A Day in the Life of Jesus

Mark 1:29-39

29 And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. 31 And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

32 That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34 And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, 37 and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38 And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” 39 And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Review:

Last week we began looking at one long day in the at the early part of Christ’s ministry.

Seems like it is the first sabbath that Peter, Andrew, James, and John are following Christ as His disciples.

They went to the synagouge and Jesus was teaching there.

Taught with authority - unlike the scribes

The People were amazed at his teaching.

There was a man who was demon possessed, and the presence of Jesus and the power of his teaching caused the demon to cry out in fear.

Jesus cast out the demon and freed the man from the chains of Satan.

His fame began to spread after this encounter.

Today we will see what the rest of this day looked like for Jesus.

Introduction:

Who is Jesus?

Throughout Mark there have been several proclaimations of Jesus’ true identity.

Mark

Mark 1:1 “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

John the Baptist

Mark 1:7-8 “And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.””

The Holy Spirit

Mark 1:10 “And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.

The Father

Mark 1:11 “And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.””

The Demon

Mark 1:24 ““What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.””

This morning, we are going to see some important truths about the true idenity of Jesus.

The proof of his person

The source of his power

The Priority of his preaching

The Proof of His Person

29 And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. 31 And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

32 That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34 And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

They enter Peter and Andrew’s house because it is right near the synagogue.

There is a building that archeologists believe his Peter’s house that is very near the synagogue in Capernaum.

Side-note: Peter and Andrew live in Capernaum but John 1:44 (“Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.” ) tell us they were from Bethsaida.

I think they were originally from Bethsaida but moved to Capernaum because it was a bigger city and was a better place for their fishing buisness.

It is normal for that time for extended family to all live in the same home, so it is natural that Peter’s Mother-in-law lives with him.

Jesus just displayed His authority and power by casting out the demon in the synagogue, so Simon/Peter and Andrew are probably inspired by what they have just seen to ask Jesus do heal Peter’s Mother in Law.

She is sick with a fever.

This is before modern medicine and antibiotics were invented, so this was very serious and deadly to have a fever.

Immediately they told Jesus about her.

They may have brought Jesus here intentionally so that she could be healed.

May also have had the idea that Jesus could heal her when they got there and saw her sick.

Jesus heals her.

He takes her by the hand and lifts her and when he touches here the fever leaves her.

His healing is immediate.

His healing is total.

True of all of His healings.

One blind man is healed in stages but they both happen in the presence of Jesus immediately after Jesus touches Him.

She gets up and serves them food.

She definitely must have been feeling better because this was a labor intensive task.

No fast food restruants

No microwaves

No gas or electric oven

Had to make a fire and cook the food the hard way.

This is a small picture of what God does in us.

Finds us sick with sin.

Heals us with His touch of mercy.

Puts us to work for His Kingdom.

No one is saved to sit on the couch in the Kingdom of God.

We are saved to serve.

When the sun goes down and the Sabbath is over, people from all over the city came to Jesus to be healed and released from demons.

Days were from sunset to sunset. So Sabbath was over and people could walk to see Jesus.

Many were healed and many demons were cast out.

All came - many were healed (Does this mean that Jesus did not heal everyone?)

I think it means that Jesus healed all that came to Him and it was alot of people.

Side-note: There have been many false “healers” throughout time.

No one other than God can heal.

1 Corinthians 12:9 (“to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,”) Talks about a gift of healing, but it is through the Spirit that the healing is performed. Not the person who is healing.

Healing ministries normally do not talk about the ones that have real problems that were not healed. They tell the stories of people whose minor problems were fixed.

Normally does not happen completely or immediately.

Never send your money to a TV-preacher so that you can be healed. IT IS A SCAM!

Healing is used to authenticate the message of Jesus. It is the proof of His Identity.

Same with the apostles in Acts.

There were a lot of healings during the times when the message of Christiantiy was being established.

Jesus’ ministry

Apostles ministry

We do not need miraculous healings to authenticate our message now because it has already been authenticated.

Application:

Healing is possible through the power of God.

Healing does not always happen.

Sickness is part of the fall, was not inteded but is a reality.

God uses trials (sickness included) to help us grow, so do not miss the learning in sickness.

We can pray for healing, but recognize that God’s plan does not always include healing.

We are not promised healing, but we are promised death.

Hebrews 9:27 “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,”

The Source of His Power

35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.

This verse is one that is very challenging and convicting.

Jesus just had an encredibly long and draining day that lasted late into the night. You would think he would sleep in.

Instead, Jesus gets up before the Sun comes up and goes out into the wilderness to pray.

This was a pattern in the life of Jesus. Often he would get alone with God for long periods of time to pray.

Matthew 14:23 “And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,”

Luke 5:15-16 “But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.”

Luke 6:12 “In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.”

He spends all night in prayer before he chooses his 12 disciples.

When facing the cross He spend the evening in Prayer.

What is interesting in this case is that Jesus just spent 40 days alone with God in the wilderness.

"desolate place” here is the same word as “wilderness” in verse 12-13

You would think that you would be pretty spiritually full after spending 40 days alone in the wilderness, but after 1 day of ministry Jesus goes back there!

What does this say about the role prayer and solitude play in ministry and spiritual victory?

Application:

If Jesus needed to pray, how much more do we need to spend time with God in prayer.

Prayer is difficult...

Prayer will not happen if you do not plan it. -have to make time to pray

Prayer is not convenient. - It wasn’t convenient for Jesus either. He had to wake up early to get alone with God.

Prayer is crucial! Without prayer your spiritual life will shrivel and starve.

Do whatever it takes to get alone with God and pray.

Find a time that works for you.

Early for Jesus, but could be lunch break or evenings

Find a place that works for you.

Jesus went to the wilderness.

Learn to pray.

If you have never had a consistent prayer life, it may seem strange to pray, but stick with it.

You dont have to pray all night your first time.

Allow yourself to grow in your prayer relationship with God.

The Priority of His Preaching

36 And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, 37 and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38 And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” 39 And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Peter and the rest of the people who were with them looked for Jesus in the morning because there was a crowd looking for Jesus.

Jesus was the talk of the town after all that He did the day before. Now people are back for more.

What was Jesus’ answer?

He left the crowd to go to another town.

The people were looking for Jesus so that they could be healed by Him.

They saw His power and they want to be healed of other things.

Jesus’ response tells us what is the PRIORITY in Jesus’ Ministry.

Preaching is why Jesus came out.

Jesus performed many miracles, but they were not the main focus of his ministry. They supported his preaching by authenticating his authority.

Application:

Jesus kept the “main thing” the main thing.

It is easy to get distracted by good things and miss the best things.

Jesus didn’t allow the fame of his healing ministry distract him from the main reason He came - To preach the message of the Kingdom of God.

Keep the “Main thing” the main thing.

There are so many things vying for your attention.

work, relationships, entertainment…

The Kingdom of God is the main thing.

Your relatoinship with God

sharing God with others

training the next generation to serve God

demons - emphasis on the spiritual kingdom that is coming and fighting against the spiritual kingdom of the Earth.

Next Steps:

Find a time and a place that you can get alone with God to pray.

Make a list of the priorities in your life.

Keep the “main thing” at the top of your list.

Research:

Mark 1:29 (ZECNT Mk): Though raised in Bethsaida (John 1:44), Simon and Andrew probably moved to Capernaum as a base of operations for their fishing business.

Mark 1:31 (ZECNT Mk): Here the point is that the healing was both immediate and complete, so that Peter’s mother-in-law could return to her full activities.

Mark 1:32 (ZECNT Mk): The Jewish day began at sunset, so the Sabbath is now over and the people can bring their sick to Jesus without violating the Sabbath command.

Mark 1:34 (ZECNT) The awareness of Jesus’ identity by the demons serves two important purposes in Mark’s narrative. First, it testifies to Jesus’ identity. The demons are privy to supernatural persons and events and so know his true identity. Second, it confirms that Jesus’ mission is not just a physical one being played out on the stage of human history, but also a cosmic one that concerns the spiritual forces of good and evil, the dominion of Satan versus the kingdom of God.