What's So Awesome About Jesus? A Chapter by Chapter Study Through Mark - Chapter 5

  If I was a film maker of Christian illustrations, I would film this one. Imagine some cool, hip, fly, and whatever other outdated adjectives I could use of a young person with headphones on walks into a room and all of a sudden you can tell a song comes on that he really likes. He starts boogeying, grooving, breaking down, and whatever archaic verbs I can use for dancing. Then in comes several other teens without headphones and they observe the one dancing. They say to each other," that looks like fun", and they start dancing along imitating the dancer. After a while they shrug their shoulders realizing it is somewhat tiring and difficult imitating the dancer and one by one they exit. When they are all gone the original dancer keeps going strong with joy on his face.
    What's the point? Your joy and energy and exuberance in the Christian "dance" is very much dependent on hearing the music inside of you. And what is that music? It is a passionate love for Jesus. You see if you are imitating and copying and obeying because you are supposed to and it looked good when I signed up, it will become tiresome or as Malachi 1:13 you say of serving the Lord, "What a burden". You might ask, "What is the Bible for, then, isn't it a book that tells us rules to obey? And in lesson 2 you said God didn't send a book on how to swim to a drowning person, He sent His son to dive in and rescue us. Where does the Bible fit in?" There is a profound passage in John 5:39,40 where Jesus confronts the professional law keepers/ obeyers/ Pharisees and says, "You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me,  yet you refuse to come to me to have life." The Bible points to Christ. Lets fall in love with Him together as we go through Mark.

                                             MARK 5

Mark 5 contains 3 miracles, one where Jesus demonstrates power over demons, one where He shows power over disease, and lastly defeats death. Each of these have 3 things in common - there is desperation, detractors, and a disciple is formed. Lets look at these in light of those 3 factors and find out What's so awesome about Jesus?

1. Read Mark 5:1-20.

  A. Describe the desperation of the demoniac - i.e. How had he reached the end of his rope/chain?

     What did he do to put an end to his desperation? (vs.6)

      The greek word for this is proskuneo. Google this word and tell what it means.

       Look up John 10:10. What is Satan's plan for us?
                                        How is that seen in this man and the pigs?


   B. Who were the detractors?

       Why did they tell Jesus to leave?

       How did Jesus respond?


   C. Who became a disciple?

       How can you tell?

      What does this tell you in response to the great commission in Matthew 28:19,20 and Acts 1:8?

       What do you think the demon possessed man said when he went out to preach? (see John 9:25)

       Do you think he was effective? (See Acts 4:13,14 and Rev.12:11)


2. Read Mark 5:21-43 In this account  there is a miracle within a miracle. Let's take the healing of the woman with the bleeding disorder first
    A. Describe her desperation

         Read Leviticus 15:25. Describe the spiritual and social ramifications to this disease in the ancient Jewish population.

          How might that explain her "touch and run"?

          What put an end to her disease?


    B. Who were the detractors possibly?

        Why might they have wanted to rush Jesus along?


    C. Who became a disciple?

         The greek word for her healing is sozo. Google this and find how it differs from healed.

         What did she do similarly to the demoniac and Jairus?


  3.A. Describe the desperation of Jairus

         Read John 9:22. What do we know about the consequences of believing in Jesus?

          What implications would that have had on him and his family?


      B. Who were the detractors?

          How did Jesus respond to them?


       C. Who became a disciple of Christ?



Summary
 
     Here is the common denominator in these three healings - people have reached the end of their human efforts and found that they can't rescue themselves. They go to Jesus, publically fall on their faces before Him, not fearing the consequences and beg Him for mercy. Jesus responds by delivering them from Satan, giving them a new/whole life, and delivering them from death. Hmmm. What's that sound like? Sounds like salvation to me. Sounds like Jesus rescuing us (see Chapter 2) from religion (self efforts) which lead to despair, spiritual bankruptcy, and death, and leading us into eternal life.
   Our word for this week is unaffected. Lets look at all the things Jesus was unaffected by and thus so should we follow His example.

  1. Rejection/mockery. - The greek of what the mourners were doing to Jesus was literally mocked Him to scorn. They laughed at Jesus. "What an idiot, He doesn't know the difference between dead and asleep. HaHa". Who were the idiots? Did Jesus rebuke them? No, He just shared the life of God with people who believed. The Gaderenes asked Him to leave. Their life was going well without Him. They lacked desperation. They were living in the pig pen and didn't care - they were comfortable. What did Jesus do? He left. But He did send a missionary. The disciples were examples of "friendly fire". Sometimes well-meaning Christians can discourage us from what God has called us to do.
    Probably, the number one reason we don't witness is because of fear of rejection/mockery. Realize that the servant isn't greater than the master. If they rejected Him they will reject you. Just shake it off and try somewhere else. Eventually you will find receptive soil.
   2. Numbers - We are so impressed by how big something is. Jesus had such a big following He was in danger of being crushed. He left that to reach one person. If you go on a short-term mission trip and lead one person to the Lord you will get a courtesy applause in Church. If you lead 300 you will get a standing ovation. Jesus was unaffected by numbers. In fact He soon whittles those numbers down in John 6.
   3. Socioeconomic status - In this he went to a pagan foreigner, a diseased ostracized welfare recipient, and a rich powerful person and treated them all the same. In fact for the most part Tim Keller says, "You put Jesus in a crowd and He gravitates to the most messed up people and the people who have messed up the most." Are we that way. We need to be unaffected by wealth, power, beauty, smell, and in effect what people can do for us.
  4. Pressure of time - If Jesus was a doctor, He committed malpractice. He triaged sick people and healed the chronic disease and let the acute illness die. But unlike us, to Jesus/God healing an illness or restoring life were of equal acuity. How often are we so pressured by time that we miss divine appointments along the way. We are going from point A to point B where ministry is supposed to happen forgetting that God has ministry plans for us along the way.

       A. ------------------------------------------>    B.
                               MINISTRY

  Can we start thinking that those interruptions in our day are possibly ministry potentials. The disciples were eager to get to Jairus' house probably because he was going to be an important part of their ascension to power and bringing the kingdom to Earth. They didn't realize Jesus' plans were totally different from theirs.
   5. Lastly Jesus was unaffected by the immensity of the problems as I had previously alluded to. Do you shy away from getting involved in someone's life because they are "too far gone"? Or do you think someone couldn't possibly be saved? Or your problem is too big for Jesus? Jesus says it's no big deal

     Lord I am amazed that you were a man like me yet were unaffected by wealth, adoration, power, flattery, time, fear, numbers, anxiety... How?? I know that is available to me. Help me as I try to attain that through Your power which lives inside me.