Restoration of the World

MARK 1 ^{1 – 45}

This is a title that befits only our Lord Jesus Christ, because he alone is able to do the following:

1. Give freedom to the captives – Vs 1-15
2. Restore good conscience – Vs 16-31
3. And a holy conduct in us – Vs 32-45

1. Freedom to the captives

The Old Testament prophesy states that a messenger would come to announce the good news of a Savior who would retore God’s people to their home land, lift peoples’ hearts from their earthly thoughts, minds, hard labor and earthly principalities to a new heavenly kingdom.

He would save them from captivity to a new promised land.

The Jewish exile in Egypt and the captivity in Babylon were only a small measure of the devil’s captivity and dominance of one rule over another, or one nation over another.

This invisible hand of the devil has remained the same, in fact, it has remained in total control of the world to this day. Both captor and captives are all still under the one ruler – the devil – who usurped power and made God’s creation slaves to sin and death. He pays each one in the coin of death.

This captivity appears in many ways; the economic, social, political and military powers of one nation over another, territorial boundaries, differences in the color our skin and more, have produced hatred among men.

There is also one other specific prophecy – a dramatic voice in the wilderness – announcing the arrival of a Savior who would set free all captives from the devil’s strong grip.

The Savior would remove all obstacles which separate human souls from God’s love. The obstacles are prefigured as the wilderness with hills, valleys and rocky patches, where no roads can be constructed.

What really are these obstacles? Basically, our flesh and blood (our earthly dependence to this world).

John the Baptist’s announcement of the Savior is still as great as ever. The Savior actually came exactly as John had announced. He (the Savior) alone can make straight roads in the wilderness of the hearts of all captors and captives.

John chose to make the announcements from the wilderness, not voluntarily but as was directed by God. In order to take peoples’ hearts away from their ordinary earthly occupations, thoughts and interests. In order the more to fix their minds and hearts (souls) to the spiritual things of the world to come – the Savior with his heavenly kingdom.

John’s message of God’s restoration is still the same – “Repentance” – a change from a seared (dead) conscience to one filled with God’s love through faith in Christ Jesus. God’s love in a human heart is the spiritual baptism – the true repentance.

Sin is a result of flesh and blood (the soul), which is a result of our contact with the world. It consists of all our thoughts, mind, all bodily inclinations; all of which are products of this earthly world. Sin is our primitive lifestyle and modern living in this world. Our earthly lives (whether modern or primitive), completely reject God. This means our organs of soul and body can only respond to wealth, comforts, poverty, enmity, pain, bodily desire, etc., the penalty of which is death, unless a baptism of the spirit occurs.

Many prophets before John understood this sinful condition of our flesh and blood (human heart). They chose to live in the wilderness for spiritual reasons and this dictated their dressing and dependency on God’s love (providence).

Zechariah 13⁴: The garments of hair was the usual dressing for the prophets.

2 King 1⁸: King Ahaziah recognized Elijah and described him as a hairy man.

In the same wilderness, Elijah made his appearance.

The very appearance of John is a stern sermon and a wake-up call to all who make food, drink, housing, raiment, career, etc., their chief concern in life.

Digital generations, modern and primitive living are all wonderful gifts to life, but John’s life illustrates how little a man’s life really needs while here below. We are lost in both our modern ways and poverty, that is, all having dead consciences without God’s love in our hearts.

God’s kingdom is the complete opposite to all our earthly expectations which all lead to sin or rejection of God’s kingdom

To counteract sin and rejection of God – John introduced God’s baptism of the spirit, which is ultimately the most honorable and rewarding gift which arises from the teaching of the One coming after John.

All other fields of learning are good and wonderful gifts which may greatly ease the human burdens in our earthly sojourn. However, they all have one problem; men pursue and glorify them for their financial rewards and success in life, which many times is to the neglect of the spiritual baptism.

The superabounding fullness of spiritual baptism is that it cleanses (removes sin) completely and leads to eternal life.

Spiritual baptism. God’s love in our hearts, sets us free from the captivity of the devil, from a dead conscience, to a new heart filled with the spiritual things of God.

V10: “The Heavens opened…” The Father spoke from heaven, the Holy Spirit descended on God’s Son – the work of the Holy Spirit began.

“Thou art my beloved Son” – because from now on God’s love, the gift of the spirit or the Word will be Christ’s whole life and nothing else. The two extremes are revealed. The souls of men with flesh and blood is one extreme; and Christ on the other, filled with God’s spirit of love.

The Son of Man was completely occupied with the spiritual things – God’s love – constant communion with the Father, ie., in prayer. His spiritual work is visible to us humans with our seared (dead) consciences in the following ways:

• Jesus had no family, never married and had no child.
• He rejected all the religious institutional teachings of his day because they were all full of lies and they no longer held onto God’s promises to Abraham, the unity in Word, thought and works.
• They (the world) rejected God’s love.

So are the many religious institutions of our day

• He rejected the temple worship with their leaders because the truth was no longer being taught, ie., One God, One Spirit, with Christ as the head of the Church

So are the many places of worship today with their modern gospel

• He even rejected his own biological relatives Matthew 12 ⁴⁹: “Holding his hand over his disciples, he said, “Behold my mother, my brethren …”

The gift of the Spirit (God’s love) comprehends what the world is and turns away from it by pursuing the things of the spirit. A wonderful new teaching even to this day.

2. The Teaching of Jesus

The Ever-New Doctrine of a New Life

The world with its human inhabitants is a collection of evil spirits, ie., people with seared (dead) consciences. Hearts without God’s spirit of love. This is a radical teaching – sounds uncharitable and hypocritical – but it’s the truth.

With a seared conscience, every work done is that of the devil, ie., sin. Even that which appears as most excellent is sin. That is why the world is a wilderness, the great tempter.

The head of the hellish kingdom forever opposed to God and devoted to man’s eternal ruin.

Human nature – flesh and blood (soul) is sin because it suffers from hunger, sickness, poverty, deprivation, greed (obsessions), etc., a result of a seared conscience (ie., total dependence on the world).

Such a soul abuses God’s providence and dependence by putting false trust in self, human abilities and securities, education, political systems, etc., instead of God’s spiritual gifts.

The spiritual heart in man is always dependent on God – the Word, the communion, prayer. The world in which he lives becomes foreign to him.

Now we can see the contrast, flesh and blood without God’s spirit (seared conscience) – the results are predictable: self-sufficiency, a world divided by wealth and poverty, insufficient modern resources, dissatisfaction, people full of greed, etc., and ever wanting more and more. These are the results of flesh and blood being in contact with the world.

When the test (temptation) came to the One filled with God’s spirit, the results are excellent. Flesh and blood filled with God’s sprit could not fail. Nothing in the world attracted him. Jesus even endured the agony of the whole sinful world. This was Jesus’ passion, which actually started with his baptism, right through to his crucifixion.

He overcame all of it.

Here then is a teaching, filled with mighty deeds and miraculous works; a life, though flesh and blood, only the spiritual life was manifested while he lived on earth.

His teaching went far and wide throughout the land of Galilee and formed the basis of the Gospel of Christ.

Here then is the light (the teaching) at last for the land of darkness. The hope of life for those sitting in the shadow of death.

But to this day, the world, its leaders and people, will not accept this light, this teaching; they instead prefer darkness, the modern gospel, etc.

In this same world and leadership, John was betrayed into the hands of Herod Antipas, and the same rulers did the same to Jesus. The consequences of rejecting God are visible. We have a wide divide, the proud inhabitants against those looked down upon.

Amidst this darkness, God still rules through this kingdom, the Gospel of Christ which goes back to the beginning of times and rules the world until the end of time.

All that is in the world, even every hostile force is subservient to the plans of God, ie., the Gospel with those who have been won through repentance.

The Gospel is God’s love (Christ) to the world, and on receiving this gift of the spirit, the whole inner life is enlightened (good conscience). The enlightened man sees the unworthiness (vainness)of all things here below and the greatness of the new life in Christ.

This light, the New teaching is the call of the Gospel – the way of life.

All our human labors and efforts in making a living are worth nothing compared to the way of the Lord, Jesus’ teaching.

The two brothers, Simon and Andrew not only left their professional work (fishing) but also entered upon an intensive course in training by following Jesus.

James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, left their father, mother and family; cut off all family ties and business, and followed Jesus.

• So did Matthew – he left his well-paying publican office to follow Jesus.

Jesus preached several times in the synagogue in Capernaum, the center of Galilee; and the people, including his disciples, were dumb founded at his teaching.

Every eye and ear was fixed on him in rapt attention, dreading to miss a single word.

What made the effect is the new doctrine, the new life in Christ for the New Kingdom after death.

No other profession has ever offered such radical teaching leading to the good conduct – cleansed of sin. Yes, there are humanities – but they have no power, ie., they are mere human efforts.

3. Conduct Cleansed

It is only Jesus’ teaching which can change the conduct of man (behavior) because of its truth as opposed to all other worldly teaching. It unites into one body of Christ and cleanses the soul of man. No other human teaching however, beneficial, can cleanse the soul of man and form one united body of many souls.

In fact, all other teaching leads to the corruption of mind and heart, by not revealing how unworthy this world is. Also, the teaching makes you forget all about the vainness of the world we live in. Makes you forget all about death.

Christ’s teaching leads not only to the realization of the corruption here below, but also leads to the holiness through God’s spiritual gifts.

The holiness is the conduct God required of us here below. This holiness is God’s love in the heart. The spirit of God which animates such a person is God’s deity – His holiness or divinity – the divine authority which shone so brightly with overwhelming power in Christ’s ministry; in sharp contrast to all worldly teaching, inventions and works.

The most outstanding feature of Jesus’ holiness is the cleansing power over sin and death.

All other human teachings with their related products are referred to as lies because they give only a small spark of life, aimed at increasing human sustainability and comfort for only a small period of time and then disappear, vanish or decay.

Here Jesus deity or holiness is revealed and no other such ruler on earth has ever existed.

As he was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath, a demon possessed man rushed into the solemn assembly.

Every human being without God’s spirit of love is filled with the spirit of the world – here described as an unclean person or a demon; which predicated that every trace of moral spiritual purity of God was nonexistent.

• Utter foulness fills the inhabitants of the world with sin, death and decay; such are works of our human lives without God’s love; and such is the conduct man (flesh and blood).

We all have experienced the works of the spirits of this world day by day. Such works include hatred, greed, laziness, murder, anger, divorce, war, poverty, disease, our labors, trials, etc.

Here the demon possessed spirits of man said: “Do leave us alone”

In Matthew 8 ²⁹: “What do you want with us, Son of God”

The same is uttered silently in many peoples’ hearts who are not believers.

Here in this world below, is the abyss, and Christ’s teaching is directly against this world with its innumerable spirits.

Jesus instantly silenced the evil spirits – “Be silent” and the man was set free – cleansed.

Strong emotions were aroused, all amazed and claimed: “A new teaching with authority at last”, Power over sin is cleansing power indeed.

Jesus uttered only one word and helplessly these demons yielded. This cleansing power proved that the doer is the Son of God – revealing the holiness of God.

Reports spread throughout the surrounding regions of Galilee. The same reports have crossed oceans and centuries of time to reach every corner of the globe. And with God’s divine deity, his love, Jesus reigns from one generation to another until the end of time with his gracious gifts of the Spirit in people’s hearts.

As with the many different spirits of demons in the world, so are the physical spirits of incapacitation. And with Peter’s mother-in-law, no weakness or lassitude was left as is always the case in our modern medical healings and discoveries.

Further still, all those who were suffering and possessed were healed and cleansed of their sins (spirits).

Vs 33: Mark graphically states that the whole city assembled at Peter’s doorstep.

Vs. 34: And Jesus healed them all, expelled many demons, that is, all types of sickness and disease. Men were cleansed of their sins – their conduct became holy – God’s love kindled in their hearts. Jesus had opened the doors of their hearts with God’s Word and faith was kindled with its product of love.

This conduct of holiness we learn more from the leper. The man struggled – had to make his way through the crowd to Jesus.

Matthew exclaims “Lo the man comes beseeching him, falling on his knees” – fell flat on the ground – the word used is “prostrate”.

Luke says that he fell on his face while kneeling, bowing his head to the ground.

The leper’s petition reveals what his attitude towards Jesus really was: He fully believed in the power of Jesus to heal and cleanse his sins (leprous condition) with a single word: “thou (canst) can cleanse me” but also adds:

“if thou shall will”- ie., the leper is willing to remain in his living death.

Submissive faith can go no further – most importantly, the leper distinguishes divine temporal gifts from spiritual and eternal gifts.

Also, the man knew what caused his leprous condition – sin and death – the natural condition of the world we live in.

Jesus alone can heal and remove sin. Here is the mighty work, His conduct of holiness – which he freely gives by his spiritual gift of love.

This man was full of leprosy, beyond cure by our modern medical systems. He was counted as one dead – thus unclean.

The cause of human suffering and sorrow of body is one – the world rejected God’s love – the Gospel of Christ with his spiritual gifts.

The deity (holiness) of Jesus shines through the veil of his flesh in all his miracles (conduct). John 14 – cleansing of sin and death – must not be separated from the spiritual gift of eternal life.

Flesh that was eaten away, fingers and toes that had dropped off, raw sores that were spreading all over the body – all were instantly restored; the body sound and made whole.

All modern “healing” fades into nothing besides this omnipotent holy deed of Jesus.

To the hostile class of many, both educated and non-educated – Jesus sends this message of the leper as an example (testament) of Jesus’ deity and holiness of his conduct.

May we learn from this leper………….