Hope in Our Battles

Introduction

I tried not to bring the Super Bowl into today’s sermon but I couldn’t resist.

Why do we play the Super Bowl?

We all want to feel like winners

We all want an excuse to eat food that our doctor says we shouldn’t eat.

In this pandemic, we want something that feels somewhat normal.

Let’s ask the more difficult question. What’s your purpose in life?

That question probably makes most of us feel uncomfortable. Some of us can answer it quickly. But most of us will find it difficult to answer

Let me take a little pressure off of you. This sermon is NOT about you finding your purpose, but to contrast how we struggle with knowing our purpose, but Jesus knew his purpose.

Transition: Jesus’ power to heal is part of his purpose. Let’s go back and look at the majority of today’s text. Let’s read Mark 1:29-34

Jesus’ POWER to Heal

We don’t know how ingrained the sabbath meal was in Jesus’ day. It might or might not have been a big deal, but Jesus, following worship in the synagogue and casting out an unclean spirit heads across the street to Peter’s home.

Mark wants us to know that it’s important that his first four disciples are with him. We’re still not sure what kind of guys these four men are.

Evidently there were other people in Peter’s house and they’ve been caring for his mother-in-law. Mark describes her as burning up with a fever.

Share story of when my appendix burst and my high fever that caused me to be delusional.

Jesus does the unthinkable for a Rabbi. He seizes her hand. This isn’t a little finger touch but a firm grasp. It is the ability to lift her from her sweat soaked bed and restore her to health.

I love the comment that she proceeded to serve everyone. This is not a statement about the role of women, but the completeness of Jesus’ healing.

The entire city hears about two things. One, the casting out of the unclean spirit, and two, the complete restoration of Peter’s mother-in-law.

Then comes the waiting. The people of Capernaum waiting until the Sabbath was over before they stormed Peter’s home.

Mark tells us that the entire city gathered at Peter’s door. Halloween on steroids.

He heals many people of various diseases.

He casts out demons

He would not allow the demons to even try to speak about who he was.

I think we would be okay with the story ending here, that Jesus has come to take care of all the bad stuff that has happened in our lives.

We want Jesus to heal our diseases

We want Jesus to cast out our demons.

But if this is what we see as Jesus’ purpose then we’re missing who he is.

Transition: How long Jesus was up that night, we don’t know, maybe he didn’t even get any sleep. What we do know is that when it was morning he went out early to pray. Jesus needed prayer. (Read Mark 1:35-37)

Jesus’ need for PRAYER

This wasn’t a short time in prayer with his Father.

Peter and his companions are on a manhunt and it appears that it takes them a while to find Jesus.

Prayer was not an add on activity for Jesus, it was central to what he came to do. His prayer stands between what he has accomplished and what is yet to come.

This not the time for me to encourage you to pray. This is not the text. We’re learning something about Jesus. We don’t want to lose focus on what he is doing.

Jesus need for prayer shows us his true humanity. We might think that as God he didn’t need to communicate with his Father, we often forget that he was truly human and prayer was his daily diet.

Transition: Jesus reveals his purpose in the next two verses. He pulls together his power to heal and his need for prayer. Let’s look at verses 38 and 39.

Jesus’PURPOSE of bringing the reign and rule of God to people

Jesus’ comment at the end of verse 38 is rather ambiguous. Why did he come. Did he come to this place where Peter and his companions found him for the purpose of praying, or is Jesus giving a us a bigger purpose in his life. The answer is yes to both, a sort of double entendre.

He did come to this spot at that time for the purpose of prayer, prayer for the work that was yet to come.

Peter wanted to pull Jesus back into the big city of Capernaum. I’m sure there was still much work to be done.

But Jesus saw his work extending beyond Peter’s home town.

Jesus uses an interesting word for villages. The word signifies places that aren’t even big enough to be protected by walls, places that aren’t even big enough to have a synagogue.

Here’s what you and I need to learn from this text. The reign of God has come for even the most insignificant places and people.

Jesus has come for you.

Conclusion

Jesus was engaged in battle for our lives. His purpose was to come for us. Through Jesus we have hope for our battles. Amen