Key Scriptures: Mark I:40 -2:12

Resource: No Perfect People Allowed
Our Series: This Beautiful Mess and the Shocking Embrace of God

Introduction: Mark 1:40 -2:12
Although these events occur in different locations, a few days apart, and in different chapters, Mark is highlighting the essence of what He means in his opening statement. Mark 1:1 “ the beginning of the Gospel about Jesus the Son of God.”
Gospel means:

Something completely different is now taking place.
It is an epoch-making, world history changing, “things are never to be the same event. (Jesus’ coming to earth)
Namely, that God is here, right now!
He is on our side, actively seeking to help us in the way we most need help.
God is on the scene, and He is passionate to save us.
No one is beyond His reach! (ie.- not the demon possessed man in Mk.1, not a leper, not a crippled man)
Jesus can come to anyone, anywhere, in any condition that they find themselves in, and radically turn their life around!

This is what we’ve heard as we have been reading the stories of different ones who had their lives and their perspective of God completely re-arranged.

1. As I read Mark’s gospel I ask myself:

Why this or that particular account? Why did Mark single out this one from so many others?
Does he put this one next to that one for a reason?
Is there something he wants us to see beyond just the story by itself?

2. What I see is:

The leper is isolated because of what is on the outside of him.( Mk. 1:40) “If you will, you can make me clean.”
But the crippled man may be isolated because of what is on the inside of him. (Mk. 2:5) “My son your sins are forgiven.” Jesus speaks to what is on the inside.
The physical need of the leper and the crippled man are obvious, but Jesus’ first response to them is not so obvious.

Jesus reaches out His hand and touches the leper. (Mk. 1:41) This would be shocking to those looking on because it broke the social/religious boundaries and it made the one touching the leper unclean himself.
What is Jesus seeing, knowing, and doing?
What if this man had not had any human touch for many, many years?
Is it possible that the unseen longing in his heart was that someone would touch him, that someone would receive him?

Jesus tells the crippled man that his sins are forgiven, which is not the reason why his friends had lowered him through the roof.

This shocks the religious leaders present, and probably his friends, as well.
Jesus goes right to the unspoken need of his heart.
Is it possible that the crippled man’s greater pain was in his sin, and in his longing to be free from that? Something that others could not see from the outside?

3. The unseen pain in our life may be where we need healing the most.
      A. Example: The story of Cassidy: a young woman raised in the church, outwardly she appeared perfect, but inwardly she felt unclean. She carried guilt, shame, anger. She felt imperfect, so she hid from people. When she was 19 she was raped and became pregnant, and had an abortion. She stayed in the abusive relationship because she thought that she deserved it; that she deserved to be punished. She was depressed and isolated herself.
B. What about us? Do we have our own hidden, unresolved pain?
C. What God wants for us is not just to look good on the outside, He wants us to be free on the inside.
D. You may have had some measure of God’s forgiveness growing up in the church, but how easy is it to lose that sense of His compassion and mercy when you have done something that causes you great shame and hurt?

4. What Jesus wants for each of us to know that God’s heart for us is greater than anything we could ever do.

You can know it on the outside, but not know it on the inside. Shame, guilt, and depression can cover it up.
It’s very easy to live under the sense that God is only pleased with you if you act perfectly.
Cassidy was a perfect girl- good grades, role model, most likely to succeed. But while the outside appeared perfect, inside she was living in a constant state of guilt, shame and anger.

5. It is this guilt, shame, and anger that draw the compassion of God towards us.

His heart is to touch our heart.

Cassidy became more and more isolated and alone in her failure. She says, “Eventually, I hid my true self from family, friends, and especially God.”
She was pressured into having sex.

Have you ever given in to pressure and regretted it, and hated yourself?

She was determined to remain a virgin.

Have you ever failed in a determination that you had?
What did you do with that?
Did you hide it from others, and bury it so you wouldn’t feel guilty?
Did you rearrange your values so you could be acceptable to yourself?

She says, “I was living alone in my house full of shame.” It was a shame that was beyond her control- rape. It was a shame for making a decision out of desperation.- having an abortion.
She says, “ I thought I deserved the physical, verbal, and emotional abuse.”

Do you ever think, “I’m must deserve what I’m getting because of what I have done?”

She says, “The touching of others actually hurt.” While her past got buried, it affected her on the outside. In effect, it crippled her, made her feel untouchable.

6. What do we do with a story of lepers and cripples lowered through roofs?

We can all put ourselves in these stories.

I know girls who have talked about their pains, but really hold themselves in a bondage of guilt, and the sense of I deserve what I’m getting.”
I know guys who, because they don’t want to be weak, or don’t even know how to express themselves, have stuffed garbage deep inside them. And they become emotional cripples, unable to relate to their wives or their kids, or to friends.
Jesus doesn’t want us to live in that state; not telling anybody your stuff.

Example- Every Tuesday the trash man comes. I try to stuff it all in one bag, stomping on it to get it all in. It ways about 75 lbs. Then when I try to carry it out, the bag breaks and there is trash everywhere.
Example- I spoke with a mom who said to me,” I have my son back.” Her son had been through some really painful experiences, and couldn’t help but turn in on himself.

7.One of the greatest places of suffering is in isolation of our thoughts, and what is going on inside of us that others may not so easily see.
A. What do we read that Jesus does? It says that He was filled with compassion. Mark 1:41- “Moved with pity, He stretched out His hand and touched him.”

Last week we read that as a pastor labored to help the woman in the trappings of her sexual identity, as he patiently listened to the story of her life, her childhood of abuse, and the abuse of her teenage years, that his heart broke for her with compassion.

8. Compassion comes, not by judging, but by listening to others, and listening to the cry of their hearts.

Compassion comes to us because we are aware of our own helpless condition, and the cry of our heart, and our own need for a deliverer.
Compassion leads us to tolerance for others.
Compassion comes because, little by little, as we learn how to receive God’s forgiveness and compassion for ourselves, we can help others to receive God’s forgiveness and compassion.
Cassidy learned God’s grace through the compassion of others. Freedom dawns as she opens up.

9. Contrary to what we think, Jesus will not force Himself on us, and He will not rescind what He has done for us when we disobey.

The leper gets healed and the first thing he does is to disobey what Jesus tells him. He goes out and begins to tell what Jesus has done for him, because he is overwhelmed with joy. This forces Jesus to have to stay in a secluded place.
The man doesn’t get his leprosy back because he disobeyed. He kept telling people that Jesus is compassionate and accepting. ‘He touched me and healed me, and He will do that for you.’
It is by our coming to Him that we know His compassion and forgiveness.
John 8:36 “ If the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free.”

10. Conclusion:
A. In this series we’re addressing what it means to be a church of imperfect people.
B. How to address the issues of trust, truth, brokenness, and aloneness in our post-modern culture.

And we are learning that:

Growing in trust comes by being honest with one another.
Tolerance comes through compassion and love.
Truth is a person- Jesus Christ.
Our own brokenness is a way to reach people and give them hope.
Aloneness is the opposite of all that God is, and all that He wants for us.

Cassidy says, “It was through others that I began to understand little by little how much God was for me… When I felt loved and accepted despite my ugly sin, a new freedom dawned. This healing process was a slow journey, but I finally realize completely that God was truly merciful, and I didn’t have to crucify myself. Jesus had already paid my penalty. I know He loves me and accepts me unconditionally as His wonderful child, imperfect and all.”
Donald English- “Love does or says what is necessary and works out the consequences later. People were attracted to Jesus because there was no boundary He would not cross to reach people in their need, and give them hope.”

As we open up, and share our painful story, Jesus heals us and sets us free. He doesn’t want us to remain in the place of being paralyzed in our pain. He doesn’t want us to keep carrying it. We can be healed through the compassion of others.

Discussion Questions:

Do you relate more to the leper, the cripple, Jesus, or the Pharisees? Why?
Since you became a Christian, have you ever lost your sense of the compassion and forgiveness of Jesus, because of something you have done? Share if you can.
Why do we choose to hide our unresolved pain rather than share it with others?
On a scale of one to ten, where would you rate your “compassion” level?
How do we develop a heart of compassion and mercy for those who are broken by sin and life?