Jesus has just spoken in the synagogue and healed a man with an "unclean spirit".
Mark 1:29-34, Also a healer!
Mark 1:29-34, Also a healer!
As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.
That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.
That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.
Simon Peter is surely the main source for the gospel of Mark. One of the early miracles of Jesus is to heal the mother of Simon's wife. We don't know the severity of the fever but, like a typical mother, once she is feeling better, Simon's mother-in-law begins to serve the small crowd in her home!
The effect is immediate. After sunset (when it is cooler?) the crowds come. The "whole town" has heard and shows up as the door. And Jesus responds. Once again there are "evil spirits"; once again they are commanded not to identify Jesus!
A few simple observations: Yes, we all need help -- both teaching and healing. And there are times to identify Jesus (we will see some later) and times to be quiet.
William Barclay suggests that the reason for people bringing the sick after sunset is to avoid working on the Sabbath.
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!"
Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else--to the nearby villages--so I can preach there also. That is why I have come."
So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
Where does Jesus preach? What are the results? (Why?)
Mark 1: 40-45, A leper approaches
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: 35-39, The ministry begins
Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else--to the nearby villages--so I can preach there also. That is why I have come."
So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
After healing Simon's mother-in-law and many in the community of Caesarea, Jesus begins a more general ministry throughout Galilee (northern Israel.) The ministry begins with Jesus isolated and praying. (Why does God need to pray?)
Where does Jesus preach? What are the results? (Why?)
Mark 1: 40-45, A leper approaches
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.
What is Jesus's reaction to the leper's request? (In verse 1:40 The Greek word translated leprosy here was used for various diseases affecting the skin--not necessarily leprosy. But clearly this is a serious, incurable disease.)
Why did Jesus give him the strong warning? What is wrong with the leper telling everyone of Jesus's work?
Two things strike me this time reading Mark 1: first, this doesn't mess around. Jesus is all action here. By the end of the first chapter, he has authenticated his public teaching by casting out a demon and has healed quite a few people. Second, touching the leper. Doing so not only exposed a person to the danger of infection, it also made them unclean. But Jesus's touch inverts matters: along with the imperative "be clean," Jesus is not made unclean, but the leper is made clean. I assume this generates a minor dilemma for religious leaders--how does an official respond in a situation like this? Should Jesus go through ritual cleansing even though the leper was made clean, because Jesus touched an unclean man? But we're not told about this, so it must not have been a flash point.
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