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Bible Book: Mark / Markus
Chapter: 1
Verse: 29
Verse (to): 39
Text: Mark 1:29-39
In the short span of eleven verses Mark describes four events. Jesus goes from the synagogue to Simon’s house where He heals his mother in law. After sunset many people come to Jesus and He heals the sick and drives out the demons. Early the next morning Jesus goes out alone to pray. Then Jesus and his disciples go to the nearby villages in Galilee where He preaches and drives out more demons.
Jesus is acting with a singleness of purpose that demonstrates that He knows what He has to do and how He has to do it. When you go back a couple of verses and read verses 16 to 39, you will find confirmation that Jesus has been acting with a clear focus.
I notice that Jesus is focussed on people. He takes the hand of Peter’s mother in law and helps her up, He receives the crowd that flocks to Him and helps them one by one. He goes through Galilee to teach and help even more people.
But Jesus doesn’t allow people to dictate to Him. Peter suggests that they stay in Capernaum a while longer, but Jesus does what He is told by his Father in the early morning hours and leaves for the other towns. Neither does He allow the religious leaders’ interpretation of the law dissuade Him. On the Sabbath (the day on which they have prohibited any work) He frees the man who is possessed by an evil spirit and heals Peter’s mother in law.
We know that Jesus has been sent to Israel, to the world, by God. In the light of this mighty mission, the actions of Jesus, as described by Mark in our reading from Scripture, seem trivial and almost hidden away in the rural districts of Galilee. But this is how God’s plan unfolds through his Son. People (a few of them) are helped and people (his disciples) are taught what the Kingdom of God means. Jesus’ mission to the world is built up through these events.
We live in times where the impact of the AIDS pandemic is overwhelming. When it overwhelms you, you tend to ask: what difference do my actions make? To not do what God is asking, or to do what God is not asking, means that we are losing focus. So the important question is: are you doing what God expects from you here and now? To do what God asks, is enough – even though it is “only” taking the hand of a man or woman who is sick. Because God’s Kingdom is build up through such events.
Author: N du Toit (Ds)
Language: English