Mark 1:29-39 * Epiphany 5 * February 8, 2009 * Pastor Leyrer

Dear Friends in Christ,

Alexander III of Macedon was an ancient Greek king. By the time of his death at the young age of 32 he had conquered most of the then known world and made it his empire. Because of this monumental achievement he is best known to us not as Alexander the Third of Macedon, but simply as “Alexander the Great.”

In the year 732 at the Battle of Tours a French ruler by the name of Charles defeated a Moslem army and kept them from invading and ultimately conquering Europe. The decisiveness and importance of that victory earned him a nickname by which historians still refer to him today: Charles Martell (which means “The Hammer”).

Richard I was the king of England for ten years in the late 12^th Century. Even before he became king he had earned the reputation as a great warrior and military man and had proven his valor on many fields of battle. To this day he is one of the few English kings known by a description rather than a number after his name: Richard the Lionheart.

What is the point to this little historical exercise? It is this: Certain key figures in history are so linked to a defining accomplishment or a certain characteristic that it has become part of the name by which we recognize them.

That being said, now let’s talk about THE key figure in history – in fact the One around whom all of history revolves as either happening before or after Him. That, of course, is Jesus Christ. What if we were to continue this exercise purely on the basis of the text before us this morning?

WHAT SHALL WE CALL HIM?

Let’s take a look at this portion of God’s Word and see if we can come up with an adequate answer to that question.

In last week’s Gospel lesson Jesus went to the synagogue in Capernaum and began to teach. While He was there He also healed a man possessed by a demon. This act, along with the authority with which He taught, left a quite an impression on the people. The first half our text for today picks up just after this.

²⁹As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. ³⁰Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. ³¹So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them. ³²That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. ³³The whole town gathered at the door, ³⁴and 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.

Anyone who may have thought what took place in the synagogue was a fluke or done with smoke and mirrors soon learned otherwise. As Jesus continues to go forward in His ministry it is marked by miracles. A number of them are mentioned here.

First, Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law of a debilitating fever with the touch of His hand. Word apparently spread because that night, after the Sabbath Day was over, “the whole town [Capernaum] gathered at the door.” And we are told that Jesus healed many of them. In addition, as He had earlier that day in the Synagogue, he also drove out many demons that were afflicting the lives of those who came to Him.

If our curiosity would like to know why Jesus did not permit the demons to speak, perhaps the simplest reason would be this: He did not need their witness. His own actions and His own testimony was all the witness needed to establish who and what He was in the minds of men.

Then and now the miracles of Jesus grab our attention. If you grew up hearing Bible stories at home or school or Sunday school, you probably remember best those that revolved around a miracle. Jesus feeding the five thousand. Jesus giving sight to the sightless. Jesus healing those with leprosy. Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead…

But really, far more amazing and far more compelling is what is behind the miracles. That back story is really the main story. And that is the love and mercy of Jesus. The care and concern He had for people.

It is interesting to note that such a caring, concerned and merciful spirit obviously did not escape the notice of the general population. They apparently didn’t view him as some powerful but distant and unapproachable figure; rather they flocked to Him as one who could help.

By God’s grace that’s the way we see Him too.

However, just how far that love and mercy and care for people extended is taken up in the second half of our text: ³⁵Very 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. ³⁶Simon and his companions went to look for him, ³⁷and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!" ³⁸Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." ³⁹So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

There are a number of interesting things here that we should touch on. First, notice the importance Jesus places on prayer and quiet time with His Father. Certainly this is a lesson for us on the relationship each of us has with our Heavenly Father. If a life of prayer and contemplation was important to Jesus, should it not be important to us?

Second, notice the reaction of the disciples. This was early in Jesus ministry and in their minds by His performance in Capernaum He had already achieved rock-star status, and the arrow was going up. They couldn’t believe that he wasn’t seizing the moment to cement his reputation. You can hear a hint of exasperation in their voices – “everyone is looking for you.” “These people want what you’ve got, Jesus…”

But Jesus wants the disciples to put his miracles in perspective and to understand them for what they were. Miracles were not the message. Miracles were merely the tools to confirm and authenticate a greater message: the message of redemption. That’s why Jesus came. Not to be the world’s miracle worker, but to be the world’s Savior.

And we are reminded that Jesus’ mission was not to smooth out all the rough spots we encounter in our brief life here on planet earth but to provide us with eternal life in heaven.

So Jesus says to them its time to move on so more and more could come to know Him for who and what He was. And we also know where and why that journey would end: on a lonely hill outside the city gates of Jerusalem.

There on a cross Jesus would make things right between us and God with the greatest miracle of love the world has ever seen. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” We’re the ones who sin before a just and holy God which means we’re the ones who should suffer the punishment, but Jesus saw to it that this will never happen. “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his wounds we are healed…”

Now that’s a miracle of love the likes of which the world will never see again, nor needs to see again, because once and for all it sets us right with God. And that was and is Jesus’ mission.

In the last couple of minutes we have left let’s apply this text to the present circumstance we find ourselves in today, some of us more than others.

I would imagine a number of you have seen the movie, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” It is based on a book by C.S. Lewis. It is set in a fantasy world but is very thinly veiled in its strong Christian symbolism. In the world of Narnia, the rightful King is a powerful lion named Aslan. Aslan represents Jesus.

At the end of the movie, after the kingdom has been set right through his intervention, Aslan walks away. The youngest of the four other main characters, a little girl named Lucy, can’t understand why he’s leaving or where he’s going. It is then the one of her Narnia friends named Thomnas explains that Aslan can’t always be understood. “He’s not a tame lion,” Thomnas says. “No,” replies Lucy, “but he’s good.”

The point: Jesus does not necessarily always intervene precisely at the moment or in the way we would like him to. The why’s and when’s as applied by God our personal situations are simply beyond us. Jesus is not “tame” in the sense that He jumps through the hoops we hold up or answers our calls on demand.

But while we don’t always know why Jesus chooses the paths He chooses for us, this much we do know: Jesus is good. And He has our best interests in mind. And He will never leave us or forsake us.

That is especially important to remember in these economic times. People have been affected by this and there is a lot of uncertainty out there. It’s one thing to talk about this in theory; it’s another thing altogether if you watch your retirement savings or pension suddenly become half or less than half of what you were counting on. Or if you are in, on the edge, or knowingly soon to be in the ranks of the unemployed. I’m not sure what the numbers are now nationwide, but I know they are big – and the end is not in sight.

Interestingly enough, Saturday’s newspaper talked about how giving is down across the board in local churches. As a part of the article they interviewed a young man who lost his job. He said he prayed and prayed that he would keep working, but he lost his job nonetheless. And across our country are countless others in a similar situation. I am certain there are many Christians who wish Jesus would perform a miracle and make things better – or at least keep things the same…

Yet difficulties continue. So is Christ somehow less merciful or powerful in hard times? No. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is just as loving and attentive to us today as He was to the crowd at Capernaum.

What we must always remember is that we are under His control; He is not under ours. Certainly we can and should pray boldly about all things; but instead of looking for miracles or direct divine intervention as a solution to difficult times, perhaps we would be better served by seeing difficult times as a special opportunity to find confidence in His mercy.

And we know how far that mercy went. “Upon the cross extended, see, world, your Lord suspended” goes the Lenten hymn. And because of that cross and the empty tomb that followed it we know that the big things have been taken care of; which gives us confidence that He’ll take care of us in the lesser things as well. That is our comfort and that is our confidence.

So let’s go back to our original question. If we treated Jesus purely as a historical figure and had to give Jesus a title based on a predominant characteristic or achievement as seen in this text, what would we call Him?

Perhaps “Jesus the Good” or “Jesus the Merciful” or “Christ the Compassionate” or “the King of Love.” Actually it’s kind of hard to pick just one. Maybe our best bet and our greatest comfort is that He is “all of the above.” And He is “all of the above” for us, now and forever. Amen.