Aint’ seen nothin yet!
Mark 2:1-12
Feb. 19

† In Jesus Name †

2 Corinthians 1:2-4 (ESV) 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I say those words, from 2 Corinthians, or the like words from Galatians, or Ephesians, or Philemon, every week. They are a standard blessing that Paul uses, hoping that the letter that follows does that very thing. That blessing brings to Paul’s reader, to those listening to these words of mine, the incredible grace and peace of God – the very things we are given, through the incredible Words of the gospel, and the incredible grace poured out for us, in the waters of baptism, and the blood/win accompanying the bread/body of our Lord’s Supper

In 2nd Corinthians, the thought continues.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

That day, at Peter’s house, where Jesus lived, when “not on the road” there were people in need of comfort, in need of relief from affliction. Of all the people there that day, we shall hear specifically of one found more than just relief from an affliction, he found comfort, comfort beyond belief.

The reaction of his friends, who desperately trying to help their friend, was the same as the scribes, the local men whose profession it was to teach God’s word, and guard the people of Israel from false teachers who spoke well, and fraudulently performed “miracles. The reaction to Jesus’ helping this one man, was the same from every person there.

They were all amazed
From talking to themselves
To being unable to think

Stunned, Astonished, rubbing their eyes in disbelief, unable to put words to the incredible thing they had just witnessed. ALL were amazed, and the reaction to this amazement, was praise. I not talking about a rehearsed, well known hymn or praise song being sung by those gathered together by God that day. I am talking about pure, unadulterated, and un-restrained praise as they gave to God the glory for what they had seen.

Earlier, they had questioned themselves, especially the scribes, as they tried to understand the teaching that threw them off balance. They had an interest, after all, as they needed to protect their people from the fake messiahs, and those who peddled miracles and the latest teaching, trying to deceive their friends, and neighbors.

At the end of the day, the skeptics were amazed, they worshipped, they gave to God the praise, and glory and honor due Him, for the incredible miracles they witnessed. No more denial, just adoration.
What did they see that caused such a change, such a transformation?

What they saw
The desperation to see their friend helped
The Man walked away – he just got up and left!
How many of us, let people go without help?

Some of you, have been in the situation of the four friends, desperate to find help for someone you know, who is so afflicted, so hurting, so in need of help, or at least hope. By the end of today, it is my prayer that our eyes will be opened, and we shall realize, that we all know people in situations similar to that paralytic.

These men were desperate to not only find the help – but to see that their friend received the help. Desperate enough to destroy Simon Peter’s roof. I don’t know what it would take to break through a foot of plaster and wood, but these guys did it. With one goal in mind, to bring there friend to Jesus, the only hope that they had, to see their friend given a chance to live.

When I was a child, I was diagnosed with Marfans Syndrome, a pretty rare genetic problem. My folks were told that few people survived 30 with this disorder, as it affects the heart, causing valves to dislocate. This was back in the day, before surgeons could replace heart valves, before technology allowed them to implant defibrillators. Now, with artificial heart valves, marfans holds little threat over me. Back then, there was no medical hope, none of the things we now take for granted.

With little hope, I remember my parents having people all over the place praying for me. I remember getting up early one morning, like at 3 am, and get on a bus with my mom, as we went several hundred miles to a healing service led by Kathryn Kuhlman. My folks would have done anything, to see me healed of Marfans. That is the kind of desperation these men had. Parents with kids that are challenged with health issues know that kind of desperation.

I don’t know if the friends were family, or guys that had grown up alongside the paralyzed man. But they had enough desperation that they were willing to rip up a roof. (Look up)

Their friend, lowered through the roof paralyzed, walked away. Perhaps the only man that was not left there, mouth hanging open. He was healed, but more than that, he was made whole.

What they didn’t see
How sin could be forgiven
How could a man have the authority

It is one thing to see the man walking out of the house, whole, able to jump for joy, able to run home to his wife, and show her what Jesus had done for him. It is one thing for a man to be healed, but how Jesus did it, was what the scribes could not see. Look at verse 6,

6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 "Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

Jesus, in this case, saw a direct connection between this man’s sin, and the paralysis that he was dealing with. Not always can physical ailments be traced to sin, and the guilt and shame that result from that sin, but in this case, it could. Sin does paralyze us all, though the paralysis could be spiritual, emotionally or in our relationships. It restricts how we act, it drives us to hide from life. It drive wedges in families, as people hide what they don’t want others to know. In doing so, we shut ourselves off to them in many ways.

The scribes don’t see this though. They see one problem – as they see it, only God has the right, the authority to forgive sins. That sin can reflect itself physically? No problem there. But that a man, a teacher of scripture, could forgive sins? No, that is what our gospel says they questioned in their hearts. Literally, within their hearts, they “dialogued”. Ever argue with yourself? Wonder if what you just saw or heard, could “really” be what you saw, and heard?

I can see them thinking, if he really said that, he is blaspheming, and we should stone him. How can a man forgive sin? How can he even claim to? Only God has that authority, if I read the Old Testament the way they do.

So Jesus answers, and proves to them, that He is God. He heals, and forgives. He is God. He gives us, the people He still gathers together, His church, the authority to do that on his behalf, in Matthew 16, and in John 20. Complete forgiveness, is available to all, freeing them from the paralysis and giving them comfort and peace.

What we have seen
We are forgiven
Word and Sacraments

Every week, that forgiveness is poured out on us, through God’s word and sacraments. His word promises our salvation, our deliverance from Satan, the freedom to live life now, and the promise of it lasting forever. Our baptism combined with trusting Christ to fulfill what He promised, gives us that forgiveness, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Think of the words that Jesus said, in blessing the bread and wine, they are his body and blood, given for you, for the payment for our sins.

You should know, without any doubt, your sins are forgiven. Because of what the scribes never saw coming, otherwise they would be still stunned and shocked. For Jesus, the son of God, paid for them fully. Completely, on the cross. Nothing left over, no work to be done to guarantee us a place. No time share presentation to listen to, no deposit that will be returned to us later.

Just His grace, pure peace, and comfort, for just like every person in that house in Nazareth, our sins, like theirs, like those of the paralyzed men, are forgiven in Christ!

What we haven’t seen
The Lady from Yugoslavia
The dudes at Tumbleweed

When I started this sermon, I quoted the beginning of Paul’s 2nd letter to the church in Corinth. Listen to the end of it, again,

4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

The scribes in Jesus day, didn’t see the depth of His love, His passion for His people. I think we, in this church, know that love and passion well. But I think we are like the scribes, and less like the friends of the man who had been paralyzed. We don’t have that desperation to see our friends, our families comforted with the very comfort that brings us to trust in Jesus.

I am not sure if it is that we do not see them caught up in their pain, their paralysis, or perhaps we are not so sure that if they do not know Christ, if they do not receive His forgiveness, that eternity for them will not be in God’s presence, but in Hell. Or perhaps we think that there will be time in the future, that right now, their lives are too busy to deal with Jesus, to come to church, to hear about His love.

I am as guilty of this, as anyone. This week, while riding the bus in Las Vegas, I saw people I know need Christ’s comfort, His peace, His grace. The first was a lady, who survived the communist regime in Yugoslavia, only to see her country torn apart by war, when communism failed. She has become a refugee, having escaped to Germany, and finding safety in the USA. Even so, her pain, as she told me of her homeland, show me she needed something that only Jesus could manage. True peace. As I talked to people there, I heard lots of pain, even in the singer whose show came with our “Free” trip. I even think of my friends at Tumbleweed, for whom the stakes are high, yet sometimes I am more interested in toppling their latest argument, than in seeing them relieved, by knowing the treasure of peace that comes in Christ Jesus

But we are blind to them, let me rephrase, we were blind to them, or to their fate without Christ.

How can we see this?
In Christ
In prayer – Luther quote

Luther said, about our gospel reading today,

For the Word of God is powerful enough, when uttered, to change even a godless heart, which is no less unresponsive and helpless than any infant. So through the prayer of the believing church which presents it, a prayer to which all things are possible [Mark 9:23], the infant is changed, cleansed, and renewed by inpoured faith. Nor should I doubt that even a godless adult could be changed, in any of the sacraments, if the same church prayed for and presented him, as we read of the paralytic in the Gospel, who was healed through the faith of others [Mark 2:3–12]. I should be ready to admit that in this sense the sacraments of the New Law are efficacious in conferring grace, not only to those who do not, but even to those who do most obstinately present an obstacle.130 What obstacle cannot be removed by the faith of the church and the prayer of faith? Do we not believe that Stephen converted Paul the Apostle by this power? [Acts 7:58–8:1]. But then the sacraments do what they do not by their own power, but by the power of faith, without which they do nothing at all, as I have said.131[1]
I am going to challenge you to do some “prayer-work” this week. If you are not using the sermon notes, get out that sheet of paper. 8 blanks sit at the top of the form. On the top two, write two question marks. We don’t know who these people are yet, but I think God will show you them this week.

The second set, I want you to write in the first names of two people you think might be interested in hearing the gospel. Not people who attend another church – I want us to pray, as the speaker at the conference said yesterday, to grow heaven’s population, not just the churches. So write two names, of people that you know, who are hurting, and may be ready to hear the gospel. The third set of two, are people that you think may need the gospel, but are seemingly against the idea of church. You know they need to know about Jesus, but they associate church with behaviour modification, or living under the law.

The last two – are the people who you would be stunned to see in church. I got my two. Don and Sam. People it would take a miracle to see come to church.
In our prayer time, we are going to pray for them, so you might as well write in the names now. During the week, I want you to pray for them as well.
Here is the prayer. Lord, bring to Don, Sam, Ilene, Steve, Jackie, and Gary, and the two people you will show me, the comfort you have given to me in Christ Jesus, in the love that took him to the cross. Bring them that comfort, and that peace, that comes through your Word and sacrament.

I am not asking you to talk to them – just to pray.

Be prepared to be stunned.

Knowing the comfort you have been given, the peace of God, which passes all understanding.
AMEN
130 Cf. p. 65.
131 Cf. pp. 66–67.
[1]Luther, M. Luther's Works, Vol. 36 : Word and Sacrament II. Ed. J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann. Luther's Works. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999, c1959.

Having Authority

Epiphany 4 – January 29
Mark 1:21-28

† In the Name of Jesus †

Grace and Peace to you, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ!
Demonstrated Authority

A College professor has it, as he grades the projects of his students. So does the police officer, as you hand him your license and registration through your opened window. The Marine Corps drill instructor knows he has it as well, as will his new recruits, freshly arrived from civilian life. The judge, sitting in his robes, in his courtroom has it as well.
In each of these cases, someone with little common sense, may challenge whether the professor, the police officer, the D.I. or the judge really has authority. The challenger will soon learn, that true authority is not simple demanded, nor is it simply assumed. Rather it is entrusted, and it is given for a reason.

On this day, we as a congregation entrust an amount of authority in our elders, and to our Church Council. It is fitting then, that our sermon text shows the perfect example of authority, and a perfect use of that authority. While it is a lesson for us, who have been entrusted with a level of authority, it is even more inspiring. For in using His authority, Jesus accomplishes a miracle, a miracle that holds incredible promises for you, and for me.

There is another thing about authority – at least legitimate authority. Those who are subject to it recognize it in those who hold it. In our gospel reading today, those who witnessed it, who felt its impact, note Jesus’ authority. It was different from those who claimed to be the authorities, those who were described as teachers of the Law. The people noticed this, as did the demons, whose submission to Jesus’ authority was not willing, but was recognized anyway.

We will see that authority, as Jesus teaches the people of Israel, and as He delivers a man from being mastered by demons. As we look at this, we are going to learn a few things about authority, and most importantly, we shall realize the blessing of Jesus’ authority being used, on our behalf.

Jesus had authority in His teaching
He had the Right
As Moses Prophesied!
It’s not just
As we look at the gospel lesson closely, we see Jesus joining the gathering of God’s people in a small community, called Capernaum. Both in Matthew and Mark’s gospel, we find this is a common behavior for Jesus, and one which was accepted by the leaders of these communities, where people gathered to hear, and to study God’s word.

Jesus, is distinguished here, in comparison to men called scribes, those that studied the Mosaic Law, to the point of emphasizing word choice and grammar. These were men whose lives were dedicated to studying and teaching the scriptures. In modern Jewish terminology, they are the rabbi’s, akin to preachers and professors of the Bible. There men were looked up to for their knowledge, they were respected by people. However, Jesus taught differently.
Perhaps the difference is found in understanding the word “teach” in Greek. It is not to lecture, or to instruct, to share one’s extensive knowledge. The word means, “to cause to learn.” It requires that the “teacher” be more than a student themselves, to have done more than read the material, and found a way to present it. They must live the information, used it in life. That is how one becomes an authority.

Let me give you an example, using the concept of determining a percentage. For a math student, they might get the idea of how to establish what 10 percent or 15 percent is. They could tell you the process of how you determine the percentage. However, ask someone who has been a waitress or waiter for a dozen years. They don’t have to compute the percentages, and they can usually tell you who will tip 10, and who will tip 15 percent!

Or the master carpenter, who can look at a plan for a project, and know, almost instinctively, how many two by fours, how many sheets of plywood, and how many boxes of nails will be needed to complete the project. Whereas I would just stand there… and not even know where to look.

They are experts, they are authorities, they know what they are doing. It is more than mere speculation. When Jesus would take up a scroll, and explains it in the synagogue, His words were different than the professional student/teachers. He didn’t talk about holiness that God expected from man as a philosophy – he knew it, because he lived it. He didn’t speculate when the Kingdom of God would appear, He knew it was now, because His words brought it into existence, in their presence!

He was everything Moses promised He would be, in our Old Testament reading today!

18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19 And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.

Jesus words were the very words of God – the very words of God that the people of God need to hear. They were not theories about when God would come, nor how one might avoid displeasing God, because you came to close to breaking a commandment. Jesus words were true, they detailed what it meant to follow God’s commands, but also gave assurance of God’s love and forgiveness, the forgiveness He would personally guarantee, as He died to pay for that forgiveness on the cross.

By the way, the only authority we have, in the church, is the authority that comes from being in conformity with the very words of God. That is where out authority comes from, not from a degree that says I mastered theology, nor even in the fact that you entrust the preaching in this church to me. It comes when my words, are in concert with the words of Jesus! If my words don’t match, don’t follow them, or even bother to listen. Matter of fact, challenge me on them, for my sake, and for the sake of the church.

Jesus had the authority to ensure that message was accurate, and people knew.

Jesus had authority over all – even demons
The nature of Rebuke!
You know – even Demons know

The authority of Jesus was also shown, not just by His word, but by His deeds. A man shows up, in the gathering of the people of God, who was dominated by an unclean spirit, a demon. It is as if, the very authoritative teaching of Jesus, causes the demon to revealed. Perhaps the man for years had been tormented and controlled by this demon, we do not know – we do know that the demon makes itself, and its control over the man, clear, in view of Christ.

It acknowledges Him clearly – He is the Christ, the Holy One of God. As with most of the power encounters between God and mankind, the demon acknowledges what Jesus can do, and will ultimately do, completely destroy all that opposes the Father’s will. The book of James in the Bible describes this scene clearly – when James indicates that knowledge of God is insufficient, for even the demons know that Jesus is the Messiah, and they tremble at the thought.

I love the pictures that are inherent in the Greek language. Inside the term “said sternly” is the word often translated as rebuke. It is a compound word indicates that Jesus imposes on the demon respect towards Him. Think of the Marine Corps drill instructor, who is obeyed, because his very presence demands respect, because of the authority, and the power behind it. Jesus commands – be quiet, but in the force of a royal command. Come out - Go out from here. The power of the command is such that the demon, despite struggling, ends up doing that. The process is so powerful, that Mark uses a medical term – that phrase shook violently, or convulsed, is the term used for the kind of illness that twists one’s stomach. But the demon, recognizes the authority of Christ, and leaves the man, who is given peace and comfort, finally, at last.

Against one who has been given authority, there is nothing one can do…
So what is the deal about this authority – and Jesus.
His authoritative teaching – is for you!
What did He teach?
God’s Reign is Here
It is the power of God – to save!
His power, is sufficient to save
It makes mincemeat of demons!
It delivers you!

One of the professors at Concordia, in fact, its president, has a great question to ask to those who study the Bible like the scribes, and can note every doctrine, and every little cross t and dotted I. His question – “so what” What does it matter that Jesus had the authority to teach in a way that people actually learnt what the Old Testament meant for them back then, or hat does it matter that 2000years ago , a man commanded a demon to leave another man? Does it make a difference for you and I today?

Yes, it does!

In three ways,
One, His words are still authoritative to us today. We have them in the scriptures, and yes, like the scribes, we are to read and study these words. WE should hear them as the people did, realizing the incredible authority that sits behind the phrases. But that authority speaks of the fact that those words are there, for more than just study. They are there to assure us of Christ’s work, of His love, and of how He would have us live, as He has freed us from those things that dominate us!

Secondly, Jesus actions are still based in His authority. His ability to deliver people form sin, and the power of Satan, has not diminished, at all. He is the Lord, who saves His people.

And lastly, prior to Jesus ascension to heaven, He himself mentions His authority, and that He delegates part of that authority to us. Here those words,

18 When Jesus came near, he spoke to them. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 So wherever you go, make disciples of all nations: Baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach them to do everything I have commanded you. “And remember that I am always with you until the end of time.”

So while we are about our lives, making disciples of all the folk here in Anza and Aguanga, remember, He has the authority, and He will be with you always…

And His peace, the peace of God which passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus, our Lord!