Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

We live in a culture today that has a very temporal, or worldly, focus.

What I mean by that is that we get told to focus on the here and now and live in the moment without focusing on what may lie ahead.

This sort of focus can be dangerous on multiple levels, but because of this focus, we tend to concentrate only on our wants rather than our needs.

For example, if you were to ask me to write down my two most significant needs in life about four months ago, it probably would have been for healing and job security.

Because, in that moment, those were the main things taking up all of my focus.

That night when I was in the hospital, my two main concerns were pain control and making sure my professors knew I would be turning in homework a little late that week.

If you were to ask me today, it might be something like a beach and enough money that I don’t have to work anymore because that beach is what I love and I don’t like to be cold.

But we get so focused on the here and now and living for this very moment that we tend to lose our eternal perspective on things.

Turn with me to Colossians 3:1-4 for a moment, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

We forget that what matters most in this life is our love for God and our love for others.

We must be people who seek God above ourselves.

We must be people who put the needs of others before our own.

We must want the glory of God among all people, above all things.

John D. Barry; Rebecca Kruyswijk

This is what having an eternal perspective looks like.

But when we lose our eternal perspective for the here and now, we lose any sense of what really matters, and it becomes a matter of wants over all else.

Paul reminds the church at Colossae, in Colossians 3:1-4 to keep their eternal focus by seeking the things that are above and not what is on this earth.

This worldly focus is not a new concept found only here in the twenty-first century; it is a timeless truth that we will see for ourselves, even in our text today.

But before we get into our text, I want us to look at the story so far in Mark.

More specifically, I want us to recount the moments when Jesus exercised his authority.

Displays of Jesus’ authority so far.

Mark 1:21-28

Jesus exercises his authority in teaching.

We can only speculate here but it is reasonable to believe that the religious teachers of the day, those teaching in the synagogues, had become very lax in their teaching.

Then enters Jesus who comes in and teaches with such force, passion, and authority that the people are in awe.

In other words the people were simply blown away at the way Jesus was teaching them.

And then there is an interruption.

Jesus exercises his authority in casting out demons.

Verse 23 tells us that a man with an unclean, or evil, spirit begins to cry out.

And we need to understand this is in verse 24, that the demons themselves knew exactly who Jesus was, calling him the “Holy One of God.” Jesus rebukes the evil spirit and comes out of the man, after inflicting some pain, and the people are once again watching in pure amazement at what this Jesus can do.

Mark 1:29-45

Jesus exercises his authority over illnesses.

Last week we seen Jesus and the disciples traveling to the house of Simon Peter where is mother-in-law is sick in bed.

Jesus learns of the illness and we see Jesus exercise his authority over illnesses.

Now, something that is important to notice here is that after Simon’s mother-in-law was healed, she immediately began to serve.

This is what happens when we encounter the restoration that Jesus Christ offers, we serve.

Out of the love and thanksgiving for what Jesus has done for us we serve and we love.

There is no waiting period.

We don’t get saved and say, “well thanks Jesus.

Now give me about 10 years to get all of this partying out of my system and then I’ll serve you.”

No, we are saved, transformed, our hearts are renewed and out of that we immediately begin to serve and love in any way that we can.

Jesus exercises his authority in casting out a demon for the second time.

And then we see Jesus exercise authority a second time over the demon possessed.

Then Jesus and his disciples begin to move throughout Galilee so that Jesus can move forward in his preaching ministry.

Lastly, Jesus cleanses a leper.

To finish up the text from last week, we see Jesus heal a leper.

After healing this man, Jesus tells him to show hisself to the priests and make appropriate sacrifice to be “clean” amongst society once again.

This week we will see Jesus exercising his authority yet again, only this time the healing goes much deeper than a mere physical illness or demon possession.

This is also the beginning of five controversies we will see from here until chapter 3 and in this first one, it is Jesus forgiving the sins of a paralytic and the religious leaders getting upset, accusing Jesus of blasphemy.

There are three confirmations that we will see in todays text 1. this connection between the forgiveness of sin and a fallen creation 2. the importance in having faith in the healing power of Jesus Christ and 3. most importantly a confirmation that Jesus is “the Holy One of God.”

Read Mark 2:1-12

Jesus travels back home.

V. 1-5 Jesus heads back home and the people are now flocking to hear Him teach and hoping that they will get to witness some miracle being performed.

V. 1-2 Sets the scene for us.

Jesus and his disciples are back in Capernaum and news about Jesus was traveling fast.

People were hearing the stories and upon Jesus’s arrival back in Capernaum, the people started coming to see for themselves and to experience the teaching of Jesus.

The text says that there was so many people gathered that there was no more room inside of the house.

Standing room only and Jesus was preaching the Word to them.

Now think about this for a moment.

Have you ever been to a major sporting event or a popular concert and had to get tickets in the standing room only section?

It can be pretty miserable standing shoulder to shoulder, except for the fact that you are getting to watch your favorite team or artist perform.

In a sense the same thing is happening here, the people heard that Jesus was coming back and they were willing to be uncomfortable just to hear Jesus teach.

It was standing room only in this house.

Now, again, I want us to really think about this.

These people, who had previously experienced Jesus’ teaching, healing, and casting out demons heard that He was back in town and they got excited.

So excited, that they were willing to cram themselves inside this house to hear Jesus teach.

Do we get this excited?

When we open the Bible for ourselves, do we get excited to hear God speak to us through his Word?

Do we get excited to come to church on Sunday mornings and hear the Word proclaimed, knowing that God is speaking to us through his Word?

We should.

I’ll be the first to admit that I am not always excited about these things.

You see, sometimes we forget the real reason we come to church and when we do, we tend to be a whole lot less excited about it.

We lose that eternal perspective and decide that sleeping in or not missing that football game is more important than gathering with the saints to worship the God that has given us everything.

These people didn’t cram into the nose bleed section of this house simply because it was what they did, they did it because they were excited to experience and hear a word from this Jesus who exercised authority like no one else could.

There is a lot we can learn from these people when we pay attention to the smaller details that often get ignored.

Not only were the people excited to hear from Jesus but many were even beginning to put their faith in Jesus.

The controversy

V. 3-5 Begins to move us forward in this first controversy between Jesus and the religious leaders, it also begins to reveal the first two confirmations I mentioned earlier; that 1. there is a connection between sinfulness and the fallen creation and 2. that there is an importance of exercising faith in the healing power of Jesus Christ.

V. 3 In verse 3 we see these four men, bring a friend who is paralyzed to see Jesus in hopes of Jesus healing the man.

Now this should paint for us, a beautiful picture of brotherly love for one another.

These four men, carried there friend on some sort of stretcher to this house, not so they could boast in what they had done, but so that Jesus might heal their friend.

I can tell you from personal experience that carrying someone on a stretcher for long periods is not an easy task.

In Mark 12:30-31 Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to love God and love people.

In the gospel of John Jesus tells us that, John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

And again in 1 John 4:9 we are told that “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.” God loves us enough that he provided a way for us to be restored and we ought to be a people that reciprocates that love by bringing others to know Jesus and experience restoration for themselves.

The greatest expression of love that we have been shown is life through Christ and the greatest expression of love we can show others is to bring them to Jesus.

These four men, loved their friend.

But let us remember the eternal perspective here.

Charles Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers, has said -

You do not love the Lord at all unless you love the souls of others.

Charles Spurgeon

Our love for God is expressed in our love towards others.

But, what does this love look like?

Augustine of Hippo answers -

What does love look like?

It has the hands to help others.