As we examine Mark 1, one thing becomes apparent: Jesus operates in human lives with great power! The power of Jesus is as unmistakable in the Gospel of Mark as it is elsewhere in the Scriptures. For example, in Romans 1:16, we learn that there is power (dynamais) in the gospel. In John 1:12, we see that Jesus gives us the power (exousia) or right to become the children of God. In John 5:24-29, Jesus says He has the power to grant eternal life and the power to judge. According to Matthew 9:6 and Mark 2, Jesus has the power to forgive sin. Ephesians 3:19 reminds us of the “exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe.” 1 Peter 1:5 promises us that we are “kept by the power of God.”
In each of these passages, we learn that Jesus has the ability (dynamais) and the authority (exousia) to do many things. If one word were chosen to represent the ministry of Jesus, especially in the Gospel of Mark, it would be the word “power.”
This is especially true concerning His miracles. Of the 666 verses in Mark at least 209 are about a miracle that Jesus performed. That represents 31% of the whole gospel. If we eliminate the final 6 chapters (which focus only on the final week of Jesus’ life), the percentage leaps to 47%! Nearly half of the Gospel of Mark has to do with the miraculous power of Jesus.
This brings us to several conclusions about the miracles of Jesus. First, we must ask the question: Why did Jesus heal? The Scriptures lead to three answers. First, He healed because He was the Messiah. One of the clear evidences that He was Messiah was His healing ministry. The Old Testament prophesied about His healing; Jesus healed because He was the Messiah. Second, He healed because of His compassion. In no instance do we see that Jesus had to heal anyone. Whenever He did, it was because of His mercy and compassion (also see Matthew 9:36; 14:14). Finally, Jesus healed because He was the Son of God. His healing ministry shows He was no ordinary man. Please note: the fact that He healed is not what sets Him apart. Others also healed people. The way He healed with authority shows He was different from any other man. All the other healers had their rituals, spells, and incantations. Jesus heals “with a word.”
The second conclusion we can make about the miracles of Jesus is this: Every miracle is according to the plan and purpose of God. If you study the miracles, it will become obvious that not everyone sick or diseased or demon possessed is healed by Jesus. There were many sick and diseased at the Pool of Bethesda in John 5, but Jesus only heals one. Jesus even reminded His hearers of this. “There were many widows in the days of Elijah, but only one …. There were many lepers in the days of Elisha, but only one….” All healing is in the hands of a Sovereign God who chooses to heal some and not others to accomplish His plans and purposes. C. S. Lewis graphically notes: “God does not shake miracles into Nature at random as if from a pepperpot.” Every miracle is according to the plan and purpose of God.
In Mark 1:21-28 and 40-45, we encounter two individuals that were touched by the power of Jesus. One is a demoniac, bound by the power of Satan. The other is a leper, separated from his family and community because of an unhealable physical condition. As we consider these two passages, consider the lessons that their experiences have to teach us today.
1. Your need for Jesus is equally great. In the case of the demoniac, we could not find a more hopeless situation. He is one possessed by evil spirits that controlled every part of his being. Being bound, he was powerless to help himself.
The leper’s case was similar. In that day, leprosy was considered an incurable disease. According to the Rabbis, only two lepers had ever been cured (Numbers 12:10-15; 2 Kings 5:1-14). Rabbinic opinion held that it was “as difficult to cleanse a leper as to raise the dead.” His situation was equally impossible.
However, the Bible teaches that our situation is no better. The Bible describes us as “unclean” just as the lepers were considered. Just as a leper was considered “as one dead” so man in sin is considered “dead in sins and trespasses.”
Consider the similarities between leprosy and our sinfulness. Both cause a separation. Isaiah tells us that our sins have separated us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2) just as the leper was separated from his family and community because of his disease. Second, just as leprosy numbs and eventually rots away the flesh, so sin numbs us to the things of God, eventually resulting in our “rotting away” spiritually. Third, our sin disfigures and distorts us spiritually just as leprosy does physically. Finally, both ultimately lead to death.
The situations of the demoniac and the leper were equally helpless, but the condition of one without Christ is no better.
2. Your approach to Christ may be different. Notice the differences in their approaches. The demoniac fears Jesus and avoids Him. The demons within cry out, “Let us alone.” They prefer to say in their state rather than be confronted by Jesus. They know that Jesus has “come to destroy” them and they will do anything to keep their captive away from Jesus. The leper, on the other hand, sought out Jesus. He had heard of Him and he knew that Jesus could heal him.
In our efforts to share the gospel, we must learn this essential lesson: not all come to Jesus the same way. Some will avoid Him for years, yet we must continue to share with them. Others fear Him. They see Jesus as only condemning them, not forgiving them. We must continue to hold out the free gift of eternal life to them. Still others we encounter seem to be seeking Jesus. They are tired of their condition, but they are not sure how to be free from it. We must be diligent to present Jesus to them.
But we must ask, “What brought them to Jesus?” Here we see two things: the teaching of God’s Word and the testimony of those touched by Jesus. Both are used by the Spirit to lead people to Jesus. In the case of the demoniac, we see a religious person sitting in the synagogue as usual, listening to the Scriptures. As Jesus opens the Word, His teaching penetrates the hardened heart of a child of Satan hidden in religious garb. We must never forget the power of God’s Word to pierce and penetrate the hardened hearts of sinners.
The leper comes to Jesus as the result of hearing about what Jesus had done in the lives of others. Many who had been healed had shared and the news of Jesus spread. This leper heard the news of these testimonies and thought, “If I can just get to Jesus maybe He would heal me too.” When we share the testimony of what Jesus has done in saving us, others are encouraged to consider Jesus for their own condition.
3. Your experience of His power will be the same. Notice how quickly and simply Jesus sets the demoniac free. Mark records that He did it “with a word.” That is especially significant when all the exorcists of His day (and ours) resorted to all sorts of incantations and rituals to perform their exorcisms. The same is true of His healing of the leper. Again there is no ritual. Indeed, no prayer is even offered. Jesus simply declares “I am willing; be thou clean and the leper is healed.
Such is the case when Jesus touches a person. No elaborate formulas are needed, no special procedures need be followed, no “penance” or works need be done to secure His pleasure. Jesus merely responds based upon His mercy and fully and immediately heals.
But notice in the leper’s situation two important facts. First, the leper rightly acknowledges, “If you are willing….” In our age of salvation by profession, we have lost the reality that God’s grace is not something that we can command anytime we wish. In Romans 9:16, Paul reminds us, “Then it does not depend on he who wills or he who runs but on Him who has mercy.” Whenever grace becomes an obligation, it is no longer grace. Whenever we get to the place we think we can command or demand God’s grace, we are no longer seeking mercy but justice. We are no longer crying out to God for mercy that we do not deserve, but demanding God do as we request. In the gospels, those who come to Jesus do not presume upon God’s grace. “If you are willing” is the response of every soul that humbly approaches seeking mercy that they know they do not deserve.
Second, the leper rightly requested that God’s mercy be personally applied to him: “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Salvation does not come to those who simply acknowledge truth about Jesus. It is for those that see that truth applied personally to themselves. It is one thing to agree that “all have sinned;” it is another to cry out, “Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner.” It is one thing to believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay for sins; it is another to apprehend that He died for your sins. Martin Luther noted, “It is one thing to confess that Jesus is Savior and Lord; it is another to confess that He is my Savior and Lord.”
Have you come to the place in your life where you desire the mercy of God more than anything else? Have you come to see that your need is as hopeless and desperate as that of the demoniac and the leper? Have you come to realize that only through Jesus alone can you have any hope of being set free? If so, then cry out to Him for salvation for His Word says, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). If you do, Jesus has the power … to forgive your sin (Mark 2:10; Acts 13:39); … to make you a child of God (John 1:12); … to grant you eternal life (John 5:24-25).
Copyright Jim Ehrhard, 1999. You are permitted to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author; (2) any modifications are clearly marked; (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction; and (4) you do not make more than 100 copies without permission. If you would like to post this material to your web site or make any use other than as defined above, please contact Teaching Resources International
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