For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Scriptural study: Mark 1:21-28

• Jesus and his first followers enter Capernaum, Jesus’ adopted hometown (v.21).
• Notice the word “immediately," showing us the broad impact of Christ, and in a staccato manner relating his baptism, temptation, preaching ministry, calling of the first disciples, exorcism, healings, and cleansing of a leper.
• This is going to be the first miracle, and exorcism, of Mark’s gospel.
• All are amazed at his teaching (v.22; also v.27) – like Matt 7:28-29. More compact
• Notice what day it is: the Sabbath. (More on this in Mark 2:27-28.)
• Responding to the proclamation and supernatural knowledge of the demon (v.24), Jesus tells the demon to be quiet—this is unwanted publicity (v.25). His disciples aren’t ready to handle Jesus’ identity until Mark 8 (at the earliest).
• This is an unclean spirit—demonic possession is a form of impurity.
• On the Sabbath—reinforcing the point that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
• Convulsion: just leprosy? See Matt 4:24.
• Loud! And Jesus had told him to "be silent." (Though it's probably the demon's trumpeting of Jesus' divine identity that Jesus wants to shut down.)
• Authority over the invisible, spirit world? This can only be divine authority.
• His fame spreads (v.28), even without assistance from the man who was exorcized.
• This miracles sets the stage for Mark's gospel: Jesus as divine Son of God, with authority over the spiritual world.
• Freeing the crazy man in the synagogue from his unwanted "house guest" mirrors the cleansing and transformation God offers us!

Application

• God's compassion includes healing (though not for everyone—the Word-faith and Signs & Wonders people are wrong).
• God wants to remove any uncleanness—demonic or otherwise—from our life!
• God can powerfully transform lives—free us from the power of the Evil One—and quickly!
• What is it that the Lord wants to expel from my life? Materialism? Sexual sin? Laziness? Inward focus? Lack of commitment to the body of Christ? Lack of evangelism? Hatred? Bitterness? Anything else?
• And let’s not miss something highly obvious: Jesus is awesome. His deeds are awesome. Let’s keep our focus on him, and we will be purified as we do so (1 John 3:2-3)!

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

• Yesterday: mother/daughter; today: father/son.
• New life -- not just for the boy, but for the dad
• Children have the power to hurt us -- just as spouses do. In today's passage, the pain that is breaking the parent's heart is unwitting (beyond the control of the child).
• Context: While Jesus and the Three were up on the Mount of Transfiguration, the other disciples failed to exorcise a demon who was destroying a family.

Scriptural study: Matt 17:14-20

• Notice the man’s posture (v.14). Like so many who beg Jesus for release from leprosy or demons, he's on his knees. He deeply desires a miracle for his son’s sake.
• The demonic attacks are beyond the control of the boy, harming him by exposing him to death by burning or drowning.
• The Canaanite woman approaches Jesus first; the man in today’s account went first to Jesus' disciples (v.16). Not to his three most trusted, however, who were with him on the Mount of Transfiguration.
• Even when we've been following Christ for a while--like the nine, who had been Jesus' disciples for nearly three years--we still have far to go.
• I wonder how the 9 disciples felt when the man says these words to Jesus!
• Lack of faith is a serious problem (v.17). It is unnatural. We should have faith, and failure to trust God is culpable.
• Sometimes we need to bring our problems to the Lord, when those persons we had hoped could help fail to fix the problem.
• The demon is rebuked (v.18); it ought not to be inhabiting a human being.
• Instant healing—not in multiple stages, nor partial healing.
• Faith is the issue (v.20).
• The disciples were apparently not praying enough, or with sufficient faith.
• Mustard seed = smallest seed known in Palestine, though not the smallest of seeds globally. Jesus is speaking in a way they can relate to, not with perfect biological precision. In fact, all the science in the Bible is of the ancient variety. (It’s not a science book, even remotely.)
• No mountains are literally moved by faith. (Consider, for example, the other impossible deeds of 1 Cor 13:1-2.) Yet we instinctively—and correctly—spiritualize Jesus’ words, because then they make sense, and are applicable to our lives.
• Renewal and relief come to this family, although the passage seems to be more a lesson for Jesus' disciples -- and for us -- about faithful prayer.

Thought questions

• How is my prayer life? What things may I be prevented from accomplishing for lack of prayer?
• As with the Canaanite woman, the transition for the children from possession to freedom is tremendously faith-building for the parents -- not just for the child. In the same way, disciples of Christ need to see the miracle of the new birth on a regular basis. How long has it been since you have helped someone to make the radical transition from the slavery of the world to the freedom in Christ?

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

• Some of those possessed were helpless children, as in this and the next podcast (and possibly the slave girls of Acts 16:16). Today we will zero in on a Canaanite mother & child.
• Keep in mind the biblical background: in the OT, the Canaanites were the immoral—even criminal—occupants of the Promised Land. Some died in the Conquest (under general Joshua). Far more were driven out of Canaan, or (probably also very common) intermarried with the Israelites. Historically, the Canaanites were trouble!
• Let’s also consider the context. Jesus has just been criticized for not respecting the purity laws of the Jews—not just the levitical laws, but the traditions of the Pharisees.
• In this account, Jesus doesn't just dismiss the unbiblical traditions of the Pharisees. He associated with an “unclean” person.

Scriptural study: Matt 15:21-28

• Tyre and Sidon (v.21) are in modern Lebanon. They were once powerful city states. Their ruins are accessible today.
• “Son of David” (v.22) – she recognizes Jesus’ kingship. Like Rahab (Joshua 2), this foreigner recognized that only Israel followed the true God.
• How did the demon oppress her? Did it dwell within her, as in the cases of all the other demoniacs we are examining? Or was it an oppression more like that suffered by King Saul, when an evil spirit tormented him?
• Whatever the case, the oppression was severe. It’s hard to see your children in pain.
  • Chronic illness
  • Psychological disorder
  • Suffering consequences of poor decisions
• This was clearly an outsider to the Jewish family of faith. She is a foreigner, a Canaanite—and a woman…
• Why does Jesus ignore her (v.23)? Maybe he just wants her to want it.
• "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (v.24) fits with Jesus’ overall strategy.
  • Matt 10:23 – Jesus asked his missionaries to focus on the lost tribes of Israel. Matt 28:19-20 – Gentiles were in the larger plan, though not just yet.
  • Having a missionary focus inevitably means, when we’re doing evangelism, that we choose some and don’t choose others. This doesn’t mean an absence of love, but the presence of strategy. In every congregation, church builders must decide whom they’re targeting. Otherwise the church will soon be full of those easiest to reach—with a larger representation of transients, foreigners, persons with psychological issues, and so on.
• The woman pleads with Jesus a second time (v.25). Notice her posture: kneeling. This is common when people are desperate.
• Notice also how Jesus interacts with the woman.
  • Playfulness? ("Dogs" may be puppies, or domestic dogs.)
  • Her "great faith" reminds us of the centurions of Matt 8:5-13 and Matt 27:54.
  • Keep in mind that Jesus is outside the land of Israel during this conversation. That is, it's not as though his helping her means less help for the Israelites! (More evidence that he is testing her, not speaking cruelly or even completely literally.)
• Notice that the oppression is lifted immediately. The demon is gone.

Application:

• God is good. Even though he may not answer our first request / prayer, he hears and responds. We should trust him. (Note: This is not Prosperity Theology or Word-Faith Theology. His purpose isn’t to enrich us materially, or to give us mystical psychic powers.)
• Having an evangelistic strategy doesn’t mean there won’t be some exceptions, just as involvement in one ministry doesn't mean we never help out in other areas. (Those whose ministry is leadership may still be called upon to help with administration, or to show hospitality.)
• Let’s ask the Lord to help our children—and not just those who are suffering severely. God is truly concerned about our families, just as he cares for us.
• When Christ gets involved in our friends’ or family’s lives, radical things happen. People are set free—adults and even children. They start truly living!

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Scriptural study: Mark 5:1-18

• This man's life is totally out of control
• He's highly self-destructive. What self-destructive behaviors characterized us before we were Christians? Are there any such behaviors, still in our lives, that need to be brought into subjection to Christ?
• Easy to spiritualize the story, and probably that's appropriate in this instance.
• He seems both attracted to and repelled by Jesus. Love / hate. Contradictory attitude.
• He also has supernatural knowledge (at least the demons do).
• When Jesus inquires about his name, the name is a handle. It allows Jesus to confront and cleanse him.
  • Legio (Latin) / Legion (Greek) is a Roman military unit (several thousand soldiers).
  • Political implications: The Romans have "possessed" Israel, but they will not be "drive out" by military might or political strategy. Rather, true freedom is freedom from sin (John 8:34), and it's change at the personal level that the Lord offers.
• Pigs – it's a Gentile area, not Jewish. Pigs might be offered in sacrifice, or eaten for supper.
• Jesus permits the demons to enter the pigs. This isn't the same as directly willing the death of the pigs. God permits dictators to ravage their countries—yet without incurring guilt.
• The man is utterly transformed. Once wild, unable to settle, naked, confused... now he's stable, focused, self-controlled, clothed, thinking straight and spiritually in tune with the Lord.
• Yet the people aren’t too happy. Their livelihood was threatened (drowned pigs). Maybe they were nervous about the sheer power of the God of Israel, who could change someone so much. The pagan religions did not demand transformation, just rituals. (We help the gods out, and they will help us.)
• "Legion" preaches! It’s natural to tell friends & family (Acts 10:24).
  • Decapolis = a region of 10 cities, capital Scythopolis (OT Beth Shean).
  • He becomes an evangelist… So does everyone freed from bondage to Satan—including you and me. If we're not preaching, what happened? Have we forgotten we have been cleansed (2 Pet 1:9)?

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

• Demons are never explicitly identified in the OT. In the NT, possession appears only in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. (The word "demon" is used in John, but only by the opponents of Christ, who call him a demon.)
• For greater depth, visit Thoughts on Demon Possession & Exorcism (requires login).
• For constructive thoughts about escaping addictive behaviors, see IPI's 4-lesson audio CD, ESCAPE (by Steve Brand and Douglas Jacoby).
• Until today, Mary Magdalene was not a NT character podcast, since there isn't a whole lot to work with! It really comes down to a single verse in Luke.
• (She is also mentioned in Mark 16:9, a verse in the longer ending Mark's gospel, probably dating to the 2nd century, and merely repeating what Luke said about her.)
• However, she is frequently mentioned in the pretend-gospels of the Gnostics and others (in the centuries after the NT was written).

Scriptural study: Luke 8:1-3

• There are many Marys in the NT, but only one Magdalene.
• It seems there are far more questions than answers.
  • Literally 7 (number of perfection)—or perfectly diabolical?
  • How were they exorcized? Through the ministry of Christ? The Jews (see Acts 19; Luke 9)? Or did they leave of their own volition (“gone out”)? But “healed of evil spirits…” (v.2) implies exorcism.
  • How did the demons get into her in the first place? Lack of explanation as to causality of possession in NT, while OT doesn’t even record any possessions, let alone attempt to explain the demonic world.
• But we can at least rule out some possibilities:
  • Not Jesus’ wife
  • No indication that demons correspond to sins (as in 7 different sins).
  • Probably not the sinful woman of Luke 7 – seems odd if true that this woman wasn’t named.
• Probably:
  • Unmarried or a widow
  • Important personage in the early church. ( || Simon/Simeon, Alexander, and Rufus. Note: in the podcast I mentioned only Rufus, but Simon had two Christian sons.)
• For sure:
  • From or had relatives in Magdala. At her synagogue a few weeks ago
  • Witness to the empty tomb and the risen Christ
  • Undergone a radical transition to freedom from the demonic.

Conclusions

• No matter how messed up your life is, God can make something beautiful out of it. And no matter how long we may have been stagnating spiritually, the Lord can wipe the slate clean. And once we've been made clean, we're on the path of holiness and mission.
• If you're a woman, take heart that in Christ there is no male or female. No discrimination!
• God values women. Eyewitness testimony to the resurrection – not so in Judaism or Islam.
• No problem is too big for God to handle. Even if you feel last year is best forgotten, God specializes in fresh starts – in new beginnings.

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Here's a guest podcast, The Leper, by Kevin Agot, who lives in the Washington DC area. I hope you enjoy it!

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

• Our text is Mark 1:40-45.
• A different version of the story has come down to us in Matt 8:1-4.
• This man will be the first leper healed in the NT.

Scriptural study: Mark 1:40-45

• Unsure whether Jesus is willing? Kneeling, imploring...
• The Lord is willing!
  • Believe that when we pray.
  • Believe it when we ask him to remove our sin, or to go with us as we share his word.
• Immediate cleansing.
  • Note that rather than Jesus becoming unclean -- contracting leprosy by touching this man -- it flows the other way.
  • Cleanness flows from Jesus to the leper!
• Jesus requests silence / discretion.
  • The publicity causes trouble for Jesus (not all publicity is good).
  • This is early in Jesus' ministry -- unlike the situation in Luke 17, when Jesus was going to die in a few days or weeks anyway.
  • Yet, even though the throngs force Jesus outside the inhabited areas, his mission continues unabated.
• Evidence was to be presented to the priest.
  • Had this ever happened before? Maybe once or twice in the OT, if the people were obeying Leviticus.
  • The priest would then follow the procedure of Lev 14.
  • Imagine the impact on the priest!
• The man can't help spreading the news. What news?
  • News of his healing?
  • News about the Messiah?
  • Both?

Conclusion

• Like the lepers of both testaments we are in an unpleasant condition. But since our condition is moral—spiritual—and not just physical, our predicament is dire.
• Think about the leprosy of sin. We are all "lepers."
• The Lord is willing. Don’t doubt it!
• You can be clean!

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

• Healing lepers was an important part of Jesus’ ministry:
  • “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them” (Matt 11:4-5).
  • His healing of lepers confirmed that Jesus was Messiah.
• Our text is in Luke 17, though we will need to examine Leviticus 13-14 in order to understand Jesus' response to the lepers.
  • Lev 13:9, 45 require those with serious skin ailments to allow the priests to inspect them.
  • If they were still contagious, they were required to live outside of town, and call out "Unclean, unclean" if any (healthy) person was coming their way.
  • If they were clean, a special ceremony was performed, involving baptizing a bird in water -- water that contained, among other things, the blood of a second bird. Afterwards the bird was released. Here is a picture (though not exact) of baptism.
• How do the four lepers of Samaria (2 Kings 7) relate to the Samaritan leper (Luke 17)?
  • At the time of 2 Kings 7, Samaritans were simply Israelites from the northern tribes, or else residents of the capital city of Samaria.
  • This is well before 2 Kings 17, which details the origin of the Samaritans proper -- who were of mixed race and heterodox faith.

Main scripture: Luke 17:11-19

• The healing of the lepers takes place in the borderland between Galilee and Samaria.
• Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to die (from Luke 9:51 onward). He tells the lepers to walk to Jerusalem -- where they will be able to be reinspected by the priests.
• The priests should have been impacted by their sharing!
• Of the 10, only 1 returns to Jesus to say thanks.
  • Notice how expressive he is!
  • Far too many Christians do not conduct themselves in a spirit of gratitude.
• Outsiders often get it before the insiders…

Challenge

• Everyone listening who has been cleansed from sin is like the lepers. Sin is like leprosy.
• We need to feel, and express, gratitude towards the one who has cleansed us!
• Then we will not struggle too much to share the good news with others!

Further:
Listen to my Thanksgiving sermon (33 minutes). Click: Luke 17 Sermon.

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For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Introduction

• Previous studies in Section II (Leprosy) have studied four individual lepers. Today we will consider the lives of four lepers all together.
• Although these men are not healed of their leprosy, they end up in a positive, victorious place nonetheless.

Scriptural study: 2 Kings 6:24-31; 7:3-5, 8-10.

• Siege conditions in Samaria: famine!
• Cannibalism was forewarned in Deut 28—and mentioned several times in scripture.
• This is a desperate situation!
• The king’s anger is misdirected—towards Elisha—who soon predicts and end to the famine (7:1)
• We’re skipping the story of the faithless captain, as well as other important parts of the story, as these lie outside the text we are examining.
• Meet our lepers—four in all (7:3).
• Notice the role of reason. They have nothing to lose!
• Instead of encountering the Syrians, the camp has been abandoned -- full of food, supplies, money...
• A sumptuous feast was just a short walk away! (The Great Banquet is potentially as close to your neighbors as the distance to your home!)
• Their initial reaction is to horde. Yet, as with the message of Christ, the good news is to be shared!
• Since others are starving, not sharing would be a culpable, criminal behavior (v.9).
• They make a reasonable decision: to share.
• The matter is time sensitive. People are starving. People are dying.
• They came… and told… (v.10). Like the words of John: “Come… and see…” (1:39,46; 4:29; 11:34)
• Although these men were not cured of their leprosy, they are still winners:
  • Their lives are saved.
  • They purposed to save the lives of many others, and they saved a city.

Application

1. We are but poor lepers. We have nothing to lose!
2. We are in sin if we are keeping the message to ourselves.
3. People are starving for the truth, for an a authentic relationship with God.
4. Let’s share the good news: “Come and see!”
5. It’s time sensitive!

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Scriptural study: 2 Chron 26:15b-21a
 

• The highly successful king lets success go to his head (vs.15-16).
• Pride goes before a fall. Prov 16:18. Deut 8:11-20 (please read Deut 8 if this is unfamiliar to you). The king becomes overconfident.
• His specific sin:
  • He disobeyed the law of priesthood (he is not a priest, as a king of Judah).
  • He arrogated to himself the priestly prerogative—thus his sin was arrogance.
• See the courage of Azariah (vs.17-18).
  • His concern is for God’s honor—a strong contrast with Uzziah’s agenda.
  • If the priests had deferred to Uzziah, giving in to fear, how could the people have been expected to challenge their leader--to hold him accountable to the Torah?
• Though totally outnumbered (80:1), the king will not listen. See Prov 26:16.
• His response is emotional (v.19). He is defensive. We could say he was "incensed." Yet his anger is misdirected anger.
• Leprosy breaks out on his forehead (where strict Jews actually tied small boxes containing scripture).
• This isn’t just a pimple… It’s leprosy!
• The priests hurriedly escort the king out of the Temple (v.20).
• Uzziah himself is eager to make his exit—but not so much because he is a humble man. Now the priests’ agenda and his own coincide—that’s all!
• Excluded from the Temple – not just from serving as a priest, which was never his right, but excluded from going up to the Temple, as any Jew was expected to do at least three times a year.
• His arrogant behavior affected him from that day till the day of his death!

CHALLENGE

• Obey what is written! You are not an exception. The Torah did not allow Uzziah to serve as a priest, to march into the inner Temple—and there are places we are not permitted to go, either.
• For leaders, especially: Accept input humbly, and seek feedback from those you know will speak candidly.
• Don’t assume, just because God seems to be smiling on you now (things are going well), that you no longer need to work diligently to be spiritual. The situation could change. Just as we must work out our salvation (Phil 2:12), so we must work to stay humble and open—teachable.

Further study: Old Testament Character Podcast 39, on Uzziah.