Public and Private Cleansing – Mark 1:35-45
Public and Private Cleansing – Mark 1:35-45
By Pastor Lee Hemen
September 6, 2009 AM
Some of us are very private, while others are very public about our lives. If you become famous you soon learn that every aspect of your life is open to public scrutiny. I found it kind of humorous that when President Obama went on vacation recently that he wanted and expected the media to leave him and his family alone. In our world today that is simply not possible with someone in his position. Every word and every nuance is examined, even while the President is on vacation. Privacy can be hard to obtain but sometimes it is necessary for a person to mature in their relationship with God.
We might never think that Jesus would need time alone to pray, but He did. He needed this time to reconnect with God the Father, to get His priorities in order, and to find a personal time of spiritual renewal and personal cleansing whereby He could forget about everything and focus on God and His plan. We discover that in the life of Jesus there were times of both public and private cleansing. Let’s see what Mark has to say about it this morning.
READ: Mark 1:35-45
What do you do before you have to make an important decision in your life? Do you seek the counsel of others that you respect? Do you find a quiet place to get away even for a moment so that you can sort out your thoughts and exactly what needs to be done? Do you begin by seeking God’s face in prayer? We discover that Jesus did all of these things during…
I. A time of private cleansing with God. (vv. 35-39)
1. A period alone with God provides a point of personal purification! For Jesus this was not to take care of any sin, because He was sinless. Let me explain what I mean: We discover very quickly what Jesus found to be important in life. The first thing was that He needed time alone with God. Sure, He is God’s one and only Son and yet He needed time to be with God. Why? Wasn’t He after all there with God since the very creation of all things? Has He not always existed and always will exist? The answer of course is a definite “YES!” to all of these, however, Jesus in human flesh needed time for regular spiritual revival and spiritual renewal. Notice that it was “very early in the morning,” when Jesus quietly left the others and went off alone. No distractions. No inquiring people. No prying eyes. Just Jesus and God. In fact, “while it was still dark.” He withdrew from the clamorous Capernaum crowds to find solitude with God. We discover something very wonderful as Mark describes for us how Jesus did this on three separate and crucial occasions during His life. And, each in a setting of darkness and aloneness: 1) Here, near the beginning of his ministry (Mark 1:35), 2) during the middle of His ministry (Mark 6:46), and 3) at the very end of His life (Mark 14:32-42). All three were occasions when Jesus faced the possibility of achieving His messianic mission in a more, shall we say, “attractive” but less costly way. However we immediately discover that in each case Jesus gained spiritual strength and personal renewal or cleansing through prayer. Again, not from sin, but rather through discovering His connection with God anew each time. That He was where God wanted Him to be. Do you seek out a time of regular private cleansing alone with God? You should.
EXAMPLE: So odd was this for even Jesus’ followers that they had to go and look for Him. But now because of His time alone with God, He was prepared for the oncoming duties God wanted Him to do. To the disciple’s accusation, Jesus only responds, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” To be able to do what God has planned for your life can only come after you have spent time alone with Him on a regular basis. Jesus knew God the Father intimately because he spent time alone with Him regularly. It baffles me that so many Christians think they can skate through life with just the power of a few half-hearted prayers offered up in a vain attempt to justify their walk with the Lord. The whole story of creation and salvation is that the Creator of the universe desired fellowship with us – sinful human beings. He has provided a way for that to happen through faith in His Son, but He has also given us a wonderful opportunity to know and do His will by spending time alone with Him! A time of private renewal and cleansing.
There are those who spend too much time thinking about Jesus or thinking about doing something for Jesus, but never actually do anything concrete for the Lord. Jesus was about ministry. His whole life, wrapped around ministry. Therefore it is not unusual to discover Jesus heading out to do ministry after a time of personal cleansing. For Him, afterwards, there needed to also be…
II. A time of public cleansing in ministry. (vv. 40-45)
1. A moment ministering to others gives our life much needed motivation! We forget about ourselves for a minute and begin to think of others first. The world does not revolve around us when we minister. It is a catharsis so-to-speak. Not by trying to gain “brownie points” or dispensation by ministering, but by discovering for ourselves true meaning in life as we serve others as Jesus served. And notice, again, we find what mattered to Jesus in His life, and so we learn that the second important thing for Him was ministry. Remember, He related, “That is why I have come.” In this, He ministered to those whom He sought out or those who sought Him out in faith. After going “throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons,” we find a “man with leprosy” who comes to Jesus begging “Him on his knees, ‘If you are willing, you can make me clean.’” Can you imagine? A leper! Lepers could not be cured back then. Hansen’s disease is rarely infectious especially after as little as 2 weeks of treatment. In fact, 95% of all people are naturally immune. But back then, leprosy was feared. Where the normal everyday person would be filled with horror of a leper being that close, Jesus is “filled with compassion” and “reached out his hand and touched the man!” There is freedom found in ministering to those who cannot restore themselves. Jesus’ response is: “I am willing, be clean!” Why would Jesus do such a thing? I believe His disciples needed to see what He was calling them to in a dramatic fashion and God had told Him during His time alone in prayer that this would occur. It freed the disciples later to be able to minster to anyone. It freed Jesus to minister to anyone who came to Him. And, it also freed the leper from a life of utter rejection by everyone he met or ever knew. It was a time of public cleansing in ministry for all involved. Self-sacrificing ministry has a way of doing this.
EXAMPLE: We discover that “Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: ‘See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.’” Why? Scholars are in disagreement as to the reasoning, but all agree that Jesus wanted him to praise God and do what was required of him so that he would not get into trouble later on. But it was not so much that he was disobedient as overjoyed. “Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news.” I mean, wouldn’t you? We find that “As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.” Ministry sometimes does that. Hinders us. It demands the sacrifice of our time, of our talent, and of our treasure. We have to forget about ourselves for a moment and put others before us. Yet when we do follow through we discover a time of public cleansing in ministry.
Conclusion:
Jesus needed to have both a private and public time of cleansing during His ministry. So do you. When will you?
----
This article is copyrighted © 2009 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission. You now have my permission to use the entire article.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
September 6, 2009 AM
Some of us are very private, while others are very public about our lives. If you become famous you soon learn that every aspect of your life is open to public scrutiny. I found it kind of humorous that when President Obama went on vacation recently that he wanted and expected the media to leave him and his family alone. In our world today that is simply not possible with someone in his position. Every word and every nuance is examined, even while the President is on vacation. Privacy can be hard to obtain but sometimes it is necessary for a person to mature in their relationship with God.
We might never think that Jesus would need time alone to pray, but He did. He needed this time to reconnect with God the Father, to get His priorities in order, and to find a personal time of spiritual renewal and personal cleansing whereby He could forget about everything and focus on God and His plan. We discover that in the life of Jesus there were times of both public and private cleansing. Let’s see what Mark has to say about it this morning.
READ: Mark 1:35-45
What do you do before you have to make an important decision in your life? Do you seek the counsel of others that you respect? Do you find a quiet place to get away even for a moment so that you can sort out your thoughts and exactly what needs to be done? Do you begin by seeking God’s face in prayer? We discover that Jesus did all of these things during…
I. A time of private cleansing with God. (vv. 35-39)
1. A period alone with God provides a point of personal purification! For Jesus this was not to take care of any sin, because He was sinless. Let me explain what I mean: We discover very quickly what Jesus found to be important in life. The first thing was that He needed time alone with God. Sure, He is God’s one and only Son and yet He needed time to be with God. Why? Wasn’t He after all there with God since the very creation of all things? Has He not always existed and always will exist? The answer of course is a definite “YES!” to all of these, however, Jesus in human flesh needed time for regular spiritual revival and spiritual renewal. Notice that it was “very early in the morning,” when Jesus quietly left the others and went off alone. No distractions. No inquiring people. No prying eyes. Just Jesus and God. In fact, “while it was still dark.” He withdrew from the clamorous Capernaum crowds to find solitude with God. We discover something very wonderful as Mark describes for us how Jesus did this on three separate and crucial occasions during His life. And, each in a setting of darkness and aloneness: 1) Here, near the beginning of his ministry (Mark 1:35), 2) during the middle of His ministry (Mark 6:46), and 3) at the very end of His life (Mark 14:32-42). All three were occasions when Jesus faced the possibility of achieving His messianic mission in a more, shall we say, “attractive” but less costly way. However we immediately discover that in each case Jesus gained spiritual strength and personal renewal or cleansing through prayer. Again, not from sin, but rather through discovering His connection with God anew each time. That He was where God wanted Him to be. Do you seek out a time of regular private cleansing alone with God? You should.
EXAMPLE: So odd was this for even Jesus’ followers that they had to go and look for Him. But now because of His time alone with God, He was prepared for the oncoming duties God wanted Him to do. To the disciple’s accusation, Jesus only responds, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” To be able to do what God has planned for your life can only come after you have spent time alone with Him on a regular basis. Jesus knew God the Father intimately because he spent time alone with Him regularly. It baffles me that so many Christians think they can skate through life with just the power of a few half-hearted prayers offered up in a vain attempt to justify their walk with the Lord. The whole story of creation and salvation is that the Creator of the universe desired fellowship with us – sinful human beings. He has provided a way for that to happen through faith in His Son, but He has also given us a wonderful opportunity to know and do His will by spending time alone with Him! A time of private renewal and cleansing.
There are those who spend too much time thinking about Jesus or thinking about doing something for Jesus, but never actually do anything concrete for the Lord. Jesus was about ministry. His whole life, wrapped around ministry. Therefore it is not unusual to discover Jesus heading out to do ministry after a time of personal cleansing. For Him, afterwards, there needed to also be…
II. A time of public cleansing in ministry. (vv. 40-45)
1. A moment ministering to others gives our life much needed motivation! We forget about ourselves for a minute and begin to think of others first. The world does not revolve around us when we minister. It is a catharsis so-to-speak. Not by trying to gain “brownie points” or dispensation by ministering, but by discovering for ourselves true meaning in life as we serve others as Jesus served. And notice, again, we find what mattered to Jesus in His life, and so we learn that the second important thing for Him was ministry. Remember, He related, “That is why I have come.” In this, He ministered to those whom He sought out or those who sought Him out in faith. After going “throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons,” we find a “man with leprosy” who comes to Jesus begging “Him on his knees, ‘If you are willing, you can make me clean.’” Can you imagine? A leper! Lepers could not be cured back then. Hansen’s disease is rarely infectious especially after as little as 2 weeks of treatment. In fact, 95% of all people are naturally immune. But back then, leprosy was feared. Where the normal everyday person would be filled with horror of a leper being that close, Jesus is “filled with compassion” and “reached out his hand and touched the man!” There is freedom found in ministering to those who cannot restore themselves. Jesus’ response is: “I am willing, be clean!” Why would Jesus do such a thing? I believe His disciples needed to see what He was calling them to in a dramatic fashion and God had told Him during His time alone in prayer that this would occur. It freed the disciples later to be able to minster to anyone. It freed Jesus to minister to anyone who came to Him. And, it also freed the leper from a life of utter rejection by everyone he met or ever knew. It was a time of public cleansing in ministry for all involved. Self-sacrificing ministry has a way of doing this.
EXAMPLE: We discover that “Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: ‘See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.’” Why? Scholars are in disagreement as to the reasoning, but all agree that Jesus wanted him to praise God and do what was required of him so that he would not get into trouble later on. But it was not so much that he was disobedient as overjoyed. “Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news.” I mean, wouldn’t you? We find that “As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.” Ministry sometimes does that. Hinders us. It demands the sacrifice of our time, of our talent, and of our treasure. We have to forget about ourselves for a moment and put others before us. Yet when we do follow through we discover a time of public cleansing in ministry.
Conclusion:
Jesus needed to have both a private and public time of cleansing during His ministry. So do you. When will you?
----
This article is copyrighted © 2009 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission. You now have my permission to use the entire article.
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