One Day in the House with Jesus

Read Mark 2:1-12

When Jesus is present in the house you can expect things to happen. You just never know what Jesus might do when He is in our midst.

We want to notice three phrases this morning that are found in our text: 1) First, from verse 2 we want to notice the phrase “and He preached the Word unto them”; 2) Secondly, from verse 5 we want to notice the phrase “And when Jesus saw their faith”; 3) and thirdly, from verse 12 we want to notice the phrase “We never saw it on this fashion”.

1. First we want to notice the phrase “and He preached the Word unto them” (Read vs. 2).

1. People came to Jesus for different reasons. Some came to Jesus out of curiosity; others came to Jesus to be healed; and yet others came to Jesus because they heard that He claimed to be the Messiah, the Savior, and the Son of God.

People come to church for different reasons as well. Many come for the same reasons mentioned above, including curiosity, diseases or problems, and seeking Jesus.

2. Regardless of the reason for coming, we find that Jesus always taught and preached to the people who came unto Him. He didn’t sing to them or tell funny jokes and stories. He didn’t entertain them. He didn’t dance for them when they piped! He didn’t appeal to their carnal desires and natural senses. NO, HE DIDN’T!

But Jesus preached the Word of God to them. The greatest need of lost sinners is to hear the truth of the Word of God preached. Jesus’ first priority during His public ministry was to preach the Word of God to the people; and no man spake like this man (Matt. 7:28-29; Jn. 4:29; Jn. 7:45-46).

Beloved the first priority of the Lord’s ministers is also to preach the Word of God to the people. Our place isn’t to entertain people, but to preach the Word to them.

3. What did Jesus preach? (Mark 1:14-15). In general, Jesus preached the kingdom of God.

He preached the covenant of the kingdom, which is the gospel of the kingdom. He preached repentance and faith in the gospel to enter into the kingdom of God.

He preached the code of the kingdom. These are the rules and guidelines that His subjects are to live by. We are to walk, and talk, and live, and serve Jesus by the instructions given in His Word, regardless of what the modernists say.

He preached the character of the kingdom, how that his subjects are to show forth love, meekness, humility, honesty, sincerity, holiness, and godliness in our lives. His was to be a spiritual kingdom in this world, and the weapons of its warfare are to be spiritual and not carnal. As such His servants are to be as lambs among wolves.

He preached the culmination of the kingdom, that is, about the future state of the kingdom when He will come again to judge the world and to establish His throne, and about how His people are to prepare for, and anticipate His second coming by watching, and working, and living godly and sober lives.

4. Beloved, the Lord’s preachers are to be about preaching these things in His Churches today! One of the signs of the times is that men will not want to hear the preaching of the Word of God. This is so evident in the world and in churches today. Nevertheless, this is what people need, and this is what we are to be doing in the Lord’s churches above all else, in spite of what the modernists may tell us today.

Thus we see that first and foremost, Jesus preached the Word unto all who came unto Him.

2. Secondly we want to notice the phrase “When Jesus saw their faith” (Read vs. 5).

Notice the word “when”. It wasn’t until Jesus saw their faith that He did this mighty work. Can we, and do we hinder the works of Jesus by our unbelief? (Mark 6:5-6).

Next, notice the word “saw”. Jesus saw their faith! How do you see faith? Faith, beloved, is more than just the mental faculty of believing in Jesus, but it is also the outward manifestation of spiritual works to advance the kingdom of God, and the church of God, and the cause of God in the world.

Jesus saw their faith by their works, just as James said “Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works”! (James 2:18).

And just what were those works of faith that Jesus saw in these four men? First, they physically carried a sick man of the palsy to Jesus to be healed. If they didn’t believe that Jesus could forgive his sins and heal this man’s body, then there would be no point in bringing him to Jesus. But they had faith that Jesus could forgive him and heal, which was evidenced by their work. When we invite and bring people to church to hear the gospel preached, we are showing our faith.

Secondly, they persevered in their efforts. They were not discouraged because of the obstacles in the way. Have you ever given up on bringing someone to Jesus when you ran into obstacles and hindrances? In their persistence, these men sought out other options. They didn’t see the crowd as a closed door to their friend’s need. They didn’t say “it must not be the Lord’s will to save him and heal him.” They cared enough, and had faith enough to pursue other ways to get this man to Jesus. The didn’t give up on the sinner or the Savior. Sometimes I’m afraid that we give up on both! Lord, increase our faith!

Thirdly, they risked suffering the reproach of men by tearing up the roof of the house to get the sick man to Jesus. Sometimes we are afraid of men, and their hard sayings, and fail to bring people to Jesus for fear of reproach. Some people growl and snap at us, and tell us to quit passing out our paper and to quit knocking on doors and harassing people with our religious propaganda. Again, Lord increase our faith!

And fourthly, they didn’t fear the condemnation of Jesus or His rebuke for their actions. They had faith in the mercy, love, and grace of Jesus upon their friend. They knew that Jesus was a merciful Savior and they believed He would be merciful to their friend. In any case, these men were willing to risk being rebuked by the Lord in hopes that Jesus would be merciful to the sick man and heal him. Paul was willing to be accursed for his brethren according to the flesh. Beloved, what are we willing to sacrifice for the salvation of others?

Thus we see that, when Jesus saw their faith, He performed a miraculous work of grace upon their friend.

3. Thirdly we want to notice the phase “We never saw it on this fashion” (Read vs. 12).

They never heard of a man forgiving sins. They believed that only God could forgive sins. They were correct, only God can forgive sins. Therefore Jesus proved Himself by this miracle to be God the Son.

They never saw an instantaneous miracle of healing, such as this miracle that Jesus performed.

This morning we want to compare the healing of this man’s body to the healing of the soul. This man was paralyzed and could not move. So is the lost sinner spiritually paralyzed. Like the healing of his body, the healing of the soul is an instantaneous work of grace. It is an instantaneous change in one’s conversation and behavior. It is an instantaneous change in one’s love for God and the things of God. It is an instantaneous change in one’s testimony for God. The converted person is a new creature, old things are passed away. Like this man, the person who is spiritually healed can rise up and walk with God.

Thus, when Jesus does a healing work, it is after the fashion of His sovereign, almighty power.

Conclusion:

You just never know what might take place when Jesus is in the house!

One thing for sure, the Word of God will be preached if Jesus is with His servant. And that Word won’t return void, but will accomplish that whereunto it is sent.

Not only that, if He sees our faith evidenced by our works of faith and labors of love, we just might witness a miracle of grace in our midst.

And even if some may try to hinder the Lord’s work by their unbelief, I believe that the Lord will still honor the works of faith by His faithful servants as He did in our text.

Have you heard the preaching of the Word of God, the gospel of your salvation?

Have you repented of your sins and believed in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for your salvation? If not, repent and believe in Jesus now!

Does Jesus see our faith this morning insomuch that we might expect Him to respond to our desire and heal some needy person this morning?

Finally, if Jesus is pleased to do a work, it won’t be after the fashion of our feeble human understanding and carnal expectations, but it will be a supernatural miraculous work of almighty God, and will be manifested by a true and lasting change, whether it be the healing of the body or healing of the soul in salvation.

One day many years ago, I was in the house with Jesus, and Jesus saved my wretched soul. Perhaps today will be your day in the house with Jesus…perhaps today He will save your soul!