Bible Study with Danelle

As we finish off the first chapter and head into the second, Mark continues to detail the miracles that Jesus is performing.

Mark writes of the leper that came to Jesus and because he of his faith, Jesus removed all the leprosy from him and cured the man. In Jesus’ day, lepers were cast out. They were thought to be lowest in society. Rabbis were forbidden to touch them as they were “unclean”. Then, here comes Jesus. He was viewed as a religious man with a growing following and with one touch he cures this man. No wonder the man could not keep quiet about what had happened (even though Jesus asked him to.). I would not have been able to keep quiet either. Even today, leprosy still affects many people all across the world. (Take some time to read about leprosy in the bible in this article from The Leprosy Mission International.)

From that point on, Mark tells us that Jesus could not move openly around town because too many people were flocking to him.

Jesus then makes his way back to Capernaum and when people heard he was back, they overran the home he was preaching to the point that they were blocking the doorway into the home. A group of people brought their friend who was a paralytic to see Jesus, but there was no way into the home. Remember, they did not have wheelchairs or anything like that in those days. They carried the man on the bed he was lying on all the way to see Jesus. The faith that must have taken just to get him there. But, they arrived, the door was blocked, the house was full, and there was no way in. That did not stop them. They made a hole in the roof of the home (probably a thatched type roof), lifted their friend onto the roof, and then lowered him down in the middle of the room where Jesus was preaching. The show of faith to me is incredible. They were so desperate to help their friend, they risked their own safety to get him inside.

As we know from the story, Jesus tells the man “your sins are forgiven”. BUT, there are scribes in the room (probably skeptical in the first place) who started questioning in their hearts what Jesus said. In their minds, only God could forgive sins and not in this way. Even though these men did not say it out loud, Jesus knew their thoughts and Jesus called them out on it. Then, Jesus went on to prove He really was the Son of Man as the paralytic got up, picked up his bed and left the home. The man was healed.

One of the things Jesus came to earth to do was to heal the sick. Suffering and illness were never part of the plan for us, but when Adam and Eve committed the first sin and separated us from God, they let in all the suffering that comes from evil. Now please don’t think that illness and sickness are a direct result of someone’s personal sin. It is not. It is a result of the curse of sin on the entire human race. Satan, however, uses human suffering and illness to destroy a person’s faith in God. Jesus came to heal us and destroy evil’s work. These two stories show how with the faith and the spiritual determination of one person or a group of people, God can bring physical healing.

Question: Have you ever experienced or known someone that has been healed through the power of prayer?

But, healing does not always happen. This could be part of why some doubt God’s healing power now. I know when my father passed away, I doubted the healing power of God. I could not understand why my father was dying if God could heal people. Why did he not heal my dad? Did I not pray hard enough? Did I not pray in the right way? Did I do something wrong? All those thoughts lingered in my head. I do not believe that God planned for my dad to suffer or give him cancer, but it took me a long time to realize that it was not God’s plan to heal him when he did get sick. God has some other plan, that I can’t and probably am not meant to understand right now. I know that one day the entire plan will unfold and be shown, but right now I am learning to lean not on my own understanding.

Today as we prepare our hearts for Easter, I pray that you will take time to focus on the healing power of Jesus, the power of prayer, and understand that God’s will prevails over everything.