Mark - Lesson 1F

• Last week, we came across Jesus’ teaching in the synagogue with an authority that was not seen before.

  • The people within the synagogue were familiar with the current scribes and their teaching authority.

    • However, when Jesus began to teach the people, we discovered that the men and women marveled.

    • They marveled at the fact that what Jesus was saying was establishing the way in which the Law should be lived.

    • This was unlike anything they had heard.

  • We then witnessed the demonstration of Jesus’ authority and power as Jesus expelled a demonic spirit out of a man.

    • As you could imagine this took the amazement of the people to a whole new level, to the point that Jesus became well known in the area.

  • This was then followed by Jesus miraculously healing Peter’s mother-in-law at Peter’s home.

    • Simply by a touch from Jesus, Peter’s mother-in-Law is made well and she moves from being served by the King to serve the King and His disciples.

    • This news and excitement about Jesus continued to spread through the area to the point that folks were at Peter’s door for Jesus to meet their needs.

  • Tonight, won’t be any different. We will continue to see the demonstrative work of Christ visibly seen through His healing power.

    • However, tonight we will witness a particular miracle that stands out from the other healings – The first Messianic Miracle.

  • With that being said, pick me up in Mark 1:35-45.

Mark 1:35 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. 
Mark 1:36 Simon and his companions searched for Him; 
Mark 1:37 they found Him, and *said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” 
Mark 1:38 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.” 
Mark 1:39 And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out the demons.
Mark 1:40 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.” 
Mark 1:41 Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and *said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” 
Mark 1:42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. 
Mark 1:43 And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, 
Mark 1:44 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.” 
Mark 1:45 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.

• Let’s Pray

• Have you ever had a “foot in your mouth” moment?

  • I’m talking about a time where you just knew that you had it all figured out.

    • You thought through the plan or procedure as best you could.

    • Only to find out that you missed it by a longshot and looked like a fool in the process.

  • I think we all have been there at some point or another – and if you haven’t you will.

    • We have this natural propensity to think that we know best or that our “2 cents” should be factored into the “bigger plan”.

  • Within humanity, we struggle with this idea of humility and submission before a Holy God because we think we know best.

    • And it’s not until we come to the realization of our “foot in mouth” moment that we realize God was right and we were wrong all along.

    • It’s almost as if there has been a gut punch that knocks the wind out of us.

  • Tonight, we will begin in verse 35 where we will witness Peter’s first of many “foot in mouth” moments.

    • While also witnessing how the plans of men never supersede the plans of God.

    • Tonight, we will witness just how much authority Jesus has over all things.

    • Check out verse 35.

Mark 1:35 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. 
Mark 1:36 Simon and his companions searched for Him. 
Mark 1:37 they found Him, and *said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” 

• Mark mentions that after Jesus’ time at Peter’s home while healing those who were sick and demon possessed after the sabbath, that Jesus arose to a secluded place to pray.

  • Notice the time the text records. It is said to be early in the morning while it was still dark.

    • The text mentions that the destination is far away from where the crowds had gathered, putting some distance from Peter’s home.

  • We know this because Mark says that Jesus went to a secluded place.

    • The word secluded in the text means an uninhabited and uncultivated region.

    • You may also find other translations use the word desolate to convey the idea of a wilderness type setting.

  • We then see that Mark reveals the reasoning behind Jesus receding to the recesses of the wilderness. He is going to pray.

    • In other words, Jesus pulls away from the demands of the people to abide with the Father.

  • We must remember that although Jesus is fully God, He is also fully human.

    • There needed to be a recharge, if you will, and that came through abiding.

  • This is not far removed from how we as humans respond within our world today.

    • The moment that we become physically or emotionally drained, we put our phones on silent mode or “do not disturb”.

    • We do this because we too need to recharge from the demands that people and life place upon us.

    • So, it’s not a surprise that we find our Lord and Savior in need of drawing away from the demands of the people to be strengthened by the Father’s presence.

  • It is interesting to note that the setting where Jesus withdraws to is, once again, a familiar place. He is back in the wilderness; the only difference is it’s a different circumstance.

    • The first time was to be tempted to ultimately prove who He was as the Son of God.

    • Now, it is to prepare Himself for the events that He will face ahead, missionally.

  • What a beautiful picture the text provides us with as we see Jesus with the Father in prayer.

    • He must depend upon the wisdom, power, and strength of the Father to accomplish the work and assignment He has been divinely given.

    • I love what Charles Spurgeon said regarding prayer. He said:

“The fact is, the secret of all ministerial success lies in prevalence at the mercy-seat”

• Mark shows us a key point here in the text: Prayerfulness demonstrates dependency upon the Divine One whereas prayerlessness renders self-sufficiency. (citation pg.53 Dr. Constable's Notes)

  • We see in every stage of Jesus’ ministry that He demonstrates dependence and reliance upon the Father.

  • And in the same way, so should we.

  • We too must constantly rely upon Jesus in our loving submission and obedience to Him – and it begins in our prayer lives.

  • Check out what Jesus says regarding His dependence on the Father in John 5:19.

John 5:19 Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in the same way.

• • Friends, if there is consistent submission and dependence within the Godhead, how much more do you think that we should be dependent upon God, ourselves.

  • As Jesus is spending time with the Father in preparation for the ministry work that He will be doing, the text mentions that Peter and his companions are searching for Him.

    • The word for searching here in the text is not to mean a casual search for something.

    • The word “search” in the Greek has a more intense meaning.

    • The Greek word is katadioko. It means to pursue in a hostile sense. Literally put, Peter and the gang are hunting for Jesus.

  • The reason we are able to tell the intensity by which Peter and the disciples are looking for Jesus is found in verse 37 after they have located Him.

    • Peter says, “Everyone is looking for You.”

  • Now, at first glance, one would assume that Peter was concerned in the whereabouts of Jesus and possibly His safety.

    • However, going to that assumption means that one has dismissed the intensity of the Greek wording for “searching” in the previous verse.

    • This isn’t a statement of concern; this was a statement of annoyance!

  • In other words, Peter is expressing his frustration with Jesus after having intensely been searching for Him for who knows how long.

    • But whatever the time it took to find Him, Jesus’ wandering has stirred up some consternation and annoyance.

    • The question here is why. Why did Peter react this way regarding the whereabouts of Jesus?

  • Peter sees all that Jesus has accomplished through His healings and demonstration of His Power.

    • Yet, Peter sees Jesus’ withdrawal to the wilderness to pray as a missed opportunity to further serve the needs of the people.

  • Friends, herein lies the issue. There seems to be a misunderstanding or rather a misplacement of priorities for Peter.

    • Mark shows us our very first encounter with Peter’s misunderstanding of leadership and mission.

    • And with this account being based upon Peter’s personal eyewitness of this event, it alludes to the humility of Peter recognizing just how much he missed it from the beginning.

  • Jesus, in verse 38, brings some insight and clarity to Peter and the disciples as to what this mission is about and how it is to be accomplished.

    • Check out what Jesus says and how He responds to Peter’s annoyance in verse 38.

Mark 1:38 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.” 

• Jesus, in a way, lets Peter know, your understanding of who I am and what I have come to do is short-sighted in a very clear manner.

  • Jesus redirects Peter’s personal priorities and refocuses them on the plan.

    • In other words, “This is what we are going to do.”

  • What we witness here is that Peter can only see what’s in front of him and that is these crowds gathering to be healed.

    • Peter sees the fame and the recognition that comes with Jesus and he believes that this is the bread and butter of Jesus’ ministry.

    • However, if just healing and casting out demons was all that Jesus did and never went to the cross to die, we would have never had the opportunity for atonement for sins.

  • So, in few short words, Jesus lets Peter know, “You see me serving and healing now, but at a later time you will see me ruling over all”

    • This simply comes to show us that Peter had not fully come to the realization of who Jesus really was.

  • Jesus’ Messianic mission was for people to come to the realization of who He was through revelation by way of demonstration.

    • And if one was simply caught up in what Jesus could do rather than who Jesus was and why He came, then they missed the point.

    • Jesus was not just a healer.

    • Jesus was not just a good teacher.

    • Jesus was the one in whom would provide the means by which those who were called would come into the Kingdom to serve the purposes of the King to the Glory of the King.

  • In other words, Jesus says “move beyond what you are seeing and see the claims that I am making by what I am doing”.

    • This message to prepare the people to receive their Messiah would come through preaching the gospel of God.

    • And it would be through preaching that people would come to know who Messiah was.

  • This brings to life the importance of the preaching hour.

    • Preaching is an essential means by which one is able to come to the realization of who Jesus is by the illumination of the Holy Spirit.

    • This is why Paul tells us in Romans 10:14-17:

Romans 10:14  How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? 
Romans 10:15 How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”
Romans 10:16  However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” 
Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

• After Jesus concretely describes the purpose of His mission, and why He must continue to travel and teach, it’s clear that Peter comes to grips that his plans pale in comparison to that of God’s plans.

  • Mark mentions in verse 39, almost without hesitation, that:

Mark 1:39  And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out the demons.”

• Peter received that spiritual gut check. It’s that feeling of knowing that you have completely put your foot in your mouth and have spoken out of term.

  • And as we walk further through the gospel account, this won’t be Peter’s last foot in mouth moment.

  • Let's keep moving, check out verse 40.

Mark 1:40  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.” 

• We now arrive to the moment where we realize why Jesus has pulled away to the wilderness to pray.

  • The text tells us that as Jesus and His disciples are moving throughout the Galilee, they approach an interesting situation.

    • It’s almost as if Mark jumps us into a new scene in mid-sentence as if it were a “and suddenly it happened” moment.

    • Mark mentions that a leper now appears before Jesus as He and His disciples are moving towards the next town.

  • Mark mentions that this leper, as he is approaching, falls to his knees pleading with Jesus that “If He was willing, Jesus could make Him clean.”

    • There are a few things we should examine within verse 40 alone.

    • The first thing that we should take note of is that this man who meets Jesus has leprosy.

  • Leprosy was a dreaded skin disease that was contagious upon contact.

    • It often symbolized defilement, disfigurement, and alienation ultimately brought about by the fall in Genesis 3.

  • Those with leprosy were to be banned from the Jewish community and called to live far outside the city walls.

    • According to scholars it was said that lepers were not allowed to come within 5 paces of an individual.

    • They were also to cover themselves and upon anyone approaching, were to make themselves known that they were unclean and should not be approached.

  • It was thought during that time that those afflicted with leprosy had sinned against God in a particular way unlike others.

    • Josephus documenting events during the time of the temple, in his description of the Mosaic law states that it was forbidden for the leper to come into the city.

    • As a matter of fact, the leper was not able to live with any others. It was as if they were dead persons.

  • So the fact that we see this Leper approaching Jesus and not providing warning of his physical condition is already a strike against the leper, as is.

    • It’s clear that this leper is desperate to be healed and cleansed.

    • And it just so happens that Jesus is coming across his path at the right time.

  • One could ask the question; how does this Leper even know who Jesus is?

    • If he has been in isolation this whole time, unable to be around people, who has provided this news to him that Jesus was passing by?

  • Maybe it was by word of mouth and the leper has heard this news of Jesus through the grapevine.

    • Most assuredly, this could be a strong possibility being that Jesus and His power and authority is being made known in the land.

    • But whatever the case, this Leper has a personal meeting with Jesus, face to face.

    • This, friends, is where we will discover what is known as the first Messianic Miracle.

  • It is important for us to see that although this leper’s request seemed impossible, He believed the reports that he heard about Jesus and trusted that Jesus could heal Him if He so chose.

    • I say this because oftentimes within the charismatic, word of faith, and Pentecostal denominations, there is this emphasis on faith and healing.

  • They teach that in order for you to attain healing from God you have to have faith to believe it – and to that extent it’s understandable, until you don’t get healed.

    • The moment that someone who claims to be ill doesn’t get healed, the onus is then placed on that individual.

    • Phrases such as “You didn’t have enough faith”, or “You didn’t believe strong enough” begin to surface.

  • These types of teachings and beliefs are what has caused so many people to not only walk away from the faith, but also have poor orthodoxy.

    • We must understand that this instance regarding the healing of leprosy was a matter of divine appointment.

    • This instance was to demonstrate God’s Glory and authority.

    • All of this is to say that just because God does not heal you or answer your prayer does not mean that He is absent.

    • God will respond when He chooses to respond and how He chooses to respond. We must trust His sovereign plan and not our personal preferences.

    • Let's keep moving. Check out verses 41 and 42.

Mark 1:41  Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and *said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” 
Mark 1:42  Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. 

• There are a few things here that the text makes known that must be investigated.

  • The first thing that the text mentions regarding Jesus meeting the need of this leper, is that Jesus was moved with compassion.

    • To some, the English translation will read as if Jesus was so moved by this man’s ask that He was overwhelmed with love to meet the need.

    • However, if we do not get the sense of the Greek wording here, we will truly miss the meaning of compassion in this context.

  • The Greek word for “compassion” is orgizo. It means to be inclined to anger or to make angry.

    • To the average reader, the question would be, why is Jesus angry with this man? He is coming to Him in need. How does anger become the rightful response?

  • In order to answer this question appropriately, we have to recognize what Jesus is angered about.

    • The reasoning behind Jesus’ anger is not directed towards the man but rather towards sin itself.

  • The ailments and sickness that humanity is confounded to is in fact the result of sin.

    • For some people, sin or the perception thereof is simply a matter of “personal decision making”.

    • Many feel like their lives are somehow not marred by the fall of man in Genesis 3, however, that is far from the truth.

    • Everything that man struggles with and suffers with in this life is a result of sin.

  • The consequences of sin in the garden have further led to the spiraling effects of the brokenness of our world today in every area imaginable.

    • Sin has broken humanity to the core:

      • Physically

      • Mentally

      • Financially

      • Sexually

      • Emotionally

      • Relationally

      • Personally

      • Maritally

  • You pinpoint every facet of the human life, and I can show you how sin has corrupted it.

    • Sin spreads like a disease and it eventually leaves one empty and completely dead.

  • Friends, this is why Jesus is so angered. Because He sees just how deadly sin is.

    • Just like the leper, sin causes separation, spiritual disfigurement, and leaves one completely defiled.

    • This is not the way in which God intended for man to be nor to live.

    • This is what moves Jesus to respond, not just to the leper in his personal condition, but into the world to save those in whom the Father draws.

    • Check out Jesus’ response.

  • Mark tells us that Jesus stretches out His hand, touches the man, and heals him.

    • Friends, just one touch and a word from Jesus made this man clean.

  • Jesus could have most certainly said a word to the disease of this leper and the leprosy could have gone away.

    • Technically, an unclean person touching a clean man would have made the clean person unclean.

    • Would this touch have made Jesus unclean? No, because He who was clean (Jesus) was pure and Holy.

  • Therefore, understanding Jesus as our vicarious substitute is so important because Jesus has taken upon Himself our sin so that we could be made whole.

  • Understand what just happened here: Jesus superseded the Levitical law which forbids a clean person to touch an unclean person and establishes His authority and power in a way that would demonstrate who He is.

    • The reason that this miracle is known as a Messianic miracle is because this is the first ever record of the healing of a Jewish leper.

  • The only way in which a Jewish leper could be healed was if and only if the healer was in fact Messiah, Himself.

    • During this time, not only was there no cure for leprosy, but there was no ceremonial means that could cure the leper.

    • And low and behold Jesus Christ has done what only He could do.

  • What Jesus would tell this leper after He has healed him is key for us to understand moving forward.

    • Check out verses 43 and 44.

Mark 1:43  And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, 
Mark 1:44 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.” 

• We witness yet again, Jesus’ warning the leper not to say anything to anyone regarding him being cleansed.

  • We discussed last week how the Father wants to demonstrate who His Son is, which is through display and not by word of mouth.

    • The validation of Jesus as Messiah will be through and by the religious leaders of that day recognizing that Messiah was here.

    • It’s the saying that we often hear today, “Don’t just talk about it, be about it”

    • We need proof as human beings and the only way in which proof could truly be confirmed is through and by the law.

  • This is why we see Jesus sternly telling the man to “show himself to the priest and offer your cleansing what Moses commanded.”

    • The question becomes, “What is it that Moses commanded regarding the cleansing of a Leper?”

    • If there was a process, what was it?

  • To understand what Jesus was telling this man, we have to know what Moses commanded regarding the cleansing of a Leper.

    • We find that answer in Leviticus 13-14.

    • Leviticus 14 was established if a Jew was to be healed of leprosy.

    • And up to this particular point, the priest never had the opportunity to perform this particular procedure.

  • Let’s look at what this procedure entailed regarding a leper who was miraculously healed.

    • This procedure was accomplished in 3 stages.

  • Stage 1 was the: Initial Examination

    • The initial examination was where the leper would send for a priest to come to the outside camp to examine the condition of the leper.

    • What is mind blowing is that Jesus sends the leper to go to the priest to make them aware of his condition.

    • This was unorthodox, because here we have Jesus sending the healed to go tell the priest to come and see what has been done.

  • Stage 2 was the week of supervision

    • The leper would be required to shave all of their hair and sit under a week of supervision by the priest to see if there were any skin variations that occurred in that time.

    • This would have been what the priest would have done in the outermost parts of the camp.

  • Stage 3 was confirmation through sacrifices

    • If the leper was indeed healed, they would need to sacrifice 4 different types of sacrifices.

    • Those sacrifices included the following:

      • Guilt offering

      • Sin offering

      • Burnt offering

      • Grain offering

    • We will look at these offerings individually to understand their significance to the restoration of the leper into community with God and man.

    • Let's look at our next graphic.

  • What is interesting to note about these offerings is that each of them pertains to what is considered a type of ceremonial cleansing.

    • These offerings that you see in our current slide have to deal with making the Leper right before a Holy God.

    • The guilt and sin offering deals with taking away or removing sin through a payment of penalty, which in this case involved one male lamb to be slain.

    • And along with that would be a log of oil waved before the Lord as an offering.

  • This is what is theologically known as expiation.

    • It is where one is made clean by the removal of sin due to a payment of penalty.

  • In the same way there are two other offerings made, known as the burnt offering and the grain offering.

    • These offerings dealt with making an atonement for the leper for them to be cleansed.

    • This offering appeased or satisfied the judgement or wrath of God by way of sacrifice.

  • This theological term is known as propitiation. Propitiation deals with the object of expiation.

    • The thing that appeases the very wrath of God is that which has rightly satisfied the payment of sin.

  • Friends, this is why Jesus touching the Leper is so key because it demonstrates for us a picture of what Jesus would do for us as the suffering king on the cross.

    • By touching the Leper, Jesus takes upon Himself our unclean state and in exchange makes us clean.

    • This is why Paul says these words in Romans 5:8-11:

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 
Romans 5:9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 
Romans 5:10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 
Romans 5:11 And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

• This was the point of the first Messianic miracle. For the religious leaders or Israel to see that their Messiah had in fact arrived in the person of Jesus.

  • The only one in whom could heal in this way was the Messiah Himself.

  • Some could make the argument based upon the Mosaic Law that only God Himself could heal a leper.

  • Some Rabbis argued that not even Messiah Himself had the power to do so.

  • If that were still the case Jesus’ point still stood, that not only is He Messiah but He is God in flesh!

    • Friends, this is why Jesus sternly warns the leper to go straight to the priest to show himself before them.

    • They would have had record of his name and when he first came down with leprosy.

  • This would have been a means by which Jesus provides hard evidence for the very learned scholars of their time.

    • However, like many of the healings and works that Jesus did, the leper did not follow Jesus’ instructions.

    • Check out verse 45.

Mark 1:45 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.

• Interesting detail regarding verse 45; The other gospel accounts do not record what happens after Jesus instructs the leper to go to the priest.

  • Mark’s account is the only account that documents what took place here.

    • It could be argued that the reason why the leper’s actions are accounted for here is because within the synoptic gospels, it is only Peter and 3 other disciples with Jesus at this time.

  • It can also be seen that with the authorship and action focus of Mark’s account he wanted to focus on the leper’s response to Jesus’ command.

    • We read earlier that Jesus “sternly warned the leper not to say anything to anyone.”

    • However, we see that that is not the case.

  • The leper goes on freely proclaiming what Jesus has done for him freely to all those who would hear him.

    • To some, this would have been their exact response. Overwhelmed with a sense of relief, one could not keep this news to themselves.

    • However, the reality is that Jesus gave this man a command which was to not announce what had been done.

  • Again, we see this strong sense of timing in Jesus wanting this news to be made known in the right manner at the right time.

    • Jesus wants the gospel of God and the Kingdom to be made known to men and women, however, there is an order in which it must be done.

    • That order required that Leviticus 14 be executed for the religious leaders of Israel to see for themselves who Jesus was.

    • We find within verse 44 leading into 45, that Jesus wanted the man to obey His command because Jesus honored the Mosaic Law.

    • As a matter of fact, scripture tells us that Jesus did not come to abolish the law but rather to fulfill it. Check out Matthew 5:17

Matthew 5:17 Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.

• Jesus makes it clear throughout His ministry that He was to fulfill the Law of God through complete obedience to the Father.

  • We now observe from this Leper that his lack of obedience to Jesus’ command has now caused unnecessary hurdles for Jesus regarding moving from town to town for ministry.

  • This could be seen as Peter’s issue from earlier, believing that his priorities somehow outweighed Jesus’ need to rest and reboot for ministry.

  • Whatever the case, Jesus’ intent to go into public places to preach became hindered, therefore causing Him to remain in the unpopulated areas for a time.

    • But notice what the text is telling us, even with the disobedience of the leper, Jesus’ work and power were still made known.

  • Even with man’s best attempt at our own pursuits, God’s plans and purposes always prevail.

    • Lastly, I find it interesting that where the leper has a need and seeks Jesus for healing, that the leper’s burden of alienation now becomes Jesus’ burden to bear.

  • Friends, although this burden for the leper was too great of a burden to bear being in isolation from men and from God, Jesus has taken upon Himself that burden to carry.

    • This is yet again another picture of Jesus as our Suffering Servant King!

  • Jesus inconveniences Himself for the inconvenience of our selfishness and sin.

    • This Leper’s environment and circumstances have greatly changed which has now caused Jesus’ circumstances to change.

  • Jesus moves from previously being able to move from town to town freely and into public spaces freely.

    • To now having to stay in the recesses of the unpopulated and uninhabited areas.

    • Isn’t that the very definition of a servant? He takes upon Himself our burdens.

    • He takes upon Himself our mistakes and our griefs – He bears them.

  • Friends, this is what Jesus would take upon Himself at the cross.

    • Every mistake, every selfish motive, every broken command, everything placed upon Him. Isaiah 53:5 tells us what Jesus would ultimately endure.

Isaiah 53:5 But He was pierced for our offenses,
He was crushed for our wrongdoings;
The punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him,
And by His wounds we are healed.

• • Next week, we will see that although the leper disobeyed the command of Jesus, the plan and purpose of Jesus would not be hindered.

    • I pray you join us next week as we walk through Mark 2:1-12.

  • Let’s Pray.