Mark 1:29-39 - This Is Why He Came - February 4, 2018

The more you read and grow familiar with the Gospels, the more you begin to notice the distinctive styles and emphases of the individual authors. For example, Matthew, with dozens of quotations from the OT, emphasizes that Jesus is the Christ, the anointed Savior God had promised throughout the Old Testament. Luke, with his extended biography of Jesus’ early life and his genealogy, focuses on Jesus’ humanity – that he is one with us and is our perfect substitute. John emphasizes the timeless, eternal nature of Jesus – both his work and his Word. So what makes Mark special? As we’ve discovered over the past several weeks, Mark is especially interested in the deeds of Jesus’ ministry. His is a breathless accounting of Jesus’ activity during his three year public ministry. And today’s account doesn’t disappoint. From a service at the synagogue to healing Peter’s mother-in-law; to healing the masses, driving out demons, praying in solitude and then quickly moving on from Capernaum – Mark proceeds at a feverish pace. But what’s the point of it all? This is why Jesus came: the miracles are important; the message is better.

If your house has been one of the many struck with sickness in recent weeks – you might be thinking that it would be nice to have Doctor Jesus on call today. Instead of driving to urgent care, waiting for hours next to someone who probably has some infectious disease, haggling with the insurance company, and trying to keep track of all the different prescriptions, wouldn’t it be better to have Jesus take your hand, lift you out of bed – suddenly, completely healed – so that you can go about your life? Sometimes, isn’t that what we expect? In the back of our minds or at the front of our prayers, don’t we suggest just this kind of miracle to God? “Lord, just make me, we, them better!” It would make life a lot easier, wouldn’t it? Not to mention that our faith in Jesus would be firmer and we would be more eager to serve Jesus – just like Peter’s mother-in-law. And who knows, more people would probably come to church if they heard that Jesus miraculously heals those who come here.

Before you sign a petition to change our name from Risen Savior to Healing Savior, listen to the rest of the story: 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. The whole town was there trudging up the driveway and trampling down the flowers. People were carrying their friends and family members on mats or over their shoulders. Demon possessed people were spitting and swearing and foaming at the mouth. There were even people there with horrible, disfiguring, infectious diseases. It looked like a trauma center. It looked like hell. And Jesus healed them. He cured their bronchitis and influenza and leprosy. He silenced their demons – because he wasn’t about to have them testify to his identity or cast doubt on his message – and drove them out. He worked late into the night.

And when morning came, he did something just as important as healing: he went off by himself to pray. There’s a lesson here for us. When life gets crazy: find a quiet place and pray. Unfortunately, the disciples didn’t get it. Everyone is looking for you. Translation: you don’t have time for prayer, there are too many sick people who need your help. And how did Jesus respond? Let us go somewhere else – to the nearby villages – so I can preach there also. That is why I have come. Doctor Jesus, the compassionate and caring Son of God just left all those sick people…sick. Why? Why didn’t he finish the job? Why did he leave them to suffer? Why didn’t he just wave his hand over the village and grant everyone full health? Because, healing, exorcising, miracle-working was not, finally, why Jesus came. He came to preach.

With an attitude like that, Jesus would probably have a hard time finding a job as pastor today. Why? That’s not what people want. That’s not what they think they need. They need healing. They need their problems solved, their bills paid, programs to keep their kids out of trouble and recovery groups and financial advice. They want God to fix their bodies, fill their bank accounts, make them happy and healthy and wise. They want clear answers to life’s questions and easy solutions to their most stubborn problems.

Answers. Miracles. Healings. Church consultants say that those are the necessary ingredients for success and growth today. And many churches have bought into it. They offer programs for every age-group, solutions for every problem, and promise help for every issue. There’s just one problem. They can’t follow through. Sick people stay sick; the poor stay poor; and worst of all, guilty sinners remain guilty. And the result is the religious scene we have in America: people don’t get the answers or healing they are looking for at one place, so they wander from church to church, religion to religion, god to god searching for answers. And in the chaos, what does Jesus do? He just keeps on preaching. And not only did he preach, he sent his apostles to preach, he sends pastors to preach (2 Timothy 4:2), he commands his whole Church to preach the good news to all creation (Matthew 28:19-20).  

Well, if that’s what he came for, then why did he do any miracles at all? They were signs. They served as proof that he was the Christ and his message was true. Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would take up our infirmities and carry our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4) – and so Jesus lifted up the infirm and carried the sorrows of the sick. And the Holy Spirit caused three of the Gospel writers to record this healing as a sign for us, too. A sign of what? That Jesus is the source of all healing in this world. No matter what your illness is, no matter who you consulted about it, no matter what treatment you took, your healing is the work of Jesus. These miracles are important. They show us that he was who he claimed to be. They confirm his preaching. They remind us that all sickness comes from sin and Satan and that all healing comes only from Jesus. They tell us ought to look to him in our time of need and thank him whenever and wherever he grants us healing.

But the question remains, doesn’t it? Why am I or someone I love still sick? Why doesn’t he always grant healing? Why didn’t he heal all of the sick in Capernaum? Because that’s not the real reason he came. Temporary fixes are not how Jesus came to deal with our sicknesses, diseases, demons and the root cause of them all – our sin. Jesus came to deal with those problems permanently; by dragging all of our sins and diseases and sicknesses into the grave with him. He heals us, not with Band-Aids and surgeries, but by his death and resurrection. To proclaim that message of forgiveness and to carry out that mission of salvation – that’s why Jesus came. Jesus’ message and his mission are the foundation of our faith. It has to be that way. Faith trusts the Word, not the miracles. Faith in miracles is no faith at all. Just ask the Jews who witnessed Jesus’ miracles – and still had him crucified; just ask the thousands of people today who have stopped going to church because they didn’t realize the healing they were promised. Without the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection, the miracles were worthless.

Job learned that lesson the hard way. Our reading from Job was a depressing and desperate description of how life often seems short and pointless and full of suffering. Chapter 7 is part of Job’s prayer to God after he had lost his property, his family, and his health. Job’s wife had suggested that he curse God and die. (Job 2:9) His friends counseled that God was punishing him for some sin and that if Job just got his act together, God would heal him. Throughout the book, Job is protesting his situation and demanding that God explain why he is suffering. God never does. But we, the readers, know the real reason Job is suffering. It’s because Job is already righteous, justified and right with God – through faith in the Savior. God knew that. The devil knew that. But the devil wanted to test his theory that Job only believed because God had so richly blessed him – and God allowed the devil to carry out his test.

The book of Job is God’s great protest against man-made religion. Man-made religion – no matter what form it takes – believes that if we live and believe and pray right, God will bless us; and if we don’t, God will punish us. The book of Job destroys that thinking. The book makes it clear that Job didn’t commit some grave sin to earn God’s wrath. (Job 1:22) God didn’t answer Job’s questions or complaints. He didn’t miraculously relieve his suffering. And when God did appear to Job (Job 38:1) he didn’t explain why he allowed Job to suffer. He simply said “I’m the Creator. You’re my creature. How dare you question my ways!” Job’s disease runs its course. He gets better. He repents for ever questioning God’s wisdom and ways. And God, out of pure grace, gave Job twice as much as he had before; seven more sons and daughters, and a good, long life. (Job 42:12-17) And then, Job dies, and that’s how the book ends. But there were no miracles. No answers. No explanations. Just the simple, vivid encouragement to trust God’s Word in spite of the circumstances.

The same lesson played out in Jesus’ ministry as well. Jesus didn’t attend the bedside of every sick person. He didn’t cast out every demon and heal every disease. Sometimes he avoided the crowds and went and prayed or simply pressed on to the next town. And he never explained why. And that tells us something about how Jesus handles our sicknesses and diseases and our prayers for healing today. He always, always hears and answers the prayers of his children – you have his Word on it. (Matthew 7:7-8) At the same time, learn to recognize his answer. Sometimes he does grant miraculous, immediate healing – like he did with Peter’s mother-in-law. Sometimes he lets the sickness run its course and leaves us in bed. Other times he lets the disease linger for months, years, or decades. Finally, all of us will die from one disease or another. But that’s not the worst thing that could happen. In fact, it’s the best thing.

Why? Because Jesus died…but then he rose again. And he took us with him. He not only carried our sins to the cross, he carried our sicknesses, our frailties, our diseases. He crushed the head of the devil and all the demons that torment us. He even defeated death itself. And his victory stands, even if we are still tormented by demons and diseases. That’s why Paul can say that there is nothing in all creation that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39) – not the devil and his demons, not a freak accident, not cancer or dementia or the flu.

That’s the point of this story. That’s what the Holy Spirit wants us to know and believe. That’s the truth that Job learned, Peter’s mother-in-law learned, Peter and Andrew and James and John all learned. And do you know how they learned it? They got sick – and Jesus was there. They suffered – and Jesus was there. They died – and Jesus was there to carry them home to heaven.

Whether you’ve gotten the flu yet or not, chances are that sickness will strike you sooner or later – but Jesus will be there. You will suffer pain and loss – and Jesus will still be there. And, one day, all of us – yes, even Mackenzie – will die – but even then Jesus’ work and Jesus’ word will stand – just as it has for 2000 years. He will reach down to you, like he did with Peter’s mother-in-law. He will take you by the hand and raise you up out of your grave. And that’s when all of those prayers for healing will be answered. Finally, the only solution for all the problems we face in this life involves dying and rising again to a new life in heaven. The very good news is that that is precisely why Jesus came. The miracles are important – they confirm Jesus’ identity and his power over sin and sickness and Satan; but the good news of his redemptive death and resurrection is even better. You know that. Believe that even when sickness or disease threaten to distract you from the real reason Jesus came. In his name. Amen.