Scripture Reference: Mark 1:14-45

This Is Why He Has Come – Continued

Please read Mark 1:29-39 for the background to this section.

Continuing on, surprise number two comes in verse 38. Simon Peter and friends go out in the gloom of early morning to hunt Jesus down, that is what the word means when it says “Everyone is looking for you.” In other words, “What on earth are you doing here? Look, you have drawn a crowd. Why are you hiding yourself away out here?” Jesus instead tells them simply, “Let’s go somewhere else!” Something has started to happen in Capernaum, but instead of returning to build on His success, Jesus says, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” Yes, the crowds in Capernaum are very excited, but they haven’t grasped yet who Jesus is. Jesus is not here to put on a show, or simply give people what they want, a bit of free health care, a few problems straightened out, a flurry of excitement. He is here to preach the Kingdom of God being among them.

Remember the message from the previous verses. All the exorcisms and healings, dramatic as they are, are simply signs that the Kingdom is breaking in, that evil will be driven out, Satan will be defeated and broken humanity will be restored. Those are just the signs, the signposts, as it were. The idea of signposts is not that you stand and admire them, but that you go where they point. “Don’t look at the signs,” Jesus says, “Look at where they point, look to Me.” People get terribly confused about this even today. There are churches where you can hear Jesus portrayed as a sort of free health service, only with no waiting lists or prescription charges, only if you have enough faith, and that combined with a jackpot-winning lottery ticket. People like that idea, Jesus as my heavenly therapist. It fits so well with the spirit of this age. Yes, there are still healings today in Jesus’ name (as well as many imitations); demons are still driven out in Jesus’ name; and for the people involved it is extremely significant, but even for them it is still not the main point. Even when Jesus healed an entire crowd, without exception and flawlessly, that was not the main point. Jesus is not our passport to health, wealth and an easy life; however He is the way to an abundant life.

The real Jesus came to proclaim a Kingdom, a Kingdom that would begin with a cross, where the King poured out His own life for the sake of His subjects, the empty cross that rightfully became the symbol of this Kingdom and is the pattern for the whole Christian life. When we accept Jesus Christ, we don’t take Him on as our therapist; we bow to His mastery and then set out to follow Him as Lord and King. The first step is not to line up to have our aches and pains fixed, but to repent. He came to heal our spiritual, eternal wounds!

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
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