What happens when Jesus acts like God? We find out who he really is!
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(Click here to read the passage, Mark 1:14 – 2:12)
(Read Part 1 of the Journey Through Mark, here)
The Authority to Sell
I remember once, when I was a kid, my parents decided they wanted new end tables and a new coffee table.
So, the search began.
My parents keep their eyes open for furniture sales advertised on TV or in the newspaper.
We would regularly visit the local furniture stores and check out what was there.
Then, the day came: a store a few towns over was having a big blowout sale. So off we went to see what they had.
After, what seemed like hours to a young boy, my parents finally found a set they liked.
Now the negotiating began – it was, after all, a sale and why not try to get the best price you could?
After looking at the original price, my dad suggested a lower price.
“I don’t know…” said the salesman. “We do want to get rid of everything at this sale, but let me ask my manager first.”
This particular salesman didn’t have the authority to just to take any price.
After a minute, or so, he returned, announced his boss would allow him to accept our price and off we went with new end tables and a new coffee table.
A New Exodus is Beginning
Picking up where we left off last week, we find John the Baptist announcing a new sort of Exodus: God was again acting to free his people and dwell in their presence.
The prophets of old had made it very clear: Israel had been exiled because of their sins.
Since sin was the problem, the fix had to start with repentance. So, through the waters of baptism people went, their own personal crossing of the Red Sea.
Then came Jesus – God’s anointed. With his baptism came the proclamation from the heavens that he was God’s beloved Son.
What this means, exactly, we’ll work out in a minute.
Repentance and Conversion
We now pick up with the calling of the first disciples: Simon, Andrew, James, and John.
Though this may seem more like a news report than a theological statement, it’s much more than a “here’s the first followers” statement.
Remember, the repentance that John was preaching was a conversation: a new way of living your life.
Now, we see this repentance in action.
Men who have probably inherited the family fishing business, which had probably been in the family for multiple generations, now repent and abandon their profession to follow the Messiah.
This new way of living meant that they trusted fully in God. No longer would they have their fishing business to fall back on to feed their families, put a roof over their heads, or provide any sort of security.
God was acting, a new Exodus was occurring, and if you didn’t jump on board immediately, you might be left behind!
A message we too should heed!
By Whose Authority?
What happens next may seem a bit odd, but it actually makes a lot of sense.
Mark wastes no time telling us about how Jesus heals a man with an unclean spirit, heals people at Simon’s house, cleanses a leper, and heals a paralytic.
To us, it may seem like Jesus is on a magic tour – see how many things he can do that no one else can?
But a proper understanding of this comes about when we ask the right sort of question.
That question is: within Mark’s worldview, who can do these things? Who has the proper authority?
This is the same question asked by the spectators in Mark after Jesus heals the man with the unclean spirit,
And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching! With authority he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” (Mark 1:27 RSV)
After casting out more demons and healing more people, Jesus finds himself at home – perhaps his own house – and the crowd finally confronts him about all this.
After some friends of a paralytic put a hole in the roof of the house, Jesus tells the man that he is forgiven.
But the crowd pushes back.
Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak thus? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:6-7 RSV)
Not to be outdone, Jesus responds.
And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question thus in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your pallet and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins”–he said to the paralytic– “I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home.” And he rose, and immediately took up the pallet and went out before them all; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” (Mark 2:8-12 RSV)
God’s Authority and God’s Alone
To the readers of Mark’s Gospel, the answer was clear: only God has such authority!
Just as my parents needed the authority of a manager to give them a good sale price, we need the authority of God if we are to be truly healed and have our sins forgiven.
Not only does this make sense, if you believe in a creator, but it’s scripturally sound as well.
As Mark tells us about Jesus healing people and casting out demons, he probably has these verses in mind:
The LORD passed before him, and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…” (Exodus 34:6-7 RSV)
As well as these words from the prophet Isaiah:
“I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. (Isaiah 43:25 RSV)
The authority is God’s and God’s alone.
Jesus as the Son of God
But if this authority belongs to God, what does it mean that Jesus is doing them?
Our question has finally gotten us a peek at the secret of Mark – a look at who Jesus really is.
Mark, in a very sly way, is proclaiming that this Jesus who walks among us is the very embodiment of the God of Israel. He is YHWH himself, in the flesh.
By having Jesus perform those things only God has the authority to do is a statement that hits at the very heart of Jesus’ identity as the Son of God.
Jesus isn’t just a representative of God, a new prophet for the 1st century.
He is the return of YHWH – the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He returns to free his people, forgive their sins, and start a new creation.
Jesus’ Authority Saves Us Today
This message – a new start – is popular in our culture. In fact, politicians use it all the time.
In the past few presidential campaigns we’ve had these slogans:
“Make America great again!”
“Change we can believe in.”
And other such slogans that hint at a new way forward.
But, the reality is for true change, true transformation, politicians don’t have the authority. It’s only God’s.
True transformation today, as in the 1st century, still comes about through the authority of a God who walked among us and dwells with us still through the Holy Spirit.
P.S. Be Transformed by the Christ’s Authority
I now invite you to enter deeper into the mystery of Christ with the Orthodox Church!
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