FBC Morning Light – February 9, 2023

Well a good Thursday morning to you. I trust your week has gone well thus far. Today we're beginning in our Bible reading plan the book of Mark, the gospel of Mark, and in the middle of chapter 1 you have a series of events that occurred really in fewer than 24 hours.

Jesus’ Early Ministry in Capernaum

These events, this particular day or 24-hour period, occurs shortly after Jesus had called to himself Peter and Andrew and James and John. We read that in verse 20 that these men, they're called by Jesus, they forsook their nets, they followed Jesus, they went and followed Jesus.

And then verse 21 says they went into Capernaum and immediately on the Sabbath day he went in the synagogue and taught. So this is a Sabbath day, Jesus is teaching on the Sabbath day, and in the synagogue on that particular day there was a man with an unclean spirit, a demon-possessed guy, and he cried out, the demon cried out through him, said let us alone, and Jesus cast out this demon, this unclean spirit, on this particular morning of the Sabbath.

And it caused no small stir. So who in the world is this, that the demons are subject to him? From there they leave the synagogue and they go to the house of Simon and Andrew, Peter and Andrew, and then James and John were there along, and Peter's mother-in-law, we read in verse 30, was sick with a fever, and Jesus simply touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and served them.

And then that evening, as the Sabbath is over and the sun sets, they brought to him, verse 32 says, they brought to him all who were sick, those who were demon-possessed, the whole city, it seemed like, was gathered at the door.

There was just a ton of people who were just wanting to hear what Jesus has to say and see what Jesus is going to do. The whole city, verse 33 says, was gathered at the door, and Jesus did a lot. It says he healed many who were sick and he cast out many demons, and he didn't let the demons speak.

And then night fell, and everybody goes to their homes, and everyone goes to bed and has a good night of sleep, but in the morning, in the next morning, Jesus gets up really early, before it was daylight, and he went out of the city to a solitary place to spend time alone with his father in prayer, and he prayed.

Well, Peter and the others, they got up and they're looking around, where's Jesus? Where'd he go? And they're panicking, you know, what happened to him? And so they go looking for him, they go out looking for him, and they finally find him out there in the wilderness, and they tell him, hey look, everyone's looking for you!

Come on, man, this is what you came to do! Everybody's wanting to see you, they want to hear you, they brought sick people, come on, let's go, let's get at it! That is the mentality of our world, isn't it?

Jesus’ Purpose Was to Preach the Kingdom

You know, you're the Messiah, you know, everybody's wanting you, and they're wanting to own you, come on! What did Jesus say? He says, let's go to the next towns, I'm not going to stay here, let's go to the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose, I have come forth.

And so they left. Counterintuitive, isn't it? On one hand, it's counterintuitive, it would seem that if, you know, Jesus is the one of compassion, and kindness, and all the rest of that, that he would stay right there and take care of as many people as he possibly could, till there were no more people to take care of.

But that's not why he came. That's not why he came, that wasn't his purpose in coming, to hang out in Capernaum, and to deal with every particular problem that somebody might come to him with, that's not what he came to do.

What was his purpose in coming? His purpose in coming was to have an itinerant ministry throughout the land of Judea and of Galilee, and to proclaim the coming of the kingdom of God, because he was going to come, he the king, was coming to die as the Savior.

And he came for these purposes, and he did not come to fulfill the desires, and the whims, and the will of everyone else. It's good to know your purpose, good to know what God has called you to do, and, you know, that limits you, that directs you as well it should, and Jesus gives us a good example of how that is essential, how that's necessary, how it's helpful.

Imagine if here very early in Jesus' public ministry, he just said, oh, okay, everybody here in Capernaum wants me here, okay, I'll just stay here and do what they want me to do. Well, his ministry would have been very limited, and he wouldn't have ended up in Jerusalem or on a cross.

Gratitude for Christ’s Faithful Mission

I'm glad he did what he came to do. So our Father today, we're grateful for the clear purpose of the Lord Jesus, and his faithful, diligent carrying out of that purpose for which he came. We are the beneficiaries of that purpose here a couple thousand years later.

Thank you for him, for his work, and his faithfulness. We ask these things now in Jesus' name. All right, well, have a good rest of your Thursday, and I trust the Lord will bless you in it. Good day.