This is the third sermon in our series on Mark’s Gospel that examines Jesus’ supernatural authority. Having addressed Jesus’ complete authority over all knowledge and the spiritual realm, this sermon explains his total authority over the physical realm, demonstrated by his compassionate and merciful healing of Simon’s seriously ill mother-in-law.
Beyond Jesus’ authority to heal, this sermon also teaches about the power he derived from prayer. Mark says of Jesus, “And rising very early in the morning, while it was dark, he departed and went to a desolate place, and there he prayed.”
Jesus’ disciples came searching and found him in his quiet prayer location. Having prayed, renewing his strength and discerning God’s will for him, he set out again to do the will of his Father—preaching, teaching, healing, and casting out demons.
If it was necessary for the very Son of God to seek his Father in prayer, stilling his soul in the quiet, how much more it must be needful for us!
Read the full sermon transcript below!
We return this morning to our series of sermons taken from the New Testament Gospel of Mark, as we work our way—sermon by sermon—through the entire book. We are early in this series, still in the first chapter of Mark’s record of Jesus’ life and ministry, but—WOW!—how exciting it is. Mark’s purpose in writing has been, thus far, to prove to the world that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the Savior, who came from God the Father in heaven to establish his kingdom on earth. Jesus declared this his purpose in Matthew 28:18, once his earthly mission was completed, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Then Jesus ascended from earth back to heaven from whence he had come and assumed his heavenly throne where he rules today with all power and dominion.
In recent sermons, we learned about Jesus’ complete authority over all knowledge, as he taught in the synagogue. His knowledge was so vast that the congregation in the synagogue was astounded, indeed overwhelmed and a bit afraid, because they realized that Jesus’ power was not merely human; it was supernatural.
In our sermon last Lord’s Day, we learned about Jesus’ complete authority over the spiritual realm. As the people gathered there in the synagogue were still astonished and amazed at Jesus’ profound knowledge, an evil spirit—a demon—spoke through a man’s body that the demon possessed.
That demonic spirit knew Jesus and knew why he had come, crying out (1:24): 24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”
But by the power of God, Jesus, by his mere spoken word, exercised control over that demon and cast him out (1:25-26): 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.
In those two recent sermons, Mark’s gospel proved the complete authority of Jesus over all knowledge and all the spiritual realm. This morning’s sermon passage, Mark 1:29-44, goes even further. Herein is proven Jesus’ authority over the physical realm, as he heals a sick woman and a man with leprosy. Again, as Jesus declared of himself, all authority is his in heaven and on earth—authority over all knowledge, over all the spiritual realm, and, as we are about to learn, authority over all the physical realm as well.
In fact, today’s Scripture passage shows us some added pluses. We can learn today about Jesus’ authority over every need—sickness, suffering, sin, and separation. And we are shown his authority to restore, renew, and reconcile. In Jesus Christ, the reign and rule of God breaks into this fallen world to redeem and save.
Authority Over Physical Disease
Let us now begin working our way through our sermon passage, where we learn first about Jesus’ authority over physical disease. After the remarkable display of Jesus’ power at the synagogue, he left there and moved to his next amazing event. Simon Peter’s mother-in-law was seriously ill with a high fever, but Jesus’ power over sickness and disease saved her (vv. 29-31): 29 And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. 31 And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
We must remember that people in the ancient world didn’t have all the medicines we so often take for granted: acetaminophens, aspirins, NSAIDS, and others. A fever could easily be the death of someone in those days. In fact, it hasn’t been that long ago, really, that simple fevers were still very dangerous, and severe fevers often kill folks even in our day.
And what about the patient? Several factors imply she was in real danger. For example, people didn’t live very long lives back then; most never made it into their 60s. And Simon was married, so he and his wife were obviously adults, maybe with children (we don’t know). Also, she was living in the home of the two brothers, Simon and Andrew, so she might have been a widow. Mark describes her as not up walking around but lying ill with a fever. All combined, these facts and potentialities point out that this was a lady in serious need of help.
Notice that Jesus didn’t limit his amazing works of knowledge and authority and miracles to the synagogue alone. He stepped out of the synagogue and into a private home where Simon’s family member resided. Too many Christian believers seem to limit Christ’s presence and power to the weekly church service, overlooking that Jesus reigns everywhere and is always present in all places.
If you are a Christ follower, then his Holy Spirit is always with you, present and easily accessible. He is with you when you do your work in the kitchen. He is there as you drive down the road in your car. He reigns in the struggles of work and family. He reigns and is present for you in the suffering of your body. The same King who spoke and cast the devil out of the synagogue also touches your spirit when you fold your hands to pray, stoops by the sickbed in the time of sickness, and lifts you up in the hour of your weakness.
Now consider that the same mighty King who rules from afar is also near and has power in his personal touch (v. 31): And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
We learned last Lord’s Day about the power of Jesus’ word. The Bible teaches us that the whole universe—all of creation—came to be when Jesus spoke the command. Likewise, when Jesus cast out the demon from that man in the synagogue, he didn’t use rituals, incense, holy water, incantations, crosses, and rosary beads. All those are humanly invented debris and are useless, even unbiblical. The simple power of the Word of God is effective (Hebrews 4:12): For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow.
Likewise, the power of Jesus’ touch accomplishes his will powerfully and completely. He simply reached out, took the sick lady by the hand, and helped her up. She was immediately restored to health and went about her work, serving the Lord with a glad and thankful heart.
Jesus has not retired from his ministry of compassion, mercy, healing, and salvation. He still takes hold of broken lives, broken dreams, broken relationships, broken health, and broken people. And he raises them up.
Have you experienced this restorative power of Jesus? If you are a born-again Christ follower, you have, because he restored your soul and restored your otherwise broken relationship with God. But beyond that, have you experienced his hand lifting you up from your spiritual and moral sickness—sin, fear, bitterness, anger, resentment, despair, hopelessness, and any other maladies of life and soul? If you are a redeemed Christ follower, you have, because just as Jesus saved this woman from her physical malady, he heals people from the worst malady of all—being lost and separated from our loving, merciful, and forgiving God. As he gave health to that lady, he gives God’s blessings to us.
Mark also informs us about an expansion of Jesus’ mighty works—from one sick lady to crowds of people (32-34): 32 That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34 And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
These words teach us that Jesus’ healing, liberating, life-changing power is not merely for the few but for the many—in fact, for all who will come to him in faith. Mark tells us that needy people throughout the whole city of Capernaum gathered at the door of Simon and Andrew’s house, knowing that Jesus was there, and believing in him for healing and help.
We, too, are needy people, aren’t we? We know how badly we need the merciful restorative power of Jesus. We know that only Jesus can heal and strengthen us in the struggles of our lives. We know and believe that his mighty power, his world-changing word, and his restorative touch are the balm we must have.
And that is why, like those people in Capernaum, we, too, have gathered around Jesus here this morning. We are, as it were, saying, “Heal us. Restore us. Strengthen us. Preserve us and uphold us to persevere. We need you, Jesus! We must have you. We cannot live any kind of decent life without you.” We are those people of Capernaum who, upon hearing of the mighty power and merciful restoring touch of Jesus, came out and gathered where he was. And by his Spirit, he is here with us in our midst right now.
Jesus’ Power was Maintained by Spiritual Communion with God
We have seen mighty manifestations of Jesus’ power revealed to the amazement of all in Capernaum. But how was that miraculous power of Jesus maintained? That is the theme of our next point: Jesus’ power was maintained by spiritual communion with God. Notice v. 35, where the Word of God says of our Savior: And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.
Trust me when I say that the work of the ministry is exhausting. It can drain you physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. True ministry involves a lot of spiritual warfare, and it takes a lot out of you. Not only are the weaknesses of the human body a factor, but there is the constant struggle with the three greatest enemies in our walk with Christ: the world, the flesh, and the devil.
Surely the devil is nowhere more actively at work—waging spiritual battle against the truth about Jesus and the proclamation of God’s Word and the gospel—than when the ministry of the Word and the works of God’s ministers are active and ongoing.
Jesus was and is the Son of God, possessing the fullness of God in his person. But he was also fully human and subject to all the frailties of the human body. After a grueling day of teaching, preaching, healing, casting out demons, while battling against the devil in all of them, he sorely needed rest.
Not only did he need rest for the body, as we all do, but he also needed to be spiritually refreshed, recharged, and energized, so he could be walking in the Spirit in communion with God, as we all should. So, rising early in the morning, he went to a quiet place to commune with God in prayer. I want you to focus on the fact that Jesus sought out a time of silence and solitude to be with God. He needed this in order to maintain his spiritual strength and to know God’s will for him.
Every one of us, every Christian, must seek such times. Getting up in the morning and having a devotion time is great, and it is imperative that you do it. Pausing throughout the day for the same is great, also.
But, Christian, if you are going to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh, then you need times to still your mind, still your soul, and simply spend time with God in quietness and meditation. You need to have a time of merely sitting quietly before God, communing with him in spiritual communion. Talking to God in prayer is great! But submitting your spirit to his Spirit in periods of quiet inactivity—not merely talking to him but in your spirit listening for him—is essential for walking in the Spirit and knowing God’s will. Thereby, your spiritual vitality is increased so that you can not only know God’s will but also do it.
David wrote of the desperate need of the human spirit to be communing with God’s Spirit, when he said in Psalm 42: Deep calls to deep. He was writing of a time of serious need for God’s help, but the same is true in other circumstances: Deep calls to deep.
David wrote these words after describing the soul’s deep longing for God’s presence (Psalm 42:1-2): As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? That is what was in Jesus’ mind when he rose up early and went to a deserted place to commune with God. Does your soul, like David’s and Jesus’, long for spiritual communion with God as an exhausted, panting deer longs for a cool drink of life-sustaining water?
It is in this context that David penned his profoundly spiritual words: deep calls to deep. For a deep spiritual relationship with God, you must follow and implement this spiritual truth. If you will still yourself and wait upon him, you will discover that your spirit calls for and longs for the awareness of the presence of and communion with the Holy Spirit of Jesus who lives in you. But you must take time and make the effort for your spirit to get in touch with his Spirit.
God is spirit, and he has made our human spirits for the purpose of communing with him—the Spirit of God and your spirit communing together. Deep calls to deep. Spirit communes with Spirit. If your spirit is not communing with the Holy Spirit of God, you are not walking in the Spirit, at least not as you could be and should be. If you are not walking in the Spirit, there is only one alternative: you are walking in the flesh. Meaning that you are conducting your life in the ways of fallen humanity, not in the ways of God, who is Spirit.
How can you know whether you are walking in the flesh or in the Spirit? I know of no way to answer that question any better than simply listening to what the Holy Spirit himself says on the matter. So, I am going to stop my talking for a moment and read a passage of Scripture, in which God himself does the talking. Now listen to which description best summarizes your daily life and habits (Galatians 5:16-24):
(This is what the Holy Spirit says to the church) 16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Which of those two best describes the hours and minutes of your normal day? Is it lust and impurity? Is it enmity, strife, jealousy—always upset about things and with other people? Do you find yourself angry? Do you feel like you have to compete against others? Do you find yourself in arguments with others—divided rather than united? Are you envious? Drunken? Engaged in illicit sex, including pornography? If these conditions characterize your life, then you are walking in the flesh, meaning you are too much controlled by the sinful nature.
Maybe, however, you are one who is placing yourself often in stillness of soul and spirit, communing in Spirit with God throughout the day, frequently talking with him. If so, then the moments of your days—your thoughts, deeds, and words—are likely to be more characterized by the fruit of the Spirit.
Meaning, the things of which we just read: love, joy, peace—not upset about things and people in your life. Patience and kindness—not seeing others as rivals, obstacles in your way; not running ahead and striving for your own goals but waiting on God, humbly submitting to his will, and doing it.
Also goodness—speaking well of others, not criticizing, accusing, or resenting them. Goodness as a fruit of the Spirit requires looking for the good in people and things, not the wrong and the bad.
Also faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The godly person who is filled with the Holy Spirit and bearing that spiritual fruit in his or her life will be devoted unswervingly to God’s will for him and faithfully doing it, not following his own willful soul and mind. He will be gentle in nature and in his dealings and actions, words and thoughts. He will not be forceful or demanding, but kind and understanding. He is more concerned about correcting his own faults than the faults of others.
And he will have self-control. Why? Because he has subjected his own self to whatever God requires of him and will avoid his own self-will.
Yes, we all fail to some degree, but the only way your normal daily life—in word, thought, and deed—can ever be characterized not by the things of the fleshly sinful nature but more according to the nature of the Holy Spirit is by following the example of Jesus. Seeking stillness before God, quieting your own spirit (and the Lord will help you if you ask him), and having an ongoing discussion with God in your daily time of stillness and in your spirit throughout every day. If you do that, you can be walking in the Spirit. If you don’t, those awful deeds of the flesh will haunt you, make you miserable, rob you of your joy, ruin your Christian witness, and cripple your efforts at Christian service.
Once Jesus had prayed in this intimate way, communing with his Father in spirit, what was accomplished? The same thing that God will do for you. He learned the will of God and was spiritually refreshed, renewed, and strengthened to rise up, go forth in the power of God’s Holy Spirit, and do it (vv. 37-39): and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38 And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” 39 And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.
Conclusion
Jesus had unlimited power and authority to teach and preach, to heal and to cast out demons. He has authority over the entire realm of knowledge, over all the spiritual realm, and over the physical realm and matter of the entire world and its inhabitants. Jesus had that power and authority because he was and is the Son of God who rules over all of earth and heaven.
Considering this truth, how instructive it is for us that even the Son of God, possessing all authority, found it necessary to still his spirit and commune with the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of his Father. If that was necessary for Jesus, with all the power and authority he had, just think what great power our fleshly fallen nature will have over us if we do not follow his example. If you will live for God, be useful in his service, be a profitable citizen of his kingdom, and do good things for his glory and honor – in other words, if you are going to walk with God—you must first be on your knees before God, often and regularly. You can walk in the Spirit no other way, and the only alternative is to be walking in the flesh. If you need help, please speak with me and allow me the great privilege of assisting you in your spiritual life. Amen.