Things are heating up. Jesus healed someone on the Sabbath.
Of course he did. The man in front of him had a need.
But the Pharisees are looking for any reason to accuse him. They
think he is a Beelzebul, or is possessed by Satan, or at the very least is irreligious.
The healing of a withered hand gives them exactly want they want. They immediately
head out, looking for co-conspirators with power and authority in these
matters.
And everyone else? They are spreading the word. People are responding,
coming from far and wide: as far west as the Mediterranean Sea, as far south as
Bethlehem, and from both sides of the Jordan Valley, even east of the Dead Sea.
The crowd is so large and oppressive that Jesus cannot move about freely.
They’ve heard about the man with a withered hand, the
unclean spirits, the paralyzed man and his friends, and all the rest of the
healings. They want Jesus’ proclamations and healing power for themselves.
The crowd presses in from all sides, so it is impossible for
him to proclaim. But speaking is what he came to do. What he needs now is a
stage and boundaries. He needs a way to speak to people without being swept
along by them, so he orders his disciples to find him a boat and he retreats to
the sea.
He teaches from a boat on the water and the healings
continue.
The unclean spirits all fall before him and pay him homage.
They cry out, “You are the Son of God.” They might as well be saying, “You are
Caesar. You are Emperor.” He orders them to keep it a secret.
Text for the day:
Things to think
about:
In Mark’s Gospel, the unclean spirits know Jesus is ruler.
The only other people who have that knowledge are those who read the story.
What does that mean?
Things to do:
Take inventory of the mental, spiritual, physical, and
emotional aspects of your life. To whom or what are you paying homage? Can you
ask Jesus to be your teacher, healer, and ruler?
Jesus Christ, will you provide what I need?
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