to specific sins in the life of the ailing. In other words, sickness is not always God's punishment on people for their sin. Sometimes sickness is simply a symptom of living in a fallen world. 
• Mark 14:61-64- It is the same charge, i.e. blasphemy, which sends Jesus to the cross later in His ministry. 

*Lane, William L., The Gospel of Mark. The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.: Grand Rapids, MI. 1974. 

Contaminated

A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. 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.” 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.

Mark 1:40-45

In the Old Testament and in life we get a clear picture of the way that contamination works. From experience we know that if you toss a piece of clean white linen into the mud, the mud doesn't miraculously become clean. On the contrary, the linen is soiled. That's the direction that contamination flows. Dirty things mar clean things. The Old Testament tells us that, much like that mud, sick people contaminate well people. This is why God gave the Israelites a lot of specific instructions on how to handle leprosy (Leviticus 13 & 14). I don't know of anywhere in the Old Testament where it says that the leprous man should touch something or someone who is clean, and upon doing so he will become clean. In fact, the Old Testament had a lot of instructions for how leprous people were to avoid coming into contact with anyone who was healthy. Leviticus 13:45-46, for example, requires certain lepers to live outside the camp and cry out "Unclean! Unclean!" to help keep people away.

But in this passage Jesus reverses the flow of contamination. When Jesus touches the leprous man, He is not contaminated with his leprosy. On the contrary, the leprous man is contaminated with Jesus' cleanness and health. Jesus has power over this illness. He has the power to remove and to restore and to make whole again. And what is perhaps even more interesting is that Jesus doesn't have to touch the man to heal him. He could have simply said, be healed. He heals from a distance elsewhere (Matthew 8:5-13). But Jesus chose to heal him by touching him. We cannot imagine what this must have meant to this man. His leprosy has placed a stigma on him. No one touches him anymore. No one hugs him, or comes near him, unless they also have the disease. But the maker of the universe walks over and enters into his uncleanness...his sickness and takes it away. What a beautiful example of God's love and of how Christ humbles Himself to enter into our circumstances to show us that love. It is downright incarnational.

Jesus has this same power over all illnesses, all weaknesses, and all sin. It is only Jesus who restores and makes clean and whole. It is only Jesus who died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin. It is only He who can restore you to right relationship with God. Whatever your problem, whatever your illness, whatever you are lacking, rest assured that Jesus is the answer. This doesn't mean that He will do exactly what you want Him to do. Or that all your problems will go away immediately. But Jesus will set you free from your sin if you ask. He will give you the perseverance and strength to face your struggles and be victorious over them. Sometimes, He chooses to heal people through death, setting them free from their disease by leading them home to heaven. At other times, He heals them right here and now and sends them off to live for God in this world. Don't get me wrong, Jesus isn't going to pay all your bills, and beat up all your enemies, and get you a raise at work. But He alone is the storehouse that can provide for all your needs, and He alone has the wisdom to discern when to simply meet your needs and when to help you as you struggle against them. Come to Jesus. Bring your illness, your disease, your sin, and let His Spirit touch you and heal you today. And then go out and help others carry their burdens the way He has carried yours.

For further reading...

• Matthew 8:5-13: Read a story of Jesus healing from afar.
• John 1:1-18, Philippians 2:1-11, II Corinthians 8:9- Read these passages on the incarnation of Christ and see what connections you can find to Jesus' action of healing the leprous man.