Class Notes: 6/30/2013

Celebration of the Lord's Table; Mark 1:44- Mark 2:5 Jesus heals the leper and the paralytic


In our study of the book of Mark we have seen Jesus presenting himself to Israel as the Savior, Messiah, and King. Jesus Christ entered the human race so that He could fulfill the Father's plan as savior of the world through spiritual victory.

Our celebration of the Lord's table recalls that spiritual victory, God's strategic victory that Jesus Christ accomplished while he was on the earth in unglorified humanity.

Under the principle of pivot power, Jesus Christ is the pattern for humility and obedience to the Father's plan. Luke 22:42;

Our celebration of the Lord's Table is an expression of our reciprocal love for our Lord who is the strategic victor of time and eternity. We concentrate on him through the elements of the only ritual for the post-canon period of the Church Age Luke 22:19-20;

Jesus Christ was obedient to the Father's unique plan for His life by enduring the suffering and death on the cross Phil 2:8; that resulted in his humanity being exalted above every created being, such that, every created being will ultimately bow down to him. Phil 2:9-10;

He completely and perfectly fulfilled the directive will of the Father by unilaterally providing a way of salvation for all men. Rom 5:8; as the "lamb slain from the foundation of the world" Rev 13:8; KJV John 1:29;

While we were enemies of God, God demonstrated his love for us by giving his uniquely born Son "monogenes" who entered the world through the virgin birth. John 3:16

As a result, God is free to reconcile mankind from their fallen state of depravity without compromising his perfect righteousness and justice because TLJC willingly laid down his life for us as our substitute. John 15:13; 1John 3:16

This is why believing in TLJC is the only way to a relationship with God John 14:6, salvation Acts 4:12 and eternal life John 3:16;

Anyone can appropriate this Grace gift of salvation which is secured by the Power of God John 10:26-29; simply by believing in TLJC 1Cor 15:3-4 in the same way that Paul and Silas instructed the Philippian Jailer who asked, "what Must I do to be saved?"

Their response recorded In Acts 16:31

Anyone, any time, anywhere can become saved in a moment in time simply by believing in TLJC privately in their thoughts only.

TLJC left his friends, the members of The Royal Family of God, this one and only ritual in the church age The Lord's table which we are mandated to observe in remembrance of Him.

The mandate is found in 1Cor 11:24; in the second person plural present active imperative of the Greek word " poieo" that where Paul references TLJC's own instruction found in Luke 22:19-20; that he spoke 1984 years ago tonight.

An expanded translation of 1Cor 11:24 taking into consideration the tense mood and voice of "poieo" would be " Keep on doing this in remembrance of me"

Because these verbs are only imperatives regarding ritual in the New Testament the Lord's Table is one and only ritual of the Church Age and it is a test of our capacity to concentrate on our Lord Jesus Christ through the Bible Doctrine that is resident in our soul as we partake of the elements that represent his work on our behalf.

We have these instructions for partaking of the Lord's table from the Apostle Paul starting in verse 26 of 1Cor 11.

1Cor 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.
27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.
28 But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.
30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.
31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.

We understand from this that we are to evaluate ourselves in the light of the word, privately in our thinking, in the privacy of our priesthood, and when we find we are outside of the word, we apply the first problem solving device, and simply acknowledge the sin as described in 1 John 1:9;

If we acknowledge our sins he is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Having examined ourselves, and taken appropriate action, we are then instructed to partake of the elements, the bread and the cup.

The bread which represents his body in which he bore the sins and the judgment for our sins and the sins of the whole world, past present and future.

1Cor 11:23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread;
1Cor 11:24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.

eat the bread

The cup which represents his substitutionary spiritual death on the cross which purchased the freedom from spiritual death and eternal condemnation of everyone who believes in him.

1Cor 11:25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper saying This cup is the new covenant in my Blood do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.

drink cup

13
In our study of Mark we are now in Mark 1:44; where we see Jesus healed a Leper " as a testimony to the priests" because the Leper had to go and show himself to the priest in order to be removed from quarantine.

The cleansing of the leper was an undeniable messianic sign that God was working in a new way. If the priests declared the leper clean but reject Jesus who was the One who cleansed him, their unbelief would be incriminating evidence against them and they will be under condemnation because as the priests they were responsible to have known better. Net note 82

Mark 1:45; Instead of obeying Jesus' command to silence, the man went out and began to talk freely or "to proclaim it the( Greek word Keryssein), telling every one about his being cured. Mark does not say whether he obeyed Jesus' command to show himself to the priest.

As a result, Jesus' preaching ministry in the synagogues of Galilee was interrupted because He could no longer openly enter a town without encountering large crowds seeking miracles.

Even when He withdrew to uninhabited, remote locations the people kept on coming and coming and coming (imperfect tense of erchonto) from all over the place to see Him.

Mark 2:1-2; A few days later when Jesus returned to Capernaum it was reported that He was at home (Peter's house). In the freedom of Jewish custom many uninvited people crowded into the house and around the door Net note 4, restricting access. Jesus kept on speaking (imperfect tense of elalei) the Word to them.

Mark 2:3-4; While he was there four men brought a paralytic or a paralyzed man on a mat, hoping to get him to Jesus. But they could not because of the crowd. This house like many in the region probably had an outside stairway leading to a flat roof. So the men climbed up onto the roof with the paralyzed man.

After digging through the roof that was most likely a composite of grass, clay, tiles, and lath, they made an opening above Jesus and lowered the paralyzed man down in front of Him probably using ropes from fishing nets that they found.

This helpless paralytic could not make it to where Jesus was on his own, but he had four friends who were firmly convinced by means of doctrine (faith) that Jesus would heal him if they got him to where Jesus was so they spared no effort to get him there.


They were convinced but the paralyzed man wasn't convinced so he was paralyzed because of fear from unbelief. He was lying on a bed," imperfect tense: lying on a bed with the result that he didn't get out of that bed.

This man had been immobilized by paralysis from by fear for a long time.

Mark 2:5; When Jesus saw the faith of the men who carried the man. Their faith was made evident by what they did in going through the roof. The persistence and unrelenting desire of these men to get their friend to Jesus demonstrated their faith rest in Jesus' ability to heal him. They refused to be deterred by any obstacle.

When He saw the paralyzed man Jesus recognized, that he needed something far more than simply the healing of the body. He needed to have confidence that his sins were forgiven so Jesus said to him "Son, your sins are forgiven"

The word for forgiven is the present passive indicative of the Greek word "aphiami" that means they have been sent away or put off. Passive voice indicates that God has done the forgiving.

Jesus is showing that this man's condition was the rooted in a spiritual problem not a physical one.

The paralyzed man was literally "without strength" (Rom. 5:6;) As such he pictures all men in their status of spiritual death that is the result of sin. Jesus' word spoke strength into his paralyzed body, just as that same word gives new life to those who receive it by means of faith alone.

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