What is Needed When the Day is Long

Verses

Mark 1:29–39 NIV

As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them. That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was. Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

Introduction

For the next two weeks we will be looking at two passages in the gospel of Mark. Let me give you some quick background about the gospel of Mark.

Author

Although there is no direct internal evidence of authorship, it was the unanimous testimony of the early church that this Gospel was written by John Mark ("John, also called Mark," Ac 12:12,25; 15:37). The most important evidence comes from Papias (c. a.d. 140), who quotes an even earlier source as saying: (1) Mark was a close associate of Peter, from whom he received the tradition of the things said and done by the Lord; (2) this tradition did not come to Mark as a finished, sequential account of the life of our Lord, but as the preaching of Peter -- preaching directed to the needs of the early Christian communities; (3) Mark accurately preserved this material. The conclusion drawn from this tradition is that the Gospel of Mark largely consists of the preaching of Peter arranged and shaped by Mark (see note on Ac 10:37).

John Mark in the NT

It is generally agreed that the Mark who is associated with Peter in the early non-Biblical tradition is also the John Mark of the NT. The first mention of him is in connection with his mother, Mary, who had a house in Jerusalem that served as a meeting place for believers (Ac 12:12). Mark appears as a "helper" to Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey (Ac 13:5), but he deserted them at to return to Jerusalem (Ac 13:13). Paul must have been deeply disappointed with Mark's actions on this occasion, because when Barnabas proposed taking Mark on the second journey, Paul flatly refused, a refusal that broke up their working relationship (Ac 15:36-39). Barnabas took Mark, who was his cousin (Col 4:10), and departed for Cyprus. Mark reappears in Paul's letter to the Colossians written from Rome. Paul sends a greeting from Mark and adds: "You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him". At this point Mark was apparently beginning to win his way back into Paul's confidence. By the end of Paul's life, Mark had fully regained Paul's favor.

Date of Composition

Some, who hold that Matthew and Luke used Mark as a major source, have suggested that Mark may have been composed in the 50s or early 60s. Others have felt that the content of the Gospel and statements made about Mark by the early church fathers indicate that the book was written shortly before the destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 70.

Special Characteristics

Mark's Gospel is a simple, succinct, unadorned, yet vivid account of Jesus' ministry, emphasizing more what Jesus did than what he said. Mark moves quickly from one episode in Jesus' life and ministry to another, often using the adverb "immediately" (see note on 1:12). The book as a whole is characterized as "The beginning of the gospel" (1:1). The life, death and resurrection of Christ comprise the "beginning," of which the apostolic preaching in Acts is the continuation.

Today’s Focus

i want us to understand the passage for today from the perspective of

Patience

Purpose

Power

Prayer

Patience

I try to be patient. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I don’t. Honestly, Jesus sometimes became impatient. But who can blame him? He had to deal with us. In the same way, God struggled, at times, to stay patient with the children of Isreal as they wandered in the desert.

In today’s verses we see Jesus practicing patience.

First, Jesus preached that morning in the service. That alone can be exhausting, but he also was confronted with a man possessed by an “unclean spirit.” The unclean spirit challenged Jesus.

Mark 1:24 NIV

“What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

I don’t know how frustrating that was, but there Jesus is teaching and then there is this disruption. But jesus deals with it directly and casts the demon out.

After the service, I suspect Jesus was ready to eat. Traditionally, the mid day meal was done immediately after the services. I know that’s how I like it. But instead of eating, Jesus is taken to Simon’s mother-in-law who is suffering from a fever.

Fevers were fairly common in that day and time and were generally extended and debilitating. Just as he had with the man possessed with an unclean spirit, Jesus dealt with it directly. Jesus went to her, took her hand, and helped her up. The healing must have been complete because she immediately began taking the role of a good host.

That evening, once it became dark and the Sabath was over, a large crowd gathered around the home. The crowd is not drawn by Jesus’s teaching in the service that morning. They are drawn by the possibility of healing. This had to be frustrating for Jesus. His mission is not simply to bring physical relief to people, but to bring spiritual healing. But when faced with the crowd that was, to some degree, selfish, Jesus still spends time healing people. He had to be exhausted.

How irritated do we become? We get irritated by the people who need us most. We get irritated with each other. We get irritated because there are demands on our time and resources. We get irritated because we forget what is truly important.

This one day in the life of Jesus that we see in these verses was an exhausting day that seemed to never end. But Jesus embraced it.

Purpose

The next morning the whole thing started all over again. Jesus had tried to gain some solitude but Simon and the others found him. In some translations it says that Simon “pursued” Jesus. When they found Jesus, they told him that “everyone” was looking for him. It was time for a repeat performance. But Jesus was not going to get distracted by this clamoring crowd. We know Jesus cared about the people and it had to be hard to ignore their pain. But Jesus had a mission to accomplish.

Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”

Jesus stayed focused on his mission.

There are a lot of things that can distract us from the mission. The church building may need repairs. There may be conflicts about budgets, committee assignments, the structure of worship. There may be people who irritate each other or value different things. The preacher may not be doing it the “right way.” These are all distractions from the mission.

Jesus stayed focused on the mission. So should we.

Power

How do we use our power? What do we do with what God has empowered us with? Where do we find our power?

Power, as manifested in miracles , was very important to Mark. His gospel focuses a great deal on Jesus’s miracles as signs of his power. But Mark is also clear that Jesus taught with his own authority. In general, Rabbis taught by referencing other Rabbis. Much like a judge or lawyer will cite precedence. But Jesus taught directly from his own authority.

Jesus manifested power through hands on healing and comfort of people who were hurting. He also manifested power in a more abstract manner through teaching and modeling. God expects us to be both hands on in the midst of people and to be gaining knowledge and insight through study and learning.

Prayer

The last aspect of these verses that I want to consider is prayer. How did Jesus respond to a long exhausting day? He got up early, before anyone else was up, and sought out solitude to pray. If I’ve had a long, exhausting day my thought would be to sleep in. But Jesus understand that regaining strength - refreshing yourself and refocusing - is about more than just physical restoration. We must give our spiritual self an opportunity to revitalize and grow stronger. It is through relationship and communication with God that we find true refreshment.

Conclusion

We are often faced with long, difficult days. How do we respond? How do we advance the kingdom of God on those days?

We need to be patient with situations and others. We need to be willing to face what is true and not what we wish were true. We need to embrace disruptions and demands as opportunities and let God use them to his glory.

We need to remember our purpose and be willing to set boundaries and say no when we need to. We can’t heal everyone. We can’t complete every task or meet every need. But we can remember what we are called to and what our mission is.

We need to remember that the power does not come from us. We cannot rely on our own strength, but must, instead, rely on God’s strength. As the old hymn says,

There is pow’r, pow’r, wonder-working pow’r In the blood of the Lamb; There is pow’r, pow’r, wonder-working pow’r In the precious blood of the Lamb.

We need to be willing to take the time for solitude and prayer. Despite the demands of the world around us. Despite the very legitimate needs of the people around us. Despite the sacrifice it takes, we need to find our quiet place and be in prayer.

Patience, Power, Purpose and Prayer. It is what Jesus showed us during this very long day in Capernaum.