Teaching Notes: Mark 1:29-45

29 And immediately after they came out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon's mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they spoke to Jesus about her. 31 And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she waited on them.

32 When evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed. 33 And the whole city had gathered at the door. 34 And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.

35 In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there. 36 Simon and his companions searched for Him; 37 they found Him, and *said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You." 38 He said to them, "Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for." 39 And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out the demons.

40 And a leper came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, "If You are willing, You can make me clean." 41 Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and *said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed." 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. 43 And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, 44 and He *said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." 45 But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere.

Snappy intro:

what is Mark communicating about Jesus:the end, even though

1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Historical framework for the anticipation for Messiah: the expection is off the scale at this point: leading up to this point:

assyrians:babylonians:persians:greeks:brief independence:romans--- they are chaffing under gentile rule and primed for a king to come sit on the throne of David. into this context pops john- making smooth the paths for the LORD; he proclaims a baptism of repentance from sin and turning to righteousness, coming in the spirit and power of Elijah. The people are wound tight in expectation of a deliverer. Jesus shows up and the people ready to make him king on their own terms. Mark comes along- likely having been a young observer of Jesus' ministry and writes out the story: he maintains some of the dramatic tension- not giving away the end even < 30 years later.

the bible reveals Jesus in layers: the first layer, OT prophecy lays out the expectations of what the messiah would look like. the life of Jesus and his ministry add more another layer; NT prophecy fills out the picture. as we think about the first coming of Christ, the people then were in much the same spot we are today: expecting the coming of the Messiah. To a large degree, the purpose of the Gospels was to correct the faulty expectations of the first coming of Christ. So we have MT, MK, LK, and JN to correct expectations and to reveal and illuminate the plan that God set into action as far back as creation.

as we consider those layers, there is some contrast to the portrayals of Jesus by the gospel writers. the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, is also the alpha and omega- the beginning and the end. some examples:

Isaiah 9:6-7 ...And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.

Daniel 7:13-14 "I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. 14 "And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.

Revelation 1:8-18 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." 9 I, John...was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet....Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; 13 and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. 14 His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. 15 His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. 16 In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength. 17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.

what are some things that Mark specifically intends to communicate?

primarily the Gospel- that is, the good news about who Jesus is and why he came to earth
his authority
his humanity
his loving compassion for people

Review:

outline:geography:

Parallel passages:

Matthew 8:14-17 When Jesus came into Peter's home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she got up and waited on Him. 16 When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: "HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES."
Luke 4:38-44 Then He got up and left the synagogue, and entered Simon's home. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him to help her. 39 And standing over her, He rebuked the fever, and it left her; and she immediately got up and waited on them. 40 While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them. 41 Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But rebuking them, He would not allow them to speak, because they knew Him to be the Christ. 42 When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them. 43 But He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose." 44 So He kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

these first couple of chapters are primarily demonstrations of Jesus' authority: very little teaching- lots of miracles;

this section is somewhat chiastic: a bible sandwich as it were:

individual healing

public teaching and healing

personal prayer

public teaching and healing

individual healing

1:29-31 Peter's mother in law healed: a simply stated expression of Jesus' compassion

it is still the Sabbath
they are headed to Peter and Andrew's house for lunch with Jesus and the sons of Thunder
Peter's MIL is sick- they let Jesus know and he heals her:
she makes lunch

1:32-34 Healing of many: a public expression of Jesus' compassion for people

when evening came: sabbath ended at sunset; at that point people would be free to pick up their sick and demon possessed homies and head over to Jesus for healing.
v.33 an example of biblical hyperbole: the whole city had gathered at the door.
Jesus stays busy- no word on teaching, the response of those healed, nothing. he simply heals those who came to him. Luke says that he laid hands on them: a personal touch. he could have save some time and just pronounced everybody healed; he laid hands on each one of them.
Mt. says he cast out demons with a word and that he healed all that came to him and he reminds his readers of the quote from Isaiah 53:4: "HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES."
Again Mark emphasizes that Jesus was not allowing the demons to speak; why? because they know who he was. same as in the previous section. (from Wagen's notes: "it seems as though he is limiting the amount that he is shown as who he is; in other words, he doesn't want to be shown fully as god. this is reserved for his second coming, when the whole world will be confronted with the open revelation of god. until then, god keeps much of himself hidden.")

1:35-39 Prayer/Expansion of Jesus' ministry

early in the morning
while it was still dark
Jesus left the house
went to a secluded place (god isn't waiting in your living room for you- he's waiting for you in a secluded place.)
Peter and the disciples find him
Everybody is looking for Jesus: why? this new authoritative teaching? hoping to be healed? looking for lunch? maybe all of the above.
Jesus' response is- "let's get moving; this is what i came for."
he takes his message on the road, preaching, healing and casting out demons in the synagogues throughout Galilee.

1:40-45 Leper cleansed

a leper comes to Jesus:

leprosy: what is it? what's the big deal? cf. Leviticus 13

Comes pleading to Jesus "if you are willing you can make me clean..."
Jesus, "MOVED WITH COMPASSION" reaches out his hand, touched him and heals him
the leprosy immediately leaves him and he is healed
Jesus sternly warns the man: "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."
instead the man proclaims it freely with the result that the miracle becomes widely known. Jesus was forced to stay in unpopulated areas, where people came to him.

observations/applications

this passage continues the demonstration of Jesus' authority (over sickness and the supernatural). why? to
Jesus makes it a point to go pray: prayer is important enough that he sacrifices personal comfort to make time for it.

we should go and do likewise; we should make prayer a priority. there are things that are worth sacrificing some sleep for and this is one of them.

Jesus has compassion; his healings are not just a big PR mission; he genuinely cares for people.

the plight of humanity caught up in the consequences of sin ought to move us. sin hurts and destroys, Adam's sin effected all of us, even the planet- we constantly fight against the fruit of Adam's sin: pain, suffering, disease. our response should be to express our active compassion on