"Eating with the Tax Man" - a sermon from Mark 2:13-17

(1) Introduction

Jesus has clearly established the purpose of his coming and the nature of his mission – to call for people to turn in a new direction and believe in Jesus as the full revelation of who God is. It will be those with faith to see beyond the obvious, and put this into action, who will experience the Kingdom of God and obtain salvation. The key dynamic in this, is for people to seek and receive forgiveness. In so doing they are being put back onto the right track in life that leads to becoming a whole human being, with their spiritual space being filled with the glory of God.

(2) Who Jesus called (v.13-14)!

Early days, Jesus called the fishermen Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John to be disciples. Now Jesus will call another, from a very different walk in life, to follow him. Such a person as this being specifically called to be a follower of Jesus will cause great controversy. But such a calling will steadfastly demonstrate that nothing should stand in the way of anyone at all joining with Jesus. In fact there may even be special intentions and graces directed at those who have found themselves rejected and alienated from mainstream life.

You probably could not have found anyone seemingly more unsuitable to be counted a follower of Jesus than Levi. It’s just as if Jesus, having just proven his authority to forgive sins, picks on the biggest sinner/outcast he could find on his walk along the Sea of Galilee! Given Levi was sitting at a “tax booth” along the roadway, this indicates that he was a collector of ‘indirect taxes’ – custom taxes, or transport tolls, or sales taxes … boo hiss!

Levi would have had some form of private contract with the Roman government to collect taxes on their behalf. As such Levi would have been viewed as a collaborator with the hated Roman colonial authorities. He would have been considered ‘unclean’ due to his frequent contact with ‘Gentiles’, and thought of even more adversely if he charged higher taxes than required by the Romans – pocketing the profits. Hans Kung has commented that Jesus deciding to approach Levi was particularly radical, because it is so likely that Levi would have cheated so many people (and swindled so much money), he could not possibly have remembered all of his victims when he began to have his feelings of regret – making repentance (and restitution) almost impossible. Yet, with Jesus around, it wasn’t impossible!!

[So, rather than ministering to the poor and marginalised, this may have actually been a case of reaching out to the ‘rich’ and marginalised – ‘rich’ in material terms anyway – reminding us that ‘rich’ does not necessarily equate to ‘blessed’, and usually is the opposite! When you think of Heath Ledger, who would have acquired enormous resources, and then about his obvious unhappiness and despair, you just would have hoped that someone with the hope of the gospel in their lives could have just spent some time with him, and such a tragedy as his death might have been avoided.]

This calling of Levi into Jesus’ service is of great assurance to us, when we feel at our most unworthy of grace or service – that Jesus calls us nonetheless, and trusts us with his mission in this world. He will restore us and continue to transform us, so that we will be effective – not in our own strength, but with his strength inhabiting our humbly expressed weakness. We can work hard at our gifts to improve them, but our greatest effectiveness will come from our availability to simply be God’s person (in the hustle and bustle of life).

(3) Where Jesus ate (v.15-16)!

Jesus didn’t just call Levi as a number or just an anonymous face in the crowd – he was interested in Levi’s life and what he brought to the mix. Whether Levi had invited him, or whether it was his own idea, Jesus went to Levi’s house for some hospitality. This could have been a bit like having a church luncheon after some baptisms. This was likely to be a bit of a community celebration of Levi’s new direction in life (and newfound friendship with Jesus).

In this culture, sharing a meal with someone was one of the most intimate, significant things you could do. To eat with someone like this was a sign of trust, an offer of peace, a declaration of forgiveness between parties, and an acknowledgement of a special bond – ‘sharing a table’ with someone was akin to sharing life with them. Therefore one’s dinner guests were usually chosen very carefully.

So here, Jesus was again modelling to his disciples (and the other followers he took along), all that was involved in following Jesus – befriending those who society had rejected or left to their own devices. “Sinners” in Jesus’ day generally referred to those who broke the ‘ten commandments’, lived an immoral lifestyle, or had a dishonourable profession. So, it would be fair to say that some people had brought upon themselves their disreputable reputations, however Jesus was about offering hope, and wasn’t going to give up on the possibility of such people changing.

Jesus had already broken a taboo by touching a ‘leper’, and been charged with “blasphemy” for forgiving the sins of the ‘paralysed’ man. Entering the home of a despicable toll collector, and eating with many other “tax collectors and sinners”, would certainly be too much for the religious vanguard of the day to handle! Jesus, the One who claimed to have the authority (of God) to forgive sins, according to the “scribes of the Pharisees”, was opening himself to moral contamination and rendering himself ‘impure’ through who he was eating with.

These people were sticklers for the rules without any heart or understanding for the alienated. There own strict and inflexible interpretations of the ‘law’ had become for them equated with the ‘Law of Moses’ itself. Yet Jesus stood firm, and even raised the bar some, by stating that it is the abject needy “sinners” who acquire an awareness of their need of redemption, that Jesus had come to befriend and give salvation. Jesus also sought to restore such people to positive interactive social life in community. Not only this, but Jesus also sought to establish a new spiritual movement made up of such new disciples as Levi and the other dinner guests.

(4) What Jesus said (v.17)!

Whereas no-one will be out-rightly excluded, those who, in their own pride and misplaced confidence, set themselves up against God’s purposes, will make it near impossible for themselves to ever know the ‘Kingdom’. The “scribes of the Pharisees” serve here as an example of such opponents – because as they did not recognise their own ‘illness’, they could not access the ‘Physician’, and therefore remained ‘sick’.

Such people were opposing and persecuting Mark’s community of Jesus followers around 70 CE, and thus needed to be reminded that Jesus stood against the sort of rigidity and unforgiveness that negates God’s grace and destroys the possibility of changed future outcomes in people’s lives.

Having said this though, Jesus’ words here in verse 17, are first and foremost revealing his radical love and concern for those in need who have not previously had the opportunity of experiencing God in their lives, especially those whom the general society (and even the church) may have given up on, thought to be hopeless cases, or deemed unworthy. It will be through hearing about and responding (in faith) to Jesus that their life will be able to begin to turn around.

(5) What does this all mean for us?

a) Befriending the lost and needy
b) Sharing our lives with them
c) Leading them gently toward Jesus

Mark 2:1-12 - "Jesus, the Liberator"

The preceding incidents in Mark’s Gospel alerted us to the priorities of Jesus’ ministry. Although Jesus had the compassion and authority to heal many hundreds of people from their physical and mental incapacities, this would all but serve his major concern of bringing near the Kingdom of God, the age of salvation, to see people “repent, and believe the good news”. This would entail expressions of faith in who Jesus was, together with a willingness to embrace forgiveness. We began to see this as the man referred to as a ‘leper’ showed faith in approaching Jesus with confidence for cleansing, demonstrating a humility concerning his spiritual needs.

Now this understanding of Jesus’ mission gains intensity with the narrative at the beginning of chapter two. Having clearly established the reason for his coming to the world, Jesus will then go on to call more disciples to follow him on the journey of liberation, and confront all the forces of opposition blocking the way to God’s purposes. Jesus has already encountered supernatural evil – soon he will encounter very human political opposition.

Jesus returned from the country to the city of Capernaum, no doubt knowing it would not be long before the crowds would arrive at the door. This may have been the family home of Simon Peter and Andrew (where Jesus had earlier cured Peter’s mother-in-law’s fever), that Jesus was calling home at this point. This was the place where Peter’s mother-in-law had begun to ‘serve’ or ‘wait-on’ Jesus. Jesus was “speaking the word” to the crowd outside the door, no doubt indicating that Jesus was explaining what it meant to “repent, and believe the good news”. Then we are given a real life example of faith and forgiveness to authenticate Jesus’ message.

There was a group of people deeply concerned about a paralysed friend, four of them being stretcher bearers and seeking to carry this man into Jesus’ presence. We could perhaps picture Jesus standing and speaking from the doorway. We might also picture the ‘stretcher-bearers’ yelling out: “Make way, make way”, but being totally ignored by people completely focussed on their own needs. When these people couldn’t get anywhere near Jesus because of the crowd, they found another way – they were not quitters, they weren’t going to be denied. We don’t actually know how well they knew this needy person, but at the very least they were being kind and concerned neighbours.

They climbed up (probably up the outside stairway access to the flat roof above), made a large opening through the thatch and mud materials, and lowered the man down on his stretcher (probably using some sort of rope). Jesus detected some understanding in these people and commended their faith. Here it was that the combined and potent faith of others had opened up an opportunity of liberation for a needy friend. For Jesus to have defined these helpers’ efforts in terms of “faith” shows that true “faith” involves action that transcends human obstacles (R A Guelich).

[What of the level of the ‘paralytic’ man’s own faith. All we could perhaps deduce is that he had enough faith or trust in his friends to take the journey to Jesus; and having encountered Jesus and what was said to him, he confidently moved to stand up and pick up his ‘mat’ before all the people.]

But then it is curious what Jesus says to the paralysed man … "Son, your sins are forgiven". Now of course this works right into the pre-scientific belief of the time (both Jesus’ own time and also Mark’s time some 40 years later) that it was personal sin that naturally led to such disease and disability as was being suffered here. You might remember that this idea also lay behind the previous incident with the ‘leper’. So, in that day, for Jesus to address this man’s sins was to address the root of this man’s problem. For us today, it also gives the indication of the root of all our needs! We need to be reconnected with God through clearing the slate of those things that break our relationship with God. Then we can be liberated, then we can be whole!

[It is the whole area of forgiveness that lies at the heart of Jesus’ message. That is, being realistic about our situation, being open to God’s mercy, being ready to make changes, being willing to leave the past behind, and, being able to adopt the compassionate heart of Jesus.]

Now there will always be critics – art critics, film critics, people who make a hobby out being critical, and of course religious critics. Often these are people who have all the knowledge in place (or think they do), yet have no capacity to live out the heart of that knowledge. Such were the “scribes” of Jesus’ day. Without warning, such “scribes” appear in this scene to raise questions about Jesus delving into the area of forgiveness.

The term “scribes” generally describes a group of experts in Jewish law. In their mind, it was one thing for Jesus to heal people’s physical deformities – there were many ‘healers’ which had performed such miracles before, but quite another thing to proclaim forgiveness of sins … only God can do that. But of course, this was Jesus’ very point – the Kingdom of God was near, because the ‘Son of Man’ was present! The ‘leper’ had sensed it, and now the people who brought their paralysed friend were getting it. But not the “scribes”!

These ones, who had the advantage of knowing their own scriptures from front to back – with more than adequate pointers to the truth of the coming ‘anointed one’, missed it entirely. As we read the text, we are being asked questions about who we stand with, whether we believe Jesus (or not)! The “scribes”, and other groups like them, will not be willing to change their mind about Jesus – the charge of “blasphemy” they bring now, will be the same charge the ‘religious leaders’ bring at Jesus’ later trial (14:64). We are already being given a hint of what will happen to Jesus if such disbelief persists, for the charge of “blasphemy” carries the death penalty!

We see in verse 8 that Jesus knew where these “scribes” were coming from. They were stuck in a particular way of thinking that did not allow for God to express himself in human form on earth, yet with all the authority of God in heaven. This is probably the best way of understanding the title “Son of Man” – all of God’s authority personified on earth. And with God’s authority, Jesus will break through all that separated human beings from God … by offering forgiveness for all offences committed against God and others, and thereby, bring the possibility of wholeness.

The claim to this authority by Jesus will be continually rejected by the religious officialdom, especially as Jesus makes clear this offer of forgiveness is not just for the upright and respectable – of course not – it is for everyone, even the outcasts (and those not seemingly qualified … Mark 2:13-3:6).

Such forgiveness will then be evidenced by the possibility of all sorts of transformed realities … physical, mental and emotional healing in response to our various needs. Jesus’ offer of forgiveness to the paralysed man, that is then accepted, is publicly confirmed through the physical healing. Jesus’ authority to bring spiritual liberation can of course lead on to all sorts of positive life transformations. In Jesus, the ‘Day of Salvation’ had truly come!

In verse 12 we read that “all” the crowd that had massed were, “…amazed and glorified God” (probably with the exception of the “scribes”). But what did they do with their amazement and wonder. Did they quickly forget about this, and go back to their lives the way they were? Or were they open to becoming followers of Jesus? Then there was Mark’s community in Rome as they read this – would they be able to continue to embrace this Jesus … even though the threat that had led to his death would actually hang over them as Jesus’ followers! Then what about us – do we retain our amazement and wonder at who Jesus is and what he can do, and embrace Jesus for all he is and all he can do … and not only for us, but for all of humankind?

Faced with the choice of standing up, putting his mat under his arm, and going home a changed individual, or, on the other hand, staying as he was, the ‘paralytic’ man in Mark’s narrative opted for the new (and for the transforming experience brought by Jesus)!

Reflection on Psalm 3 - "Having a Conversation with God"

Prayer is basically a conversation with God. We can have a conversation with God at any time of the day. And the most crucial time to have a conversation with God is when we are feeling heavy, anxious and uncertain.

Sometimes we can feel the world is against us. There are too many things to do. Our workplace has become very difficult. Our school work is just too hard. There are a lot of family issues to deal with. The bills keep coming in. We’ve just got ourselves well, and now we feel sick again. People are saying things! Everything seems to be going wrong. Then there’s still this and that decision to make. We can feel let down by others. We can offer help, encouragement and forgiveness, only to have it thrown back in our face. And we can think that we’re losing our grip on the things that matter most to us. We’re so anxious we don’t seem to be effective in anything we do anymore.

The tradition generally attached to this psalm is that King David composed these words at the time when he was being betrayed by his son Absalom, and he felt he was losing his grip on the nation he felt called to reign over. You can check this out in 2nd Samuel chapter 15 onwards. Absalom, although he had been allowed back into King David’s favour following an earlier transgression, plotted a rebellion against his father, which was supported by northern tribes in Israel, and initially was successful. David had to flee in fear of his own son and what he might do. When this rebellion ultimately failed, David would have to endure sorrowful distress at the death of his son Absalom, which had happened against his instructions. [David did not want to execute revenge against Absalom – he just wanted his own life to be protected, his reputation restored, and his future assured.]

We could see David here as an innocent sufferer, but of course, because of his own misdemeanours, which would have significantly affected his family, we might consider later events as the sort of consequences that would not be entirely unexpected. David’s bad behaviour as a father on an earlier occasion would have had an influence on the behaviour of his son (who would have been looking to his father for an example to live by). Sometimes we are innocent of blame, and cruelly the target of others’ attacks. Other times we have somewhat sowed what we are reaping – yet this does not stop God wanting to hear from us and set things back on an even plain. We should not let any guilt or shame we feel further separate us from God’s restorative activity.

So, in such a time of heaviness (that has been described) we need to be in constant conversation with God. We would be laying it all out on the line. How we feel! Where our concerns are! What the consequences seem to be! We’re looking for a solution, where there seems to be no easy answers! We want to hear from God some new insight. We want God to be active around us, bringing about change and a better outcome than seems altogether possible.

We talk to God, as David did (v.1), about all that seems to be going wrong. One thing on top of another that is really weighing us down. Where indeed it does seem everyone and everything is against us. As our desperation grows, and even God seems to be momentarily quiet, it appears that fingers are being pointed at us, and people are saying: ‘See, God can’t really care about you, look at your predicament’! ‘You’re stuck with it too – God’s not going to help you’! When we hear: "There is no help for you in God" … this could mean that people are saying one of three things …
· there is no God, and that is proved by the state you are in
· that God doesn’t care, because you’ve got in so deep, or
· that your situation is far too bad for God to be able to do anything about it.
They would be thus suggesting that either God doesn’t exist, or if God does exist, God is limited in love or power. Most of us would know that none of these scenarios are actually true.

So, despite what we hear, and despite what we sometimes feel, and despite appearances, in the same breath that we expose these thoughts of abandonment, we can throw them aside in the firm knowledge that God is not only present in our situation, but already acting as a “shield”, acting as our “glory”, lifting up our head (v.3). We have taken up prayer, and God is already listening and acting. Without this ongoing conversation with God, the sentiments of the first two verses might remain and destroy our spirit, but the person of faith and prayerfulness can rest assured that God is answering in his loving mercy and steadfast righteousness. G. Campbell Morgan wrote: "A consciousness of the constancy of the Divine love has always been the strength of a trusting soul amid circumstances of the greatest peril".

The Lord being a “shield around me” > this is a shield of protection. It doesn’t mean that we won’t take any hits – we know that our human state is always quite vulnerable. It means that ultimately God’s purposes will not be foiled in the case of those who keep in communication with God – those who keep hanging in there. We have God’s angels waiting on us – seeking to keep us on God’s path. Imagine how lost we would become without God in our lives – it doesn’t bear thinking about!

The Lord being “my glory” > someone’s ‘glory’ normally refers to their reputation. If we bring ‘glory’ to God, this is about enhancing God’s reputation. In this case it is God protecting and enhancing our reputation through God’s involvement in our lives. Whereas we can make a real hash of our own reputation left to our own devices, yet with God intervening on behalf of our good reputation we have some chance of keeping it reasonably intact. And God would certainly want to perform this function, because being a follower of Jesus, our reputation and his are closely intertwined!

The Lord “lifting up my head” > all the complexities mentioned earlier can have the effect of making us drop our head, give in to dejection and depression, generally feel the weight of the burdens on our shoulders. The very knowledge of God’s presence in our life conversation, keeps our head up … focussed on the road ahead, and even lifts our head further … towards God’s purposes for our future. "As soon as we give [God] freedom to act on our behalf, we see Him become our redeemer" (Frances Hogan).

When we cry aloud to the Lord as David did (v.4), some may think us strange, some may think us weak (like we need a crutch), but we ourselves know that God answers. Whereas God’s response may not come immediately, or in the way we expect, it will come at the right time and certainly in our best interests. It usually comes while we’ve started taking a few faithful footsteps forward – showing that we are prepared to be part of the solution ourselves.

Speaking aloud is sometimes very helpful in bringing change in our dicey situations. Rather than just praying under our breath or casually in our minds, speaking out in the presence of trusted others can generate change as never before. A burden shared is a burden (at least) halved!! In the church community we can cooperate with God in sharing the weight of each other’s load.

Having applied all of what David knows about God to the depth of the complexity of his situation, he can find some inner peace (even in the midst of his distress) – v.5. David can get the sleep he needs, and then wake refreshed, knowing absolutely that God has heard him and God is with him. All those tens of thousands of hovering foes mentioned at the beginning, although still there and encircling him … will now cause David no real fear. God can dismantle all fear! Even though the opponents could now be numbered in the thousands, these are insignificant where God is on one’s side. Ultimate victory is assured! Whether our particular problems in life are people, or simply circumstances, or come as a result of poor decision-making in the past, we can cry aloud and experience God’s liberating presence.

What can verse 7 mean? We are taught by Jesus to love our enemies, and that revenge is just not on! Jesus himself exampled this by forgiving his executioners from the cross!! Verse 7 means that we are ultimately reliant upon God for our welfare, so we will leave what happens to our adversaries in God’s hands. We can own our raw feelings about such people … and what we might like to happen to them, yet leave such outcomes completely in God’s hands (which includes accepting different outcomes than the ones we would have chosen). Our feelings of anger towards those who mocked us in verse 2, might lead us to want them silenced forever through permanent facial injuries (v.7b). Yet, here, all vindication is relinquished to God!

Verse 8 provides us with firstly a very brief summary of the theme of the psalm, followed by another interesting observation. “Deliverance belongs to the Lord” > meaning:
· being released or gaining freedom from whatever has been dominating us or complicating us or holding us back;
· also meaning being liberated, rescued or gaining salvation toward a much more wonderful future;
· also meaning being forgiven, accepting forgiveness, feeling forgiven, and, being able to forgive ourselves.

This all “belongs to the Lord” > meaning we receive it [deliverance] only through God – not possible in our own efforts alone. Yet, God is so willing to grant it to those in ongoing conversation or “established communion” (G. Campbell Morgan) with Him. As David found, it [deliverance] will already be there present, as we communicate with God (and sometimes others) about all the dilemmas we face.

Then, from the second part of verse 8, we see that it is as each of us: converses with God, relies on God for this “deliverance”, and learns to bear one another’s burdens, that God’s blessing will be collectively visited on our church community, and will thereby be fully appreciated by the general community around us. Those who may have previously said … "There is no help for you in God" (and could have really meant ‘There is no help for me in God’) may actually discover that there is help and there is hope after all! God is real, and God’s love and power are unlimited.

May God’s blessing be upon all people!
Deliverance belongs to the Lord.

"Creating a Stir" - an examination of Mark 1:21-45

Introduction

We have read in the latter part of Mark chapter 1 the beginnings of Jesus’ ministry – from the synagogue in Capernaum to Simon Peter’s house to praying in a deserted place to traveling through the smaller towns of Galilee toward a period out in the country. Jesus healed many from diseases and unclean spirits. His fame grew so much that he didn’t have a moment or any space to himself. Yet, was he gaining fame for the reasons that he came? We can learn much about Jesus through these incidents themselves. Yet beyond the wonder of the miraculous results Jesus was having, was Mark seeking to communicate something deeper – something more about the person and the mission that lay behind the healings? Was such fame as this misguided? What was Jesus really looking for? And what relevance does this have for us?

(1) Showing Authority (v.21-28)

Having established his ministry and called his first four disciples, Jesus attended the synagogue on the Sabbath. When invited (because of his newly gained status as a teacher) Jesus immediately started teaching from the scriptures, in so doing demonstrating his authority over and above all the religious leaders of the time. The “kingdom of God” had come near in the person of Jesus, and thus dramatic things were likely to occur. There and then in the synagogue was a man, described as having an “unclean spirit”. This would indicate a person who was exhibiting strange enough behaviour for the people of the time to suggest he was possessed by a demon (or was under demonic attack). That this man’s problem was in the spiritual realm is seen by the unclean spirit’s knowledge of who Jesus really was, and why it was that Jesus had come to earth.

What better way then for Jesus to commence a ministry of salvation for all humanity, than by looking evil in the face and showing his absolute power to deal with all adverse evil forces in the spiritual realm – to stand directly against evil itself. Jesus was not going to take any ‘lip’ from those who would oppose his mission, rather he would dispense with them. Whereas they would not go quietly, they were ultimately powerless when lined up against Jesus. This is good for us to remember when we fear that we are under attack from forces that seem too evil and powerful for us to handle. We mightn’t be able at times to cope with such adversity by ourselves, but Jesus will always be strong and effective enough if he is allowed to intervene on our behalf.

(2) Responding to Need (v.29-34)

You could probably imagine the stir that Jesus was creating! No wonder at this early stage of what was to be a long campaign, Jesus headed for a friendly welcoming home – the nearby family home of the brothers Simon Peter and Andrew. Having arrived there though, Jesus was informed about the fever that was debilitating Simon Peter’s mother-in-law. Jesus simply took her by the hand, lifted her up, and the fever was gone. If the first healing (or exorcism) was to establish Jesus’ authority, then this healing of Simon’s mother-in-law simply responded to a presenting need. Yet this touch from Jesus also facilitated the woman beginning to serve him in response (as the “angels” had ‘served’ Jesus in the wilderness).

Then we see Jesus’ great heart of compassion as he healed many, many people afflicted in so many ways – physical diseases, mental incapacities, those who were socially shunned and isolated, those who were abjectly affected by the environmental evils of the time, those who had suffered abuses which had formed untold vulnerabilities and addictions. You get the impression that Jesus needed to rest and prepare, yet when the Sabbath ended and people rushed to him, he couldn’t do anything other than touch and restore the oppressed. As in the ancient world all disease and mental disorder was seen in terms of the attack of evil forces, we are given here another indication that Jesus opposes all forces that threaten and destroy human capability and life.

Wherever Jesus went he was able to offer something to everybody he encountered. These healings demonstrate again the approaching nearness of the Kingdom of God as never before. Yet Jesus’ primary message was not to be diverted by becoming famous for the wrong reasons. This is what Mark is seeking to remind his readers through telling the story in the way he has. Jesus’ primary focus had already been spoken: "repent and believe in the good news". Jesus’ ministry was one of turning people’s consciousness back towards their Creator God, seeking them to humbly turn in a completely and thoroughly new direction, and thus experience salvation. Healing and exorcism were by-products of Jesus’ message, not the focus of it. Jesus’ power and availability to heal was simply part of the result of his coming to earth as Son of God.

(3) Setting the Agenda (v.35-39)

So, next morning, after so many resources had been invested in helping so many people, Jesus needed to retreat and pray. You could imagine Jesus praying for energy and strength given his busyness, but also for wisdom and guidance given the depth of the presenting need. Just some quiet private space for prayer – was that too much too ask for in the very early hours of the morning!! Obviously it must have been, because the disciples were ‘hunting’ him down to respond to the next wave of needy people.

These very new disciples may have quickly embraced such popularity, already wanting to define for them selves what following Jesus should involve (rather than adhering to Jesus’ plan). Yet Jesus knew that the sort of fame he was gaining was going to compromise the real and complete purpose of his coming, so he responded to the disciples by saying that they were going to be moving on to other neighbouring towns where he could primarily speak about people’s need to "repent and believe in the good news".

(4) Changing Reality (v.40-45)

At the culmination of this part of the Gospel narrative, we then read of a very particular person who comes to Jesus seeking cleansing. This particular leper’s request seems though to be based on a real consideration of who this Jesus is. Along with his very obvious need, there seems to be the beginnings of an element of faith in the request he makes. The … "If you choose, you can make me clean" (of v.41) … indicates a belief that Jesus had the authority and power to heal him. So much so did he believe this that he was willing to approach Jesus, thus breaking the law which required people with ‘leprosy’ to remain separate from mainstream society.

Jesus did in fact choose to make this man clean, and Jesus’ touch was instantly effective! And in fact, so much so did Jesus want to do this, that Jesus ignored the fact that he himself risked being considered infected or ‘ceremonially unclean’ for touching someone with ‘leprosy’; thus showing the sort of love that accompanies the Kingdom of God (which certainly reaches as far as the least, the lost and the outcasts from society).

‘Leprosy’ at this time described various skin diseases, the common thought being that such conditions were contagious. Therefore any person affected in this way was shunned from mainstream society, deemed to be (ceremonially) unclean, forced to live in isolation and squaller, so that they would not infect anyone else. They were generally hated because of the threat they posed, would have no contact with their unaffected family members, nor with their synagogue worship – which of course would rip out their heart! Thus such skin diseases brought much physical and psychological suffering.

[Leviticus 13:45-6 reads:
The person who has the leprous disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head be dishevelled; and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean’. He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.]

The skin diseases regarded as ‘leprosy’ were also (inappropriately) seen as punishment (God’s) for serious sins committed, heightening people’s desire to be rid of such offenders. So when this man said to Jesus "if you choose (v.41) you can make me clean", (even though we would not see it this way) he could have also been enquiring whether Jesus was willing to offer forgiveness for what may have laid behind his dire condition. Jesus of course responded in the affirmative.

We read in most translations that Jesus agreed to do this as he was “moved with pity” (v.41). Interestingly, other Greek transcripts of this passage say “moved with anger”!! This could not have meant … anger with the man because of his condition or his interruption (because of the patience and compassion Jesus had shown earlier), so therefore must have meant (if this was the original text) anger at the leprosy, or probably more so, angry at the injustice of what was done to those who had been unfortunate enough to contract a skin disease (ie. the cruelty of such utter social isolation and stigma)!

So, this whole incident then was not just a physical liberation – this was also a social liberation that could in turn lead to a spiritual liberation. As healing a leper was in Judaism akin to raising the dead, which only God could do, this was indeed an indication that the age of salvation had dawned through Jesus.

Now that Jesus had acted in this man’s interests, the former ‘leper’ could re-enter society and have social and religious contact again. He would present himself before the priest, be examined, and then be declared ‘clean’ once again. You could just imagine, having been in the state that this former ‘leper’ was, that even though he had been asked to stay quiet, he actually couldn’t – he would have been busting out with the news of his cleansing. This meant that not only the city of Capernaum had become difficult for Jesus to minister in, but now the surrounding smaller towns of Galilee as well. He would have to head out to outlying country areas, where he may not be so mobbed.

Conclusion

There would be continued demand for Jesus’ attention as a physical healer, but the incident with this ‘leper’ gives us a picture of the real focus of Jesus coming: faith, forgiveness, spiritual renewal; and also the defeat of injustice (and all evil). Jesus was seeking to gain a following of those who were interested in firstly changing their ways (in terms of God’s ways and priorities), and secondly interested in changing the world towards the vision of God’s Kingdom. This is what the noise needed to be about!

‘Believing in the good news’ is not essentially about what we can privately gain from Jesus. ‘Believing in the good news’ is more about what we can receive from God to put into practice in everyday life for the betterment of our society (as modelled by Peter’s mother-in-law). Jesus created a great stir because of his capabilities and availability, his authority and compassion. We can create a stir around us because we have encountered this Jesus, and allowed him to transform us into living and breathing testimonies of God’s grace.

We know that misinformed enthusiasm about Jesus soon turned to shouts of “Crucify Him, Crucify Him” (Mark 15). What Jesus requires are followers who have shown humility, been willing to turn and travel in a new direction, to stake their life on the “good news”, develop their faith, tackle injustice, and thus create a stir in their community toward spiritual renewal.