Latest / HBCWestminster / The Depth of Affliction Met with the Depth of Love • Mark 1:40-2:12

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The Depth of Affliction Met with the Depth of Love • Mark 1:40-2:12 · HBCWestminster

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We are going to be back in the gospel of Mark. Mark chapter 1, we'll be going from verse 40
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to chapter 2, verse 12. As you turn in your Bibles to the gospel of Mark, I want to
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share a story. One, I'm not going to give a lot of details. I want to kind of give you guys just
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the picture of the emotion, the kind of the frailty that Carla and I were feeling at the
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time as we walked through this. So I'm not going to give a lot of details, but I just want to kind
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of walk you guys through a season in our lives back when Danny and Hallie were still very new
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to Highland. I think it was within their first year. Carla and I were walking through something
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really, really difficult. Really dark, in fact. As we were walking through this, the affliction of my
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heart, my mind during that time, honestly,
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felt incredibly overwhelming. I can remember thinking, wondering at times, worrying at times,
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if the despair that I was in the midst of would ever be lifted. I can remember looking at my wife.
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I can remember looking at Carla at times and just wondering if the deep pain she was carrying
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would ever be healed. I can remember how each day felt kind of like a year. I remember asking the
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Lord, why? Why would he allow such things to happen? As I and we struggled through all of it,
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I can remember kind of feeling at times I was dragging myself to church, longing for the Lord
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to help, but a little bit unsure whether he would. And at times, if I'm honest, wondering if he really
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could. I remember one Wednesday night in our fellowship hall, I can remember the table I sat.
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I can remember where that table was. I can remember the chair I was sitting at.
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One Wednesday night during our men's Bible study, Pastor Danny, who knew what Carla and I were
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walking through, just came over and whispered in my ear and said, how are you guys doing?
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My answer to him was this. I know the Bible says God will not give us more than we can handle,
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but I know that God will. I just think he has a very outsized opinion of what I'm able to do.
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Without hesitation, Danny replied, or maybe he just knows how much he's capable of.
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That stopped me. It forced me to think. And as I thought, I realized that my eyes
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were in the wrong place. They were fixed on myself rather than fixed on Christ.
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You see, we've all been there. Our circumstances fill our thoughts. Our hope feels veiled, cloudy,
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unsure, shaken. Despair begins to creep in. And when that begins to happen, it's usually
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because our eyes are fixed on the wrong place or on the wrong person. When our eyes are fixed on
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ourselves, we miss what God may be doing in the midst of this. We miss what God may be doing in
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in the midst of this. We miss what God may be doing in the midst of this. We miss what God may be doing in
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the difficulty, in the midst of the affliction in our lives. The good news is this is not a new
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problem. It's a very problem I think Mark addresses as he shows us how Jesus responds to broken and
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desperate people, and yet on the flip side gives us a little warning as the crowds again continue
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to miss the point of who Jesus was and what he came to do. Would you stand with me as we read
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from the gospel of Mark chapter 1 beginning in verse 40. The word of the Lord says this,
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and a leper came to him imploring him and kneeling said to him,
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if you will you can make me clean. Moved with pity he stretched out his hand and touched him
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and said,
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and said to him, I will be clean.
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And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.
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And Jesus sternly charged him, and sent him away at once,
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and said to him, see that you say nothing to anyone,
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but go, show yourself to the priest,
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and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.
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But he went out and began to talk freely about it,
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and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town,
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but was out in desolate places,
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and people were coming to him from every quarter.
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And when he returned to Capernaum after some days,
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it was reported that he was at home,
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and many were gathered together,
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so that there was no room, not even at the door,
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and he was preaching the word to them,
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and they came bringing to him a paraphrase,
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and the paralytic carried by four men.
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And when they could not get near to him because of the crowd,
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they removed the roof above him,
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and when they had made an opening,
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they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay.
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And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,
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Son, your sins are forgiven.
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Now some of the scribes were sitting there,
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questioning in their hearts,
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why does this man speak like that?
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He's blaspheming.
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Who can forgive sins,
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but God alone?
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And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit
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that they had thus questioned within themselves,
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said to them,
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Why do you question these things in your hearts?
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Which is easier,
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to say to the paralytic,
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your sins are forgiven,
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or to say,
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Rise, take up your bed and walk,
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but that you may know that the Son of Man
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has authority on earth to forgive sins?
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He said to the paralytic,
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I say to you,
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Rise, pick up your bed,
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and go away.
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And he rose and immediately picked up his bed
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and went out before them all,
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so that they were all amazed
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and glorified God, saying,
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We never saw anything like this.
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Let's pray.
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Father in heaven, we come before you.
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Lord, we ask for you by your word and your spirit
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to minister to us today.
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God, may you change our focus.
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Realign us to your perspective.
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God, I pray that you would encourage us
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by your word and by your spirit.
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Strengthen us, comfort us, guide us.
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We want your word to do a work in us
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so that you can do a work through us.
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We pray for these things in your precious and holy name.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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You can be seated.
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Well, as Christ leads the disciples
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out of Capernaum,
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they head on,
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they're away.
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And Mark doesn't give us much for specifics.
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At the end of our previous passage,
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it says that they went out throughout all of Galilee.
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They don't give a lot of specifics here.
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And Mark doesn't usually give
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a lot of geographic specifics.
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He focuses on what Christ does
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and why he does it.
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And I'll be honest,
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this is one of the reasons why I like
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the gospel of Mark the best,
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because,
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because he just gives us the good stuff.
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Sometimes I get lost in some of the details
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of the other ones,
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but Mark is just like,
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and then he did this,
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and then he did this,
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and then he did this,
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and that was awesome.
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And then he did this other thing,
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and that was also awesome.
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He just is excited to share
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what God was doing through Jesus.
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In our passage today,
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there really is a treasure trove of rich truth.
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We're not going to be able to explore
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all of that.
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That is contained in our passage.
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But as we move through our passage,
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I hope to draw out some beautiful truths,
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as well as, I think,
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some sobering warnings for us.
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As they depart from Capernaum,
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a leper comes to Christ
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and asks him to heal him.
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What do we notice in verses 40 to 45?
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Well, first is Jesus has left town.
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He's out walking,
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and the leper comes to him.
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So first we notice that the leper
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was outside of the town.
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Jesus, as he meets him,
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and as this man pleads with him for healing,
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Jesus is moved.
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In the ESV, it's translated pity.
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It can also be translated compassion.
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Jesus was moved to compassion.
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I think in our culture, in our context,
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pity has some misunderstanding
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of what it actually means.
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So both are faithful,
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but I think compassion for us today
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probably helps us to understand
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the heart of Christ in this moment.
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He is moved to compassion,
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and as he is moved to compassion,
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he is moved to heal this man.
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And that is always true of compassion.
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Compassion is care with action behind it.
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So Jesus heals the leper.
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There are some interesting things
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to notice about Christ's statement
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after this healing,
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but before we get there,
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I want us to spend some time
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considering leprosy.
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Now, many sermons have been preached on leprosy.
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You guys have heard a lot of things about this.
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I'm sure if you've been in church
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at any point in your life,
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you've probably heard different sermons on leprosy.
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So I don't necessarily expect to add anything new here.
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I hope, though, as we look at this,
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that you grab a hold of Christ's heart
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and the beautiful picture that is represented here
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as this man was healed.
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A leper was unclean.
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We know this.
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The disease forced those afflicted with it
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out of town and into isolation.
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Now, leprosy did affect or afflict the skin of people,
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but the skin was not actually the disease.
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It revealed the depth of the sickness within,
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but leprosy was not merely a skin disease.
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It was actually a blood disease.
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As leprosy corrupted the blood,
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it began to,
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to destroy the rest of the body. Eventually, it showed itself hourly, and as it progressed, parts
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of the body would literally decay and fall off. The internal corruption spilled outward for all
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to see. This is leprosy. Now, because of the severity of this disease, Josephus says that it
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was considered that raising or healing a leper was basically equivalent to raising the dead.
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In the culture in time, healing a leper was the same as raising the dead.
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Now, as we're walking through that, you're probably starting to see where we're headed.
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Do you know of anything else that so deeply afflicts a person that it eventually becomes
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visible to everyone around them?
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Something that you can't see, but you can see it.
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Something that breaks relationships, disrupts marriages and friendships, and leads to isolation?
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Sin. Sin. Here we see a physical picture of a spiritual truth. Sin separates. I want
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to also notice some physical pictures that can be brought out in verses 40 to 45.
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So, in this man, there is a physical representation, but also geographical
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there is some beautiful pictures. See, Jesus comes out to this man. The man could not come to
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Jesus. His condition prevented it. His disease had so thoroughly afflicted him that many would
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have considered him as good as dead. But this dead man was soon to be alive. And in healing
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the leper, Jesus actually switches places with him. Look at the movement through these verses.
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Verse 40,
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the leper is alone, rejected, outside. Verse 42, Jesus heals him. Verse 43, Jesus sends him back
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into town. Verse 45, Jesus now is the one out, no longer able to enter openly. Jesus literally
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switches places with this man. And church, this is such a beautiful picture of the gospel.
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Christ came and changes places with you and me. We were on the outside because of our sin. Rejected,
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alone, Christ came, offers full healing from the affliction of sin, and did so by changing places
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with us. He took our spot on the cross. What a beautiful picture Mark gives us here of the gospel.
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He raised this leper back to life and restored him to relationship with his family,
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with his community. In the same way, the gospel brings you and I back to life and can restore
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our relationships. The gospel transforms us just as this man was physically transformed.
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And church, this is all made possible because Jesus has changed places with you and me.
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As we move on in our passage,
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we need to observe something important. It's important because it's so peculiar.
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Jesus gives this man, after his healing, a stern charge. These words, sternly charge this man, is,
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I would equate it similar to, like, for you parents, right? When there are times when we tell our kids,
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hey, don't go over there, right? And it's kind of a passing instruction. And then there's those
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times where it's like, hey, like, look, I'm not going to go over there. I'm not going to go over there.
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Look, look at me. Give me your eyes. Don't go there, right? There's this intensity in Christ's
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warning towards this man. Don't go tell people what just happened. It's kind of weird, right?
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I mean, we sang on Christmas Eve, go tell it on the mountain, right? We're called to tell
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of God's wondrous deeds. And yet here, this man is told, don't. Don't go tell people what I just did.
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Did for you. Why? Why does Jesus tell him not to say anything? I believe this connects back to last
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week's passage. Jesus knows people are missing the point. They misunderstand why he came. He knows
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it's going to take time for his message to take root in people's hearts and minds. Right now,
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everybody is still excited. The earthly kingdom is here, right? They're thinking God has come.
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The
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Messiah has come, and he's going to overthrow Rome. They have missed the point. We looked at
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that last week, and this is just continuing on. Jesus knows that his time for being revealed is
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not yet at hand. People need more time to hear the real reason why he came, to set up a spiritual
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kingdom. So he tells this man, say nothing. Say nothing. That raises a question.
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Are there times,
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and here's some, I'm going to use some specific words, when we should not speak about what Jesus
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has done? I'm not talking about living what Jesus has done. Are there times when we should not speak
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about what Jesus has done? I would argue that in this passage, the man's disobedience negatively
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affects Christ's ministry. After he spreads the news, Jesus could no longer openly enter a town
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because of this man's disobedience.
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When should we? Are there times when we should not preach the gospel with words?
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With words. I would say there are times when our words could do more harm to the name of Christ
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and the work of the gospel. Before you say Nathan's a heretic and dismiss me,
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let me give an illustration of what I'm talking about.
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Last week, I told you guys about the gospel. I told you guys about the gospel. I told you guys about the gospel.
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How my oldest, Lucy, is going to Front Range Community College, right? And she's taking
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several classes in concurrent enrollment, so she's still finishing up her high school degree. And as
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she's doing that, she's taking some college classes. As this was her first semester and
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she's entering into a little bit different environment, we spent a lot of time talking
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over the classes that she could or would take. Human biology, not going to happen, right? I know
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where we're headed with that one.
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Well, she's very interested in political conversations, and so we looked at a political
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science class. At the beginning of the semester, as we were getting closer to the year, it seemed
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like, well, I know this is going to be difficult, but this will be good. She'll have some opportunity
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to engage in some conversations. It might be a little bit difficult, but it's not going to be
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super combative, right? It's going to be hard. It's not going to be crazy. Well, we didn't know
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Charlie Kirk was going to be assassinated. And as that event took place, the class was thrown into
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emotionally and politically charged conversations that were
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far exceeded our expectations of what was going to happen in that class.
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Lucy would come home and talk with us, sometimes with Carla, sometimes with me,
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sometimes with both of us. And the reoccurring
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question that she had, to the point where sometimes we were up till midnight talking
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about this, would be, mommy, daddy, I want to, I am not going to be afraid to stand for my faith,
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but I don't want to be seen as an angry Christian. I don't want to be seen as somebody who is
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unnecessarily combative. I don't want to just pick a fight. I want the Lord to help me. I want to
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represent Christ well, is what she would say. I don't want to be seen as somebody who is
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so what do we do? We prayed. She prayed. Sometimes she would even pray silently in class, God is now
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the time. And then one day, she knew it was time. So as the class was talking about a topic and
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pointing fingers towards Christians as hateful, as mean, as all of these things that Lucy knows,
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Christians are not, she just slowly raised her hand and she said, well, I am a Christian.
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That's not what I think or what I believe. I don't hate you guys.
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Then she asked them, you guys know me. We've studied together. We've done projects together.
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Have I ever spoken to you in a way that made you think I hate you?
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You see, waiting on the
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Lord allowed her life to become a testimony, her love for them to become a testimony so that when
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she stood, her words were not hollow. Had she rushed in combative and defensive,
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those words would have hit different. Since that time, she has invited a classmate to church,
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had some significant changes in how her professor has begun to lead discussions in class,
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class. She came back the week after this happened, and she was just almost in shock. She was like,
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Daddy, it's completely different. She's like, I don't know what's happening, but my professor all
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of a sudden is like agreeing with things I say. My classmates are more interactive with me.
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There was a total shift. Are there times when saying something does more harm than good? I think
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so, but that doesn't mean we never speak. It means we need the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to
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guide us in the timing and the way we speak so that people can hear the truth and the hope of
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the gospel rather than just an opinion. Continuing on in our passage, we see Jesus on the move once
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more. As Jesus returns to Capernaum, we see the crowds continuing to
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grow. Jesus continuing to do what he came to do. Verse two says, and many were gathered together so
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that there was no more room, not even at the door, and he was what? He was preaching the word to them.
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We talked about this last week. This is the reason why Christ came, to preach the good news to lost
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people. And so he returns back to Capernaum, those who had missed the point the first time,
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and gives them another opportunity. I'm going to preach the word to you. Now, unfortunately,
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because we know the end of the story, we know Capernaum, this town, who had Jesus come back
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many a times and teach them and preach to them and show them his authority over and over and
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over again. Capernaum would actually never bend the knee to Jesus. Matthew chapter 11, verse 23 and
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24 says Jesus actually pronounces judgment, a woe to Capernaum, that they're going to be judged
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severely. He says it would be better
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to be Sodom and Gomorrah than to be Capernaum, because Sodom and Gomorrah did not have the Messiah
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present in front of them. And so the judgment would be very severe. Just as Judas reminds us
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that proximity to Christ does not guarantee submission to him, Capernaum reminds us that
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spiritual privilege does not guarantee a surrendered heart. Church,
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we need to take heed of our own souls here. We need to take heed of our own lives. It is possible
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for us to sit here every Sunday morning, hear the truth, hear the hope, hear the promise,
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and never come into submission to it. Never submit our will to his. They were amazed. Capernaum was
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amazed by what Jesus was doing. They were filled with awe of what God was doing.
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They heard the word preached to them, yet they never submitted to him. Now contrast
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Capernaum with the story of the paralytic and his four friends. Verse three,
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and they came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men, four faithful friends, men
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who were desperate enough to bring their friend to Jesus. Notice some things with me. First,
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may we never miss this truth that affliction, when God allows it in our lives, can bring us near
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to Christ. Let me say that again. Affliction, if and when God allows it, is never a bad thing
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because it can bring us near to Christ. This man was helpless, unable to come on his own.
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And when he is brought by these faithful friends, Jesus gives him what he most needed.
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Forgiveness of sins. I remember, uh, as I was, I was going through my, my certification for
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biblical counseling. I went to a conference and, and one of the, the heads of the, um,
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organization that did all of my, my training, um, was teaching on suffering. And he was, he went to,
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um, to the raising of Lazarus as he was talking through this and teaching through this. And he,
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he said, you know, he said, everybody gets really excited because God raised a dead man, right?
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And yet, uh, he, he brought out that he thinks Jesus is weeping for two reasons. One is he's,
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he's moved to compassion for those who are sorrowful over the loss of Lazarus. And he's,
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he's sad for that as well. But also, there's a very real possibility that he knows he's going
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to raise him from the dead. And he's sad because Lazarus is going to have to experience death
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twice. We can get so caught up in our physical needs that we can miss that the spiritual part of us can't.
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Part of our lives is the most important thing. Jesus knew that. And so he says, son, your sins
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are forgiven. I wonder, would this man have come without his paralysis to Jesus? Would his
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desperation have been the same? Sometimes as, as Carla and I have conversations with people and
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we share bits and pieces of our testimony and the things that God has brought us through,
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um, people hear,
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different parts of that. People often will hear some of those stories, those moments,
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those times of difficulty, and they'll ask us this question. Would you change anything?
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Would you ask God to spare you the pain that you went through? That situation I mentioned at the
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beginning is by no means the only moment we walked through that were dark times in our lives.
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And I know each one of us has had that experience. And I know each one of us has had that experience.
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And I know each one of us has had that experience. And I know each one of you can testify
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to those same things in your life. But honestly, you guys, our answer has always been the same.
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We always tell people, all we know is that God used those things to draw us closer to him.
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He used those things to make us so desperate that there was no other place that we would go
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but him. So would we change anything? Maybe. If we could arrive where we are today without those
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things. But honestly, I don't think that's possible. We need those moments. We need those
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moments to bring us to the end of ourselves, to make us desperate, to remind us that we need a
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savior. I imagine this man would say the same thing. His affliction brought him face to face
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with the savior who forgave his sins. I believe so firmly with such conviction, church, that
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affliction can be a blessing to our souls. I believe David knew this when he wrote Psalm 119.71
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where he says,
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Church, affliction in this life is a certainty. When you meet trials of various kinds,
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right? Not if you meet trials of various kinds, when you do. They are always a blessing if we
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allow them to realign our focus, fix our eyes on Jesus rather than self or circumstance.
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Also notice Christ's greater purpose in his miracles. You see, it was not the miracles that
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were the final place the Lord wanted to focus, but they were simply means for him to go after the
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heart of man. At the end of chapter one, Jesus speaks of giving proof to the priests. And then
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in chapter two, verse 10, after forgiving sins, he says that you may know the son of man has
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authority.
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Authority to forgive sins. He addresses the hearts of the religious leaders, giving them every
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opportunity to see why he came to preach the good news to the priests and the scribes, but their
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hearts are revealed to be far from God. Jesus asked them, why do you question these things
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in your hearts? Why do you question these things in your hearts? Jesus wants one of their hearts.
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He wants our hearts.
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To be in submission to him. We have to ask ourselves, where are our hearts? Are they closer
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to the scribes or to the paralytic? Jesus is preaching the word, offering forgiveness
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to anyone who would come. From the top down, he goes to the priests, to the scribes,
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all the way to the paralytic who needed friends to bring him. Preaching the word and offering
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forgiveness.
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For all. And I would just encourage us, may we never be far from that offer. May we not rest
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until the spirit bears witness with our witness as scripture talks about, that we have indeed heard
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the voice of Jesus come near to us and say, son, daughter, your sins are forgiven. May we not be
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like Capernaum, resting in proximity to the gospel rather than submission to it.
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Because the gospel has power. The power to take the leper, the dead in sin and make them alive
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in Christ. Jesus was indeed after the heart of the people. He healed them physically
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so they knew he had authority to heal them spiritually. Jesus didn't want people who just
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wanted to be physically healed. He wanted people desperate for what they really need, which was
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forgiveness of sins.
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So what do we do with this? Hebrews 4.12 says the word of God is living and active. Living and active,
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which means that this morning as we hear the word, God's word can and should be active in us. It should
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change us. By being here today, we should leave different. How do we leave different? First thing
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I want to encourage you is you can bring your affliction to God. You can bring your affliction
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to Jesus. I know some of you are going to say, well, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't
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know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't
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you are carrying things right now that feel so unbearable pain. You didn't ask for sorrow. You
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can't explain. And I understand the temptation is to ask why me temptation is to ask how long
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Lord, but this passage reminds us that affliction is not a sign that Jesus is distant. It's the
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very means of our life to draw him near and us to him.
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You see, the leopard didn't clean himself up before he came to Jesus. The paralytic didn't
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make himself mobile before he was forgiven. Neither of them had the ability to fix their
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problems. They came broken and Jesus met them there. Church, you don't need to fix yourself
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before coming to Christ. You don't need to have the right words. Just cry out to him and ask him,
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Lord,
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be near. You see, you come to be healed, not because you already are. Second, don't miss the
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greater work Jesus wants to do. We live in this culture that wants relief. We see it everywhere
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we look. Ways to escape the stresses and anxieties and fears of life, down to medications, down to
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vacations, spend money, buy this new thing. We want freedom from affliction in this life. Do we not?
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Many want relief.
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But only a few seek redemption. We want circumstances changed, pain removed,
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problems solved, but all often apart from submission to Jesus. But Jesus shows that his
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greater concern is not for what's happening around us. He's not concerned so much about
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the circumstances of life. He's concerned about what's going on inside of you. We don't need Jesus
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around us. We need Jesus in us.
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And so he says, son, daughter, your sins are forgiven. That is what these men needed most.
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Even more than physical healing, they needed the forgiveness of their sins.
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Church, affliction can be a blessing if we allow it to drive us near to the Lord rather than further
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away. Third, I hope that none of us here are resting,
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in proximity to the gospel
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instead of submission to it.
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Capernaum saw miracles.
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They heard sermons.
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They loved it.
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They enjoyed being near to Christ.
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They were so amazed by all that he did,
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but they never bowed the knee.
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It's possible to sit here,
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hear the word preached,
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witness God's work in others,
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and still remain unchanged.
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Just because we're near to the gospel
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does not mean we've actually trusted in it.
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And if we haven't trusted in it,
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we're not going to be transformed by it.
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The question has never been,
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do you know about Jesus?
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The question is,
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have you surrendered your life to him?
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Finally, and with this we'll end,
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fix your eyes,
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on the right person.
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The turning point in Carla and my life
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as we went through that difficulty,
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that affliction,
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wasn't when our circumstances changed.
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In fact, the things that happen,
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this side of heaven can never be changed.
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It can never be undone
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until the Lord makes all things right.
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Circumstances were not what we needed to change.
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Our focus needed to change.
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When our eyes moved,
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moved off of ourselves
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and back onto Christ,
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that's when things started to change for us.
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And church, that's the invitation of this passage.
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Don't be the leper who is healed but disobedient.
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Don't be Capernaum amazed but unchanged.
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Be the ones who come desperate
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and leave forgiven.
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Because the same Jesus
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who touched that leper,
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who healed that paralysed,
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who healed that paralytic man,
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is the same Jesus
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who offers you the same thing.
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Son, daughter,
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your sins are forgiven.
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Let's pray.
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God in heaven,
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we really do believe
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that your son is the only way.
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God, we really do believe
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that in your word there is hope.
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But Lord, we so quickly forget.
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God, today, this week,
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help us to remember.
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Fix our eyes on you
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that we cannot be shaken.
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God, make us in tune with your spirit
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that we can in those moments
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when your spirit leads,
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preach the good news
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and the hope of the gospel
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to a lost and dying world
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who is seeking for relief
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everywhere but in your son.
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But Lord, help us to live the gospel
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that those words,
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ring true.
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Lord, we love you
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and we pray these things in your name.
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Amen.