Sayre Woods Bible Church

Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at His feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” (Mark 5:33-34)

“Daughter, your faith has healed you.” The word “healed” is the same Greek word (sozo) that is usually translated “saved.” It can refer to both physical and spiritual healing. In this case, it apparently means both.

Though this woman is not even named, there is something unique about her. There is a large crowd of people around Jesus and Mark makes sure to mention that the crowd is “pressing” in around Him. It is one of those scenes where you see a great mass of people and a small contingent of people trying to make their way through. Jesus is obviously being touched by hordes of people. But this one woman reaches out in faith and is healed.

Mark does describe her. She was a woman who knew suffering. First she had the physical problem of bleeding for twelve years. Then she had to deal with the social stigma that accompanied her problem since the OT law dictated that a woman with bleeding outside her monthly cycle would be designated “unclean” (Lev. 15:25-27). This woman also “suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors.” She had sought relief and remedy for twelve years to no avail and apparently many of her treatments were worse than her original problem. Finally she had financially lost everything in the process. So here she is–physically suffering, financially broke, emotionally spent, and socially isolated. But she has hope in Jesus.

I have to wonder what made her different from the others pressing around Jesus. I can only imagine that many in the crowd had needs too. What made this woman different? Perhaps the others in the crowd were more interested in seeing miracles than in really being changed. John describes this group in John 2:23-24: …Many people saw the miraculous signs He was doing and believed in His name. But Jesus would not entrust Himself to them, for He knew all men. Jesus knew their hearts. They were not interested in life change; they simply were there for the spectacle. The heart of man hasn’t changed any in two thousand years. We still gravitate to where the action is, to the “hottest” news, to whatever entertains us, excites us, attracts our attention. The crowd pressing around Jesus was the same–”Show us something Jesus!”

But suffering had broken this woman. She was not there to see a show. She was not there for the excitement. She was there because she had no other place to turn. Jesus was her only hope. And as she reached out for Him, she reached with the heart of faith.

I love Jesus’ words to her. As she is kneeling before Him, trembling with fear, He says, “Your faith has healed you. Go in peace. Be freed from your suffering.” Go in peace. Do not let your suffering define your life any more. Experience God’s wholeness and peace.

That is God’s message to us. When we come broken before Him, He heals us. And He invites us not to live in our suffering but to live in His peace.

Still others, like seed sown among the thorns, hear the word, but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. (Mark 4:18-19)

The parable of the sower and the seed is one of the first parables that Jesus tells in His ministry. It defines the four responses that people will have toward Him and His teaching, not only two thousand years ago but even today.

God’s Word is seed. Every time it is shared with someone, it has the potential to grow. The one variable is the heart condition of the person hearing God’s Word.

Some people hear God’s Word and immediately blow it off. Their hearts are hard and impenetrable. The fact that this parable follows on the heels of the Pharisees’ progressive rejection of Jesus is no coincidence. The Pharisees, despite all their religiosity, are the example of the seed sown on the hardened road.

Some people hear God’s Word and immediately respond with joy. Ever known someone like that? I have. Their response to God’s Word is so immediate and joyful that you can’t help but get excited with them. Finally they have found what they are looking for. Everything looks great but then within a few weeks/months, they are back where they started. Nothing in their life has changed. The seed took no root in their heart. They were looking for a quick fix not a lifetime commitment. Soon they are off on another tangent looking for something else to solve their problems or soothe their angst.

Some hear God’s Word and are simply too busy to respond to it. The three things that Jesus mentions that “choke” God’s Word are interesting–worries of this life, deceitfulness of riches, and desires for other things. Is there any better description of American society? God’s Word is available to all of us but often times we just don’t hear it. There are bills to pay, places to go, things to do, movies to see, dreams to pursue, things to buy, etc. The busyness of life just crowds out time for God and His Word.

Others hear God’s Word and “accept it” (4:20). They allow it to penetrate to the deepest parts of their heart. They listen to it, meditate on it, consider it, mull over it, apply it. And where the Word of God takes root it eventually produces fruit. It may not be immediate but it is lasting. It is a good reminder that we may not have an emotional high after reading God’s Word. We may not get excited or have an immediate application or even fully understand it. But if we allow God’s Word to consistently shine its light in our heart, then there will be growth of the soul…not because of our strength but because of the inherent power in God’s Word.

Lord, open my ears to Your Word and grow the fruit of Your Spirit in my life.

I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin. (Mark 3:28-29)

This statement by Jesus usually raises some eyebrows. I have heard a number of different interpretations of it. The most likely (and logical) is that Jesus is simply saying to speak against (i.e., blaspheme) the Spirit’s work in your heart is to cut yourself off from God’s grace and forgiveness. The Spirit is the one who leads a person to Jesus thus to resist the Spirit is to reject forgiveness.

Consider the progression of the Pharisees in Mark 2-3. Jesus becomes popular and the Pharisees start to get nervous. First, they question his forgiveness of the paralytic’s sins (2:6-7). It is actually not a bad thing to question. Jesus’ forgiveness of sins should raise questions. “Who is this man who forgives sins as if they were committed against Him? Who does He think He is? God?” Jesus knows their thoughts and backs up His power to forgive sins by physically healing the man on the spot. Jesus physically heals to show that He also has the power to spiritually heal. At this point, the Pharisees have a choice–to recognize who Jesus is or reject Him. The rest of chapter two and chapter three show the progressive hardening of their hearts against Jesus.

Mark 2:16. The Pharisees confront Jesus’ disciples about Jesus eating with sinners.

Mark 2:24. The Pharisees confront Jesus about His disciples eating on the Sabbath.

Mark 3:2. The Pharisees are now looking for a reason to accuse Jesus.

Mark 3:6. The Pharisees begin plotting a way to get rid of Jesus.

Mark 3:22. The Pharisees begin following Jesus (they came down from Jerusalem specifically to oppose His ministry) and they attribute His miracles to Satan.

It’s quite a progression. Look at what they do. First, they have a question about Jesus. Then they start finding fault with Him and His disciples. Then they begin looking for a reason to find fault. Then they actively oppose and hate Him, even attributing His miracles to Satan. Their hearts get harder and harder at each stage until finally they are so hard that nothing can break through…not even the promptings of the Spirit. And by closing themselves off from the work of the Spirit, they close themselves off from God’s grace.

Stephen confronts this issue head on when in his trial before the Jewish leaders he says, “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!” (Acts 7:51). God can save anyone except the person with a hardened heart. Once the heart is hardened, there is nothing that can break through.

Even as believers we have to actively work to keep our hearts from getting hard…not only against God but also against others. The Pharisees’ progression is lived out almost every day in relationships. First we have a question about someone’s actions. Then we start finding fault in their actions. Then we begin looking for reasons to find fault in them. Then we have such a bitter heart toward them that we attribute even their best actions to evil motives. There’s literally nothing the other person can do to change our minds about them. Our hearts are too hard and grace can’t break through.

Lord, keep my heart from growing hard against You and against others!

Very 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. (1:35)

Today begins our reading in the gospel of Mark. Mark is the shortest of the gospels and many believe it was the first one written (around 50 AD). “Mark” refers to John Mark who accompanied Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey but then abruptly left them to return to Jerusalem (cf. Acts 13:13). Apparently either before or after this event, John Mark became closely associated with the apostle Peter and wrote this gospel from Peter’s perspective, perhaps even using Peter’s preaching as the basis for his writing. Mark pictures Jesus primarily as a Servant who ”did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (10:45).

Mark 1:35 was a good reminder for me this morning. It is so easy to get off track in the Christian life or to look for some kind of spiritual “shortcut” to maturity. But, in the end, Christian growth and maturity come through daily discipline and practice. There are no shortcuts. 

From the beginning of His ministry, Jesus set an example for us. Each morning, despite the growing pressures and popularity of His ministry, He got up, left the house, went off to a solitary place, and prayed. Four actions, each with an intent and a purpose.

He got up. That in itself is a challenge some mornings! Because He had a purpose, Jesus did not linger in bed. He disciplined Himself to get up. He left the house and went off to a solitary place. He purposely withdrew from others. Before we face people, we need to face God. Our attitudes just are not right until we set our minds on God and seek the filling of His Spirit. Finally, Jesus prayed. He sought God’s direction and strength for the day. He got His marching orders before He entered the battle.

And Mark makes it very clear that Jesus did not have time to do all this. His life was not the life of a monk, isolated from the demands of life and free to slot out large chunks of time to solitary devotion. Jesus, from the beginning of His ministry, was swamped with the needs, demands, and desires of people. And ministering to people takes time and energy. There is no way around it. Thus Jesus made a point to withdraw, early in the morning, and then when His popularity grew to the point that He could not even enter a town without being mobbed with people, Jesus intentionally found time during the day to withdraw to “lonely places” (1:45).

I think of the car for myself. Instead of turning on the radio, many times I find that driving in the car is the ideal time to “withdraw” from the noise of this world and commune with God. We all need this time. The challenge is finding it. It is there but we have to intentionally look for it and make it a priority in our day.

Jesus’ life had balance–time with God and time with people, moments of prayer and moments of ministry, times of solitude and times of busyness.

Lord, help me to find the same balance in my life!