Wherever Jesus Went November 13, 2016 Rev. Dave Benedict I don t normally begin my messages by calling attention to the title I ve chosen for the sermon. But that s the best place to start this morning. Wherever Jesus Went. Wherever Jesus went...what? How would you complete that sentence? If you have pen and paper in front of you, jot something down. If not, just try to remember what your first impulses are. Wherever Jesus went...what? I ll give you a moment to think about it. Ok. What did you write, or think? Wherever Jesus went? Did you write about something He did? Wherever Jesus went He healed people? Or, He forgave sins. Or He cast out demons? Did you write about something Jesus said or taught? Wherever Jesus went He taught about love or called people to follow Him? Did you write about something that happened as a result of Jesus being there? Wherever Jesus went people learned something new about God? Or people went away praising God? Maybe you wrote about how people felt as a result of Jesus being there? Wherever Jesus went people were amazed. Or maybe even, people were conflicted! Many of the things you wrote are likely true and certainly part of the answer. But the Biblical answer to the question Wherever Jesus went...what? is very important for us to understand, right here at the outset of Mark s gospel. Here it is. Wherever Jesus went, the Kingdom of God was present. Reaching as far back into history as Adam and Eve and their fall into sin, and right up to the moment of Jesus birth, the kingdom of darkness covered the earth and all human beings. Satan ruled the earth in such a way that the truth of God was always suppressed, always corrupted, always thwarted. Everyone did what was right in their own eyes, which is exactly what the prince of the kingdom of darkness wanted. But then Jesus arrived and He brought the Kingdom of God with Him, in two ways. First, Jesus completely submitted His will to will of His Father. He never once attempted to take control over His own life or the lives of others for His own purposes. Therefore, where He went, the rule of God, the Kingdom of God, went with Him.
Second, Jesus came as the King. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, He said. Jesus is Lord. And so, wherever Jesus went, Jesus ruled. He had the authority of the King. When He said, follow me, men came. When He rebuked a storm, it abated. Even the demons obeyed Him. He is the King! And so, everything we discover about Jesus in Mark s gospel comes in the context of the Kingdom of God returning to our planet in the person of Jesus, the Christ, after an absence dating back to Adam and Eve. The King has returned to set things right. For a definition of the Kingdom of God, I ve been using this phrase, the realm in which God s will, and His alone, is done. Which, properly, puts emphasis on the authority of God over the authority of men and even demons. As I ve thought about, though, I think it might be important to come at the idea of the Kingdom from a different perspective every once in awhile, so that we get a glimpse of its full importance for our lives. So, here s another way to think of the Kingdom of God. It is the healing, renewing, restoring exercise of God s ruling power. God brings His Kingdom to this world His rule to this world and to our lives as an act of love in order to heal us from the brokenness of sin and restore us to lives of wholeness, dignity, purpose, and joy. The return of God s kingdom to earth is the best thing possible for our lives. We re are going to see Jesus healing a lot of sickness, disease, and crippling disabilities in Mark s gospel, beginning with today s passage you just heard Janelle/Hannah read for us. That s what happens when God s Kingdom breaks in on us. His love and compassion and His power to heal breaks in upon us. Hope breaks through to us. Wherever Jesus goes, the Kingdom of God the healing, renewing, restoring exercise of God s rule goes with Him. Today s text picks up where we left off last week, the first day of Jesus recorded ministry. Jesus had been invited to teach in the synagogue of His adult home, Capernaum. He stunned the congregation with His authority as He taught. Of course, He taught with authority. He is the King! And then, in the midst of the worship service, a demon, who had been secretly controlling a member of the congregation, revealed his presence and was instantly cast out of the man by the command of Jesus. Again, the authority of the King over the powerful unseen world of beings who oppose God by influencing humans.
No wonder the congregation walked out of that service discussing the Greek word implies arguing hotly the authority they had just witnessed. And now, at once, Mark says, Jesus and his entire circle just four men at this point go to the home of Peter and his brother Andrew for the Sabbath day afternoon meal. Let s take a moment and acclimate ourselves to that time in history. Capernaum, was, as we ve said, a large coastal town on the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee, a busy and important commercial setting, and Jesus new adult home. Trade routes from Damascus and other northern points traveled through Capernaum on their way to Jerusalem and Egypt. And, the fishing industry provided travelers in both directions dried fish for their journeys. Archeological excavations give us a clear picture of what Capernaum looked like. And archeologists are even certain they have uncovered Peter s house which was typical of other homes in the area except that it was unusually large. This might underscore the lucrative profession Simon Peter and Andrew left in order to follow Jesus. Generally, homes had high walls and a gated doorway facing the streets, inside of which would be a courtyard area surrounded by rooms. Because it was typical for several extended families of relatives to live together, like the families of Simon Peter and Andrew, the courtyard area would include common cooking and community space, and then smaller rooms offered private space for individual families and their members. Often, there was a second story of rooms and a flat roof area where people gathered to talk or pray in the morning and in the evening. So, here we have Jesus entering the home of Simon Peter and Andrew. By this point, He might have been a guest, or this might be where He lived as well. It is the Sabbath, which means the day was governed by long-establish rules and procedures for honoring God with rest. Some of these rules came directly from God in Scripture; many of the rules were developed later by rabbis and teachers who didn t want to risk offending God, so they went to great lengths designating what constituted rest on the Sabbath and what would amount to work, and was therefore prohibited. The meal Jesus and his hosts were about to eat was the second Sabbath meal; the first one taking place the evening before, following sundown. The Sabbath evening meal was intended to be a feast, with breads, vegetables, meats and fruits that generally weren t part of an everyday menu. The
Sabbath day meal after synagogue was also special, probably a savory stew with bread and fruits. All of it would have been prepared before sundown on Friday to avoid working on the Sabbath. Serving the meal was not considered work for the women who served the men. So, the four men walk into Simon Peter and Andrew s home, filled with thoughts about the momentous showing by Jesus in the synagogue, but the first thing that comes up is the condition of Peter s mother-in-law. She is ill. The condition is described as a fever, but it could have been any infectious illness. In Luke s gospel, she is described as oppressed by a great fever ; very ill. The men are upset, and although, with any other guest, they would have avoided speaking about someone lying in the house, very ill, they told Jesus about it. He came to her. He touched her, and she was healed. Immediately, she was up and serving the household the meal she and the other women had prepared the day before. That was simply her role. A side note is that the word Mark uses to describe this woman s activity is diakonai. Service. He could have described what she did many other ways, but he used diakonai; the word from which we derive our word deacon, a vocation of service in the church. Diakonai, the same word that often describes the ministry of Jesus. In the Kingdom of God, serving is not a demeaning role; it is high and holy calling. Let s be sure we notice a few things about this brief, very personal episode in Peter s home. First, it was the Sabbath, remember? A densely structured day of rest, as an act of honoring God. In the 1st century, the list of forbidden activities on the Sabbath was impressive, going far beyond what was required by Scripture. In fact, it was easier to describe what was allowable on the Sabbath and then to assume any activity not on that list was a violation of Sabbath. Healing was not on the list. And yet, Jesus healed Simon Peter s motherin-law. Later that evening, after sundown, the whole town brought their sick to Peter s doorstep, and Jesus healed them, but that was ok then both to bring the sick to Jesus and for Jesus to heal them because the Sabbath ended at sundown. But let s not miss that Jesus healed this woman when it was clearly still the Sabbath.
Then, let s notice that he touched her. If He could expel a demon with one word of command, surely He could heal Peter s mother-in-law without even going to her. But He went, and He took her hand. Risking also becoming ceremonially unclean in the process, depending on the cause of her fever. Unnecessary compassion and tenderness. Risk! All of these are part and parcel of Jesus simple act of kindness and healing. God made known by Jesus. Remember the message on the hymn-board in my office? That s the reason were studying Mark s gospel. To know God better by knowing Jesus better. Here is a window into the character and motivation of our God. Love. In the lessons ahead, we re going to see Jesus completely redefine the concept of Sabbath for the Jewish people. He had that authority. He was the king. The Sabbath is for man, not man for the Sabbath. God initiated Sabbath rest out of love and concern for men and women. Jewish concern for getting it right turned the Sabbath into something else, something that denied the sick, blind, or crippled their chance to be healed just because their chance arrived on the wrong day of the week. This is not how our God operates. Jesus intentionally broke the Sabbath to heal Peter s mother-in-law. He could have been stoned to death for it. Our God is personally invested in our welfare, and He puts Himself at risk for us. We know this because we see it in Jesus. The kingdom of darkness still covering our world has brought disease, disability, poverty, greed, betrayal, brutality and suffering of every kind. The Kingdom of God breaking in upon our world brings healing, renewal, and restoration. It brings hope. Wherever Jesus went, the Kingdom of God was present, light breaking in upon the darkness. That evening, when the Sabbath had passed, the now-dark streets in front of Peter s house were jammed with people looking for healing and hope. Jesus brought the same compassionate healing to them, because that s how God s Kingdom works. Let me finish with this. Another important concept concerning the Kingdom of God we discover in Scripture. Even in the Old Testament, and certainly in the New Testament, we find it written that God would appear on earth to set things right, not once but twice. First, God would appear in humility and apparent weakness, His power intentionally veiled. His character reveal by His willingness to suffer on our behalf. His Kingdom would be planted quietly and insignificantly in the midst
of the darkness, like a mustard seed, but it would grow steadily, inexorably. This is the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. The second time God comes, it will be in full power and majesty. He will finish what He started by sweeping away the kingdom of darkness and all of its players and creating a new heaven and a new earth where His Kingdom reigns forever. Jesus will come again. Come quickly, Lord Jesus! We live in-between these two Biblical certainties. The Kingdom of God is present on earth, because the Spirit of God lives within His people. But the Kingdom is not yet fully present, and the kingdom of darkness still holds its destructive power over all but those who have given their lives to Jesus. When Jesus healed Peter s mother-in-law and all the others, He was giving us a down-payment on the healing that awaits all of us. A tangible promise that He will return with power and eliminate sickness, suffering, and death from our lives. In the meantime, we live in hope. I don t know every story of the lives in this room. But I do know this. Each of us struggles with one form of brokenness or another. Multiple forms. The health struggles alone in our congregation are staggering. Grief, too, wears many of us down as we ve lost people we loved so much. Broken relationships, the struggles of parenting and the struggles of growing up, the weight of our own sin, the result of the sins of others. As put together as we all look on the outside, each of us struggles with brokenness within. But, if Jesus is in our lives, then His Kingdom has come into our lives with Him. Not fully, but substantially. Healing, forgiveness, renewal, restoration. It is all possible for us in some measure. Not absolute and complete, but enough for us to know that He is with us, and to have faith He will come again to complete the job. This is the gospel of Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God. It is the truth. Live, therefore, in hope.