Diseases & Demons....

Does it ever seem as though YouTube eavesdrops on your conversations. For example, do you ever tell a friend that you need to get in better shape and then, all of a sudden, your Youtube app is filled with new exercise routines that tell you how to get in the best shape of your life within seven days? Or, have you ever mentioned to your co-worker that you want to get out of debt and you are instantly flooded with Youtube videos of how to instantly become debt free? Just like these two scenarios invite you into a world that you have yet to (and most likely never will) experience, the two stories within today’s passage, invite the reader into a kingdom that seems too good to be true. However, unlike the aforementioned YouTube video examples, this kingdom will truly be experienced by those who “repent and believe in the gospel” as Jesus calls us to do in Mark 1:14-15. Specifically, these two stories communicate that, in this King’s kingdom, disease and sorrow are banished.  In this passage, Mark 1:29-34, the veil of humanity is being lifted and the deity of Jesus of Nazareth is being revealed. Here we see what life is like as the king rules and reigns. The first insight that this passage provides is….

No disease and No sorrow

After His teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath, Jesus and his disciples go to Peter’s home for lunch. Upon arriving, they discover that Peter’s mother-in-law was ill with a fever. What does Jesus do? He immediately heals her. Mark writes, “And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them” (Mark 1:31). Matthew records, “And when Jesus entered Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever.  He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him” (Matthew 8:14-15). In Matthew 8:16-17, Matthew also records Jesus, in the evening of that same day, healing many who were demon possessed. In so doing, He fuifilled the Old Testament prophecy recorded in Isaiah 53:4. 

Now, we must remember that Mark is writing his book specifically for doubters, denyers and disciples. For those who are doubting the existence of Jesus, Mark reminds us that the One who will ransom Himself for us spiritually will first be a healer of individuals suffering from disease and demonic possession. These healings are how Jesus verifies Himself as the Messiah, the One long promised to save His people from their sins. However, at this point, you may be asking if King Jesus truly reigns over a Kingdom where disease and sorrow are completely gone. After all, you and/or others you love may be suffering from disease and/or sorrow. Furthermore, in John 16:33, Jesus states the following: “In this world you will have trouble.” And, as the Bible records, our Savior Himself walked the road of sorrow, betrayal and difficulty and eventually had His own life snuffed out. When, then, will believers experience this kingdom void of disease and sorrow? The answer is when the kingdom of God fully comes or when a believer's life on this Earth concludes and we transition into God's eternal presence.  Friend, if you have followed Jesus' command "to repent and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:15), you will experience the fullness of this Kingdom where sorrow and disease exist no more!....

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